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Highly Sensitive Person? How Energy Healing Helps

Writer's picture: SaraSara

Updated: Dec 11, 2024


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If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the suffering of others, you’re not alone, and I am very much on this journey with you! Highly sensitive people (HSPs) have an incredible gift: the ability to deeply tune into the emotions and experiences of those around them. This sensitivity allows for profound connection and care, but it can also lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and the belief that helping others means taking on their pain.

The truth is, being deeply empathetic doesn’t mean a highly sensitive person has to carry the weight of the world, and the belief that you can or should in turn creates more suffering. In fact, healing happens most powerfully when you learn to care without carrying—and that begins with understanding the distinction between empathy and compassion, and supporting yourself with care like Reiki, which we'll get to in a moment.

Signs You Might Be a Highly Sensitive Person:

Being an HSP is not a diagnosis but a personality trait that describes how you process the world around you. Here are a few signs you may be highly sensitive:

  • You feel deeply affected by the emotions of others, positive or negative.

  • Crowded or chaotic environments quickly drain your energy and/or cause overstimulation.

  • Your can clearly and strongly feel your own emotions, regardless of if you are skilled at working with them.

  • You feel a strong drive to "fix" or "help" when someone is in pain, possibly feeling intense anxiety when you encounter others' suffering.

  • You feel responsible somehow for helping others feel better.

  • You benefit from time alone or need to rest after socializing

  • You notice subtleties in your surroundings, like energy shifts or changes in tone.

  • You’re profoundly moved by art, nature, or beauty—and equally overwhelmed by intense or negative experiences.

  • Highly creative

  • Vivid dreams

  • Needing a lot of sleep

  • Prone to depression or anxiety.

If you identify with these traits, you’ve likely experienced both the gifts and challenges of sensitivity. It’s a powerful capacity, but it can lead to taking on burdens that aren’t yours to carry.

A Highly Sensitive Person MUST be open to Growth


Let me share a perspective that can be incredibly empowering. A common pattern among HSP's is a sense of being special for being so sensitive. And we absolutely ARE special! We notice how people feel, the sound of the wind in the mountains enchants us, details that others can't see are crystal clear to us. But we have to remember that people who are not HSP's are remarkably special in their own ways that are also deeply needed. If we get attached to ideas about the HSP identity, it can deter us from growing through its challenges. It can hold us back from realizing that HSP is not just a gift we live with but actually a trait that demands our growth if we are to embody it skillfully. It's not uncommon to develop a kind of "I have specific needs and need things to be a particular way" mentality. This is true, and ideally all those needs would be met at all times. But let's be clear: the world cannot and will not always accommodate those needs, and denying that will bring an extra layer of suffering as reality bares its teeth again and again (why does this still take me by surprise?!). It is our responsibility to set the boundaries we can, avoid the situations that overwhelm us as best we can, and communicate our needs without imbuing them with an energy of entitlement. Taking a grounded and factual approach to expressing and claiming our needs actually helps others better understand and believe our needs. All of this helps us to take a broader perspective on our unique sensitivity, allowing us to move forward skillfully, humbly, and with less strain. Now let's dive into the problem of taking on others' emotions, and how we can begin to create boundaries without sacrificing our love and care for others.

The Difference Between Empathy and Compassion

In Buddhism, a powerful distinction is made between empathy and compassion:

  • Empathy is the ability to feel what another person feels. It’s the emotional resonance that allows us to understand or literally feel their pain or joy on a visceral level. While empathy is important, it can also be overwhelming—causing us to merge with the other person’s suffering to the point where it becomes our own. When we mirror the suffering, we do not remove it from the other person, though we may believe it somehow helps.

  • Compassion, on the other hand, involves recognizing someone’s pain and responding with care, but without losing your emotional autonomy. It’s a spacious, grounded response that offers support without internalizing the suffering. Compassion allows you to see beyond the pain, acknowledging the wholeness and resilience of the person you’re supporting.


    Empathy and compassion are both essential for connection and healing. Empathy allows us to feel with others, honoring their experiences, while compassion helps us stay grounded, offering support without being overwhelmed. Compassion isn’t about detachment; it’s about holding space for someone’s pain without having to embody it. It's the ability to recognize suffering without feeling it. Balancing empathy and compassion allows us to be attuned to someone while reducing the feelings of overwhelm. This ultimately allows us to show up better for that person. Now, there ARE times for mutual emotional pain. There are times that two people will hold each other, sobbing, and that's all that needs to take place. There are other times where one person needs to able to support, to help that person find perspective, or simply be present without being emotional. Our flexibility to do both strengthens our ability to care for others.

Taking on Pain Doesn’t Help—But Seeing Someone Beyond It Does

As an HSP, you may believe that taking on someone’s suffering shows how much you care. But here’s the truth: absorbing their pain doesn’t lessen it for them—it simply makes both of you suffer.

True care doesn’t come from internalizing their burden but from seeing them beyond it. When you acknowledge someone’s pain while holding space for their wholeness, you remind them that they are more than their suffering. This kind of compassionate presence helps others feel seen and supported, without you losing your balance.

Letting go of the urge to “fix” or carry someone’s pain doesn’t mean you care any less. In fact, it’s the opposite. By trusting their ability to navigate their journey—and trusting the universe to hold what you cannot—you’re showing a deeper respect for their growth.

Let the Universe Carry the Burdens

For highly sensitive people, the temptation to carry others’ pain can feel overwhelming. But remember: you’re not alone in this process. The universe, Reiki energy, God, or whatever higher force you connect to is always present to hold what you cannot. It's when we try to carry it all from the perspective of the ego that we inevitably fail and suffer.

If you feel tempted to pick up someone else’s suffering, try this practice:

  1. Sit quietly and close your eyes.

  2. Visualize the person’s pain as a tangible object you’re holding.

  3. Imagine handing this object to a glowing light or the flow of universal energy.

  4. Feel the weight leave your hands and trust that the energy will carry it with compassion and care.

This practice reminds you that you are a channel for healing, not the sole bearer of it.

How to Cultivate Compassion Without Overwhelm

Here are three ways to support others while staying grounded in compassion:

  • Practice an Energy Boundary: Imagine a white light emanating from you toward the other person, not blocking you from them but connecting you through an energy force that can contain all the emotions.

  • Focus on the Bigger Picture: See the person beyond their pain. Recognize their wholeness, their resilience, and their ability to grow through the experience.

  • Release the Need to Control: Instead of rushing to solve someone’s problem, simply listen and acknowledge their feelings. Remember that our emotions and suffering are universal human experiences, and we cannot stop them or control them.

Your Sensitivity Is an Opportunity

As an HSP, your ability to feel deeply and care comes with beautiful gifts but also challenges. Your sensitivity becomes even more powerful when you learn to protect yourself, implementing boundaries, taking time to decompress, practicing compassion, and letting go of the belief that you can control...anything. By learning to care without carrying, you not only protect your energy but also show others what true support looks like.

Why Energy Healing Is Essential for Highly Sensitive People

Highly sensitive people (HSPs) experience the world in a way that is uniquely profound, but also uniquely overwhelming. You pick up on subtle emotional and environmental cues that others may miss, which makes you deeply empathetic and intuitive. However, this same sensitivity can leave you feeling drained, overstimulated, and disconnected from your own energy.

Reiki is not just helpful for HSPs—it’s foundational. As an energetic healing practice, Reiki works to clear the energetic imbalances and overstimulation that HSPs commonly experience. It supports nervous system regulation, balances your energy, and helps you release what isn’t yours to carry. It provides the grounding and clarity you need to thrive in a world that often feels overwhelming.

Why Energy Healing at Somatique in Boulder, CO are so Supportive

For HSPs, energetic maintenance isn’t optional—it’s self-care at the most fundamental level. As you absorb the energy around you daily, stress and emotional buildup can quickly lead to burnout, overstimulation, emotional dysregulation, or even physical symptoms like headaches, fatigue, or tension (I speak from experience). Reiki sessions twice a month create a regular practice of clearing out that buildup and resetting your system. I also incorporate Tonglen meditation which is especially supportive of highly sensitive people.

Monthly care supports:

  • Nervous system regulation

  • Strengthening boundaries between your energy and others’ emotions.

  • Ability to connect with yourself rather than constantly connecting with everyone else

One session per month is the minimum level of care for an HSP to stay in alignment. If you’re going through an especially difficult time or experiencing heightened sensitivity, more frequent sessions can provide deeper support and faster recovery.

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Energy Healing Gives HSPs What They Need Most

Reiki is the ideal healing practice for HSP's offering low-stimulation, nurturing care that allows you to release overwhelm and reconnect with your inner calm. If you’re an HSP, this practice is not a luxury—it’s a vital tool to help you navigate life with ease, clarity, and strength. When you prioritize regular Reiki, you’re not just surviving your sensitivity—you’re harnessing it as your rightful superpower. I would be honored to offer you energy healing right here in Boulder, Colorado or remotely to support you as someone who deeply understands the challenges of a highly sensitive person.

You are not here to bear the burdens of the world alone. Allow yourself to be a channel for healing, and know that your sensitivity—when guided by compassion—is one of your greatest strengths.



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