Sensory Supports for Empaths + Intuitives
As an occupational therapist who has specialized in sensory integration and sensory processing since the 1990s, I want as many people to know the benefits of working with sensory input as a way of helping your nervous system optimally function. I’ve long thought that the information I’ve learned during my experience as an OT is so valuable for EVERYONE to know. Nervous system support is so necessary for us—now, more than ever. There are many ways to improve your nervous system function through the senses.
If you are an empath (deep feeler, picking up the emotional landscape of others without someone telling you), and/or intuitive, you need to take extra steps with routine grounding and clearing. We ALL need to be doing this, but empaths and intuitives are so highly sensitive that they can feel out of sorts and dysregulated more often than folks who are not as sensitive. In fact, many times the sensitive person may feel horrible, and it might not even be (all of) their energy—it might be a family member’s, co-worker, or even energy from the news, social media, or video games. Check out a previous blog post on energetic hygiene through grounding and clearing.
How can we support ourselves through our senses? By getting our sensory threshold met each day, and ideally not getting overwhelmed, dysregulated, or overstimulated in the process. This process can be a bit of trial and error as you begin to learn more about yourself from this lens. To meet our sensory threshold, we need a varying combination of the following: movement, muscle stimulation, visual input, auditory input, touch, smell, taste, and connection to internal needs and emotional state. Notice the times of day that are challenging for you. Can you use any of these strategies to help during those times?
Let’s explore each of the senses, with some examples of activities (this is not an exhaustive list; it may inspire some of your own ideas as well, hopefully!):
MOVEMENT / VESTIBULAR INPUT
This is important for us—many of us sit for too long each day, and don’t meet our movement needs. Movement input can last the longest in our nervous system (up to 6 hours), so I do tend to look for movement opportunities earlier in the day. Here are some suggestions on how to get more movement in your day:
Take a meeting over the phone and walk around the neighborhood.
Take a movement break or dance break between work tasks. Even getting up to use the bathroom is good.
Walking, running, riding a bike, scooter, skateboard, skiing, and skiing.
Slack line—pitch one up between trees and work on your balance. So good as we age!
Yoga practices focusing on balance (tree, dancer, diver, airplane, etc.) and head inversions (downward dog, camel, child’s pose, forward fold).
MUSCLES / PROPRIOCEPTIVE INPUT
This is one of the most beneficial things that we can do for our nervous system, and it is the great regulator—meaning if you are tired or sleepy, proprioception can wake you up, and if you are overwhelmed or overstimluated, proprioception can bring you down. It really works in any situation, and it cannot overstimulate you (like all of the other senses). Here are some suggestions on how to get more muscle work into your day:
Walking, running, hiking (especially with a pack) or riding a bike.
Yoga, Pilates, deep stretching, weight training, calisthenics.
Standing on a vibration plate.
Movement “snacks”: take a moment and stand up to do 10 squats, lunges, or push ups. Better than a cup of afternoon coffee!
Using muscle scrapers, self massage.
Getting a massage, reflexology.
VISUAL INPUT
This is obvious, but we need more depth of field and a wider visual experience than our computers, phones, and tablets offer us. This is not only good for our vision, but it can actually re-set our nervous system. This is important to pay attention to, especially if you have a job that you are on your computer for extended periods of time. Here are some suggestions to stimulate this sense:
GO OUTSIDE. Take a meeting on your porch, or over a walk. Being outside allows our visual depth field to stretch, which helps our nervous system to calm down.
Walk or hike in nature. Navigate changing terrains.
Look at the horizon. This is especially important if you are feeling low or depressed. Seeing the horizon is so healing and expansive for us.
Wear bright colors (or muted colors if you tend to feel overwhelmed).
Practice holding your head still and extend one arm with your thumb pointing up. Move your arm up and down, side to side, in a circle, and even in an infinity loop, and track it with only your eyes. This eye stretch is a nervous system reset.
Clear visual clutter for improved focus; keep an organized work space and desk.
AUDITORY INPUT
Sounds can really affect how we feel. Sounds can startle us, and soothe us, and rev us up! Whether you need more sound or less sound to function, just pay attention and give yourself what you need in any given moment. Here are some suggestions:
Nature sounds are incredibly soothing. Take a hike without your headphones. Listen to the wind in the trees, the birdsong, and the sounds of water. Can’t get outside? Listen to a nature sounds or even fire sounds playlist.
Binaural beats for focus, meditation, etc.
Headphones or ear plugs (or both) to block out noise to help with regulation, focus, and attention when working.
Humming, singing, chanting.
Playing musical instruments.
Using a tuning fork for yourself when stressed, in meditation, etc.
Use music to help achieve your desired state of arousal—pumped up, chilled out, focused, etc.
TOUCH / TACTILE INPUT
This is such an important sense! We need touch to thrive. This sense can overwhelm us as well. I can remember feeling so “touched out” with young twins, especially when they were in infancy and toddlerhood, despite being a “touchy feely” person. If you live alone, make sure that you are getting your touch quota.
Wearing comfortable textured clothing.
Dry brushing before bathing, oil or lotion moisturizing face and body after bathing.
Gua sha, facial massage, rollers, masks, etc.
Petting and snuggling with animals.
Cooking, baking with dough.
Getting messy with art, or use fiber based arts such as knitting, crochet, needlepoint, etc.
Gardening, digging in soil, planting potted plants.
Walking barefoot when appropriate.
Getting a massage or facial.
SMELL + TASTE / OLFACTORY + GUSTATORY INPUT
These senses are highly interconnected (as many of us learned in COVID). When I lost my sense of smell with COVID, I had no idea how much that sense was so important to me. I use the sense of smell to make quick shifts in my mood—smell is actually the only sense that goes straight to our limbic system in the brain (without being processed in other areas first), and is linked to mood and memory.
Aromatherapy with essential oils can quickly shift your mood. This is a great option if you feel stuck. You can diffuse it, make or use aromatherapy nasal inhalers.
Cook with spices or add red pepper flakes as a boost of heat—if you enjoy it!
Variety of spices, herbs in your diet through cooking, seasoning, or finishing. This has highly impactful health benefits as well.
Sour tastes can quickly shift your mood as well—I like natural things over candy: lemons and fermented foods.
EMOTIONS + INTERNAL STATE OF BODY / INTEROCEPTIVE INPUT
We can become disconnected from this internal state or it can be naturally diminished if we have trauma or a neurodiverse brain. This one is so important to pay attention to for embodiment. We want to reorient to the body safely. Practicing “paying attention to your body on purpose” is a wonderful tool for healing. You are safe to practice this. Practicing noticing builds improved interoceptive awareness, and is deeply nourishing.
Pay attention to your emotional state. Name it. Journal about it. Feel through it.
Notice bodily sensations. Start with the outside of your body first, such as when washing your hands. Practice describing the sensation (wet, hot, warm, bubbly, cold), and then connecting it to an emotional state (calming, irritating, pleasant, annoying, etc.)
Notice your bodily needs and act on them instead of ignoring them (fatigue, hunger, thirst, bathroom needs).
Link emotions with sensations from visual, auditory, muscle work, movement, touch, smell and taste. Just get in the habit of noticing.
When you begin to pay attention to these details, you can practice using things that are immediately available to you (and often times free or low cost) to connect you more deeply to yourself, and your preferences. You may be doing some (or many) of these things intuitively, without knowing that your nervous system may be seeking it for a reason.
Write down a challenging time of day for you. Make sure to add in muscle work before (ideally) or during that challenging time. Then sprinkle in any of the other sensory activities. Notice. Was it helpful? Did it shift anything? One important thing to note is to make sure to feel through any of the discomfort and challenges, and additionally any of the calming, soothing, or regulating feelings that come after you use a sensory “tool”.
The more you know that you can use sensory experiences to shift you, the larger your tool box becomes, and the more quickly you can move to optimizing your nervous system to make grounded choices. These practices can enhance your intuition through embodiment, and help you to acheive a more regulated state, more of the time. This is done through feeling, releasing, and soothing or stimulating (deepening on what you need in the moment!). Keep trying things until you find something that works for you, knowing that it might be different on any given day.
