Do you ever figure things out about yourself and you’re just like… woah. That’s actually kind of crazy.
Y’all know I love to create quizzes — but really, I love finding ways to come home to yourself. And this week I’ve been thinking about how sensitive I am. If you haven’t taken the Highly Sensitive Persons quiz yet, I genuinely suggest it. It has deeply enlightened me about myself.
My very sensitive, very emotional self.
Now, emotions can be a lot sometimes — am I right? But they’re especially a lot when I find myself getting so emotionally overstimulated that I basically can’t process what’s happening. I’m suddenly responding to everything at full volume, and then I freeze. Just… stuck.
Like the time I was in Thailand, cutting bamboo trees for the elephants. It was genuinely fun — great group, great energy. And then we went to take a group picture and I just… started crying. For what, exactly? I’m not entirely sure. Luckily, one of the moms in the group somehow tuned in immediately. Before I knew it she was patting my back, speaking gently, and handing me tissues. She understood without me having to say a word.
Or growing up — pretty much my entire world was overstimulation. And as a way to survive, I just reacted strongly when I had to.
Then came the word: “too much.”
If I had a penny for every time I heard that — or felt it about myself.
I never thought I was that different from others, but I always felt it. Maybe you did too.
But here’s the thing — a lot of what I was feeling wasn’t even mine. It was other people’s emotions and energy that I was absorbing without protecting myself, which led straight to overwhelm. No filter. No boundary. Just: here, let me carry all of this.
So that got me thinking: if I very obviously pick up on everything around me and have to manage my own inner world — there’s got to be something that actually helps, right?
And this is where emotional regulation comes in.
What Exactly Is Emotional Regulation?
Emotional regulation is the ability to monitor, evaluate, and shift your emotional reactions — so you can respond to life rather than just react to it. It’s about managing the intensity and duration of what you feel, like calming yourself down, lifting a low mood, or redirecting anger — without suppressing or avoiding your emotions altogether.
For highly sensitive people, this is kind of everything. When your nervous system is already picking up more than most — other people’s energy, sensory input, emotional undercurrents — having tools to come back to yourself isn’t a luxury. It’s how you stay functional. It’s how you stop white-knuckling through your own sensitivity and start actually working with it.
So I asked myself: okay, what actually helps me?
I started jotting things down — and here’s what I found.
Emotional Regulation Tools That Actually Worked for Me
Journaling
I know, I know — everyone says journaling. But hear me out. This isn’t about venting into a void. When I journal to process rather than just vent, something shifts. By the time I’m done writing, I feel like I’ve moved something through me that was stuck — like I alchemized it. There’s a real difference between writing to release and writing to understand, and once you feel that difference, you don’t go back.
EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique)
I came to this one out of desperation during a bad spiral, and honestly I was skeptical. But EFT genuinely calmed my nervous system down in a way I didn’t see coming — so I incorporated it into my morning ritual before I do anything else (yes, including coffee). And I’ve noticed I stay more regulated for most of the day because of it.
EFT works by tapping on specific meridian points on the body while focusing on what you’re feeling. It’s not just in your head — it works at a physiological level, which is exactly why it’s so effective for emotional overwhelm and HSP sensitivity. Your body is part of this, not just your mind.
That said — please research it before diving in. Working deeply with your nervous system can sometimes stir up heavy emotional waves, and you want to go in gently and informed. Be a smart cookie. ♡
Finding Your Way Home
Here’s what I’ve learned through all of this: sensitivity isn’t the problem. It never was. The problem was never having the tools to work with it — to channel what I feel instead of being buried by it.
That shift — from “I’m too much” to “I just need the right tools” — changed everything for me. And I think it can for you too.
Because here, I like to get curious about something I’m personally going through, research it, and then build something that helps others discover it for themselves. What helps me regulate might not be what helps you — nervous systems aren’t one-size-fits-all.
That’s exactly why I made a quiz for it. Take it below and find out what actually fits your wiring.
Take the Emotional Regulation Quiz
If you’ve already taken the HSP quiz, or want to explore a different piece of the puzzle, one of these might resonate:
- Do You Have The Mother Wound? — Discover if early childhood overstimulation and hypervigilance are still running your nervous system today.
- What’s Your Attachment Style? — Find out how your emotional processing style shapes your relationships.
- Do You Believe You’re Worthy? — Uncover whether you’re still carrying the weight of feeling “too much” for the world.
There’s a whole world of self-discovery waiting for you. Explore all the healing quizzes here →