🌿 An Empath’s Guide to Stay Grounded When the Holidays Get Loud

Why sensitive nervous systems need early support — and how Holy Basil helps.

The pumpkins are still out front — a little weathered now, but still standing guard — and yet every store I walk into smells like cinnamon sugar and urgency.

You can feel it before you see it.

The collective hum of almost December.

The world speeds up, lights go on earlier, your group chats start multiplying. Somewhere between the second pumpkin spice latte and the first shipping reminder, we all start moving faster than our energy can follow.

And if you’re the kind of person who picks up on everything, the holidays can start to feel like background noise that never turns off.

When the Room Gets Loud

I love the holidays — the food, the laughter, the stories that somehow get louder and funnier every year. But somewhere between the first hug and the third round of family catch-up, I can feel my energy start to thin.

Nothing’s wrong exactly. It’s just… a lot.

I’m an empath, which means my nervous system soaks up emotions the way moss drinks rain. I can step into a room and sense it instantly — the temperature of the mood, the charge in the air, the undercurrent no one names.

Even joy can be heavy when you absorb it all. I come home with a full heart but a body wired like a light bulb left on too long. — hot, buzzing, and slow to cool. It’s what happens when you take in more energy than you were meant to hold.

So before I walk into the swirl of it all, I practice a small ritual of protection.

I picture a bubble-gum-pink light wrapping around me — soft but sure. It doesn’t wall me off; it steadies me.

When I hold that image, something shifts. The tension eases, like a switch flipping off somewhere in my body. For a moment, I can just breathe again.

It even helps with the ones who mistake “sharing space” for “sharing energy”. The ones who dump their stress in the air like secondhand smoke. And of course, the over-sharers who treat every conversation like free therapy.

The bubble filters all of it — the noise, the pull, the energy vampires, both the accidental ones and the professionals who really should know better.

Inside that bubble, I feel safe again. My chest loosens. My body stops bracing for everyone else’s emotions. I can just stand there and feel like myself.

It might sound a little woo-woo, but it works. When I picture that soft pink light, my breath evens out, and I remember what’s mine to carry and what’s not.

But holding that kind of focus takes energy. Eventually, my attention wavers. Maybe someone’s stress pushes a little too close, or the noise in the room builds until I can feel it in my chest. The bubble cracks….

Which is exactly why I have a backup — something that helps my energy stay steady, even when the protection slips.

Back-Up for the Sensitive System

Enter from stage right…adaptogens. My quiet reinforcements. These herbs remind the body how to bend instead of break.

Not sedating, not stimulating. Just steadying the system so recovery comes easier and balance holds a little longer.

Adaptogens aren’t quick fixes. They’re more like training partners for your nervous system. You take them consistently for a few weeks before you feel the shift. Which is why I start now, before the rush fully hits.

I take a blend most days this time of year — Holy Basil, Ashwagandha, and Gotu Kola are a few herbs in my cabinet right now.

Holy Basil is one of my favorites though. It’s the herbal equivalent of a steady friend — calm but alert, soft but strong. It doesn’t block energy; it fortifies it. It reminds my system how to stay open without being swallowed.

Here’s the thing…I’ll still be tired by the end of a get-together. But I recover more easily now because of these adaptogens and settle back into myself once I’ve had some quiet time.

When Calm Becomes a Practice

Even though I take adaptogens as supplements, there’s something different about meeting one in its living form. When I need a deeper reset, I make tea from my Holy Basil plant.

There’s something grounding about the whole process — walking over, brushing the leaves with my fingers, picking a few sprigs, and letting them steep while the kitchen fills with that sharp, green scent.

It’s herbal therapy disguised as a cup of tea.

Usually it’s after the first sip when I feel it. The warmth of the cup settles into my hands and the day finally starts to loosen its grip. (A good book helps too.) My brain stops narrating everyone else’s emotions and finds its way back to my own.

I think that’s just the comfort of tea to help ease you into relaxation immediately, but the herb itself is also extraordinary.

It’s not just soothing in theory. Holy Basil actually helps calm your stress chemistry pretty quickly, the kind of calm you can feel before you even finish the cup.

Just another reason to have it growing in your windowsill throughout this time of year.

Before the Holidays Hit

So just remember…the holidays will still be loud. The group texts will still be chaotic.

People will still need things.

But if you start protecting yourself now, you’ll have something solid to fall back on when the noise hits.

And maybe this year, you won’t just get through it. You’ll stay steady enough to be there for it.

🌿 End of Feature — But Keep Growing Below 🌿 (

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🌱 Explore the Greenhouse

If you’d like to wander a little deeper this week, you’ll find a few more experiments, curiosities, and a quick goal check-in waiting below…..

🎥 From the Pot Up — Holy Basil Tea

This is the tea I mentioned in the feature — the one I reach for when the bubble-gum-pink shield slips and my nervous system needs a reset.

In this week’s video, I’ll show you how to brew Holy Basil (Tulsi) tea — the adaptogenic herb that helps your body stay steady when the world around you starts to speed up.

It’s simple, grounding, and just a little bit magical — the kind of ritual that reminds you calm is something you can grow.

🫖 Watch the video →

🌿 Offbeat Botanica — The Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica)

If plants could be empaths, this one would lead the club.

Mimosa pudica, also known as the Sensitive Plant, flinches when touched. Its fern-like leaves fold inward instantly — a nervous-system reflex made of water pressure and plant electricity.

You can see it at work in the video below!

Scientists call it “thigmonasty” — movement in response to touch or vibration — but I call it excellent boundary work.

It’s a defense mechanism, not dramatics. The plant plays dead to deter grazers and shake off pests, then slowly unfurls again once the coast is clear — soft, but not defenseless.

It gets around in style too. Those tiny Velcro-like seed pods hitch rides on anything passing by, from fur and feathers to your jeans. Proof that plants have their own clever ways of getting where they need to go.

This plant gets it. Sensitivity isn’t about being soft; it’s about timing — knowing when to open up and when to tuck in for self-preservation.

✈️ Dream Check-In — Private Pilot Goal

Because the heart of TriGardening is about more than growing plants — it’s about using them as tools to grow ourselves, make steady progress on the things that matter, and feel more grounded while we do it. This check-in is where I share my goal updates every week — and invite you to do the same so we can grow together.

I flew again last week. This time I practiced ground maneuvers, which are flight exercises that teach you how to control the plane’s ground track from the air. Things like turns around a point, S-turns across a road, and rectangular courses.

We flew them about 1,500 feet above the ground — which feels very low when you’re surrounded by mountains. Every movement counts up there. The challenge is keeping a steady path when the wind wants to push you off course.

I’m still working on landings too. It’s funny how easy they look from the outside and how much focus they actually take when you’re the one in the seat.

Each flight feels like a blend of calm and chaos. Every time is a test of staying centered even when the ground (or the wind) seems closer than you’d like.

What dream are you quietly working toward these days? Let me know in the comments below!

🌿 Until Next Week

Here’s to staying steady — in the air, in the season, and in ourselves.

To remembering that grounding isn’t stillness; it’s balance.

And that sometimes, the best way to prepare for the rush is to start with quiet.

Stay curious, stay growing. 🌿

-KC