The Nervous System Isn’t Weak — It’s Adaptive
Why “being sensitive” may actually be a sign of deeper health intelligence
We often hear that some people are “too sensitive.”
Too sensitive to cold.
Too emotional under stress.
Too reactive in perimenopause or after fasting.
But what if sensitivity is not a flaw — what if it’s a feature?
As a metabolic scientist, I see the body’s stress response as a language — one that speaks in heart rate, tension, temperature, fatigue. What we call “sensitivity” is often neurochemical literacy. It’s the body saying: I notice. I’m adjusting. I need support or recovery.
Your Nervous System Is Designed to React — and Reset
When we talk about cold exposure, fasting, or breathwork, we’re often working with the sympathetic nervous system: the body’s alertness system. It raises cortisol and noradrenaline, increases heart rate, sharpens awareness.
This state is necessary — it helps us survive. But it must be followed by a parasympathetic recovery — the “rest, digest, repair” side of the nervous system.
The problem isn’t that your nervous system gets activated.
The problem is when it stays activated — when we don’t know how to reset.
The Thermalist Method: From Sensitivity to Strength
Through years of research on cold and heat exposure, I’ve seen something powerful happen when people learn to regulate stress instead of suppress it.
They don’t just feel braver or calmer — their biology changes:
Vagal tone improves (a marker of nervous system resilience)
Cortisol becomes regulated (no longer spiking randomly)
Mitochondria function better (improving metabolism and energy)
People who were once overwhelmed by daily stress become deeply responsive — not reactive.
This is the transformation I see in women going through menopause.
In clients with high stress, autoimmune conditions, or burnout.
In people who were once told they were “too sensitive.”
They weren’t weak.
They just didn’t know how to reset.
Your Stress Response Is Not Broken — It’s Misunderstood
We are taught to measure health by how well we can keep going.
But true resilience is how well you can recover.
In biology, this is called adaptive capacity. And it’s trainable.
Whether through cold, sauna, fasting, breathwork, or rest — your body learns through repetition and rhythm. Not through force.
And the most resilient people I know?
They are sensitive. They listen. They respond early.
And that’s not weakness. That’s biological intelligence.
Final Thought
If you’ve ever been told you’re too emotional, too sensitive, too reactive — I invite you to reframe that.
Your nervous system is working.
Now it’s time to work with it to get a better control.
This is what we teach in the Thermalist Method®.
Not just cold and heat — but the ability to recover, feel, and regulate.
Because when you reset often, you don’t burn out.
You adapt.
Learn More!
Explore the Thermalist® Method at Home — my full online course on using cold, heat, and breath for metabolic health and resilience.
Or sign-up for the Thermalist Instructor Certification — next cohort: October 24–26.
Dr. Susanna Søberg
PhD in Metabolism
Founder of the Thermalist Method®