In this honest and empowering episode of The Happy HSP Podcast, Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach and Alcohol-Free HSP, Gretchen Bergantine, shares how a profound moment during the COVID pandemic sparked a major turning point in her life. From discovering she was a highly sensitive person (HSP) to navigating sobriety, Gretchen’s story is one of deep healing, personal growth, and spiritual transformation.

In this episode, Gretchen shares:

• How she discovered she was an HSP during the COVID lockdown.
• The surprising Sunday morning moment that shifted everything for her.
• Why alcohol became her go-to coping mechanism — and what helped her stop.
• The spiritual awakening that followed her realization that she was an HSP.
• What “nutrition” really means beyond food (and why it matters for HSPs).
• Her approach to coaching sensitive people through holistic healing.

Topics covered:

• Realizing you’re an HSP and what comes next.
• Replacing numbing out with mental, emotional, and spiritual nourishment.
• How sobriety can open space for clarity, peace, and transformation.
• Creating rituals and boundaries that support your HSP nervous system.
• The stigma of sensitivity and the power of embracing your trait.
• Building a lifestyle that honors who you really are.

About Gretchen Bergantine:

Gretchen Bergantine is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and The Alcohol Free HSP. As a Certified Transformational Nutrition Mental Wellness Coach, (C.T.N.C.), and Highly Sensitive Person Professional Coach, she works with HSPs to stop using alcohol to self-soothe their sensitive nervous systems and quit alcohol.

Using integrative and holistic practices and the proven 3-pillar Transformational Nutrition Model™️, she educates and coaches based on science, psychology, and spirituality with an energetic twist. After all, nutrition isn’t just food. It’s anything that feeds you mentally, physically, and spiritually. With her combination of these coaching modalities, she is well-versed in high sensitivity and how it relates to one’s overall lifestyle.

Follow along with Gretchen’s journey:

Website: thealcoholfreehsp.com
Instagram: @thealcoholfreehsp

Let’s Connect:

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📩 Want to be a guest on the show? Reach out to Kimberly at: kmarshall@happyhspcoaching.com

📖 Learn about Kimberly’s work: happyhspcoaching.com

About Kimberly:

After 20 years in the publishing industry working for companies like Time Inc., Monster.com, and W. W. Norton, Kimberly Marshall left her corporate work to create a more nurturing career that better suited her as an HSP. After repeatedly struggling with burnout and low confidence in the workplace, she now helps HSPs create careers that bring them lots of purpose, meaning, and joy. With the Happy HSP Podcast, Kimberly hopes to shed more light on the reality of living with high sensitivity and inspire more HSPs to embrace their empathetic, generous, and loving natures.

• Hosted/produced by Kimberly Marshall
• Edited by Fonzie Try Media
• Artwork by Tara Corola