The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You

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Sensitivity has a PR problem: we’re accustomed to seeing its downsides,” says Jenn Granneman, one of the writers of a new book on the subject, Sensitive: The Power of a Thoughtful Mind in an Overwhelming World. Co-authored with Andre Sólo, they’re also founders of Sensitive Refuge, described as the world’s largest network of HSPs. Sensitive is synonymous with oversensitive, explains Granneman, and HSPs are often told they should “be less sensitive”. Yet it’s impossible to change the reactivity of one’s nervous system. It’s like trying to be less tall. It’s impossible to change the reactivity of one’s nervous system. It’s like trying to be less tall This book so far has been all over the place. It's talking about "highly sensitive" to outside stimuli, but then talks about sensitivity in regards to being caring and nurturing, as if those things are the same or always go together - which is untrue. Men are particularly vulnerable to the toughness myth, the toxic social message that emotion is weakness, says Sólo. They both identify as HSP now but, as a younger man, Sólo himself was guarded against “feminine” concepts, such as empathy or compassion. “I knew that I read people well, so that’s how I would say it. You re-skin it in different language.” Elaine Aron has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and a thriving psychotherapy practice. She is the first therapist to tell HSPs how to identify their trait and make the most of it in everyday situations. An HSP herself, Aron reassures others that they are quite normal. Their trait is not a flaw or a syndrome, nor is it a reason to brag. It is an asset they can learn to use and protect.

This book can be read with your HSP or non-HSP partner, or it can be read alone. Whether you are an HSP who is in an intimate relationship or not in love right now, this book is useful to you. Now, for the first time ever, the time-tested, proven techniques perfected by the world-famous Dale Carnegie® sales training program are available in book form.

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I am paralysed by overthinking! Beset by self-doubt!’ Rhik Samadder finds he’s more fragile than he thought. Grooming by Juliana Sergot using Kiehl’s; trainers by camper.com. Photograph: Pål Hansen/The Observer Welcome. I’m Elaine Aron. I began researching high sensitivity in 1991 and continue to do research on it now, also calling it Sensory-Processing Sensitivity (SPS, the trait’s scientific term). I never planned to write any self-help books, but those who have this trait seem to gain a great deal from knowing about it. You can find my books here. Ways to reframe your past experiences in a positive light and gain greater self-esteem in the process

And I would LOVE to be able to claim that I have a legitimate, neuro-scientific cause for these traits--I could justify needing a nap every day and needing to not hate my job!

Bonus: My Book on Highly Sensitive People and Depression

While Kagan associated this temperament with fearfulness and worry, connecting it to the amygdala (the “fear centre” of the brain), today we know it’s a healthy trait. Dozens of researchers have confirmed this finding, most notably Elaine Aron, arguably the founder of the field of sensitivity research. (In fact, the fearfulness that Kagan observed in some of those high-reactive children largely went away by adulthood.) Now the same trait Kagan studied is known by many names: highly sensitive people (HSPs), sensory processing sensitivity, biological sensitivity to context, differential susceptibility, or even “orchids and dandelions” – sensitive people being the orchids. Recently, there has been a move to bring these theories together under a single umbrella term: environmental sensitivity. I hear this exact metaphor used in the pub, by someone who hasn’t read the books. Other people I know are also well aware of their powers. “We’re called hispies in the community,” Ella informs me. Ella has a diverse social circle and always seems to be on a boat, surrounded by male models, even though she works in publishing. “You could have this lifestyle if you were an empath like me,” she writes. I tell her I am an empath and her remark has deeply wounded me. “I’m an empath and your remark has deeply wounded me,” she replies. Touché.

Sorry, but I don't think highly sensitive introverts are all in one political box, nor do I think all those who are not sensitive to outside stimuli, or enjoy it, are all evil, uncaring, unfeeling people. Psychologist Elaine N. Aron has produced several books on the subject of highly-sensitive people. This appears to have been her first and is, I suspect, her most commercial. In it, she attempts to introduce the theory that there exists a distinct set of human beings who are genetically wired with a heightened sensitivity to all things sensory. Unlike the introvert, who purportedly thrives in isolation and opts for solitude or smaller groups when given the choice, the highly-sensitive person has trouble withstanding the cacophony of the wider world and is constitutionally compelled to seek sanctuary when confronted with an abundance of stimulation - whether she wishes to or not. The distinction is a subtle one, and made all the more difficult to draw by the author's freshman approach to this sort of presentation. Much of the material has been dumbed down for the layman, couched in wildly-contradictory terms, and richly romanticized. Again, first book. One assumes lessons have been learned. To say this book changed my life would be an understatement. I am forever grateful to Elaine Aron.”—Alanis Morissette, singer, songwriter, activist Elaine Aron's perceptive analysis of this fundamental dimension of human nature is must reading. Her balanced presentation suggests new paths for making sensitivity a blessing, not a handicap." —Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D., author of Shyness: What It Is, What to Do About It

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Aron, a licensed psychiatrist, takes readers on a journey through the mind of a highly sensitive person. If you yourself are highly sensitive, you'll learn more about how your mind and body work. You'll learn how to view yourself as someone who is unique and ultimately needed in the universe. I particularly liked Aron's notes on the idea of a warrior-king type of personality and the idea of a more sensitive advisor type of personality and the benefits to society of both. I appreciated that while Aron encourages neither type of personality to view theirs as superior, each does have its own advantages. For example, as a sensitive person, you might be considered shy, sometimes aloof, or even arrogant, since you tend to keep to yourself and find it hard to make friends. You tend to avoid social engagements with a large number of people and lots of noise and sounds, so people sometimes might think of you as a party pooper. But on the flip side, sensitive people are also the most compassionate, the most intuitive, and the most creative of all personality types. If you find yourself reading this book and realizing you are more than likely a highly sensitive person, you'll begin to look at past events in your life with a new understanding, perhaps even realizing why you reacted to certain things and people the way you did. If you’re interested in learning more about these traits, whether within yourself or those you spend time with, here are a couple of my favorite self care books and many more on my reading list. best self care books for highly sensitive people and empaths I questioned a lot of her claims (some based on research, some not) about biological traits vs. ac

Vivid dreams, a deep need to have alone time, easily overwhelmed by loud noises, sensitivity to pain, a rich and complex inner life or searching for a deeper meaning to life… All signs you might be an HSP.Learn to safely share your amazing qualities of empathy, compassion, creativity, healing, and much more with the world A better word for sensitive might be responsive. If you are a sensitive person, your body and mind respond more to the world around you. You respond more to heartbreak, pain and loss, but you also respond more to beauty, new ideas and joy. You go deep where others only skim the surface. You keep thinking when others have given up and moved on to something else. If you were like me, you heard a lot of that, and it made you feel there must be something very different about you.I was convinced that I had a fatal flaw that I had to hide and that doomed me to a second-rate life.I thought there was something wrong with me. This book might not help you decide on your career, but it does provide some career advice that helps you reflect on your career path.