Elaine Aron

Stating that hypersensitivity is an asset rather than a flaw, a guide for those who are highly subject to their surroundings offers coping methods while explaining how to benefit from sensitivity-related personality traits.

How to Thrive when the World Overwhelms You

The Highly Sensitive Person

Sarah Vaughan

Have you ever thought you were weird because you couldn't stand to watch movies or read books with a lot of violence in them while other people seemed to love that stuff? Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed from being around a lot of noise, strong scents, or bright lights, especially florescent lights? Have you ever been called "too sensitive" or "too shy?" Are you deeply moved by art and music? Are you particularly sensitive to changes in temperature, body language, and your surroundings? Do other people's moods affect you? If so, you might be highly sensitive.

No, this is not one of those self-help books written by a quack who is going to try to convince you to eliminate all forms of stress, including family, a job, and bills from your life in order to nourish your soul. But it is a book that will change your life if you think you might be highly sensitive. I know, it sounds silly, but I'm telling you, as soon as I sat down to read this book, I felt like someone finally understood all of the little quirks about me that other people have always thought were weird but have always just been part of who I am. I even talked to a few of my friends who I think might be highly sensitive, and they felt the same way.

I decided to read this after Anne from Modern Mrs. Darcy (modernmrsdarcy.com) recommended it for those of us who would consider ourselves more sensitive than the average person. I remember the blog post distinctly because it was the first time I had ever heard anyone else mention the topic of people who tend to "screen" books with violent content because they prefer to avoid any type of entertainment with it. As someone who has always avoided books, movies and TV shows with violence as well as scary movies in general, this caught my attention. I always thought that my tendency to avoid scary movies was due to my overactive imagination that caused me to have frequent and vivid nightmares after watching these types of movies, which is in part true, but this is also a sign that you might be highly sensitive. 

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.

For some people, this might be a laughable subject. The idea that someone can be "highly sensitive.” Even the word sensitive has a negative connotation in our society today. But if you find you just might belong to this category of rare but unique people, (chances are if you find yourself on a site like GoodReads that encourages one to read as much as you can, you just might be) then I highly suggest giving this a look. I've found a lot of valuable info on working with others, building relationships with others, and having a more stressless environment that allows my highly sensitive self to thrive in this book, and I highly recommend it to others who might be searching for the same peace of mind.

The Highly Sensitive Person How to Thrive when the World Overwhelms You

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