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If you are an HSP, my advice is to learn as much as you can about your trait - how to protect yourself and honor your sensitivity - without getting into a victim mindset over it. I felt thrilled and validated to see, in writing, some of the test questions describe traits I had which I felt so alone in having - particularly startling easily, sensitivity to sounds and lights, arranging your life to avoid unpleasant or overwhelming situations, and avoiding violent movies and TV shows like the plague (even the news). Going through my entire life as an HSP without ever hearing of "any such thing," you can imagine how good it felt to have a name for what I was experiencing and to discover a book that was, in effect, written about me and how I am "wired." I was especially struck by the HSP Self Test toward the beginning of the book, a series of 23 true/false questions, of which I scored 21 (a score of "12 or more" means you are probably an HSP). I enjoyed Aron's book enough to recommend it in my own book, "The Collective Awakening" (just published 5/25/09), which may appeal to HSPs whose struggles with sensitivity and even physical illness have driven them down a path of spiritual awareness and deep personal inquiry. I mean, we are talking I had tape over the tiniest lights of the TV and DVD player in my bedroom so I could sleep, years before discovering what HSP was.I admittedly have not read the entire book cover to cover, and the reason I did not give it 5 stars was because I found the writing style to be (at times) a bit dry, formal and unengaging. Even so, this is a valuable book for those of us who are so highly sensitive trying to live in what seems to be a world of insensitivity. Sincerely, Kathleen M. Diehl The Collective Awakening: Messages Along the Path of Awareness
As someone who often feels the need to lie down for awhile in silence after returning from any type of moderately noisy group activity (parties, meetings), this book was a revelation. Thoughtful, detailed and genuinely useful, it is a resource to which I've returned again and again over the years, whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed and misunderstood. I only wish the author could have avoided coining yet another syndrome (HSP); it's handy for marketing, I'm sure, but fails to convey the subtlety of the author's perceptions.
If you are highly sensitive and are wondering why you feel "different" sometimes this book will help validate you and celebrate HSP's.
If you've been told you are too sensitive or suspect that you are, this book may help you. It really changed the way I view my life and my responses to people, places and things. I read this book and recommended it to other HSPs. I know it did for me. Those people I recommended the book to, said the same thing. I scored 17/22 on the sensitivity scale and my relief at understanding my nature was enormously relieving. I give it a 5 star rating and a huge thank you to Dr. Aaron for her extensive research and efforts to further understand the highly sensitive person.
The author does address how our contemporary culture is not a welcoming or healthy environment for HSPs in general, and has written about what HSPs can do to protect themselves.but, I find myself asking a nagging question as I read this thesis: is the author possibly reifying the concept of a HSP. And according to the book, these children grow up to be HSPs, victimized by a society unaware of their unique properties and needs. In a nutshell, I believe the author treats socio-cultural phenomena as epiphenoma (not central to the genesis of sensitivity-related problems if you will), and that the creation of a HSP phenotype (or race of human if you wish)could be a reification, to a greater or lesser extent. When I first read this book several years ago I found it quite intriguing. what if it's a deep-rooted psychological problem that could be changed.Paul Nicholas, MD, MPH email: stealthy_armadillo@yahoo.comIn sum, the book is intriguing, but is it guilty of reification. There is no doubt children are born with different biological temperaments, and that there probably exists a cohort of children that are more sensitive to stimuli(and I would not be surprised if these children were at greater risk for certain psychological problems later in life).
But is this accurate.
and if so, she could well be minimizing a much more evil force afoot in our contemporary society--the cultural toxicity that destroys self-esteem from a very young age and enslaves people to various psychological problems as they age--anxiety disorders, drug addiction, eating disorders, etc.
I do not know the answer to this question, but the few people I have witnessed significantly reduce their difficulties with anxiety don't seem to be HSP anymore.
So why do I rate it 3 stars.
But what if the real genesis of a person's anxiety/sensitivity (or whatever psychological problem.if it is a problem) was caused by toxic cultural processes in the first place (usually occurring in the first decade of life) and this is the real source of suffering--a self image severely beaten down by a toxic culture.
If you went to middle school and high school in US (or probably anywhere) you know what I'm talking about.
Indeed, as a practicing psychiatrist for the past 6 years, I could give any of my anxiety disorder patients this book and it is my belief that many would conclude that they are HSP.
Which brings up another risk.could accepting the label of HSP make a person say, "well this is just the way it is." which would be fine if it IS truly a biological phenomena impervious to change.but what if itisnt.
I don't know, but this is my suspicion.the author doesnt address it.
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