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A review by iseefeelings
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron
4.0
There is a sentence from an article I've recently read that can be a good intro for this review:
I appreciate the fact that the writer took many pages to cover four approaches to help HSPs heal their wounds (especially for those who have troubled childhood).
Elaine N. Aron - also a highly sensitive person herself (or rather, a person with a particularly high measure of sensory processing sensitivity) - talks about different ways that HSPs can apply to reframe their experiences and live with their traits. Particularly, I like how the author suggests treating our own body as a good parent does for their child: careful to respond to fear, allow yourself to leave if you don't feel comfortable in a situation, differentiate between anxiety and overarousal (which can just be a result of excitement with the unfamiliar environment as well),... Or that HSP can take ‘sensing’ and ‘intuition’ as their strength, depending on which type they are. The author also sheds the light on some misunderstandings of HSPs' mental health: They are often overwhelmed by sensory stimuli from the environment, not 'anxiety prone'; HSPs with difficult childhoods are prone to depression and anxiety, but not all HSPs have a mental illness (vice versa). Elaine N. Aron also contributes a chapter on spiritual elements and practices. The reason is that HSPs usually have a deep connection with the nonmaterial realm (dreams, uncanny moments,...) and it can be helpful in the search for wholeness. However, it can be seen as controversial and a bit difficult to swallow for someone who is agnostic like me.
I do cherish this book and wish I could come across it earlier in life, though. I thought I knew who I was but I didn't. I tried so bad to blend in with the crowds over the years and broke down. I also got hurt in relationships and didn't know how to draw a boundary with some people to protect myself, suffered for the thinking of being incompetent and believed I was cursed to be this sensitive. Thus, the book acts as a guide for me to better understand myself, unlearn and reframe my experiences to accept who I really am and gradually take my vulnerability as my strength as well as making good boundaries my goal.
*Highly recommend the most up-to-date version of this book published in 2020 than the earlier one.
“Sensitive” Is an Adjective While “Highly Sensitive” Is a Scientific Personality Trait.
I appreciate the fact that the writer took many pages to cover four approaches to help HSPs heal their wounds (especially for those who have troubled childhood).
Elaine N. Aron - also a highly sensitive person herself (or rather, a person with a particularly high measure of sensory processing sensitivity) - talks about different ways that HSPs can apply to reframe their experiences and live with their traits. Particularly, I like how the author suggests treating our own body as a good parent does for their child: careful to respond to fear, allow yourself to leave if you don't feel comfortable in a situation, differentiate between anxiety and overarousal (which can just be a result of excitement with the unfamiliar environment as well),... Or that HSP can take ‘sensing’ and ‘intuition’ as their strength, depending on which type they are. The author also sheds the light on some misunderstandings of HSPs' mental health: They are often overwhelmed by sensory stimuli from the environment, not 'anxiety prone'; HSPs with difficult childhoods are prone to depression and anxiety, but not all HSPs have a mental illness (vice versa). Elaine N. Aron also contributes a chapter on spiritual elements and practices. The reason is that HSPs usually have a deep connection with the nonmaterial realm (dreams, uncanny moments,...) and it can be helpful in the search for wholeness. However, it can be seen as controversial and a bit difficult to swallow for someone who is agnostic like me.
I do cherish this book and wish I could come across it earlier in life, though. I thought I knew who I was but I didn't. I tried so bad to blend in with the crowds over the years and broke down. I also got hurt in relationships and didn't know how to draw a boundary with some people to protect myself, suffered for the thinking of being incompetent and believed I was cursed to be this sensitive. Thus, the book acts as a guide for me to better understand myself, unlearn and reframe my experiences to accept who I really am and gradually take my vulnerability as my strength as well as making good boundaries my goal.
*Highly recommend the most up-to-date version of this book published in 2020 than the earlier one.