The Highly Sensitive Person Book Summary

When a young Clark Kent first learns about his enhanced senses in Man of Steel, it is one of my favorite Superman moments. Every quiet sound in the classroom, including those coming from outside, may be heard by him. He has the ability to view a person’s inside organs, bones, and blood vessels. He flees after becoming overstimulated by all the impressions and locks himself in a supply closet.

It is not until his mother shows up and instructs Clark to “make the world small” that he is finally able to concentrate, calm down, and regain control of his faculties. While none of us are literally endowed with superpowers, about 15% to 20% of us are considered to be “highly sensitive.”

In The Highly Sensitive Person, Dr. Elaine Aron explains the benefits and pitfalls of this feature and how to manage them so we can succeed in a world that isn’t exactly made for us.

Table of Contents

There are four characteristics that “Highly Sensitive Persons” or HSPs frequently share.

If you give it a moment’s thought, you probably already know whether you would describe yourself as “highly sensitive” or not. Given that our intuition may be mistaken, the following four characteristics characterise the majority of HSPs:

processing of information in-depth and thoroughly
exceptional focus on detail
extremely sympathetic and sentimental
Overstimulated easily
Dr. Aron claims that high sensitivity is inherited and frequently coexists with ADHD and/or introversion. Fortunately, three of the four key “features” of HSPs are largely advantageous.

For instance, even while it could take you longer to process all the data before making an investment decision, the likelihood is that when you do, you’ll have a more detailed understanding of the market and be able to deploy your funds more effectively. Similar to how picking up on details may help you stand out at work, for instance by pointing out a crucial project planning parameter that your boss could have overlooked. Finally, having a strong sense of empathy enables us to build meaningful relationships with people and share memorable experiences.

Other ancillary, potential, but not necessary characteristics of HSPs include:

superior dexterity and fine motor abilities
greater creativity
early birds
increased susceptibility to stimulants including caffeine, alcohol, and medicine

Overstimulation is the price HSPs pay for having heightened senses.

While the first three characteristics of HSPs largely support their ability to do well at work, connect with others, and have fulfilling experiences, the fourth characteristic, overstimulation, can undermine their internal equilibrium. It makes sense when you consider the benefits: If you have a propensity for subtlety, deeply process subtlety, and react strongly to other people and your own emotions, you’ll also have a propensity for feeling overloaded by all of life’s infinite inputs.

Today’s world has overwhelmed us all. Our sensory systems get millions of impressions every day. Many of us feel worn out at the end of the day between social media, work notifications, and ever-present marketing. However, overarousal, as Dr. Aron refers to it, is particularly noticeable in HSPs.

A classic freeze-fight-flight reaction can be induced in HSPs by a strong odour, bright lights, large crowds of people, noisy surroundings, or even extreme hunger, and none of the results are pleasant. They can stop responding and drift off, have a breakdown and start sobbing and shouting, or really flee and hide.

What can an HSP do to manage overstimulation? Do your best to control your stimuli. Your environment is beyond your control, but you can choose which surroundings you enter and under what circumstances. Avoid going to huge public events if you haven’t slept properly. Take your favorite scented candle, headphones, and sunglasses with you everywhere you go.

And if you truly need a break, don’t be afraid to get up and use the loo for five minutes to concentrate on your breathing and decompress.

Every good thing in life comes at a cost, and HSPs’ sensory superpowers occasionally cause overstimulation, but this is nothing that can’t be controlled.

Create a persona to help an HSP interact with others more effectively.

Social interactions might be difficult for HSPs. Others may perceive them as harsh or dislike them because to their lower tolerance for stimulus and increased desire for rest and (solo) recovery.

Dr. Aron advises developing a persona as a strategy for dealing with these understandable but incorrect expectations and assessments. A persona is a part you actively choose to take on for society as a whole in order to navigate social life more easily.

Imagine you are the CEO of your company’s personal assistant. The majority of people will anticipate you to be vivacious and eccentric, yet you can also establish a reputation as “a calm, planned, exact planning machine.

In this manner, it will be simpler to defend the solitary time you require in order to arrange your boss’s calendar and conduct conversations via email as opposed to the phone. In the end, people will respect you and your boundaries because of the quality of your job. Although you had to adapt to your role, it defies expectations and now allows you to be more authentically you every day.

The sky’s the limit in terms of thriving as an HSP because personas can encompass an infinite variety of qualities and reputations!

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