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

Aron insists that high sensitivity is a normal, if relatively rare, trait that—like other personality types—has both benefits and downsides. The book aims at accentuating the benefits and helping HSPs work their way through the challenges, using such techniques as reframing and pursuing psychotherapy. While insisting throughout the book that sensitivity is not a disorder in need of a cure, Aron also acknowledges that HSPs encounter unique problems and suggests means for overcoming them.

Aron gives an overview of high sensitivity in the Preface and Chapter 1, noting that HSPs are more highly attuned to all kinds of stimulation. This trait offers many advantages: It makes HSPs more intuitive, allowing them to assess the nuances of social interactions that often elude others and even sometimes allowing them to sense dangers that others may be unaware of. In the workplace, for example, HSPs often help their colleagues by sensing potentially unhealthy or problematic situations before they grow. However, high sensitivity also means a greater propensity to become “overaroused,” that is, for the nervous system to become so highly stimulated that it begins to shut down. Aron stresses that overarousal happens to everyone, but HSPs are more prone to this state than others.