Book Review: Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World

Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World: How to Create a Happy Life
by Ilse Sand
Translated by Elisabeth Svanholmer
Jessica Kingsley Publishers

This book was first published in Denmark in 2010 and was just released in the United States last week (June 21, 2016). The author says that it is a book for highly sensitive people and delicate souls and that it may also be helpful for those who live or work with HSPs. (HSP is a term coined by Elaine Aron, another expert on the topic, to refer to highly sensitive people and, though Sand doesn’t use this term, I will for sake of ease.)

I found Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World to be a welcome addition to the relatively small body of work about HSPs. It is straightforward and simple to read, perhaps lacking a bit in personality, but more than making up for it with information to help the reader understand how being sensitive can affect so many areas of daily life.

Sand covers everything from how to recognize your HSP traits to how to work with them to create a life that is more comfortable in the home, at work, and while parenting. She addresses the importance of setting boundaries, of “vegetative” time, and of protecting yourself from what triggers you. She even provides conversation points to help you get the support you need from others. Some of the recommended statements may need to be practiced to be delivered in a friendly manner, but they could certainly facilitate open dialogue. She also includes throughout the book examples from HSPs of scenarios they have struggled with and succeeded with.

I recommend this book for HSPs, and the people who love them might want to flip through it as well. Some of the information you will have seen before if you have read other books on the topic, but there were plenty of new points made, especially in concrete examples of how sensitivity can present itself and how to work with it (or around it).

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