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 Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight : What to Do If You Are Sensory Defensive in an Overstimulating World :: 0060932929
Description
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Do clothing labels bother you so much that you have to remove them? Do you find many different foods repulsive? Do loud, sudden, or piercing sounds startle you? Do you need to wear sunglasses even on a cloudy day? Do you feel panicky going down an escalator or driving through a tunnel? If the answer to many of these questions is yes, you may suffer from sensory defensiveness, a common but often misdiagnosed condition that results from adverse reactions to what most people consider harmless sensations. Developmental psychologist Sharon Heller, sensory defensive herself, suggests that the best way for sufferers to cope is not psychotherapy or medication but a host of other treatments that tap into the primitive brain. As Heller explains, there is hope for the sensory defensive. This book will change your life. Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
I learned a lot from this book. First I can recognize some of the sensory defensives in myself and I now know that my symptoms are mild.
I thought the case studies in the book were a bit on the extreme side.
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Author: Guest
I found this book by accident while skimming the shelves at the library, looking for books about meditation for those (many) times when I get so revved up and cannot seem to slow down...the title caught my eye, that sounds like me!
I am not quite finished yet, but have found this book to be a lifesaver. I have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and endometriosis so, needless to say, my body often feels under attack. I was not surprised to see the author mention fibro and CFS just a few pages into her book. Every few pages brought an 'aha, that's me' reaction. I am so excited to know that there is some hope and that I can take some proactive approaches to change some of the toughest challenges that my body presents to me - whether it is aching from wearing clothes or jewellery, constantly almost falling down the stairs, never being able to relax, going crazy from crowds, smells or noise or snapping at my husband because I am overwhelmed by what is going on around me. I intend to look into finding an Occupational Therapist ASAP who can help me explore this avenue further.
Interesting, when I searched this book I found excerpts from Time Magazine and Psychology Today that seemed very critical. Yet the authors seemed to focus on one or two symptoms as the entire 'syndrome'. Easy to mock when you don't live like this.
Well worth a read. I feels good to feel a little less 'abnormal' and to know that there is some hope that I can change. I noticed that one reviewer criticized some of the authors 'facts.' I don't give a care, this is something that can help me to know about. I have learned while educating myself about endometriosis, fibromyalgia and CFS that conditions are constantly mocked when they are first introduced but just knowing about them is a salvation for the people in whose lives they are a part, albeit uninvited and unwelcomed.
Good job!
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Author: Guest
If you cringe at noises other people don't notice, if you squint even on cloudy days, if you hate the feel of certain things - BUY this book! I have been mocked by friends & family for years for being "oversensitive" & reading this has totally changed my world.
She explains the biology & science of sensory defensiveness as well as techniques & suggestions for reprogramming your brain.
I highly recommend.
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Author: Guest
This book was recommended to me by a friend who knows I'm an HSP ("Highly Sensitive Person," as per Dr. Elaine Aron's research), and who thought I might find some new information to help me deal with my sensitivity.
It was an informative and enjoyable read, even though it turned out that Sensory Defensiveness doesn't particularly apply to me. However, if you are someone who is constantly feeling overwhelmed and irritated by environmental stimuli, to the point where others sometimes think you're slightly crazy, I have little doubt that you will find this book to be filled with "aha moments;" leading to a great sense of relief that there is actually a "name" for the confusing and painful feelings you may have experienced all your life.
After a thorough descriptive introduction, the author covers the ins and outs of Sensory Defensiveness in four sections. Part One talks about the basics of Sensory Defensiveness, giving many examples of the different ways people experience the condition. Heller also talks about the brain, and the neuroscience involved, and explains how Sensory Defensiveness falls along a continuum from fairly mild to debilitating.
In Part Two, entitled "Secondary Effects," the author describes the many ways in which Sensory Defensiveness contributes to other issues and illnesses in life. This includes issues from difficulty with maintaining a healthy social life, to actual mental disorders ranging from Anxiety to Social Phobias to OCD and much more.
Part Three introduces readers to the ways we may be engaged in activities that are overstimulating, and offers a range of suggestions for how to "turn down the volume" on stimulation. Heller's notion of a "Sensory Diet" is about creating an environment that reduces the number of "triggers" that contribute to making the world feel overwhelming and out of control. Part Four is pretty much an extension of Part Three, except it applies to actions we can take for OURSELVES, rather than for our surrounding environment. This includes such things as diet, body awareness, posture, exercise, forms of physical therapies and more. These two sections include many pointers for better living that would be suitable even for those who are *not* Sensory Defensive.
A cautionary note, especially if you are an HSP reading this. Whereas Sensory Defensiveness shares many traits with being an HSP, the two are far from identical. Having studied *both* fairly thoroughly over the past 8 years, my observation is that a number of HSPs are likely Sensory Defensive, but so are many people who are NOT HSPs. Most noteworthy, Sensory Defensiveness is a "condition," while being Highly Sensitive is a "neutral trait;" thus it is fairly important to remain objective in diagnosis.
Final thoughts: Highly Recommended (9 out of a possible 10 bookmarks)-- this is one of the first comprehensive works on Sensory Defensiveness, and it is very well done. Do keep in mind that this book does NOT suggest a pharmaceutical treatment; there is no "magic pill" to make Sensory Defensiveness disappear.
Thanks for reading!
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Author: Guest
I am neither a student of psychology nor a professional in the field. I am a mom whose son was diagnosed by a certified OT with DSI. I found this book while doing a search on books about DSI, and the title caught me. These must be the feelings, among so many others, that go through my son on a daily basis. However, upon reading it, I found that the book was more relevant to me and my husband than our boy.
In "The Out-of-Sync Child", Carol Kranowitz gives six causes of DSI, one of them being a genetic or hereditary predisposition. Reading Sharon Heller's book shed even more light to this idea, and my husband and I found ourselves recalling our childhood and adolescence, and going through our reactions to recent events, to examine the possibility of genes as the cause of our son's DSI. Indeed, my husband described himself as "clumsy" as a child, and as an adult, is prone to panic attacks, while I have always struggled with extreme anger over supposedly innocuous things like a barking dog or the usual weekend crowd at the mall. We also found many helpful suggestions and treatments to our various "dis-eases" that we can also extend to our son.
This is a book that will be well-thumbed through the years as we, as a family, deal with our overstimulated senses.
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