"The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D., 1996
A Book Review by Norman Cousins
This book has much to say that might
interest
members of the Right to Quiet Society. The main
theme is that 15 - 20% of the population are Highly
Sensitive Persons (HSPs). They have a nervous
system that is much more sensitive to sound and
other stimuli than about 40% who define themselves
as "not at all sensitive". In the middle is a group with
moderate sensitivity, but there is quite a gap between
HSPs and the not-sensitives. -Ed. note: I also self-identify as an
HSP, and was
greatly moved by the way this book described my
reality so accurately when I read it a few years ago.
The accompanying "Highly Sensitive Person's
Workbook" contains a discussion of ways to cope with
noise. For further information, visit Dr.
Aron's web site; resources for HSPs are also
available at the Toronto-based site of Thomas Eldridge
Annual General
Meeting - October 23, 2001 The meeting was called to order at 7:35
p.m. by president Hans Schmid. Copies of the financial statement were
circulated for the attending members' information. The minutes of the previous
AGM were published in the
Spring 2001 newsletter. Right to Quiet Society Newsletter,
Spring 2002
Aron states "Having a sensitive nervous system is
normal, a basically neutral trait. You probably
inherited it.... It means you are aware of subtleties in
your surroundings...it also means you are more easily
overwhelmed...in a highly stimulating
environment...until you are exhausted in a nervous-system sort of way. Thus,
being sensitive has both
advantages and disadvantages."
She notes that, like most people, HSPs perform best
when their nervous system is moderately aroused,
when they are neither bored nor over-stimulated.
However, what is moderately arousing for most
people can be highly arousing for HSPs, and more
than that leads to becoming very frazzled indeed.
HSPs then shut down - what Pavlov called
"transmarginal inhibition". It is therefore important for
HSPs to pay attention to their level of stimulation.
When people have no control over stimulation, it is
more upsetting, even more so if they perceive it as
being victimized e.g. if someone refuses to turn down
a radio after being asked.
The book has many self-tests and exercises to
determine one's sensitivity, to reframe incidents in the
past, and to deal with present stimulation. It ends with
"Tips for: health-care professionals working with
highly sensitive people; teachers working with highly-sensitive students; and
employers of highly sensitive
people".
I found the book to be reassuring - yes, I'm an HSP
- and helpful in giving me a rational approach for day-to-day handling of noisy
situations.
Hans gave an overview of the year's activities:
Under sunny skies some 1,200 of our yellow leaflets were again distributed to
interested members of the public
on International Noise Awareness Day, April 25, 2001. We are most grateful to
several of our members who
volunteered their help. Unlike in 2000, in 2001 we had no media attention on
INAD. However, on April 30,
Hans, together with Toronto doctor Fred Harris, was interviewed by "This
Morning" host Shelagh Rogers on
CBC Radio1 on the hot topic of the noisy leaf blowers. This interview was
repeated that same evening.
Excerpts of it were aired again in July, after Vancouver city council decided
on July 12 to first restrict and, as of
Feb. 2004, ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers1. Our members Roy
Silverson, Dr. Jeremy Tatum and
Johannes Halbertsma addressed Council on this issue with compelling
presentations. Other interviews were
given to a Hamilton, Ontario, radio station and columnists of the National
Post, the Ottawa Citizen and the Los
Angeles Times. Notably, the Ottawa Citizen ran a series of very good articles
about noise in August, and the
CBC TV consumer affairs program Marketplace highlighted the noise issue in a
segment.