Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight: What to Do If You Are Sensory Defensive in an Overstimulating World

In the publishing tradition of Driven to Distraction or The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing, this prescriptive book by a developmental psychologist and sufferer of Sensory Defensive Disorder (SD) sheds light on a little known but common affliction in which sufferers react to harmless stimuli as irritating, distracting or dangerous.We all know what it feels like to be irritated by loud music, accosted by lights that are too bright, or overwhelmed by a world that moves too quickly.But millions of people suffer from Sensory Defensive Disorder (SD), a common affliction in which people react to harmless stimuli not just as a distracting hindrance, but a potentially dangerous threat.Sharon Heller, Ph.D.is not only a trained psychologist, she is sensory defensive herself.Bringing both personal and professional perspectives, Dr.Heller is the ideal person to tell the world about this problem that will only increase as technology and processed environments take over our lives.In addition to heightening public awareness of this prevalent issue, Dr.Heller provides tools and therapies for alleviating and, in some cases, even eliminating defensiveness altogether.Until now, the treatment for sensory defensiveness has been successfully implemented in Learning Disabled children in whom defensiveness tends to be extreme.However, the disorder has generally been unidentified in adults who think they are either overstimulated, stressed, weird, or crazy.These sensory defensive sufferers live out their lives stressed and unhappy, never knowing why or what they can do about it.Now, with Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight, they have a compa*sionate spokesperson and a solutionoriented book of advice.

Amazon Sales Rank: #51601 in Books Published on: 2003-12-02 Released on: 2003-12-02 Original language: English Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 1.02" h x 5.36" w x 8.02" l, .69 pounds Binding: Paperback 400 pages ISBN13: 9780060932923 Condition: New Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER!100% Satisfaction Guarantee.Tracking provided on most orders.Buy with Confidence!Millions of books sold!

From Publishers Weekly Heller, a developmental psychologist, knows firsthand how difficult life can be for people suffering from sensory defensiveness (SD).Symptoms include flinching from touch; overly acute senses of smell; fear of escalators; irritation at certain lights; and eating disorders.While these symptoms are often present from birth, for many other people they can be triggered by some traumatic event.Adding to the pain is the difficulty in diagnosing this ailment-some sufferers are told they have ADD or autism.Heller briefly discusses her own successful therapy and how it transformed her life.The book includes four sections-the first two focus on an overview of the condition, and the second two examine treatment, including diet, medication and relaxation techniques.Useful appendices list alternative treatments and resources.The writing is clear and relatively jargon-free, and sprinkled throughout the book are anecdotes from patients who have successfully battled SD.Patients who have this condition will find this book rea*suring, especially since Heller discusses a treatment and usually follows up with a real-life scenario.For example, the section on light therapy ends with a success story of a woman who had learned to cope with her light sensitivity: "[Anna] realized that her eyes were wide open, no longer slits.She had spent years walking around in a haze, blinded by glare, with her brain taking in only a sliver of light." For people with SD, this title will wonderfully supplement their medical treatment.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.Review «A fascinating account of how sensation can run amok and cause problems.» (New York Newsday ) About the Author Sharon Heller, Ph.D., is the author of The Vital Touch and teaches courses in psychology.She received her master's degree from the University of Chicago and her doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago.She lives in South Florida.

The guest most useful 123,124 people found the following review helpful.Do not judge book by its cover by Bert Collar This book is well written, complete and up the road.If you are a person who gets irritated (or lost) on the stimuli that other people seem to tolerate it without difficulty, or if you know this person, this is the book for you.While other books address the issue of sensory integration in children, this is the only book I know of that deals with sensory defensiveness as a problem in adults.Among the strengths that many of the books are discussions about how sensory defensiveness can be misdiagnosed as other diseases, living with sensory defensiveness, and how to improve the ability to cope.The only bad thing about this book is that the five-jacket is a bit too busy (although not as horrible as a colon seen flickering in some digital watches).Of course you always have the option to remove the cover Thank you Dr.Heller.95 of 96 people found this review helpful.Good book for those who suffer from intense life of Peter Messerschmidt This book was recommended to me by a friend who knows that I am a HSP ("very sensitive", as per research by Dr.Elaine Aron) and that he believed I could find some new information to help me deal with my feelings.It was an informative and entertaining read, although it was discovered that sensory defense does not apply to me specifically.But if you are someone who is constantly feeling overwhelmed and annoyed by environmental cues, to the point where others sometimes think you are a bit 'crazy, I have little doubt that you will find this book to be filled with "aha moments," the head of a great sense of relief that there is actually a "name" of the painful and confusing feelings you may have experienced throughout life.After a thorough descriptive introduction, the author covers the ins and outs of defense sensory four sections, Part We talk about the basics of defense sensory, providing many examples of the different ways people experience the condition.Heller also talks about the brain, neuroscience, and the cause, and how sensory defensiveness falls along a continuum from very mild to debilitating.In the second part, entitled "Side Effects", the author describes the many ways in which the defense sensory contributes to other diseases and problems in life.This includes issues of difficulty in maintaining a healthy social life, with real mental disorders ranging from anxiety to social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder and many others.The third section provides readers with ways we can be engaged in activities that are too stimulating and offers a number of suggestions for "volume down" on the stimulation.Heller notion of a "sensory diet" is about creating an environment that reduces the number of "triggers" that help make the world a huge and beyond the control of four more or less an extension of the third, except that it applies the things you can do for ourselves, instead of the surroundings.This includes things like diet, body awareness, posture, exercises, forms of physical therapy and more.These two sections are many indicators of a better life that would be suitable even for those who are not * sensory defensiveness.A note of caution, especially if you're reading this one HSP.While the actions of the defense with many sensory traits to be an HSP, the two are far from identical.* * After studying both quite well in the last 8 years, my observation is that a number of HSPs are likely sensory defensiveness, but also many people who are not the HSP.The most notable sensory defensiveness a "state" while he is very sensitive to a "neutral property," so it's pretty important to remain objective in the diagnostic Final thoughts: Recommended (9 of 10 possible.

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