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Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply
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Expected 25 Aug 26Win a free print copy of this book!
3 days and 19:00:43
15 copies available
U.S. only
From Dr. Sasha Hamdani, board-certified psychiatrist and one of the most trusted voices in digital mental health, comes a groundbreaking exploration of an overlooked and frequently misunderstood phenomenon: emotional sensitivity.
Too much. Too emotional. Too sensitive. These are the labels often applied to people whose reactions to everyday moments—a late reply, a last-minute meeting invite, a subtle shift in tone—feel immediate and overwhelming. What begins as a small uncertainty can spiral into shame, self-doubt, and withdrawal. The reaction may seem disproportionate from the outside, but the distress is deeply real.
But what if this is not a personality flaw, but biology?
For Dr. Hamdani, that question was both clinical and personal. Despite professional success and outward confidence, she struggled privately with intense emotional sensitivity. In her work, she repeatedly saw capable, accomplished individuals undone by powerful waves of perceived rejection and self-criticism. In Too Sensitive, she offers the framework she once needed herself. Emotional sensitivity is not weakness. It reflects a highly responsive nervous system shaped by identifiable neurobiological processes.
Blending psychiatry, neuroscience, and lived experience, Dr. Hamdani delivers a rigorous yet accessible examination of rejection sensitive dysphoria and emotional reactivity. She introduces the first assessment tool designed specifically to identify patterns of rejection sensitivity, giving readers language and clarity for experiences that often go unnamed. She then explains how dopamine dysregulation, limbic overactivation, and stress-system sensitivity can intensify perceived rejection. Rather than pathologizing sensitivity, she reframes it as both a neurological vulnerability and a powerful form of emotional attunement.
Most importantly, she provides practical, research-informed tools to help readers regulate emotional surges, interrupt spirals in real time, and build resilience in relationships, work, and identity. Insightful and validating, Too Sensitive challenges the narrative that equates sensitivity with fragility and instead positions emotional depth as a strength that can be understood, managed, and harnessed for growth.
Too much. Too emotional. Too sensitive. These are the labels often applied to people whose reactions to everyday moments—a late reply, a last-minute meeting invite, a subtle shift in tone—feel immediate and overwhelming. What begins as a small uncertainty can spiral into shame, self-doubt, and withdrawal. The reaction may seem disproportionate from the outside, but the distress is deeply real.
But what if this is not a personality flaw, but biology?
For Dr. Hamdani, that question was both clinical and personal. Despite professional success and outward confidence, she struggled privately with intense emotional sensitivity. In her work, she repeatedly saw capable, accomplished individuals undone by powerful waves of perceived rejection and self-criticism. In Too Sensitive, she offers the framework she once needed herself. Emotional sensitivity is not weakness. It reflects a highly responsive nervous system shaped by identifiable neurobiological processes.
Blending psychiatry, neuroscience, and lived experience, Dr. Hamdani delivers a rigorous yet accessible examination of rejection sensitive dysphoria and emotional reactivity. She introduces the first assessment tool designed specifically to identify patterns of rejection sensitivity, giving readers language and clarity for experiences that often go unnamed. She then explains how dopamine dysregulation, limbic overactivation, and stress-system sensitivity can intensify perceived rejection. Rather than pathologizing sensitivity, she reframes it as both a neurological vulnerability and a powerful form of emotional attunement.
Most importantly, she provides practical, research-informed tools to help readers regulate emotional surges, interrupt spirals in real time, and build resilience in relationships, work, and identity. Insightful and validating, Too Sensitive challenges the narrative that equates sensitivity with fragility and instead positions emotional depth as a strength that can be understood, managed, and harnessed for growth.
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication August 25, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rating: 3 ⭐
Dr. Sasha Hamdani is a board-certified psychiatrist, which gives Too Sensitive more authority than most ADHD-adjacent self-help books. She cites studies, brings in other people’s work, and uses patient examples without turning the whole book into a memoir. After reading weaker ADHD books that make big claims with little support, this had more legitimacy from the start.
The first four chapters are the best part of the book. Hamdani explains RSD through ADHD, dopamine regulation, norepinephrine sensitivity, the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex, the limbic system, nervous-system reactivity, and hormones. They make the case that emotional sensitivity is biological, not a character flaw.
The hormone chapter adds the discussion of estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, testosterone, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause. It connects emotional sensitivity to body chemistry instead of vague self-compassion language. Chapter 4 also helps because it explains what RSD can look and feel like from the inside. The explanation could help people with RSD name the pattern, and help people around them understand why a delayed text, a flat tone, silence, or a small criticism can hit so hard. The 25-question self-assessment is more useful than most of the later tools because it helps identify the pattern before the book starts handing out coping skills.
Examples from the assessment:
• Do you frequently feel hurt by perceived slights or rejections from people closest to you?
• Do you find that you often take longer to recover from feelings of rejection than you think is typical?
• Do you struggle to set boundaries because you fear it might upset or alienate others?
Part Two is where the book drifts from what is going on with RSD to general therapy theory. The description promises research-informed strategies to regulate emotional surges, interrupt spirals, build self-worth, and manage relationships and work. The tools mostly come from CBT, DBT, ACT, mindfulness, grounding, I-statements, boundaries, movement, delayed reaction, and thought-challenging. Although the tools are legitimate, they were developed for neurotypicals and assume a level of real-time self-awareness and emotional regulation that many ADHD readers may not have access to while activated. These tools also appear in every book about anxiety, emotional regulation, or self-help. The tools should reflect the realities of an ADHD brain that fires off an emotional reaction in milliseconds and can't necessarily identify the emotion or body response in real time.
Chapter 5 is presented as a toolkit, but it functions as a therapy-skills chapter. Challenge negative thoughts. Accept the present moment. Label your emotions. Manage with mindfulness. Reframe. Move your body. Use I-statements. Delay reaction. Every tool runs into the same problem: it requires real-time self-awareness. The book describes RSD as fast, physical, automatic, and tied to ADHD and emotional dysregulation. Then it tells readers to pause, identify the thought, name the feeling, challenge the belief, breathe, ground themselves, and choose a measured response. You can't have it both ways. You can't just tell people, "now, change."
The book says emotional dysregulation is one of the most profound and impairing symptoms many people with ADHD experience. That makes the practical chapters more frustrating, because the advice assumes the reader can access the specific regulation skills the book says may be impaired or overwhelmed. The issue is being able to pause while activated. If someone could calmly notice, name, challenge, reframe, and delay every reaction, emotional dysregulation would not be a problem.
The relationship, friendship, family, and career chapters use relevant RSD-triggering scenarios: mixed signals, silence between texts, reassurance-seeking, canceled plans, feeling overlooked, family dismissal, breakup panic, and imposter syndrome. The answers to managing these problems always circle back to the same tools: pause, breathe, ground yourself, name the feeling, use an I-statement, move your body, delay the reaction. The scenarios are specific. The interventions are generic.
The “nearly 100% of people with ADHD have some component of RSD” claim also needs more precision. RSD is not a formal DSM diagnosis, so it's not a standardized construct. Rejection sensitivity and emotional dysregulation are common ways ADHD can affect people's lives. But emotional dysregulation being central to ADHD doesn't prove the claim that nearly everyone with ADHD has RSD. The author addressed this topic on her social media account, so it may be edited in the final draft.
The medication discussion appears in the reference section rather than in a dedicated chapter. That placement choice is a little unexpected for a psychiatrist-authored book that spends Part Two promising practical help. Hamdani says there are no medications designed specifically for RSD, but clinicians may treat overlapping ADHD, emotional dysregulation, stress reactivity, anxiety, depression, or mood instability. She also says medication can help “take the edge off” when grounding, reframing, and self-compassion are not enough and the emotional spiral takes over. That point could have been a chapter, particularly since RSD can interact with anxiety, depression and other mental health co-morbidities.
Too Sensitive is an excellent book to explain RSD through science, but it's weaker as a practical guide. The first four chapters are strong enough to make the book worth reading, especially for understanding RSD, emotional sensitivity, ADHD biology, and the role hormones can play. The rest turns into a repetitive therapy workbook that doesn't match the intensity of the problem the book just described. The science gets specific. The intervention remains generic.
Dr. Sasha Hamdani is a board-certified psychiatrist, which gives Too Sensitive more authority than most ADHD-adjacent self-help books. She cites studies, brings in other people’s work, and uses patient examples without turning the whole book into a memoir. After reading weaker ADHD books that make big claims with little support, this had more legitimacy from the start.
The first four chapters are the best part of the book. Hamdani explains RSD through ADHD, dopamine regulation, norepinephrine sensitivity, the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex, the limbic system, nervous-system reactivity, and hormones. They make the case that emotional sensitivity is biological, not a character flaw.
The hormone chapter adds the discussion of estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, testosterone, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause. It connects emotional sensitivity to body chemistry instead of vague self-compassion language. Chapter 4 also helps because it explains what RSD can look and feel like from the inside. The explanation could help people with RSD name the pattern, and help people around them understand why a delayed text, a flat tone, silence, or a small criticism can hit so hard. The 25-question self-assessment is more useful than most of the later tools because it helps identify the pattern before the book starts handing out coping skills.
Examples from the assessment:
• Do you frequently feel hurt by perceived slights or rejections from people closest to you?
• Do you find that you often take longer to recover from feelings of rejection than you think is typical?
• Do you struggle to set boundaries because you fear it might upset or alienate others?
Part Two is where the book drifts from what is going on with RSD to general therapy theory. The description promises research-informed strategies to regulate emotional surges, interrupt spirals, build self-worth, and manage relationships and work. The tools mostly come from CBT, DBT, ACT, mindfulness, grounding, I-statements, boundaries, movement, delayed reaction, and thought-challenging. Although the tools are legitimate, they were developed for neurotypicals and assume a level of real-time self-awareness and emotional regulation that many ADHD readers may not have access to while activated. These tools also appear in every book about anxiety, emotional regulation, or self-help. The tools should reflect the realities of an ADHD brain that fires off an emotional reaction in milliseconds and can't necessarily identify the emotion or body response in real time.
Chapter 5 is presented as a toolkit, but it functions as a therapy-skills chapter. Challenge negative thoughts. Accept the present moment. Label your emotions. Manage with mindfulness. Reframe. Move your body. Use I-statements. Delay reaction. Every tool runs into the same problem: it requires real-time self-awareness. The book describes RSD as fast, physical, automatic, and tied to ADHD and emotional dysregulation. Then it tells readers to pause, identify the thought, name the feeling, challenge the belief, breathe, ground themselves, and choose a measured response. You can't have it both ways. You can't just tell people, "now, change."
The book says emotional dysregulation is one of the most profound and impairing symptoms many people with ADHD experience. That makes the practical chapters more frustrating, because the advice assumes the reader can access the specific regulation skills the book says may be impaired or overwhelmed. The issue is being able to pause while activated. If someone could calmly notice, name, challenge, reframe, and delay every reaction, emotional dysregulation would not be a problem.
The relationship, friendship, family, and career chapters use relevant RSD-triggering scenarios: mixed signals, silence between texts, reassurance-seeking, canceled plans, feeling overlooked, family dismissal, breakup panic, and imposter syndrome. The answers to managing these problems always circle back to the same tools: pause, breathe, ground yourself, name the feeling, use an I-statement, move your body, delay the reaction. The scenarios are specific. The interventions are generic.
The “nearly 100% of people with ADHD have some component of RSD” claim also needs more precision. RSD is not a formal DSM diagnosis, so it's not a standardized construct. Rejection sensitivity and emotional dysregulation are common ways ADHD can affect people's lives. But emotional dysregulation being central to ADHD doesn't prove the claim that nearly everyone with ADHD has RSD. The author addressed this topic on her social media account, so it may be edited in the final draft.
The medication discussion appears in the reference section rather than in a dedicated chapter. That placement choice is a little unexpected for a psychiatrist-authored book that spends Part Two promising practical help. Hamdani says there are no medications designed specifically for RSD, but clinicians may treat overlapping ADHD, emotional dysregulation, stress reactivity, anxiety, depression, or mood instability. She also says medication can help “take the edge off” when grounding, reframing, and self-compassion are not enough and the emotional spiral takes over. That point could have been a chapter, particularly since RSD can interact with anxiety, depression and other mental health co-morbidities.
Too Sensitive is an excellent book to explain RSD through science, but it's weaker as a practical guide. The first four chapters are strong enough to make the book worth reading, especially for understanding RSD, emotional sensitivity, ADHD biology, and the role hormones can play. The rest turns into a repetitive therapy workbook that doesn't match the intensity of the problem the book just described. The science gets specific. The intervention remains generic.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC from NetGalley
Book Publishing August 25, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listening copy of “Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply” in exchange for my honest review.
Dr. Sasha Hamdani, a board-certified psychiatrist, explains and explores coping strategies to help navigate Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). RSD isn’t an officially recognized diagnosis in the DSM-5, but it has some more specific and distinguishing features that set it apart from other mental health diagnoses, such as ADHD and anxiety.
I thought this book was really interesting. I appreciated how the first few chapters were dedicated to defining and explaining the science behind RSD. Before discussing ways to cope with RSD, Dr. Hamdani included a questionnaire for people to screen themselves. The questionnaire was particularly helpful because I was on the fence about how well I could relate to this condition until I took the time to answer the questions and realized this book was for me.
After the scientific explanations and the questionnaire, the rest of the book focused on how RSD can affect all aspects of social life (friends, family, work, etc.) and on how to cope with it when it arises in specific situations. I liked how the scenarios came from real people, many of whom I could relate to. I liked the question-and-answer format for this section of the book, but I wished she had included some more in-depth stories as examples of situations and treatments. I also thought the mentions of the 5-4-3-2-1 method were a little repetitive.
I appreciated that the author included her own experiences, and I particularly enjoyed the letter she wrote to herself years ago as a struggling psychiatry resident at the end of the book.
I listened to the audiobook, and it was well done. I may have to purchase the print copy of this book for future reference.
Overall, this was an interesting and helpful book for anyone who struggles with being “too sensitive.”
Book Publishing August 25, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listening copy of “Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply” in exchange for my honest review.
Dr. Sasha Hamdani, a board-certified psychiatrist, explains and explores coping strategies to help navigate Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). RSD isn’t an officially recognized diagnosis in the DSM-5, but it has some more specific and distinguishing features that set it apart from other mental health diagnoses, such as ADHD and anxiety.
I thought this book was really interesting. I appreciated how the first few chapters were dedicated to defining and explaining the science behind RSD. Before discussing ways to cope with RSD, Dr. Hamdani included a questionnaire for people to screen themselves. The questionnaire was particularly helpful because I was on the fence about how well I could relate to this condition until I took the time to answer the questions and realized this book was for me.
After the scientific explanations and the questionnaire, the rest of the book focused on how RSD can affect all aspects of social life (friends, family, work, etc.) and on how to cope with it when it arises in specific situations. I liked how the scenarios came from real people, many of whom I could relate to. I liked the question-and-answer format for this section of the book, but I wished she had included some more in-depth stories as examples of situations and treatments. I also thought the mentions of the 5-4-3-2-1 method were a little repetitive.
I appreciated that the author included her own experiences, and I particularly enjoyed the letter she wrote to herself years ago as a struggling psychiatry resident at the end of the book.
I listened to the audiobook, and it was well done. I may have to purchase the print copy of this book for future reference.
Overall, this was an interesting and helpful book for anyone who struggles with being “too sensitive.”
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This took me a second to warm up to. I’ve done a lot of self reflecting on taking hyper accountability and this felt a bit like I was undoing some of that. This book in my opinion needs to paired with healthy boundaries.
Just like any self help/mental health take was resonates and leave the rest.
Overall this book takes a deep dive into RSD (not an official DSM diagnosis) and how it affects your brain and every day life. I personally enjoyed the first few chapters where she explained the biology behind RSD with hormones.
The last few chapters got into standard CBT toolkit and how to use it. As someone who struggles with nervous system regulation this is always a good refresher.
*I got this as a free ALC through NetGalley for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to everyone who made this happen❤️*
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
This was a really important book for me. I feel now that I can truly name the condition that's been plaguing me my whole life - Rejection Sensitivity Disorder. Hamdani's definitions and examples of how my brain works illuminated so much for me. The coping strategies in the second half were not as useful since I've done a lot of training on mindfulness and cognitive therapy, but I think those just figuring out how to navigate this condition will benefit quite a bit.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I feel like this book could help a lot of people but sadly I don't think it was me. I am emotional but in a different sense. I personally don't believe I have Rejection Sensitivity Disorder so I won't be able to use the tools that were given but I feel like this can be really useful for others! Amazing writing and Sasha explains everything so well.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Excellent background of the science behind Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. But later chapters were too stretched out given how the same, predictable organization was used for multiple chapters, which made the information feel repetitive and overly generalized.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews