Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply

For anyone who has ever felt like they are too much, a groundbreaking guide to understanding emotional sensitivity.

"If you've ever been told you're too emotional, too sensitive, or 'a lot'--first of all, same. Second, this book feels like we finally have a doctor's note and explains why we feel everything so loudly." -- Penn and Kim Holderness, authors of ADHD is Awesome

Overly dramatic. Irrational. Too sensitive. These are some of the labels applied to those of us who are emotionally triggered by everyday moments. Whether it's a delayed text message, a last-minute invite, or a subtle shift in tone, what begins as a flicker of uncertainty can spiral into self-doubt, shame, or withdrawal.

From the outside, these reactions may seem overblown. But what if emotional sensitivity is not a personality flaw but rather the result of a highly responsive and attuned nervous system? In Too Sensitive, Dr. Sasha Hamdani--known to her online following as @thepsychdoctormd--offers an accessible explanation of emotional sensitivity as well as practical guidance for how to manage it. For many people, especially those with ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence, emotional sensitivity may be recognized as Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). Feelings of being excluded, overlooked, or dismissed are not all in our heads--they are based in our biology. In her groundbreaking book, Dr. Hamdani introduces the first assessment tool to discern where you fall on the emotional sensitivity spectrum and offers practical tools to restore calm to the nervous system.

Drawing from psychiatry, neuroscience, and the gentle compassion of lived experience, Dr. Hamdani shares research-informed strategies to regulate emotional surges, interrupt spirals, and build self-worth and resilience in relationships and at work. Most importantly, Too Sensitive reframes sensitivity not as fragility but as a powerful form of emotional awareness that can be understood and transformed into strength. 

Sasha Hamdani, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in ADHD, RSD, and emotional regulation. As the creator of FocusGenie and the author of Self-Care for People with ADHD (part of a series published by Adams Media in 2023), she has become a leading voice in mental health. Honored with the CHADD Early Career Influencer Award and invited to the inaugural White House Creator Mental Health Summit, Dr. Hamdani also reaches over 2 million followers across social media, regularly delivering educational content and speaking at major conferences. She has been featured in a TEDx talk on focus and has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Vogue, on CNBC and TODAY, and on podcasts including Podcrushed with Penn Badgley, The Squeeze, Financial Feminist, Reese Witherspoon's Brightside Podcast, and Berner Phone. She also is called upon for speaking engagements with medical and social organizations.