This book is must read for everyone not necessarily the highly sensitive tribe. It describes how toxic people target sensitive people and manipulate them for their own intentions. Most of the time, we keep wondering what went wrong or why are we not happy or what can be done to fix a relationship... but its highly possible that we're stuck with toxic beings and that's the cause of our sadness. This book has list of exact feelings, health issues that a highly sensitive person will face when they are in relation with a toxic person. 100% recommended.

Well researched and written, this book is nothing short of a life saver. And I want to thank author Shahida Arabi for courageously writing and sharing it with the world. This book answers the question, “why do you stay in abusive relationships?”. And gives you the information and tools you need to leave or set healthy boundaries. IMHO, this should be required reading for medical and mental health professionals, law enforcement, teachers, and anyone else that might encounter victims of abuse. She offers real world examples and practical skills for identifying and coping with a spectrum of toxicity.

Tips and insights on how to deal with narcissists behaviors and free yourself from them. Thank you for the arc of this book

This is the first book I've read that addresses highly sensitive people and toxic people. It was very interesting, well said and thoughtful. As someone who is quite sensitive I have a hard time drawing the line for toxic people around me, this book lead to some excellent insight into those situations.

Very educational read and written in an easy to read way considering the topic it covers. Luckily, I haven't had a close hand experience with someone quite so toxic as the examples given, some of them are straight up like out of a thriller...I think I've learnt a lot there.

It's not too long but long enough to make a point and the cover is relatively simple yet still catches the eye. Happy I read this.

this book is packed with research and evidence-based skills grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help you recognize and shut down the common manipulation tactics used by toxic people, such as gaslighting, stonewalling, projection, covert put-downs, and love bombing. it also offers tips to protect yourself from different kinds of toxic people.

because of my experience volunteering with different organizations like maitribayarea, saharacares and narikanow, i had a good amount of understanding of this kind of insidious emotional abuse, but still i found a lot to learn from this one. i think everyone should have a basic understanding of this in their life-survival-toolkit so they can be better equipped to deal with toxic people. and especially people who go to work in these fields should consider this book as one of the 101 materials. @selfcarewarrior, thank you for writing this- i am sure it will help many.

Where to begin? This book is both a blessing and the timing in which it entered my life was pure kismet . I think this book will be incredibly beneficial for many people whether they're highly sensitive or not. If you have ever suffered through a relationship (be it romantic, professional, familial, etc) with a toxic individual, or if you are currently dealing with one you will find this book is very helpful. Author Shahida Arabi offers advice for implementing boundaries, self-care, exit strategies, helpful acronyms to serve as guideposts in remembering her therapeutic tips.

Whether you're dealing with "garden variety" toxicity or the more sinister narcissist, sociopath, or psychopath there is hope and there are ways to exit the situation safely and effectively. Shahida explains how to do so as well as who you should seek out further assistance and treatment from, if need be.

Sometimes even when we've become all too aware of how toxic a person is we fail to recognize that literally every moment from the beginning was all part of their pattern. What had seemingly been the honeymoon phase had been nothing more than their virulent "love bombing which soon segues into their true nature of volatility. We view the over the top, wonderfully affectionate times as what we HOPE are their true natures even after experiencing the opposite time after time. Oftentimes believing we can encourage them to get better, be better, to seek help and figure out why they're so malicious at times. Yet in our endeavor to save them we're drowning and we're losing ourselves. It takes courage to break free from that cycle and to focus on healing yourself after all that you've endured. This book offers a tremendous amount of insight on how to go about that. Do yourself a much needed favor and pick up a copy of it right now!

A huge thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review "The Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Dealing with Toxic People'.

AThe Highly Sensitive Persons Guide to dealing with Toxic People by Shahida Arabi - publishing 1 October 2020

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I. tend to steer away from self-help books but somehow I felt like I had to read this. I suffer from mental health issues and have a lot of PTSD too so I’m sometimes frightened to read about them. However, this book is life changing in my opinion. I have learned so much about myself, the company I keep, and the importance of positive friends and family. I now have a greater understanding of how to deal with issues when they arise and not to berate myself which is always what I have done before. I always make sure everyone else is good and occasionally to the detriment of myself but I now have coping techniques to try. This book, in my opinion, should be read by everyone so that families and friends can have a greater understanding of what we go through every day and hopefully teach them what we go through on a daily basis. Additionally, I would highly recommend anyone suffering from any mental health issues, PTSD, toxic relationships and toxic behaviour to read this book with your eyes fully open because for me, this a life changing book.

I would like to thank Shahida Arabi so much for this book and I will definitely be buying it when it is published despite having read this.

If I could give it more stars then I would but I can’t so 5 stars.

“Whether it’s an overbearing coworker who constantly criticizes you or an abusive partner who belittles you daily, toxic people can take a toll on the mind, body, and spirit. More ‘benign’ manipulators may cause inconvenience, stress, annoyance, and overall dissatisfaction, and they may occasionally use silencing tactics. More ‘malignant’ manipulators, however, such as narcissists who lack empathy, pose serious harm and risk to your health, well-being, and even your life....”*

This book tackles multiple varieties of toxic people from the annoying to the deadly and provides a path forward to exiting relationships with them and managing the relationships that are unavoidable. After a discussion of the dynamics of toxic relationships, the types of toxic individuals, and their methods of manipulation, the book provides action plans, along with case studies.

The five types of toxic personality types discussed range from the benign (Garden-Variety Boundary-Steppers, Crazy-Makers/Attention-Seekers, and Emotional Vampires) to the malignant (Narcissists and Psychopaths/Sociopaths.) The author uses helpful acronyms to identify the types as well as to help remember management techniques. For example, Traits of a psychopath may include: “Pathological liar: Superficially charming: Yearns for constant stimulation: Conscienceless and callous con artist: Hides double life: Overestimates self, grandiose: Parasitic lifestyle and promiscuity: Aggressive and impulsive: Taunts and traumatizes for fun: Hides in plain sight.”*

The chapter on countering manipulation tactics defines typical toxic tools and provides management techniques. For example, when gas lighting is used, documentation and input from a trusted third party are advised. A section on journal reflection is often included, inviting the reader to dig deep and create a robust plan. I found the section on intermittent reinforcement, which creates an addiction to randomly provided rewards which creating biochemical bonds, to be particularly interesting.

The bulk of the book focuses on when to seek professional help, breaking the cycle of addiction, creating boundaries, self-care strategies, reframing skills, refuge and recovery. There is plenty of useful information and advice packed inside.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and New Harbinger Publications, Inc. for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text.

I haven't read many books about relationships with toxic people, so I can't tell you whether or not this one has similar tips. What I can say is I enjoyed this book. It has a lot of information and exercises on how to deal with toxic people. It even gives resources at the end of the book. There were a lot of typos and I didn't like the red writing. I am hoping it will be fixed by the time the book comes out. All in all, It was a great book, and I am grateful that Netgalley let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised by this book, it does not pull any punches about toxic people and their effect on highly sensitive people. I was impressed by the amount of wisdom in the book and would highly recommend it.

4 stars
The Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Dealing with Toxic People
How to Reclaim Your Power from Narcissists and Other Manipulators
By Shahida Arabi

I had not heard the term HSP before. But, wow I am shocked. I feel as if I have never felt so understood in my life. It's not every day that you can read a book and identify with almost everything inside.
Arabi backs up her statements with scientific studies. This book is a must-read for anyone who is an HSP as it explains the why of your intense emotions and the how of being manipulated by others occurs because of it.
The author has also included anecdotes of other HSPs and various experiences they have faced in their lives.

I highly recommend this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

As the title states, this book is for highly sensitve people (HSP) who are dealing with various types of toxic people.

I found this book to be very interesting, although less applicable to myself than I initially thought. It did however make me reconsider some relationships and that they may be more toxic than I originally believed.
This is very much what feels like a typical self helf book and should not replace therapy.

This was incredibly insightful in examining the various behaviors of narcissists (both "garden variety" and malicious/sociopaths/psychopaths) and identifying ways to either react or disengage, depending on the person and the situation. I appreciated how the information was specifically tuned for highly sensitive people (or "empaths"), since I often feel that I am this way. The end of the book was dedicated to self-care ideas and techniques, which was a positive, helpful way to close the book.

This very serious book would be great for academics or for those with deep troubles with truly manipulative people. The tone of the book is academic, with references to the author's research. The book goes into the science of nacissistic personalities and how sensitive people become attached to them.

This book is a bit much for those of us who are highly sensitive and living in normal relationships. The author deals with highly troubled situations, including those in which the highly sensitive person is physically threatened with bodily injury by a manipulative person. For those sensitive people looking for tips on dealing with manipulative people in more normal situations, this book will have some useful tips as well.

Based on the title, I was hoping to find some useful information on how to handle toxic people. What I found was a lot of information about narcissists and sociopaths -- very toxic people. This is still good information for those who have found themselves in very dysfunctional relationships, but it was not exactly what I was expecting. I was hoping for more practical advice on how to handle toxic people in everyday situations when it is necessary.

This book is excellent and packed full of information. My only criticism is so much of the focus is on narcissists and malignant individuals, that I felt they overshadowed the HSP discussion to some extent. Having said that, if you are a sensitive person who is healing from narcissist or toxic people abuse, this book is absolutely worth the read. There may be some eye- opening information here that causes a needed shift in thinking and behaviors that will allow you to unhook from toxic people without feeling guilty or insecure about not being able to “fix” the person or the relationship. It will help you identify tactics designed to play on your empathy and the sense of insecurity you may feel when things are not harmonious. It provides a great deal of social intelligence to balance out HSPs beautifully sensitive personality traits. HSPs will find the journaling exercises helpful and thought-provoking.

While the advice about dealing with toxic behaviors was solid if unoriginal, I found the focus on HSP cognitive distortions to be confusing and at times troubling. I assume my complete lack of connection with these portions of the book indicate that I am not a highly sensitive person myself, so perhaps other people who identify as HSPs would be better arbitrators of this work.

This book was received as an ARC from New Harbinger Publications, Inc. in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was awaiting the release of this book after reading the highly sensitive person and this is a huge obstacle for a lot of our community including me. The book was very insightful and Shahida Arabi touched on a lot of breaking points that hit me so hard that I started to cry and realize how hard this was hurting. The book really opened my eyes to the possibilities once all the points have been defeated and this will definitely be valued throughout the rest of my life. I know this will circulate very well and have a great home in our Self-Help collection.

We will definitely consider adding this title to our Self-Help collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

In "The Highly Sensitive Person's Guide to Dealing with Toxic People" Shahidi Arabi provides a step by step guide to do exactly that. She begins by differentiating a highly sensitive person (HSP) and an empath. While both bear several similarities ( highly tuned senses, strong intuitive abilities, and can need time alone to decompress), an HSP processes more information about the world around them than others do. Therefore, they are more likely to be taken advantage of especially by narcissists and psychopaths who are at the end of the same emotional spectrum.

Arabi does a wonderful job of breaking down common tactics used by toxic people like stonewalling, gaslighting and addressing various cognitive distortions that HSP go through. She then provides relatable explanations and advises using easy to remember acronyms throughout. One thing that stands out is that she heavily advocates for the journaling practice as a means of self-reflection and also to document one's feelings for future reference.

I believe that this is not only for HSPs but everyone who values mental and emotional health. Because let's face at one point or the other we have exhibited (or will exhibit) some form of toxic behaviour.