Synopses & Reviews
Everyone accepts the importance of physical health; isn't it just as important to aim for the mental equivalent? Philippa Perry has come to the rescue with
How to Stay Sane — a maintenance manual for the mind.
Years of working as a psychotherapist showed Philippa Perry what approaches produced positive change in her clients and how best to maintain good mental health. In How to Stay Sane, she has taken these principles and applied them to self-help. Using ideas from neuroscience and sound psychological theory, she shows us how to better understand ourselves. Her idea is that if we know how our minds form and develop, we are less at the mercy of unknown unconscious processes. In this way, we can learn to be the master of our feelings and not their slave.
This is a smart, pithy, readable book that everyone with even a passing interest in their psychological health will find useful.
Review
"Using stories from her therapy practice to illustrate her points as well as numerous exercises to conduct alone, with a loved one or within a group, Perry brings new light to a well-visited subject." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Perry offers guidance that is both revelatory and achievable." Booklist
Synopsis
One of
The Economist's Best Books of 2012
Everyone accepts the importance of physical health; isn't it just as important to aim for the mental equivalent? Modern life places us under immense stress; it can be really hard to feel calm, content, or open to new experiences. Here, psychotherapist Philippa Perry demonstrates that it is possible to become a little less tortured and a little more fulfilled. She describes how our minds work, and then takes us through a number of exercises designed to strengthen our resilience, bolster our sense of perspective, and increase our creativity. This book is at once a brilliant explanation of our minds and a profoundly useful guide to facing up to the many challenges life throws our way.
Synopsis
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE IS DEDICATED TO EXPLORING LIFE'S BIG QUESTIONS IN HIGHLY-PORTABLE PAPERBACKS, FEATURING FRENCH FLAPS AND DECKLE EDGES, THAT THE NEW YORK TIMES CALLS "DAMNABLY CUTE." WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, BUT WE WILL DIRECT YOU TOWARDS A VARIETY OF USEFUL IDEAS THAT ARE GUARANTEED TO STIMULATE, PROVOKE, AND CONSOLE.
An Economist Best Book of the Year
Everyone accepts the importance of physical health; isn't it just as important to aim for the mental equivalent? Philippa Perry has come to the rescue with How to Stay Sane -- a maintenance manual for the mind.
Years of working as a psychotherapist showed Philippa Perry what approaches produced positive change in her clients and how best to maintain good mental health. In How to Stay Sane, she has taken these principles and applied them to self-help. Using ideas from neuroscience and sound psychological theory, she shows us how to better understand ourselves. Her idea is that if we know how our minds form and develop, we are less at the mercy of unknown unconscious processes. In this way, we can learn to be the master of our feelings and not their slave.
This is a smart, pithy, readable book that everyone with even a passing interest in their psychological health will find useful.
About the Author
Philippa Perry is a psychotherapist and writer who has written pieces for The Guardian, The Observer, Time Out, and Healthy Living magazine and has a column in Psychologies Magazine. In 2010, she wrote the graphic novel Couch Fiction, in an attempt to demystify psychotherapy. She lives in London and Sussex with her husband, the artist Grayson Perry, and enjoys gardening, cooking, parties, walking, tweeting, and watching telly.