The best part of having an account with Audible is the Plus Catalogue that comes with so many free audiobooks to choose from!

I haven’t heard of Faith G. Harper before, and now that I’ve listened to a couple of her audiobooks, I want to listen to them all! Her work has a ‘no bullshit’ approach to real-life issues and she doesn’t stop to sugar-coat anything about them.

Having being diagnosed with depression and anxiety myself, I’m always interested to learn more about my own mental illnesses as well as find additional resources to direct others with questions to them. These two sources are recommends to anyone who has this diagnosis, one or both, as well as for anyone hoping to understand more to help and be supportive towards a friend or a loved one.

DISCLAIMER: This review could contain possible spoilers based on my opinions. All opinions and views are my own.

Book review: This is Your Brain on Depression #bookreview #faithgharper #mentalhealth #selfhelpbooks #audible #booktwt #bookaddict #booktwitter

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This is Your Brain on Depression by Faith G. Harper

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Plot from GoodReads:

People who have never been depressed have no idea what it’s like. And people who have know all too well how tough depression can be to live with. Dr. Faith explains the brain science behind depression (complete with Zuul references) and talks you through the different options out there for getting better. Because yes there are things you can do to feel good again (including drugs but avoiding spiraling successions of drug cocktails). If you need solid expert advice from someone who can also make you laugh your ass off, this book’s for you!

Thoughts:

I just have to start off this review by saying that I enjoyed every moment a curse word was used. The language made it feel real – not preachy, not trying to come across with the message that you are a total fuck up and there’s no hope for you out there.

This book covered so many interesting topics; explaining depression and why it happens, why some people are more prone to it than others, the different types of depression and how they are interpreted as well as different methods of management. I wasn’t aware of all the methods of coping explained in the book, as I was only introduced to two: medication and talk therapy. It’s good to know that there are options, if one thing doesn’t work for you personally, there are other things to try and learn about.

A lot of this information I found through my own research after my diagnosis, and none of my therapists really went into detailed versions to help understand what was going on, how and why, and pretty much just attached a label and off I went.

I’m glad this book contains everything in one place, a good guide to understanding depression and help to feel less like an outsider. Like yes, you have a mental illness and no, you’re not a lost cause.

My Rating:

The book has a rating of 3.86 on GoodReads. I gave it a 5.

This is Your Brain on Anxiety by Faith G. Harper

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Plot from GoodReads:

Anxiety …. it’s the worst. Choking, stifling, smothering, tingling, panicking, brain cutting out, bad decisions… You’re a human being, so you know exactly what’s being said here. Dr. Faith lays it all out in her five-minute therapy series: what anxiety IS (did you know that people wrote about it more in the 1800s than now?), what it’s good for (that’s right, it’s actually a necessary response that helps to keep us alive in bad situations), how to know when it’s gone overboard, and practical tips on how to deal with anxiety when it gets bad. This book is a lifesaver for panic attacks, breaking out of flight-or-fight-or-freeze responses, and for chronic anxiety. It’s also good for folks who aren’t burdened by anxiety daily but want to cope better with those tough life situations that affect us all. Read this and breathe!

Thoughts:

Another ‘no bullshit‘ approach to talking and dealing with a mental illness.

This time the topic is anxiety; why it happens, how it happens and why some are more prone to it than others. I love the author’s approach to the subject at hand: yes, something is wrong with you, no, you’re not losing your mind and yes, there are things you can do to manage it better.

Other topics in the book include methods to identify triggers and methods to come with anxiety. Surprise, surprise – medication and talk therapy are not the only answers out there! The methods provided and explained are easy to understand and can easily be applied in the situation.

So much of what was discussion made sense to my own experiences and helped me make sense of many things, even those that I already knew about and understood.

My Rating:

The book has a rating of 3.42 on GoodReads. I gave it a 5.

Book Review: This is Your Brain on Anxiety #bookreview #faithgharper #mentalhealth #selfhelpbooks #audible #bookaddict #booktwitter

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IN THE COMMENTS:

Have you read any of these/listened to them?

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