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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This book is beautiful. I mean literally, I really like the octopus on the cover. And the title is shiny.
But I read the words too. And found many of them insightful and useful, once I accepted that the book, overall, is not structured, edited, or researched well. This is one of those books that you have to accept for what it is— in this case, one woman’s journey, that may or may not help you along your own. (Featuring an octopus).
But I read the words too. And found many of them insightful and useful, once I accepted that the book, overall, is not structured, edited, or researched well. This is one of those books that you have to accept for what it is— in this case, one woman’s journey, that may or may not help you along your own. (Featuring an octopus).
I liked that this was a book about anxiety by someone who experiences anxiety. I found that I was better able to relate with this book than on written from a strictly medical background.
4.5 stars. This is the best book on anxiety I have read. It perfectly captured the feeling of it and made me anxious the whole time I read it.
A lovely and insightful journey, this book is made up of small thoughts, bite sized chunks of innovative ideas that brought peace to my oft chaotic mind. A handful of which have added to my practices, my meditation and my day to day dealing with anxiety.
I had a lot of trouble with this book. Originally I thought it was a memoir, yet the further I got into it, it read more like a mix of that and self-help. The problem with this is that it's hard to discern the varying coping strategies brought up by the author from not only the mess of sources that they came from but also from whether they were her trying to help others or a result of her anxious brain grasping at every straw to try to cope with her own disorder. I felt the sporadic nature of the strategies that the author used fueled my own anxiety about my inability to find something that worked. Additionally, I found that much of the strategies mentioned only come from a place of privilege which I imagine not many of her readers have while struggling. Don't get me wrong, I found some concepts fascinating and validating, helping shift my viewpoint on the subject and allowing for a more nuanced understanding of my own illness. That said, overall I think this was overwhelming and too poorly edited/formatted to be as helpful as it had the potential to be, (which is probably why it took me 4 months to read).
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I bought this book during a period of particularly acute and regular anxiety attacks, as part of a desperate search for answers and solutions. Sarah Wilson's observations on the nature of anxiety, and her honest, compassionate stories of her own struggles, were accessible and they both comforted me, as well as challenged me to really be honest with myself, sit with my anxious feelings and view the experience with gratitude. While some of her recommendations are a little woo for me (e.g. ayurvedic dosha balancing, quitting sugar), I didn't feel she was overly preachy or saying you would fail if you chose not to follow every piece of advice. The most important thing, in her view, is realize that you can't beat anxiety by running, hiding or trying to "fix" it; instead, it's important for us to understand it, to be gentle and compassionate with ourselves, and use a range of tools to survive, learn and realize our own beauty.
lighthearted
slow-paced
This should have been a memoir, not a generalized guide book to living through anxiety with exercises.
I'm glad that the author has found some ways to live and thrive with her unique experiences, but I personally could not relate less, and I have had anxiety for my entire life too. My main issues, which I will label mostly so that anyone thinking of reading this book can decide if it's right for them:
-> There's a lot of fatphobia in here.
-> Contradictory statements, most particularly the idea that "everyone has their demons" but then also some people are "Life Naturals" who are just...naturally good at being human? Which is not true, at all. Even the most neurotypical person is making it up, and I feel like dismissing an entire group of people as people who just "will never get it" is not helpful to anyone.
-> Overwhelming focus on famous and successful, mostly white individuals and how they manage their anxiety. It's easier to deal with anxiety and live the weirdly minimalistic life she suggests when you were born into wealth. I don't actually care what Steve Jobs has to say about anxiety. There are a few segments of people on forums talking about it, but that's it.
-> Nothing is properly cited, and she pulls from a ton of famous people for quotes who really shouldn't be used as sources including predators and Nazis, plus people who really aren't considered good sources anymore due to years of debunking, like Freud.
-> Her own experiences are so wildly overgeneralized to ALL people suffering from anxiety, when it's obvious she has an insanely privileged life that allows all these serendipitous "coincidences" where she gets to talk to rich and famous people all the time to happen.
-> I don't agree with the take that anxiety is a superpower. My anxiety has not made me more sensitive or better at planning. In my experience, my anxiety has made me less sensitive to the needs of others because I get wrapped up in myself, and it has made me worse at planning because I become so afraid of the future that I decide it's not even worth it to try. Anxiety is just a part of someone. It's not positive or negative, it's a neutral element imo. It feels alienating for me to try and reframe it as a superpower - the way you deal with your anxiety is a personality trait, not a factor of the condition.
-> Generally speaking, this book is disjointed and even stream of consciousness. There are chapters, ostensibly, and numbered sections in those chapters, but they don't really flow or fit together. It feels like a bunch of disconnected blog posts that were put together into a book.
-> Every now and then a bunch of pseudo-science comes out of nowhere. Like the part where all people are organized by elements and whether they're thin and airy or broad and earthy or something. It felt like phrenology with a new hat on. The opener says this book was reviewed by doctors and psychiatrists but I wonder how that's possible.
-> Finally, the long tract suggesting that medication might "disconnect you from your Self" and mute your creativity and maybe you should just consider going off of it, here's some people who regularly go off their meds because they "need the desperation of depression to create"?????? In what world. Do whatever works for you, obviously, but I genuinely cannot stand the myth that meds cut you off from your creative self, or make you lose your "real" self. That myth made me resist getting on medication for several years, and when I finally started taking them, it was incredible how much better and more creative I could be when I wasn't fighting the urge to die. I've since had to go off them twice due to care interruptions and both times were the least creative periods of my life. I think this is a particularly dangerous thing to be encouraging, and I cannot believe any self-respecting doctor or psychiatrist signed off on this. The idea that my "real" self is the one who cries every single night and spends their whole day laying on the floor and thinking about how nothing has any meaning so why bother is insulting.
Anyway. That was more of a rant than I wanted it to be. There were Some decent elements in there, so maybe you can sift through and find what works for you. Just tread carefully with this one, and definitely don't look to it in any sort of mental health crisis.
I'm glad that the author has found some ways to live and thrive with her unique experiences, but I personally could not relate less, and I have had anxiety for my entire life too. My main issues, which I will label mostly so that anyone thinking of reading this book can decide if it's right for them:
-> There's a lot of fatphobia in here.
-> Contradictory statements, most particularly the idea that "everyone has their demons" but then also some people are "Life Naturals" who are just...naturally good at being human? Which is not true, at all. Even the most neurotypical person is making it up, and I feel like dismissing an entire group of people as people who just "will never get it" is not helpful to anyone.
-> Overwhelming focus on famous and successful, mostly white individuals and how they manage their anxiety. It's easier to deal with anxiety and live the weirdly minimalistic life she suggests when you were born into wealth. I don't actually care what Steve Jobs has to say about anxiety. There are a few segments of people on forums talking about it, but that's it.
-> Nothing is properly cited, and she pulls from a ton of famous people for quotes who really shouldn't be used as sources including predators and Nazis, plus people who really aren't considered good sources anymore due to years of debunking, like Freud.
-> Her own experiences are so wildly overgeneralized to ALL people suffering from anxiety, when it's obvious she has an insanely privileged life that allows all these serendipitous "coincidences" where she gets to talk to rich and famous people all the time to happen.
-> I don't agree with the take that anxiety is a superpower. My anxiety has not made me more sensitive or better at planning. In my experience, my anxiety has made me less sensitive to the needs of others because I get wrapped up in myself, and it has made me worse at planning because I become so afraid of the future that I decide it's not even worth it to try. Anxiety is just a part of someone. It's not positive or negative, it's a neutral element imo. It feels alienating for me to try and reframe it as a superpower - the way you deal with your anxiety is a personality trait, not a factor of the condition.
-> Generally speaking, this book is disjointed and even stream of consciousness. There are chapters, ostensibly, and numbered sections in those chapters, but they don't really flow or fit together. It feels like a bunch of disconnected blog posts that were put together into a book.
-> Every now and then a bunch of pseudo-science comes out of nowhere. Like the part where all people are organized by elements and whether they're thin and airy or broad and earthy or something. It felt like phrenology with a new hat on. The opener says this book was reviewed by doctors and psychiatrists but I wonder how that's possible.
-> Finally, the long tract suggesting that medication might "disconnect you from your Self" and mute your creativity and maybe you should just consider going off of it, here's some people who regularly go off their meds because they "need the desperation of depression to create"?????? In what world. Do whatever works for you, obviously, but I genuinely cannot stand the myth that meds cut you off from your creative self, or make you lose your "real" self. That myth made me resist getting on medication for several years, and when I finally started taking them, it was incredible how much better and more creative I could be when I wasn't fighting the urge to die. I've since had to go off them twice due to care interruptions and both times were the least creative periods of my life. I think this is a particularly dangerous thing to be encouraging, and I cannot believe any self-respecting doctor or psychiatrist signed off on this. The idea that my "real" self is the one who cries every single night and spends their whole day laying on the floor and thinking about how nothing has any meaning so why bother is insulting.
Anyway. That was more of a rant than I wanted it to be. There were Some decent elements in there, so maybe you can sift through and find what works for you. Just tread carefully with this one, and definitely don't look to it in any sort of mental health crisis.
I could not get into this book. I almost quit it at least a dozen times. When people say the author is a lot and isn’t for everyone… they’re right.
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced