You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lizcapism 's review for:
The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care: From A to Z
by Anna Borges
I have been in various forms of therapy and medical intervention for my mental illness for five years now - and I was unwell for many years before that. I have taken innumerable classes, received every hand-out and info sheet, and read many many self-help books on the subject of mental health. Some of them were directed to my condition specifically, but others were for health-conscious folks of all backgrounds. Sometimes I feel that I have read everything and have seen everything and that nothing will ever again give me that "aha" moment when reading about mental health.
What I find sets this book apart from all others that I have come across is its accessibility and honesty.
I can be very easy in this day of commodified self-care and "treat yo' self" to fool yourself into thinking that every act of indulgence and temporary self-soothing is self-care. While sitting on the couch and having a pint of ice cream can be a self-care experience, mostly it isn't.
What Anna Borges does in this concise and eminently readable volume is to assure the reader that self-care is possible, necessarily inexpensive, and important. Despite her evident command of the subject, there are no absolutes or hard-line answers in this book. Mental health management is like anything else in life: Your Mileage May Vary. She makes this clear, while still providing ideas, options, and perspectives that I believe will be helpful to anyone looking to manage their mental health.
My favourite item in the entire book was the "OK-case Scenarios". I had never heard this term before and I found it really spoke to a need in mental health conversations. So often we vacillate between extremes of "best" and "worst" case scenarios and for someone with emotional regulation issues, it is a blessing to have a middle-ground that isn't a compromise, but rather a "medium-good" place. Excellent read.
**I was given an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. I received no compensation and my vies and opinions on this title are entirely my own.**
What I find sets this book apart from all others that I have come across is its accessibility and honesty.
I can be very easy in this day of commodified self-care and "treat yo' self" to fool yourself into thinking that every act of indulgence and temporary self-soothing is self-care. While sitting on the couch and having a pint of ice cream can be a self-care experience, mostly it isn't.
What Anna Borges does in this concise and eminently readable volume is to assure the reader that self-care is possible, necessarily inexpensive, and important. Despite her evident command of the subject, there are no absolutes or hard-line answers in this book. Mental health management is like anything else in life: Your Mileage May Vary. She makes this clear, while still providing ideas, options, and perspectives that I believe will be helpful to anyone looking to manage their mental health.
My favourite item in the entire book was the "OK-case Scenarios". I had never heard this term before and I found it really spoke to a need in mental health conversations. So often we vacillate between extremes of "best" and "worst" case scenarios and for someone with emotional regulation issues, it is a blessing to have a middle-ground that isn't a compromise, but rather a "medium-good" place. Excellent read.
**I was given an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. I received no compensation and my vies and opinions on this title are entirely my own.**