A Year to Change Your Mind: Ideas from the Therapy Room to Help You Live Better

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Having said that, sometimes it’s extremely helpful to be reminded what a “sensible person” might make of any given question. From the tendency to lack motivation in January and to experience red-hot anger in the heat of August, to the weight of expectation associated with that back-to-school feeling in September and the pressure to enjoy the December holiday season, we’re shown recognisable features of behaviour over the course of the year. I imagine young people leaving home for uni or heading out into the world of their first job will really benefit from the lessons in this book.

Positive affirmations: Create a list of affirmations that focus on your strengths and repeat them daily to reinforce a positive self-image. Normalize mental health conversations: Challenge stigmas by openly discussing mental health with friends, family, and colleagues. Active listening: Practice active listening when engaging in conversations, fully focusing on the other person's words and emotions. Values exploration: Reflect on your core values and how they align with your daily actions and decisions. I listened to the audiobook read by the author which helped increase the impact of her personal/professional journey and the examples given.Conflict resolution: Address conflicts openly and constructively, aiming to understand each other's perspectives and find common ground.

January (new beginnings), March (your environment) and November (rest and JOMO - the joy of missing out) really resonated with me, particularly as it was cold outside as I read this.Helpful strategies from therapy are presented as ways to cope with every-day issues or to improve life in general, and examples are given to better understand how these strategies can help us. I really enjoyed this read which is set out in 12 different themes addressing challenges we face in each month of the year. Physical activity: Incorporate regular exercise into your routine to release endorphins and boost resilience. Foster a supportive environment: Surround yourself with individuals who are understanding and empathetic towards mental health struggles.

Self-care practices: Engage in activities that nurture your physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing regularly. If you feel a bit off-kilter but not quite bad enough to spend hundreds of pounds on therapy, Maddox’s tips and tricks from the consulting room could be for you. If I have a criticism of the book, it’s that it contains little of the counterintuitive thinking that makes psychology not only exciting but potentially more useful than a chat with a sensible friend.Perhaps the most comforting – and discomfiting – thing about this book is that it sketches a world of pain and injustice in which it’s nonetheless possible to enjoy life. From the tendency to lack motivation in January and to experience red-hot anger in the heat of August, to the weight of expectation associated with that back-to-school feeling in September and the pressure to enjoy the December holiday season, we're shown recognisable features of behaviour over the course of the year. In A YEAR TO CHANGE YOUR MIND, consultant clinical psychologist Dr Lucy Maddox explains how psychological processes thread through our lives, pinpointing those issues most frequently encountered in each month, and shows us how by reflecting upon past experiences, both joyful and painful, and considering evidence-based ideas from the realm of psychology, we can learn to live a more thoughtful, positive life that better prepares us for the future. I liked the way that this book was set out- a different theme for each month of the year, with strategies to help with a variety of things like lack of sleep, anxiety, fears etc. Positive social circle: Surround yourself with positive and supportive individuals who uplift your spirits.

By breaking down the main principles into actionable checklists, you can easily incorporate the book's recommendations into your daily routine. genuinely useful, charming, comforting' - Guardian 'Compelling, warm and authoritative' - Viv Groskop, bestselling author of Lift As You Climb 'A compassionate book filled with useful tips to help us through life' - Claudia Hammond, bestselling author of The Key to Kindness Help yourself to live a better life in 2023 Psychology underpins everything we do, determining the decisions we make, the relationships we build, the roles we play and the places we live, and our behaviour is further influenced by the changing seasons, encouraging many of us to fall into unhelpful patterns again and again each year. Grove Press An imprint of Grove Atlantic, an American independent publisher, who publish in the UK through Atlantic Books.

Celebrate milestones: Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements, reinforcing your commitment to your purpose. Stress-reducing activities: Develop a list of activities that help you unwind and relax, such as reading, taking a bath, or spending time in nature. Filled with practical advice gained from years of offering therapy as a clinical psychologist, Lucy offers insights into how we think, experience the world and other people in it, and make decisions – and some tools to help with those moments when life feels hard. It felt very repetitive and some chapters were way too long as some ideas and suggestions needed only one or two pages instead of 20 which there was generally one idea per month/chapter. But the message we might also take away is that, while circumstances afford us at least the possibility of feeling good, we should be thankful – and not waste the opportunity.