A Therapeutic Journey

A Therapeutic Journey

Lessons from the School of Life

Summary

AS HEARD ON THE DIARY OF A CEO PODCAST WITH STEVEN BARTLETT

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The School of Life


A healthy mind knows how to hope, hanging on tenaciously to the reasons to keep going.

A healthy mind resists unfair comparisons, not allowing others’ successes to throw it off course.

A healthy mind avoids catastrophic imaginings, distinguishing worries of what could happen from what likely will.

Just as there is no such thing as a human being who will never become physically ill, there is no human who will go their whole life without becoming mentally unwell. But recognising ourselves when we’re well can do a lot to help us identify what can go awry. Written with his signature kindness and empathy, this book is Alain de Botton’s practical guide to caring for our mental health – from the acts of self-care in which we find respite to the help which psychotherapy can bring.

Mental illness is as common, and as unshameful, as its bodily counterpart. We should be no more reluctant to seek help than we are if we develop a chest infection or sore knee - and we are no less worthy of love and sympathy in those moments. This book is a reminder of that.

'Alain de Botton is a brave and highly intelligent writer' Observer

'One of our most consistently illuminating writers on contemporary culture' John Gray, New Statesman

Reviews

  • A good conversationalist, friend or romantic partner is someone who makes you feel heard and understood. That’s exactly what you’ve achieved with this book . . . This book does a wonderful job of making you realise that the thing you’re going through, and the way that you are, isn’t evidence of your inadequacy. It’s actually evidence that you are perfectly human
    Steven Bartlett, author and host of The Diary of a CEO

About the author

Alain de Botton

Alain de Botton is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including The School of Life: An Emotional Education, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The Course of Love. He is the founder of The School of Life (theschooloflife.com).
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