A Toolkit for Modern Life: 53 Ways to Look After Your Mind

by Emma Hepburn

Overview

'Emma has a unique way of cutting through to the heart of the issues we all face day-in-day-out. There isn't another book out there like this and it should be a mandatory read for anyone with a brain.' - Anna Whitehouse, founder of Mother Pukka

In this warm, wise book, clinical psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn (Instagram's @thepsychologymum) introduces her proven and practical tools for taking care of your mental and emotional wellbeing every day.

Using her trademark illustrations, Dr Hepburn (aka @thepsychologymum) shines a welcome ray of light into the neglected corners of your brain. From identifying what triggers unhappy thoughts to overcoming the fear of making mistakes, A Toolkit for Modern Life will help you to cultivate positive habits and feel more confident, happier and in tune with yourself.

* Call out and manage feelings of imposter syndrome
* Answer back to your inner critic
* Become aware of and monitor your emotional capacity
* Spot unhelpful thoughts and develop more helpful patterns of thinking
* Understand how the emotions cycle affects you
* Identify what triggers anxiety for you and how to intercept it
* Overcome the fear of making mistakes
* Spot and call out your 'catastrophizing'
* Identify and disarm social media comparisons
* Align your decisions and actions with your core values
* Assemble your own mental health toolkit for life

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529410228
Publisher:	Hodder
Publication date:	07/05/2022
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.37(w) x 7.25(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Dr Emma Hepburn is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist with over 15 years experience of working with and treating mental health difficulties in both the public and private sector. She is also a university lecturer. She is passionate about bringing psychology and evidence-based mental health information beyond the clinic room to a wider audience and encouraging people to proactively look after their mental health. Her illustrative work has been used by a number of organisations including The American Association for the Prevention of Suicide, The Royal Society of Public Health and the Samaritans (India). She writes as @thepsychologymum on Instagram (30k followers) and has recently won a Bronze Lovie (Best of European Internet) award, as well as a Peoples' Choice Lovie, for her social media work and has been shortlisted for the mind Media Awards.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Looking After Your Mind 6

How to use the toolkit 14

Chapter 1 Building the Foundations of Mental Wellbeing 16

Don't forget the basics 18

The 5 pillars of mental health 28

What do I value? 36

Chapter 2 The Ups and Downs of Life 42

The capacity cup 44

When life throws rocks at you 52

Chapter 3 You, Your Brain and Your Emotions 60

What's the point of those pesky emotions? 62

The emotions cycle 72

Shame on you, emotions! 78

Anxiety alert 84

Chapter 4 What Can Make Us Feel Bad? 90

Trigger unhappy 92

Antisocial media 100

The art of comparison 106

Imposter syndrome 114

You reserve the right to fail 122

Chapter 5 Responding to Emotions - What We Do 130

Change and goals 132

Let's get physical 140

Chapter 6 Responding to Emotions - What We Think 148

The power of thoughts 150

Inner critic 160

Introducing the 'shoulds' 166

Catastrophe alert! 172

Putting It All Together 180

Further Reading 188

Index 190

Editorial Reviews

In a world of white noise it is often hard to hear - or even find - the mental health support you need. Emma has a unique way of cutting through to the heart of the issues we all face day-in-day-out. There isn't another book out there like this and it should be a mandatory read for anyone with a brain.—Anna Whitehouse, founder of Mother Pukka

Emma helped me understand my own thoughts in a way that resulted in me becoming much more compassionate towards myself. She makes hard scary things feel simpler, and for that I thank her enormously. Her incredible book is going to do the same for so many people. Read this book, feel better, then pass it on.—Emma Gannon, bestselling author of The Multi-Hyphen Method

An essential owner's manual for anyone with a human brain, Emma cuts through the noise, clutter and bad science of social media to deliver a very simple message to us all: you don't have to struggle alone.—Sara Tasker (@me_and_orla), bestselling author and podcast host

This is a fabulous book for anyone who struggles with feeling guilty and overwhelmed by life. It will help you learn how to deal with those emotions in a positive and practical way and in turn be much kinder to yourself.—Katie Kirby, author of Hurrah for Gin

Emma is relatable, practical and knowledgeable - making her the perfect guide to help you navigate life whilst safeguarding your mental health.—Gemma Bray, creator of The Organised Mum Method

Emma has an amazing talent for making evidence-based psychology easy to understand and simple to put into practice.—Dr Jessamy Hibberd, author of The Imposter Cure

As a very visual learner myself, I can really relate to Emma's simple, quirky illustrations that explain what is going on in inside our brains and why we can sometimes behave the way we do. Emma makes understanding our mental health normal and accessible, which empowers us to take control of our inner world and create a sense of wellbeing.—Anna Lewis, aka Sketchy Muma, illustrator and author

Warm, fun, accessible and important. If you want to understand yourself on a serious level and enjoy yourself at the same time, this is the book for you.—Dr Soph, Clinical Psychologist + Yoga Teacher

When you think you just can't cope anymore, or you can't seem to squash that inner critic, Emma will show you that you can. This is such an important toolkit for us all to learn about spotting signs of overwhelm and how we can act to prevent them taking over. This will definitely be staying on my bedside table! An utterly brilliant book.—Elle Wright, writer and blogger at featheringtheemptynest.co.uk

From the Publisher