Notes on a Nervous Planet

Matt Haig's follow up to Reasons to Stay Alive takes a look at how our modern society contributes to mental health issues. We live in one of the best times to be alive and yet so many people find themselves struggling - why is that? Taking from his own personal experience, Matt confronts issues stemming from social media to consumerism driven economy to a society obsessed with the ‘next best thing' and the countless other expectations and things that bombard us on a daily basis. This isn't a self help book, but rather observations on why our modern life my not be the best for our health, mental or physical, and ideas on ways we might be able to combat it - without reverting to being cavemen! We can't go back in time, but there are ways we can find to buck the system, even when it's hard to do and we sometimes fail along the way. Some are common sense and even starting to be backed by scientists, but it helps to have someone like Matt spell it out in a warm and thought-provoking way. It would be hard to walk away from reading this book and not taking in some of the advice. It's not a miracle cure all or map to eternal happiness, but it might get the wheels turning on how you can manage your mental health in a healthier way despite living on this mad, nervous planet.