Thanks so much to the Zakar brothers for putting their new journal/self-help workbook on my radar. It was the perfect tone and length for one of those sad rainy weekends where you need to ask yourself “Are you sad or bored?”
The Zakar twins amuse us with anecdotes of their highs and lows while helping prompt us through probing questions to find our triggers and action points to find our happiness. They take the reader through tried and true anxiety management techniques like 5-4-3-2-1, touch upon Buddhism and meditation as well as just make you laugh at their own millennial views on coping with trauma. There are quite a few laughs and some nuggets of hope as well as some real exercises for introspection.
This is definitely a book designed for your average person who is struggling with the blues or a feeling of hopelessness or despair. It’s for someone who is still afloat and is looking for the next life raft. I will caution that I wouldn’t recommend this as your only resource if you’re suffering from serious depression, it offers a great distraction and some laughs but “choose happiness” is more a motto for the average person struggling and not someone with clinical depression. There is a huge difference between someone who is going through a hard time in life and someone who has a clinical depression and should seek medication and therapy as well as a resource like this.
I will caution that while this book is focused on the average person’s mental health and coping mechanisms for the day to day, it won’t replace therapy. Some folks will not be able to be as self aware as you need to be to do these exercises and get real value from them. But, it’s certainly a fun read to help prompt thought and introspection.
What situations do you need to actively “choose happiness” to balance your stress?
openmypages 