Book Review - Unfuck Your Brain by Faith G. Harper

Unfuck Your Brain: Using Science to Get Over Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs, and Triggers by Faith G. Harper
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐(3 of 5 stars)

You should read this if: You're struggling with mental health but don't know anything about mental health issues and need a primer. And you don't mind an ultra-casual tone. But really, why not just see a therapist?

You should not read this if: You're someone looking to understand and support others struggling with mental health issues.

Review

First, the swearing, casual tone, and humor. It seems like most people hate it or simply tolerate it, but few actually prefer it. I personally found it a bit distracting - while the jokes were occasionally funny, the swearing never felt comfortable to me. While the humor offers levity to an otherwise heavy topic, it felt out of place for a doctor to discuss such afflictions jokingly and actually felt a bit condescending. I don't need you to swear for me to read a book.

Harper covers a broad range of mental health issues, from depression to anxiety to trauma, giving helpful overviews of each and some practical ways to think about issues and techniques to mitigate or combat them. While Harper does say that the best route is to go to a therapist, the effective takeaway often still feels like "Do these things and it will fix or mitigate your mental health issues", which really isn't helpful for anyone with deep issues.

To me, the root issue is that Harper fails to communicate and distinguish between the severity of mental health issues people may have. While reading this book and taking some of the tips and suggestions may be sufficient for people with milder anxiety issues, people with more significant issues will find little value in attempting to fix their depression by holding ice in their hands and may actually feel shame if the tips don't work. Ultimately, everyone reading the book who suffers significantly from what is described should see a therapist, who would hopefully communicate the relevant parts of what Harper describes.

For those looking to love and support those with mental health issues, this book gives an introductory look into what they may be going through but offers little else, other than practical advice, which is the absolute worst thing to shoot at those struggling.

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