Book Summary
The proper and timely confrontation of life's challenges is a remedy for many of our psychological and physical pains. Julie Smith shares her knowledge in this area as a suitable guide in her book "Why Has Nobody Told Me This before?" The ups and downs of life teach individuals that they must find a way to control and confront these challenges in order to manage them effectively.
In 2022, when she first introduced this work to interested readers, it quickly received a warm welcome from many people. Smith uses simple prose in her work to guide audiences toward better mental health and help them understand how they can gain control over their minds. The author herself has never claimed that her book can replace therapy sessions; however, if you engage with it, you will realize that freeing yourself from a troublesome emotional relationship, being flexible in the face of various problems, and even avoiding depression are all achievable by applying Julie Smith's teachings in this work.
Since Julie Smith is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in the field and continues to gain more, she does not merely present unsupported statements and advice to her readers; rather, she draws from existing realities and beautifully conveys the important message that mental health is as important as physical health. To achieve this, we have no choice but to utilize all our capabilities to reduce anxiety and foster personal growth.
About the Author
Julie Smith is an American author and psychologist who gained significant fame after using TikTok to share her insights with the public. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her followers surpassed 3 million. Smith currently lives in Hampshire, England, with her husband and three children. She has appeared on BBC and CNN networks and in programs such as Good Morning Britain and BBC Breakfast.
Who Should Read the Book?
Those interested in psychology, especially mental health, as well as finding ways to live a happier life, should not hesitate to benefit from reading this book.
Table of Contents
The book "Why Has Nobody Told Me This before?" is thoughtfully authored by Julie Smith in 8 sections and 36 chapters
Book Quotes
Exercise in the morning and try to spend your evenings resting. A warm bath before sleep brings your body to the optimal temperature for sleep. Sometimes, certain events can disrupt your healthy sleep pattern. If you work shifts, travel long distances, have young children, or have developed a habit of staying up late playing video games, take some time for yourself and arrange everything to get back on the right track.
Jim Carrey plays a bank employee named Stanley Ipkiss in the 1994 film "The Mask." He discovers a wooden mask of Loki, the Norse god of mischief. Whenever he puts it on his face, the mask envelops his entire head and consumes Stanley, influencing every move he makes; in fact, he becomes the mask.
One of the most important skills for managing thoughts and their impacts is distancing yourself from them. The presence of these thoughts in your mind can make this task seem difficult. However, it's good to know that humans have a powerful tool for distancing themselves from their thoughts. This tool is called metacognition, which means thinking about your own thoughts.
Mindfulness is an excellent tool for practicing observing thoughts and strengthening the mental muscles involved in metacognition; that is, it helps determine which thought to focus on and how to let it go without clinging to it, and then consciously choose your point of attention.
During irritability, our thoughts consume all our attention and energy. The brain receives an unpleasant message from the body and infers multiple reasons for this state based on previous evidence. Before you know it, a swarm of self-critical negative thoughts buzzes in your head like a swarm of bees. If we get caught up in these thoughts and allow them to engulf us, they gradually exacerbate our irritability.
Our words have powerful effects on our experience of the world. Language is a tool for understanding; it helps us categorize emotions, learn from past experiences, share our knowledge, and predict and plan for future experiences.
Dealing with emotions is almost like standing amidst waves. When we try to suppress our emotions, we easily become overwhelmed and encounter difficulties; we struggle to breathe and understand which path leads us out of the predicament.
Mental health and physical health are closely interconnected. A change in one causes a change in the other.
Observing emotions as they are is key to properly and effectively examining them. Your emotions do not define your personality, nor is your personality born from your emotions.
