Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?

I thought this book was a great, easy, self-help style book that seemed to cover every topic possible. Coming from someone with lifelong anxiety, reading each chapter helped me to put things into perspective. The narrative style eased the reading and broke up the techniques. I loved how I could look up particular topics easily and didn’t need to read the sections before to jump in.

I highly recommend this book for everyone. Truly, everyone.

Just as one doesn't need to be in crisis to go into therapy, one doesn't currently need mental health help in order to benefit from this book. Every last one of us will face a mental health challenge at some point in life - some will be "run of the mill" and easy enough to tackle alone, while others will require professional help - but Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? offers solid, actionable guidance for dealing with a variety of mental challenges, not only in ourselves, but in those around us. Even if you don't think you'll need the advice in this book (which I can guarantee you will, but I digress), the advice in this book can help you better relate to or even help a friend or loved one who is going through a mentally challenging time.

Dr. Julie Smith, a practicing psychologist (IG @drjulie), breaks down the book into several sections so that the reader can pick and choose from a buffet of options in order to best suit their needs. And it's not all about major mental health issues; there are sections on self-doubt, stress, and grief - undoubtedly parts of the human experience that everyone will go through at some point.

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? offers strong, concise advice that aligns with much of the advice I received from my own therapist. Rather than offering a single approach, she offers a toolbox of approaches so that the reader may pick and choose what works best for them at that point in life. I see this book as more of a reference book than a one-time read. It's the kind of book that, yes, you can read through cover to cover and get a lot out of it, but the reader will truly benefit from by revisiting individual sections as they become more relevant to their current personal experience.