Managing Your Mind The Mental Fitness Guide

Managing Your Mind is a book for building resilience, overcoming emotional difficulties and enabling self-development. It is for any of us who wish to understand ourselves better, to be more effective in day-to-day life, to overcome current problems; or who want to support others in these tasks. The authors have between them almost 100 years of experience helping people respond skillfully to life's challenges. Drawing on this experience as well as on cutting-edge scientific research, Managing Your Mind distills effective techniques and ideas, enabling readers to select those that suit their preferences and needs.

Part One of the book helps us gain a better understanding of ourselves and provides tools for clarifying what we value most in life. It highlights the benefits of the practice of acceptance and kindness, and shows how to build self-esteem and self-confidence. Part Two presents practical tools and methods, relevant to everyone, for making our way in the world. This includes the importance of perspective and how we can best use our thinking skills. It also covers everyday topics such as the value of useful habits, time management, looking after our physical health, increasing happiness, well-being and creativity, and developing and maintaining good relationships. The third part of the book provides scientifically-tested approaches to overcoming specific emotional difficulties, such as worry, panic, low mood, anger, addictions, and coping with trauma, loss and chronic ill health.

With well over 150,000 copies in print, Managing Your Mind remains the definitive self-help guide for anyone seeking to lead a more fulfilling and productive life.

Gillian Butler, Associate, Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre, UK

Nick Grey, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Tony Hope, Emeritus Professor of Medical Ethics and Fellow, St Cross College, University of Oxford, UK

Introduction: What to expect from this guide

Part I: Making sense

1. The scientific background: knowing what works
2. Valuing and understanding yourself
3. The value and practice of acceptance
4. The value and practice of kindness
5. Building self-esteem and self-confidence

Part II: Making your way

Section 1: Thinking well

6. Taking a positive approach
7. Finding new perspectives
8. Using your head: thinking and deciding

Section 2: Creating a framework

9. Developing useful habits
10. Goals and how to use them
11. Using time well
12. Keeping physically well

Section 3: Being happy

13. Increasing the chance of happiness
14. Treating yourself right
15. Becoming more creative

Section 4: Making your way with others

16. Good relationships: the principles
17. Assertiveness
18. Negotiation skills
19. Understanding voices from your past

Part III: Overcoming difficulties

Section 5: Preparing to tackle difficulties

20. Recognising that you can change: facing problems
21. Problem-solving: a strategy for change
22. Stress: balancing life's demands

Section 6:Anxiety

23. Getting the better of worry: defeating the alarmist
24. Overcoming fears and avoidance: social anxiety and phobias
25. Dealing with panic

Section 7: Low mood and anger

26. Depression: the common cold of the mind
27. Digging yourself out of depression
28. Feeling angry and keeping calm

Section 8:Trauma and Loss

29. Loss and bereavement
30. Stepping away from the past
31. Recent traumatic events and their aftermath

Section 9: Enduring physical difficulties

32. Chronic ill health
33. Breaking habits and overcoming addictions