This Book Could Help The Men's Head Space Manual

Your body needs maintaining to keep it healthy. So does your mind. This sounds simple, but tired and outdated ideas that tell men how they ought to be mean that this message gets lost. And the results speak for themselves: suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50. There’s no more room for debate—taking care of your head space should be as normal as eating your five-a-day or going to the gym. Many books make impossible promises about how they will fix all your problems and stresses with some miraculous 10-step program. This one doesn’t. What it does do is provide practical help, when times are tough and also when they’re not. And just like with your physical health, it doesn’t always have to take much to make a difference. Developed in partnership with Mind, the mental health charity, This Book Could Help is filled with straightforward expert advice and simple techniques to help you shake off what other people say you ought to be, prioritize yourself, meet challenges and develop new strengths, in areas such as dealing with stress, motivation, work and life goals. We all deserve to live fully and respect our struggles, so start here and back yourself every day. Because head space is not a luxury, it’s essential.

Rotimi Akinsete is a Therapeutic Counselor and the Director of Wellbeing at the University of Surrey. He is also the founder and director of Black Men on the Couch, a special interest project focusing on the therapeutic needs of African and Caribbean men and boys. 

Contents

Introduction 6

1 | Who do you think you are? 12
Ten words 14
Running commentary 18
What’s working? 20

2 | Level vibes 22
Name it 24
Letting it all hang out 28
Leaking 30

3 | Talk that talk 32
Why not? 34
Ask yourself 38
Who to talk to 40
Be the change 42

4 | Staying in the driving seat 44
Take the edge off 46
Breathe it out 50
Relax 52
Triggers 54

5 | Respect your life 56
The essentials 58
Get some space 60
Managing your time 62

6 | Lifestyle 64
Habits of choice 66
Connect 68
Devices 70
Respect sleep 74

7 | Physical health 76
Small wins 78
Make it a habit 82
Failure is not failure 84

8 | Work 86
Balance and boundaries 88
Taking care of yourself at work 92
Lifelong learning 96

9 | The pursuit of happiness 98
Take stock 100
What really makes you happy? 104
Play time 106

10 | Bad times 108
Bouncing back 110
Resilience toolkit 112

11 | Purpose 116
Values 118
Achievable goals 120
Make a plan 124

Resources 126
About the author 128