A few months ago, I started reading again.  I knew that I wanted to get some support on my wellness journey.  To me that also includes my mental wellness.  I have been open about my struggle with anxiety and I wanted some extra support.  I do want to insert here that I have never been a fan of self-help books.  Everyone is a guru.  There are so many theories and most of them are conflicting.  So when I stumbled across one I could actually read and relate to… I started looking at the books that one referenced and went down a bit of a rabbit hole. 

But in a chat with my coach April, she said “you should share this with your clients.”  And it struck me, hard.  I had never thought about sharing this journey with you guys, for no other reason than it just didn’t occur to me.  

So here we are, sharing this journey. 

Of these books, my favorites are the ones that bring some really good theories together and lay them out and go “okay, let’s see what works for you” and the ones that aren’t just geared for women. FUN FACT: Men have mental health issues too!

One of my absolute favorites so far has been “But first make the beast beautiful”. It was a recommended book and I was drawn to it by the cover which pictures an octopus. (Another fun fact: lately I’ve been extremely drawn to all things oceanic, especially octopus and kraken, which is interesting since I’m afraid of the ocean…) 

I started reading and couldn’t put it down. Soon I had underlined and sticky-noted the heck out of it and found not only some super cool research, references, and strategies but it’s geared not just towards women. It’s geared towards anxious people in general. More than a few times she references men’s mental health and the need to talk about it more which I wholeheartedly agree with. 

Sarah Wilson is also an extremely relatable writer and loops in other people like her, like me, like us. People who’s books I’d already read and I came out with a longer to read list than I had before. 

Towards the end of the book, there’s a quote that she inserts into one of the “experiments” and I suddenly felt completely content.  She said, “Wherever I go, there I am…”

In the first two pages, she opens with getting to talk to The Dali Lama and getting to only ask one question.  The question she came up with?  

How do I get my mind to shut up?

And if that doesn’t scream out at you, then you don’t have anxiety and honestly, God bless you.   She calls you “Life Naturals” because you just… Do life.  

So upon giving a five-star rating, I strongly encourage everyone to read it.  If you are anxious, if you love someone who is, and especially if you are a mix of the two.  

I’ll be sharing quotes from the book on social media and short write-ups of takeaways that I got over the course of the next bit and I hope something touches you like it did me.