A User's Guide to the Mind

From the hosts of the popular Minding Your Mind podcast comes an empowering book that examines the key moments in our mental health journey—from the first search for identity and belonging, through to our most important relationships, our hopes and ambitions, and inevitable times of crisis. The result is a practical guide that will put you on a path to deeper happiness, better relationships, and a life of greater meaning.

We've all heard advice for physical longevity—the steps we can take with our nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle choices to maximise our number of years on earth. But what about our mental longevity? How do we fill those years with a better understanding of who we are and how our mind works? How do we achieve deeper happiness, better relationships, and a life lived according to our values?

Drawing from the wide array of topics covered in their popular mental health podcast Minding Your Mind, psychiatrist Ian Hickie and broadcaster and author James O'Loghlin bring their signature compassion and curiosity, intelligence and humour, to this practical 'user's guide' to our evolving mind and selves.

It takes an empowering, holistic approach to mental health, acknowledging that every season of life brings its own ups and downs, unique challenges, and breakthroughs. Feelings of anxiety, stress, self-doubt, loss, longing, and stagnation are inevitable, but those times are also opportunities to find out what works for us, so that we not only 'get by' but actually flourish.

Whether you're looking for a wealth of practical tools to carry with you through the tough times or want to develop an overall strategy for lasting mental wellbeing, A User's Guide to the Mind meets you wherever you are along life's journey.

Topics include:

• The search for identity, purpose, self-worth, and belonging
• Identifying personal values and boundaries
• Navigating and nurturing our essential relationships—family, friends, partners, and community
• The role of meaningful work and value-led goals
• Balancing desire and dreams with life's increasingly complicated demands
• Embracing challenges and new opportunities
• Dealing with stress, conflict, and burn-out, and finding your own unique path to peace and contentment
• The importance of novelty and moving on from old mental habits
• The enduring value of legacy and what it means to live a wise life