A beginner’s guide to being mental an A-Z a four-star read that will make you think. I picked this book up not knowing what to expect, I am glad I did as it was a great read, the set up was well plotted and it gave you a glimpse into the world of mental health without getting you so deep that you can’t get back out of the rabbit hole. The lay out of the book was very clear and easy to go back to if something stuck in your head, it also has great references and guides to go to for more information. This is one of those books that I will be asking my local libraries to pick up as it’s a great guide, its got the information you need but it also has some light-hearted ness thrown in, I know you shouldn’t take mental health with a light heart as it’s a serious subject, but this makes the subject much more plateable and manageable breaking things down to layman’s terms. If you have mental health problems or you know someone with mental health problems, then you will find something in this book to help you.

I really enjoyed this book. the style made it easily accessible and was great to dip in and out of. Working in a school environment i was aware of many of the terms and conditions explored in the book. a really good introduction to mental health, in a way that didn't feel patronizing. will use it for reference in future.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book covers Mental Health issues and divides up the topics A-Z. I enjoyed this format as it broke the subject up and made it easier to read. This format also means that it is easy to dip in and out of the book or skip sections which might be triggering or simply of no interest or relevance. I also enjoyed the cartoons scattered throughout the book. There is a lot of useful information contained within the book but there was just something about the authors voice that I didn’t like which spoilt the book for me.

I received A Beginner's Guide to Being Mental from Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

I suspect many people like myself, who have had to confront mental health issues at some stage in our lives, will recognise the way in which tackling our problems can force us to develop a broader understanding of how human thoughts, feelings, physical needs and interpersonal relationships function, and what it means when things go wrong. A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental takes that basic package of insight, adds a ton of expertise from author Natasha Devon’s career as a mental health educator, mixes in additional knowledge from mental health professionals and people with lived experience, and packages it into a concise, accessible read. The result, while not a traditional self-help tool (or, obviously, a substitute for medical support), is an invaluable collection of wisdom and demystification on a subject where straightforward information can still be hard to come by.
As one should expect from the title, A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental organises its material in an A to Z format, with one topic per letter. This is a cute tactic, although it leads to a couple of contrived chapter names, including the very unfortunate choice to name the self-harm chapter “Just Attention Seeking” and cross reference it using this stereotyped phrase in several other chapters. While the J chapter itself addresses the misconceptions of this phrase straight away, I still found it uncomfortable to have it peppered throughout the book, especially when so much care seems to have been taken elsewhere to avoid unnecessarily harmful language and content.
Devon covers a lot of ground within her twenty-six chapters, addressing common illnesses and symptoms, the influence of external factors like youth and gender, and the kinds of treatment available (including both medical services like drugs and therapy as well as different forms of self-care). She also covers some UK specific ground about accessing mental health services, and is open about the inadequacies and gaps in the current NHS system, and her experiences as a government advisor on mental health. I apparently missed all coverage of her eleven months in the post while I was abroad, but this might not be news to everyone – and it probably won’t be news to most of my readers that the Conservative government were less than excellent about using Devon’s considerable expertise to genuinely improve the system.
One side effect of the A to Z format is that it frontloads Devon’s personal experiences with mental illness (anxiety and eating disorders), strengthening the feeling that this book is from someone who “gets it” from multiple angles. The chatty, informal style also helps, and makes this a readable and at times very funny book. At the same time, A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental feels carefully written (“J” chapter name aside) and it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into the content. Personal experiences are recounted where it may overcome taboo or help a reader to feel less alone, but the text avoids anecdotes that could be voyeuristic or, in the case of self-harm behaviours and eating disorders, contribute to “competitiveness” among those who struggle with these conditions. There is one section in an early chapter with some unpleasant medical details, and potentially triggering content about Devon’s experiences with bulimia, which is given a clear content warning; otherwise, this book should be accessible to anyone not in a state of immediate crisis.
To further sweeten the deal, A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental is illustrated by Rubyetc, who I believe is literally the most relateable artist ever (certainly the most relateable artist on my Twitter feed in 2018). I am strongly considering buying a physical copy of this book when it is released on the strength of the illustrations alone – and, of course, because I think this is a very important and timely book that I would like to be able to pass on to other people in my life.

Apparently, my reading habits suggest I should read "A Beginner's Guide to Being Mental"... I don't know what to make of that. Does my eclectic mix of sharks, murders, ancient maps, wizards, Scandinavians, engineering guides, historical parodies, and who knows what else suggest I'm a little bit eccentric? Or does it say I'm so normal I'm positively boring and therefore trying to pretend I'm a little bit bonkers in the style of a zany children's TV presenter to make myself more interesting? I have no idea, but the very fact that I started to ponder why I got the recommendation suggests maybe I need to skip to Z in this alphabetical guide and learn about giving zero fucks.

However, this book really should be required reading for everyone irrespective of their own mental health. If anything, I'd say this book is strongest with regard to interacting with other people's mental health. Devon's use of humour is powerful in making a vast and difficult subject accessible without being patronising. Even if you know the area she's discussing it's engaging, so while you may not come away with much additional knowledge you can still follow along and appreciate the writing. If you don't know the topic, you'll get enough info to get by and a starting point to deep dive on things if you really need to know more.

The book is laid out in an A-Z format which may reach a little to give each letter a topic of decent, balanced, coverage but, unlike so many A-Z guides, doesn't strain painfully to run through the final letters of the alphabet and desperate pad a word definition into a paragraph to try and finish the structure. This is an A-Z that reads really well and flows. I'm not a huge fan of the cross-referencing because in truth this is a book to read cover to cover, Sure, for various reasons you may want to jump in at various points, I know there are a few chapters I plan to re-read so I'll be doing exactly that, but for the first read I'd recommend taking it all in. It's a pretty light and breezy book and impressively easy reading given the amount of coverage it offers.

And the coverage of this book is truly where it shines. I mean, I like to think I'm pretty clued up on mental health issues but I came away feeling a lot smarter thanks to this book. What appealed to me most was that Devon remains enjoyably open-minded and non-judgemental. The section on mindfulness is a great example. In short, she takes a rational middle ground between those who think any kind of self-care is new age twaddle and those who think 5 minutes of meditation a day is like a magic spell that solves everything and anything. True, I may just like reading someone taking a similar view as myself, but I really do think so many of these discussions get lost in people taking extreme binary views on a subject.

But, whilst I may feel good about someone telling me I'm right to think that I should take a few minutes to myself if it makes the day pass more easily I'll go back to my earlier point that this book truly excels in how we interact with other people. I realised at various points that I do tend to have some bad habits when interacting with others. Or more accurately, I rely too easily on a one-size-fits-all logic when clearly that is not the reality. Worse, it goes completely against my general rallying cry that we're all different. So yeah, I'm feeling a bit dumb about that.

I'd also say that if anyone only has time to read one chapter in this book they should head straight for U, which is for Unjudgmental Listening. You know when you've thought you were good at something an then find out you've got a lot to learn? Yeah... that's this chapter for me. I frequently get told I'm a good listener, it's my thing, I'm the listening one. I came to this chapter expecting to just nod along wisely, and smugly. And the more I read the more I realised I can seriously upgrade my listening skills! Or more accurately, I can upgrade my communication skills. I can be happy my current skillset generally works, but I realise with a bit of effort I can do better. Also, this chapter made me want a Duck Chair - which means nothing until you read the chapter, but you should. Every household should have a Duck Chair. Even if you live alone and never have company over, get a Duck Chair and enjoy. It really is a wonderful thing.

All in all, read this book! The very title alone should tell you that mental health doesn't need to be boring, that you can laugh about things (in the right way at least), and this isn't just a sluggish academic study wrapped in a glossy cover to try and book a slot on Good Morning Britain or something. This is a genuinely informative book regarding mental health and it's presented in a wonderful format. Mental health should be a more open topic, and this book is a wonderful conversation starter. it doesn't matter if you or someone you care for are dealing with mental illness, or if you want to read up and realise you're far more normal than you feel some days, this is the book for you. Get reading!