Open When: A Companion for Life’s Twists & Turns

006335926X,

Clinical psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Julie Smith (@drjulie) returns with this highly anticipated handbook full of “break in case of emergency” advice for dealing with mental health challenges in the moment they occur.

In this essential guide, Dr. Julie teaches her millions of readers and clients how to navigate life’s toughest occurrences while they’re happening, rather than moments or years after the fact. What if we can learn to harness our emotions and stay present so we can process and choose how to respond to a situation?

Picking up where Why Has Nobody Told Me…

, 4.5,

Reviewer: Amazon reviewer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Incredible book
Review: I read the previous book and I pre-ordered this one. I can’t say enough about this book, it is brilliant. VERY informative, helpful and easy to ready!STRONGLY recommend!!

Reviewer: Lily
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very helpful!!
Review: Can’t wait to read all of the sections of this book!! Looks like a great read!!!

Reviewer: Jennifer Smally
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Absolutely essential for anyone
Review: I’m so in love with this book! I have been looking for something just like this for years. Dr. Julie has done it. I appreciate that the chapters and sections are clearly titled so I can go directly to what I need to read for whatever situation I find myself needing help with without having to read it all. And there are so many different topics covered. I have already greatly benefitted from several chapters and I know this book will be a great help to whoever buys it. It’s SO nice to be able to get the advice of someone who has been helping people through these situations and really cares.

Reviewer: Kaitlyn W
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Pre-Ordered This- Love Dr. Julie’s Content
Review: This book is beautifully written. Reading it feels like a friend giving you sound advice over a cup of coffee. I have already read a letter that feels relatable at this phase of my life. It would make for a thoughtful gift to someone who might need some comfort.I loved her other book and felt like it was such a good book with practical skills for people not in the mental health field. As a school counselor by trade, I’ve recommended that book to lots of colleagues and some parent friends.In short, I really enjoy her content and feel like she helps people access good tools and perspectives for healthier living. The customer still has to do the work (of course) and her work can only offer guidance but I really enjoy her work and am not disappointed by this book.-kwhetz01

Reviewer: Yasamin
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: read when…
Review: U need a clear mind. This is an amazing book that can clarify your thoughts. The reason I gave 4 stars, personally it could have been not this long. However I would recommend everyone read it.

Reviewer: Scott
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Kindness in a book
Review: Beautifully Written.I like that I can pick a topic that relates to my day or mood, and that by the time I am finished reading the chapter on that topic, filled with Dr Julie’s kind words of advice, I actually feel better. Feels like a big hug from a great friend, and helps me get back up again. It’s the message that I “need” to hear in the moment, delivered gracefully and with kindness. Thank you, Dr Julie! I’m enjoying this.

Reviewer: Jennifer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: My bible
Review: A great book to read when you’re triggered or escalated or can anticipate moments where you feel anxious. I handed it to my 12 year old who was having a difficult time one morning, and it helped bring a lot of clarity for her and helped ground her and find ways to conquer difficult situations. My 15 year old also read some chapters that she felt applied to her, and it really helped her understand how comparing herself to others can be detrimental and how to approach moments where comparisons starts to arise. So far I’ve used it myself to help ground me and when I know I’m anticipating anxiety. It’s on my nightstand for me and my girls to use whenever we need it. I highly recommend it for teens and adults.

Reviewer: cfwoodward
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Generic advice for generic problems…
Review: There are many reasons that TikTok has become the sort of cultural mainstay that nobody saw coming. Aside from the silly dance crazes, baking and crafting tips, and clips of everything from fascinating interviews to breathtaking musical performances, there’s also been an emergence of mental health professionals ‘finding an audience’ and making mental health advice accessible to all…with NO copays involved. Dr. Julie Smith is one such psychologist, with her book “Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?” catapulting her to new heights of popularity.Despite this internet fame, however, I actually hadn’t heard any of Dr. Julie’s advice before picking up this book…and now having completed what was ultimately designed to be a companion to her first, I’m wondering if that was a mistake…or perhaps just a happy accident.The setup is simple and somewhat unique; essentially, Dr. Julie starts each section with a letter to the reader about what to do if you are feeling a certain way or stuck in a certain situation. Feeling like you need a bit of an on-call, specialized therapy session? Well…this is designed to scratch that very itch. She first ‘talks you down’ and re-frames the specific problem, and then provides you with practical tools to work through the situation at hand.This sounds like a simple, stripped down technique, and for good reason: it IS. But unfortunately, brevity acts as a substitute, rather than a supplement, for depth…and leaves much of the advice feeling trite, simple, and ‘one size fits all.’ This is the kind of self-help book for people who want to go to therapy just to have someone listen to them and say ‘mmhm’ encouragingly…NOT for someone trying to work through complex trauma or mental health struggles. Granted, writing a book intended for a wide audience lends itself to this in some respect…but I still have found so many other psychologists and self-help authors over the years who felt like they were speaking directly TO me, in ways I had never considered before, whereas this book felt like it offered a lot of pretty common sense advice, like “Don’t have bad friends.”I mean, yes. But I don’t think any of us SET OUT to make bad friends or to encourage bad behavior to continue. Knowing that many of our problems or struggles are somewhat self inflicted doesn’t necessarily help either, particularly for those who already are struggling to fight their demons. Again, this may simply be a personal issue of ‘fit’ and her advice might feel groundbreaking or life altering for another reader…it just didn’t really inspire me or give me any sort of resonant themes to apply to every day life and ALL situations. Again, this is part of the trouble of attempting to write a self help book that covers SO many bases…if you’re speeding by them, you don’t have the opportunity to stop, stay a while, and make a REAL and lasting impact.And although any self reflection and stopping to reach for a lifeline in this book’s pages rather than jumping to impulsive action is probably a best practice for life in general, what I think this book taught me most of all is that when it comes to therapy, it’s as important to be heard as it is to listen…and the best and most impactful communication should always at least FEEL like a true, two way street.3.5 stars

Reviewer: Martin Rust
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: “Open When …” is a terrific book, full of great insights and thought provoking ideas.While mental health has come to the forefront, practical knowledge and steps to improve one’s own health have not always been accessible or easy to follow through. Dr. Julie fills this gap and explains why we feel the way we do, in different situations, and provides helpful strategies to move forward. The book is a candid walkthrough of some of life’s darkest challenges, and the importance of how and when to ask for help. It is informative, thoughtful, practical, and useful, especially when we live in such turbulent times.Open When .. will make a great gift, and a good conversation starter with those we care about, when asking for help or talking about “tough stuff” might be needed. Highly recommend the book.

Reviewer: Anila Lulja
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I love the book and it came in the most perfect condition I have ever seen. It a great book for self help at the moment you need it and really love the author.

Reviewer: H
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Sehr gutes Buch, man kann durch die Inhaltsangabe direkt zu dem Thema gehen, das gerade für einen selbst aktuell ist.Auch in der englischen Originaausgabe gut verständlich lesbar.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Dr. Julie is a brilliant therapist who writes directly to the people in a concise and transparent way that makes the book easy to read and enjoyable. 5 out of 5 for this incredible book that takes you on a journey through uncomfortable spaces/situations.@tayloredtherapyclinic

Reviewer: Ian MacFarlane
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: ‘Open When …’ is no ordinary self-help book. It is cleverly structured, easy to digest, and full of readily implementable advice on managing life’s inevitable circle of ups and downs.The themes of relationships with others, yourself, and your emotions are exhaustively interrogated in clear and concise prose, which is nevertheless heartfelt.Each chapter starts with a letter from the author to the reader outlining a problem, followed by a section on ‘real-time tools’ you can use to help navigate the issue.This book differentiates itself on the quality of these tools. The insights marry evidence-based analysis with hope and clarify complex problems with nuance without becoming simplistic.For example, in the opening chapter on comparing yourself unfavorably with others, the advice on comparing yourself with past versions of yourself rather than others is nuanced, with the observation that our evolutionary programming makes it doubly difficult to do just that.Therefore, the advice is to ensure that comparisons with others do not entrap you in a spiral of toxicity. Make sure the comparison relates to one skill, and try to choose somebody just above your level of competence.Comparing ourselves with social media personalities and those close to us inadvertently sets us up for failure. The lives depicted on social media are aspirations rather than reality, and we often put those close to us on a pedestal. Others’ success frequently gets conflated with our failings.For those who wonder about the scientific evidence behind all this, there is a neat notes section at the back of the book with a bibliography of up-to-date academic references, while a takeaways section at the end of each chapter is invaluable for those who struggle to internalize the advice.Moreover, while I am an avid note-taker, my notes were often unnecessary. A few pages later, the quotable quote would appear in isolation on a page, helping to summarise and glue the contents of each chapter.This is a heartfelt book with a clear mission of making the benefits of therapy available to all. Without a shadow of a doubt, it achieves that objective.

, Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Emotions, #Open #Companion #Lifes #Twists #Turns,
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