F*ck Feelings: One Shrink’s Practical Advice for Managing All Life’s Impossible Problems

The gimmick is clever: the “f-word” combined with a counterintuitive premise that we don’t need to care about our emotions. After all, haven’t we been indoctrinated with the primacy of our feelings? The title alone is profanity plus blasphemy — and consequently piqued my interest. Written by psychiatrist Michael Bennett and his comedy-writer daughter, Sarah Bennett, F*ck Feelings: One Shrink’s Practical Advice for Managing All Life’s Impossible Problems uses no coy asterisks inside; chapters put the profanity right out there with titles like “f. self-improvement,” “f. self-esteem,” “f. fairness,” “f. parenthood,” “f. assholes,” and “f. treatment.” The overarching premise here is that some problems don’t have to be solved. That some can’t be fixed. That when all else fails, we’re better off accepting what is and figuring out how not to let it get to us or control us. It’s a good thought: the serenity prayer writ large. In each chapter, Bennett and Bennett include “quick diagnoses,” including a diagnosis of things you “wish for and can’t have” and things “you can aim for and actually achieve.” For example, in “f. serenity,” the unattainable wish-fors include: An ability to change others or get them to see why they should change themselves A life with better people or more options Escape from the tension A less-touchy personality And the achievables: Tolerate long periods of wishing you were with oth...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anger Book Reviews Depression General Happiness Self-Help books on how to get over your emotions fuck feelings fuck feelings book funny self-help books how to get over your feelings Michael Bennett one shrinks practical advice for Source Type: news