Name: Tanishq Khandelwal's review of Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
Item: Notes on a Nervous Planet
Rating: 3
Author: Tanishq Khandelwal

Matt Haig

A follow-up to Matt Haig's internationally bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, a broader look at how modern life feeds our anxiety, and how to live a better life. The societies we live in are increasingly making our minds ill, making it feel as though the way we live is engineered to make us unhappy. When Matt Haig developed panic disorder, anxiety, and depression as an adult, it took him a long time to work out the ways the external world could impact his mental health in both positive and negative ways. Notes on a Nervous Planet collects his observations, taking a look at how the various social, commercial and technological "advancements" that have created the world we now live in can actually hinder our happiness. Haig examines everything from broader phenomena like inequality, social media, and the news; to things closer to our daily lives, like how we sleep, how we exercise, and even the distinction we draw between our minds and our bodies. Readers loved the warmth and positivity with which he addressed the subject of depression in Reasons to Stay Alive, and in his newest work of nonfiction he brings the same outlook to a world that many of us find increasingly stressful.

Notes on a Nervous Planet

Linus Rogge

The problem, clearly, isn't that we have a shortage of time. It's more that we have an overload of 

When the ability to check something turns into the compulsion to do so, we often find ourselves craving the time before, when there was no ability to check in the first place. 

… so we need quite quickly to learn how to be happy with not having society’s unrealistic version of the ‘best’ body and a bit happier with having 

 body, as it is, not least because being unhappy with our body doesn’t make us look any better. It just makes us feel a lot worse. 

Everything we need is here, if we give up thinking we need everything. 

A sore throat doesn’t become less sore simply because you’ve felt it before. 

Order THE COMFORT BOOK. Available now! THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER The world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index. – How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? – How do we stay human in a technological world? – How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious? After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the twenty-first century.

Mathias Hellsing

Tanishq Khandelwal

A gentle, honest reflection on modern life and mental overwhelm.

A gentle, honest reflection on modern life and mental overwhelm.
Easy to read, quietly reassuring.

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERThe world is messing with our minds. What if there was something we could do about it?Looking at sleep, news, social media, addiction, work and play, Matt Haig invites us to feel calmer, happier and to question the habits of the digital age. This book might even change the way you spend your precious time on earth.

Reiza H

We live in a nervous world.

We constantly think about what other people would think of us. What outfit should we wear in order to impress people out there, what jobs should we do, what activities should we take, etc. 

Even, we keep questioning ourself. Should we buy the stuff? Should we take the job? Should I quit? Should I continue? Every questions for every decisions. Modern Life. There's no simple answer, yet there's no simple suggestions either.

This book is like a pill. It tries to make us realize that modern life comes with easiness, but also anxiety. However, it offer some remedies that you can open again and again. Like, what should I do in order to not get anxious in workplace and how to manage the information flood on our mobile phones.

It can encourages you to think, and to feel. Just relax and do the thing that you really enjoy it. It's not as hard it seems.

Jule

I am in love. It is raw. It is unfiltered. Things are put into words which many notice but fail to recognise and name. I felt like listening to a friend. The only friend who understands what sometimes keeps you up at night. Thanks so much for this book.

Amena Elkayal

This book is about stress an anxiety and how to deal and cope with them in this absolute stressful world.. how to deal with the internet without having an overdose of negativity and stress.. it's really helpful, especially for people with anxiety disorders or any kind of mental health issues... it gives you an honest, impactful, inspiring point of view and amazing steps and actions you can follow to avoid being stressed on this nervous planet... one of my absolute favorite books and I'm sure I will reread it one day soon...

alex 

so so so good. I’ve ordered a few copies for some friends and family. Haig’s other book is on its way to me now

Belle

Very short. More focus on anxiety and avoiding social media than I expected, which wasn't really relevant to me.

Gamze Aluç

I never thought that I could be impressed by this book. I realized many points which I did not give attention before. The writer's observations and the way he was telling all these points are excellent. After a time, I will probably reread some parts. Thanks Matt!

Bu kitaptan etkilenebileceğimi hiç düşünmemiştim. Daha önce dikkat etmediğim birçok noktayı keşfettim. Yazarın gözlemleri ve bunları anlatış şekli inanılmaz. Bazı bölümleri daha sonra tekrar okuyacağımı düşünüyorum. Teşekkürler Matt!

solaire 

I can greatly relate to his books and writing style, I rarely read non-romance books. But Matt Haig’s book changed my mind, all this Reasons to stay alive, The midnight library, Notes on a nervous planet are literally so good!

Mijs Franssen

3/5✨I liked it or it was fine

This might be the longest amount of time it took me to finish a book. That is not necessary a bad thing, I did like this book, I just took itone chapter at a time. I got inspired to buy this book after reading the short compilation of some Matt Haig non-fiction chapters that was given in the Netherlands suring the week of the English book. However, I found this book a little repetative at times. The diversity of sorts of chapters was fun to read, and the little lists pr affirmations were defenitly my favorites, it just got a bit much at points. I do think this is a helpful book for people struggeling with depression and anxiety, like Haig himself did, or others to help them understand it better. I think non-fiction is not necessaraly for me, but I liked it as well. Some chapters hit hard, or were well thought out amd supported, while I found others a bit toomuch, or hard to follow. 

To conclude,
I did enjoy this book, just not as much as I had hoped/had wanted.

Sabrina Z

This book did well to remind me that I am not so small in the universe, but also that I am terribly small and that is okay. It also reminded me that even if I am tiny in the grand scheme of things, social media/the internet/this performance of self is so much tinier and so the level of importance I place on it should perhaps be equally as small. 

(A good read for tired minds is this big world.)

Silvia D.

Heartfelt, honest, down to Earth. Like a Good conversation with a Friend. Loved it very much.

The instant #1 international bestseller from the beloved author of How to Stop Time and The Humans The societies we are part of are increasingly making our minds ill. It very often feels that the way we live is almost engineered to make us unhappy. Whether it is our attitudes toward sleep, the marketing messages that inundate us daily, the constant and hysterical news cycle, social media or even the way we educate our children, we are programming ourselves to put our bodies and minds at odds and setting ourselves up with expectations for our lives that prevent our happiness. When Matt became ill with panic disorder, anxiety and depression, it took him a long time to work out the ways the external world could impact his mental health in positive and negative ways. Notes on a Nervous Planet shares his journey back to happiness and all of the lessons that Matt learned along the way.

Grace O'Callaghan

Didn’t love this as much as Reasons to Stay Alive as I found quite a bit of it was already covered in that book.

Instead of depression, this was deals with anxiety and specifically how technology is making us more anxious. I couldn’t relate to this one as much as the other book but it was still an interesting read.

I still appreciate the style of this book. A mix of lists, advice and anecdotes makes it very easy to read and refer back to.

I’d recommend this to people who suffer with anxiety or just need something to help them, especially during this pandemic. 

I can’t really give it more than three stars as while I’m sure it’s been helpful to a lot of people, I think it’s one I’ll forget about quite quickly.

Mariana Perniqueli

Essencial in this modern days, specially if you go crazy (like myself) if social media.

Jen Estrella

“But while choice is infinite, our lives have time spans. We can't live every life. We can't watch every film or read every book or visit every single place on this sweet earth. Rather than being blocked by it, we need to edit the choice in front of us. We need to find out what is good for us, and leave the rest. We don't need another world. Everything we need is here, if we give up thinking we need everything.”

Definately a book that should be read over a longer period of time, picked up only when needed. Reading this book in one sitting may have done it a disservice as I didn't fully give myself the time to digest and internalise the messages promoted. The book didn't have as much impact on me as the others in these series and seemed pretty forgetable after a day or two. 

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERThe world is messing with our minds.Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index.- How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? - How do we stay human in a technological world?- How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious? After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the twenty-first century.

Jelke Lenaerts

This book has content warnings for suicide, anxiety and depression.

I really loved this book. It's definetly a book I'll reread a lot in my life. It gives a great perspective on anxiety and depression that I really needed when I read it. This book mainly focusses on the author's personal experience but also tries to explain some of the things with facts. I absolutely love the way it was written. I just flew through this book and read it in under 24 hours. I liked how this book didn't look down on social media but tried to give a different perspective on it all that could help you and your mental health out. Definetly recommend!

Jeremy Anderberg

“We need to find out what is good for us, and leave the rest.”

This book is a series of short essay-like chapters all about anxiety, a subject which Haig intimately knows, and what it is about our modern world that seems to fuel that anxiety:

“The whole of consumerism is based on us wanting the next thing rather than the present thing we already have. This is an almost perfect recipe for unhappiness.”

You don’t need to know much about this book other than that it’s a nice balm of soothing and affirming words that will help you re-center as we head into the new year. Very much worth your time and attention. Though it’s a book that could be read quickly, I enjoyed taking it in at the pace of just one short essay per day.

Maytal

alaska🪐

notes on a nervous planet was a really messy, critical yet thoughtful approach on our ever advancing society and self and how we created a world that seems so progressive, yet manages to hold us back even more from pure happiness and contentment.

i didn't enjoy the guidelines / selfhelp-ish parts of the book that much because they seemed rather repetitive and generic for a self-reflected person (as arrogant as that might sound), but overall i still enjoyed it a lot!

Pam Sartain

This is written in quite a choppy way, so it feels more like a book you're meant to dip in and out of, with some pages only as long as a tweet.

It looks at the problems of living in a technological world, and how people struggle with technology taking up so much attention, and the fear of missing out.

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

Para tenerlo a mano y recordarnos que necesitamos una buena salud mental. Lo recomiendo, las reflexiones que hace son super actuales y todos seguro nos identificaremos con algo y podamos sacar algo valioso de esta lectura.

Juliana Matias

For those of you who don’t know Matt Haig, he is an extremely prolific author who writes across a plethora of genres, and who famously wrote Reasons to Stay Alive, a memoir about his own struggle with depression and anxiety. I never read it.

But this is the honorary sequel to that particular book (which I got for £3 on Audible), a non-fiction where Matt Haig points out how the entire planet has gone neurotic and how practically impossible it is to live in the world today and not be crippled by generalized anxiety when you stop and think about anything. I am not kidding: anything.

I’m not gonna lie, I live with a stable low-level of anxiety at any given moment. Sometimes it’s less noticeable, sometimes it causes my blood pressure to suddenly drop and for me to pass out in inconvenient places (such as the metro or the middle of an Amsterdam street when getting a call from my boss during a holiday) until I leave the continent and move back home to get rid of some stress in my life in an effort to avoid anxiety medication (I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it now, but at that point in my life I thought depression was not a real thing – don’t ask…). 

Most of the time, however, I am a functional human being, so I deal.

And then I listened to this book. 

The first half of it is dedicated to pointing out everything in the world one has to be anxious about. And there is one particular chapter where he start listing things I had never thought of being anxious about, but by the time he was done with it you can bet your behind that I was terrified of it all. I almost stopped cold on this book because it was just giving me more anxiety.

But after that he starts going about his personal experience and how he manages and deals with his anxiety and depression. And to be honest, what I took from it is that you need to find out what works for you and make no apologies about taking care of yourself.

Laura Dobie

Lots of food for thought and strategies for dealing with the aspects of modern life that can be overwhelming.

Tanishq Khandelwal &
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig

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