Peter H Brown Clinical Psychologist

“It’s the Climb..” The Struggle for Happiness

So go the lyrics from Miley Cyrus’ popular song from the “Hannah Montana Movie” which my kids have on high rotation at the moment. What Ms Cyrus is singing about, and what I believe to be a message which many of us older and wiser souls could heed, is that life is not always a bed of roses, and we get to the rewards by slogging through the muck of the day to day uphill grind of life.

The problem with this of course, is that though many of us are highly aware of the often mind-numbing ordinariness of this grind, we let it get to us and let it drag us down. As a culture, we have an increasingly low tolerance of discomfort. We struggle against discomfit rather than embracing and accepting it as a normal transient part of life. It is this very issue that Australian doctor,therapist and author Dr Russ Harris addresses in his excellent and highly readable book The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living. SEE THIS POST TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER FREE. In the words of Dr Harris:

“The Happiness Trap is a unique and empowering self-help book – now published in 17 countries and 12 languages – that will enrich your life and fundamentally transform the way you handle painful thoughts and feelings. The title reflects a key theme in the book: that many popular ideas about happiness are misleading or innacurate, and will make you miserable in the long term.”

This is an excellent and potential life-changing read which challenges the reader to stop fighting discomfort and to accept it and make room for it in your day to day dealings with life, as something that will pass. It is based on the tenets of the relatively new but soundly researched “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy“, which has the concept of “mindfulness” as one of its primary concepts.

I will be discussing these concepts in greater detail in the coming weeks, but in the meantime if this grabs your fancy or if you would like to know more you would do well to grab a copy of this book, or find out more by clicking on the book cover image below. I have added this book to my “Highly Recommended Reads” accessible  via the link in the right column.

This link connects you to an Amazon.com powered page with a number of books which I have read and recommend regularly to my private clients and patients. Please note that I have chosen to feature books via Amazon for a couple of reasons. The first is that Amazon often allows you to peruse pages of books so you can see how you like them, rather than me just providing you with a book name. Secondly, if you choose to purchase the book, Amazon provides you with a price-competitive, and most importantly, proven ultra-safe and reliable way to purchase resources from any where in the world. Of course these books are available from other sources and I will direct you to a better source if  I find one (or if you do!).

Anyway, why not check this book and/or research mindfulness and let me know what you think!

July 12, 2009 Posted by peterhbrown | Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness | anxiety, Books, depression, happiness, Mindfulness, Resources | 1 Comment