Happy Mind, Happy Life: The New Science of Mental Wellbeing

Written by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

Narrated by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

The science is clear: Happiness plays a vital role in your health. Learn how to make it a priority.

During his twenty years as a GP, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, author of the international bestseller Feel Better in 5, has seen first-hand that motivation isn't always enough for us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It's only when we learn how to support our own mental wellbeing and cultivate core happiness that these choices become easy.

In Happy Mind, Happy Life, Dr. Chatterjee shares cutting-edge insights into the science of happiness and reveals ten simple ways to put you back in control of your health. It features real-life case studies and more than twenty practical exercises, including lessons on how to:

- Find your flow

- Create distance from your phone

- Deal with criticism

Whether you are at a crisis point or simply want to experience more joy, this book will help you feel calmer, more confident, and able to live your life to the full. Your body and mind will thank you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781663719447

Reviews for Happy Mind, Happy Life

[emanuelle Atsain · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book, I was able to learn valuable skills in pursuit of better happiness. so much resonated with me. Dr. Rangan fabulous! your tone was perfect for me to completely emerge myself into what you were explaining. Again your work here was beautifully delivered with immense compassion.

[Kimberly Appleton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very uplifting! Highly recommend, lots of great tips for living a better life!

[Jennifer Hays · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book by Dr Rangan to reframe positive mindset. Enjoyed the focus on the mental part of well-being

[ionas_7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

At first, I didn’t think this book was as good as the author’s previous ones, which I loved. Perhaps I didn’t find the beginning of the book very good. But I soon began to appreciate it. To begin with. I will list what I thought were the book's negative features. I may have said this before in a previous review, but if so here it is again. Dr Chatterjee is a handsome man and it’s fine to see one or two photos of him. But it was overwhelming for me that the book included quite so many photos of him. Enough is enough. It is a beautiful book with glossy coloured pages. But I don’t always have the best light at my disposal when reading and I often found trying to read the text somewhat difficult. especially when the print was white. There is no point in a book being beautiful if one can’t read the text; the book’s content is what is important, not its appearance. The aim of the book is to help us improve our life so we feel less stressed and happier. Dr C distinguishes between Core Happiness and Junk Happiness. Core Happiness consists of contentment, control and alignment. “Feeling aligned means that the person you want to be, and the person you are actually being out there in the world, are one and the same.” A Junk Happiness habit is something we use to “numb the inevitable pain of living”. He said it, not me. One of Chatterjee’s Junk Happiness habits when young was gambling. Another such habit could be a glass of wine, chocolate, Instagram or online shopping. (That’s what he says. For me, online shopping is not a Junk Happiness habit but necessary since there are quite a few things I can’t get hold of in the physical shops.) Happiness is about making internal, not external, changes. We’re told that if we follow the advice in the book we’ll become happier and healthier. These days we have to make many choices; too much choice affects our health. Dr C maintains that this is one of the main reasons most of us feel burned out, overwhelmed, and stressed out. He suggests methods of eliminating choice; we should save our energy for decisions that matter. He introduces the concept of a Want Brain and the idea that purchasing what we want will make us happy. We should not equate success with happiness. Dr C personally knows many highly successful people who are miserable. He reveals his own problems/challenges by way of illuminating his points. He used to hate losing and thus treated himself with a lack of respect when he lost, e.g. at pool. Self-love and self-compassion improve physical health. People who are self-compassionate are more likely to look after themselves and adopt healthy lifestyle habits. The links between self-compassion, health and happiness are overwhelming. “Self-compassion is the practice of extending kindness toward yourself. It’s about being there for ourselves and empowering ourselves to alleviate our own suffering.” He gives us some mirror exercises reminiscent of Louise Hay’s though he doesn’t actually tell us to say “I love you” to ourselves in the mirror. He perhaps thinks that many of his readers would regard that as too much.) We’re told about Dr Edith Eger, who survived Auschwitz. She was rescued in 1945 by an American soldier who saw her hand twitch in a pile of corpses. Dr C spoke to her in his podcast. (I’ll have to hear that episode, podcast No. 144.) In Auschwitz she reframed the situation so that the guards became the prisoners. She told him “The greatest prison you’ll ever live in is the prison you create with your mind.” He tells us to seek out friction – the more you risk friction by telling your truth, the more aligned you become.” He advises us to talk to strangers. Positive interaction with strangers helps us to feel connected and appreciated. Begin with a smile and a moment of eye contact and take it from there. There’s a section about how to take a daily vacation, which can include meditation. We need periods of stillness. He quotes Thich Nhat Hanh: “Don’t just do something, sit there.” Feeling gratitude every day is the cure for negativity, It is virtually a non-negotiable for happiness. It brings us into alignment. Throughout the book we’re provided with case studies, which are both enjoyable to read and help us understand what Dr C is telling us. So, all in all, this is another very readable book to add to your collection of Dr C’s books.