Notes on a Nervous Planet

In this follow-up to his internationally bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig takes a deeper look at how modern life feeds our anxiety and shows us how we can live a better life. The societies we live in today are increasingly making us ill, making us feel as though the way we live is engineered to make us unhappy. When Matt Haig developed panic disorder and depression as an adult, it took him years to work out the ways that the external world could impact his mental health in both positive and negative ways. Notes on a Nervous Planet collects Haig's 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 and exercise.