Book 128: "The Happiness Trap" by Russ Harris

 

 

Title: The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
Author: Russ Harris
Genre: Self-help/therapy
Read-in: trade paperback
Publisher: Trumpeter Books

 

I'm not one to generally read self-help books. They do carry a stigma with them. But then, so do many other genres I read regularly. I also wasn't sure if I would share this specific book with you, my readers, because it was not read by my own suggestion but by my counselor's... who for some reason (I can't imagine why) thought I'd benefit more from a book about the type of therapy we're working on than just hand-outs. She was right. My decision to share is based on the fact that 1. My blog is based on the promise of reviewing everything I read and 2. that I find this method very helpful and so may some of you. I will keep this review pretty short because, let's face it, due to its topic, it's pretty boring.

 

The book explains Acceptance and Commintment Therapy (ACT). I like this therapy because it's based on the fact that no matter how happy or at peace you are, your life will never be pain, anxiety, sadness, or any other "negative" emotion free. Expecting any therapy to help you wipe away those emotions for good is unrealistic and impossible. What ACT teaches is how to deal and accept those emotions as neither good nor bad, just emotions. To feel whatever you feel and not let it distract you from living a value driven life- which is your true path to being satisfied and fullfilled with your life as a whole, meaning that generally you will, by default, be happier more often. I like this because I've always felt (thanks to my parents) that values and living by them are essential. This therapy simply teaches how to not let you stand in your own way of living those values. For anyone interested, the therapy has been helpful to me and it is really an interesting approach to finding happiness. Enjoy!