The User's Guide to the Human Mind: Why Our Brains Make Us Unhappy, Anxious, and Neurotic and What We Can Do About It

The inner workings of the human brain may be a great mystery, but the mind's true purpose has been verified time and time again: your brain is secretly conspiring against you to make you crazy. How else can we account for the needless fears, dramas, tizzies, and rages that affect us on a minute-by-minute basis?

The User's Guide to the Human Mind attempts to explain the seemingly inexplicable operations of the human mind, a "don't get eaten machine" better suited to helping mankind escape bears in the forest than helping us cope with the trials and travails of modern life.

Written by therapist and blogger Shawn Smith, this lighthearted yet useful guide offers solutions for overcoming the most common unpleasant emotional responses, such as worry, anxiety, pessimism, jealousy, and self-criticism.

Readers learn to use cognitive strategies to override unhelpful yet natural emotional responses and create better interpersonal relationships, greater confidence, and peace of mind. The book's goal-setting, prioritizing, and goal-tracking guidance helps readers notice their progress as they gradually prod their brains toward a twenty-first-century-compatible way of processing and dealing with emotions.