Shiny Happy Person: Finding the Sun Between Clouds of Depression

by Terri Cox

Young, talented, intelligent and with a thriving social life, on the surface Terri Cox had it all. But deep down in her mind a storm was brewing, and a series of life-changing events were about to unfold in quick succession that would send her spiralling into a full mental breakdown. Over the next few weeks and months, Terri was tormented by panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, bouts of insomnia, crippling headaches, severe weight loss and horrific side effects from antidepressants. Fearful of large crowds and ashamed of admitting what was happening to her, she did her best to hide away and shut herself off from society.

Wracked with despair and suffering from hallucinations, Terri was taken by her family to the local A&E. When she was discharged, they desperately sought the help of a local psychotherapist. Using a highly effective and innovative form of psychotherapy, Terri was able to revisit the traumas of her past in order to understand the workings of her mind in the present. Slowly but surely, she was able to fight back and find that shiny, happy person that she'd always been before. Shiny Happy Person is the story of one girl's inspirational rise after a devastating fall.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health, Autobiography

152 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2017

Reviews

[Laura Devlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reas

Very good book. Would recommend to others. Showed the struggles of a woman and how she worked through them to find herself again

[Amber Robson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been great to read and truly inspirational. I can literally recommend this book to anyone, whether you struggle with mental illnesses yourself or know/ support someone who does. It's very eye opening. It's raw and honest and real (but it's also very grounded and she approaches things with a perfect level of humour and light-heartedness) and it's so good to read someone's story who both says it how it is but also offers real tips and techniques for battling those 'clouds'.

[Stephanie Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiny Happy Person is written by Terri Cox who grew up in Hull with four sisters. Being a third of a set of triplets (how epic), Terri was never alone growing up. However, this didn't always make things better: bullies picked on Terri and her sisters, and she felt as if they always stood out like three sore thumbs.

As she descended into adulthood, Terri stopped being the 'shiny happy person' everyone knew her as. Coming back to the UK after a year abroad to study languages, Terri struggled to settle back in to life. Withdrawing from people, snapping at her boyfriend, and constantly berating herself, Terri reached crisis point. Her boyfriend broke up with her and everything came to a head. But, with the help of a strong support network and a variety of different therapy methods, things started to get better.

I loved how honest this book was. It was fairly short as well, which meant that it was easily digestable for something that contains some strong themes. I would definitely recommend if you're on the hunt for a non-fiction mental health book.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiny Happy Person is an important story for me. Terri's experience is so close to my own, and I could really relate to how she was feeling. I recommend this to anyone struggling with anxiety and depression after bullying and through the university experience.