Self-care for Tough Times: How to heal in times of anxiety, loss & change

by Suzy Reading

How to heal when you feel broken
In Self-care for Tough Times , Suzy Reading shows the reader how to be their own safe place during periods of stress, grief, loss or change. A gentle yet powerful process is included for developing a self-care toolkit to call on during difficult periods, such as relationship breakdown, illness or death in the family, financial strain or simply feeling completely exhausted by life.

* It addresses many of the rising mental-health issues, such as anxiety, depression and burnout, and includes practices to promote resilience, self-worth and self-compassion.

* It addresses how stress and emotional trauma are held in the body, and how these may be gently released through touch, movement and breath.

There are three main parts to the book with self-care practices tailored to Stress & overwhelm, Grief & loss, Change & transition. The practices included are designed to promote healing and hope, and many are designed to be quick and easy for times when the reader feels exhausted or vulnerable.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Development, Psychology, Mental Health

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 2, 2021

Reviews

[Kate Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thinking about how I feel about this book for a review has been quite difficult.
I think the concept is great, and definitely think it's a book we probably all need - especially with the world being the way it has been for the last year or so... thanks Covid!!
i absolutely adored the layout of this book. It's easy to digest, and the text is broken down into sections, with backgrounds, illustrations and diagrams. This i loved!!
However, by about 75% of the way through it felt a bit repetitive. I don't know if this was because I was reading the book in one go - in sequence, and it is meant for dipping in and out of?

There is definitely some good advice here, and it is certainly beautiful to look out - I'm just not sure how I feel about it as a whole.

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is a good book, will be helpful to many people and is definitely needed at the moment. I’m just a bit torn on it, I wasn’t happy with the tone the author used at times it felt a bit like a stern parent , which isn’t what I’m looking for when I need comfort and support, I also found it not so clear at times, I’ve done CBT, self care and mindfulness a lot so I’m experienced in the self help books, so if I was confused at points not sure how someone new to self care would be. Interesting and did have some helpful pointers and guides, but just not keen on the overall feeling as I read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Kellyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cant even begin to explain how insightful, useful and healing this book was. I'd have to say of all the books I've read of this nature and topic this is by far my favourite and one I will continually come back to . Absolutely loved it and the experience it provided , a very harmonise and relaxing read.

[Amanda R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The toolkits are great! I liked the definition distinctions, affirmations, and many strategies and reasons to choose various ones. This is a book I’ll keep handy and reference on an as needed basis starting with the journal prompts. I felt called out in a good way when the author writes that because life goes on so must our routine self care plans.

[Kace · Rating 2 out of 5]

It felt as though Suzy Reading didn't have enough to say, so she just repeated herself a bunch of times and called it a day. Don't get me wrong, the formatting is gorgeous, but the book sucked. This took me a month shy of a year to read and I hated every moment of it. If the book was 10 pages long I would have gotten the same amount of information as I did here.

Also, STOP TELLING ME YOGA WILL FIX ALL OF MY PROBLEMS!! I understand this can work for some people, but it won't solve everything. The sizing of the text was so inconsistent and I found it difficult to read the words. I would have given the book a 1 if it weren't for the two pieces of information I found within it. Overall, I would NEVER recommend this to anyone ever unless I wished them the worst imaginable pain.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Self Care for Tough Times, by Suzy Reading
Published:
Rating: 5/5
‘You have every right to have a human response to your own challenge and the sources of your tough time need to be validated.’
I discovered Suzy Reading on the day that I was diagnosed with a pretty serious case of Covid-19 Pneumonia. I’d listened to her words of wisdom on Selina Barker’s Club You platform, and loved what she’d said about caring for ourselves when we are at our most vulnerable. I ordered her book, and wow, I needed to read it. Opening those pages when I was poorly was like being embraced by a friend. Her words spoke straight to my soul. I wish I could give this book to all of my friends and family, and urge them to read it. Trust me, you will find yourself amongst those pages. Suzy Reading acknowledges the problems of taking care of yourself in the modern day, and gives kind suggestions on how to stop feeling guilty about needing to rest and recuperate. I’m still suffering from Covid now, but every morning, I flick through the pages of this book and remind myself that it’s ok to feel poorly. It’s ok to need time to get better, and it’s definitely ok to give myself time. Thank you, Suzy! I am so excited about reading your next book…!

[Maddy Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book a lot… Suzy really knows how to help you become a better person. She gives you tips and helps you sort your thoughts out. She also gives a lot of journaling ideas to better yourself. Although, one thing I did not like is about teaching people yoga. Before reading the book, it didn’t mention that their would be so much yoga teaching. She should of mentioned that their would be yoga lessons. Honestly, I just skipped the yoga parts because I was not interested. If I wanted to read about yoga; I would simply get a yoga book. I think she should of just focused on the self-care aspects. Overall, I enjoyed the book though. I recommend this book. Just be warned that there are a lot of yoga lessons.

[Mae Leveson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure how it took me nine months to actually get around to reading this book after I initially picked it up. My only explanation is that my mind wasn’t in the right place for such a self-help book. Anyway, I started it again and feel that, in the intervening months, I have actually applied some of the suggestions in this book, without even realising it.

As the author says in the afterword, “I hope you’ve found some solace here, that you feel a little calmer and less alone in the midst of what you’re facing.”. I do, and that’s what matters most.

[seri jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

i absolutely loved this book.

many of us need to seek self care more than ever before, and this book broke it down in a way that is accessible to everyone.

i find alot of self care books tend to be full of ideas that are really difficult for many to apply to their lives, but i didn't find that with this book!

i really do rate it, especially for folks who are new to the premise of 'self care'.

a great book!

[soph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice book with lots of advises and exercices and support but I do think this is better to read some parts when you need it, not in one go like I did. A few of the instructions for the exercices weren't clear and I couldn't copy them. The format was nice, with beautiful illustrations with tips for each sections.

[Kiely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book had some interesting ideas in it, including some “toolkits” for getting through specific kinds of tough situations, and some very healing insights into the fact that your responses to trauma *aren’t* your fault and that we all go through hard times. otherwise tho I wish people would stop trying to tell me that yoga & breathing are going to save me lmao

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, yet another fantastic book by Suzy Reading. Its perfect for these troubled times we are living in.
The book is full of helpful ideas for self care and is not all pie in the sky. Really relatable and great book. I have bought a hard copy of it to go with my other Suzy Reading book (Self Care Revolution)
Thanks to Netgalley and Octopus Publishing for the ARC.

[James Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book to help anyone during difficult times. This is very accessible, and gives good advice, as well as interesting information. I would recommend this to anyone who feels they need a little help with their mental health.

Thanks to Suzy Reading, NetGalley and Octopus Publishing for this copy;

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a very calming and relaxing book, whilst talking about issues. Lots of useful advice in here, on all sorts of issues.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

[Nicholas Burnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a solid book that I like to keep around after reading it, there lots of good practices and techniques and it doesn’t have to bed read linearly. It’s laid out well, which makes it easy to find what your looking for.

[Saffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ronalyn Marquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just to read this

[Angela Mcowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great little book on tips and ways to support yourself with your mental health.

[StarChar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read for when it’s really difficult to focus

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great tips to help navigate life. Warning, there's a lot of yoga! Also, some of the sections have a contrasting background that is so dark it makes the black text really hard to read.