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A Book That Might Help With Mental Health

Abbey Adams
Brianna Cassar
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SFA chapter.

In honor of national mental health week, I have decided to share with you a book that I read recently that became an instant favorite, Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. 

 

This summer, I was grazing through the nonfiction section of the library and decided to pick a random book and read it no matter what. The book I chose just happened to be one with a stuffed raccoon making a crazed expression on the cover. Weird, I know. But, this book is full of wit and wisdom, causing me to weep on one page and die laughing the next. Jenny Lawson does a spectacular job of showing the complexity and struggle that comes with facing mental illnesses as well as how she maintains her own mental health with self-care and love.

(source:amazon.com)

 

Here are some of the best quotes from the book that may help during the rough days:

 

  • “When you come out of the grips of a depression there is an incredible relief, but not one you feel allowed to celebrate. Instead, the feeling of victory is replaced with anxiety that it will happen again, and with shame and vulnerability when you see how your illness affected your family, your work, everything left untouched while you struggled to survive. We come back to life thinner, paler, weaker … but as survivors. Survivors who don’t get pats on the back from coworkers who congratulate them on making it. Survivors who wake to more work than before because their friends and family are exhausted from helping them fight a battle they may not even understand. I hope to one day see a sea of people all wearing silver ribbons as a sign that they understand the secret battle, and as a celebration of the victories made each day as we individually pull ourselves up out of our foxholes to see our scars heal, and to remember what the sun looks like.”  ― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

 

  • “Without the dark there isn’t light. Without the pain there is no relief. And I remind myself that I’m lucky to be able to feel such great sorrow, and also such great happiness. I can grab on to each moment of joy and live in those moments because I have seen the bright contrast from dark to light and back again. I am privileged to be able to recognize that the sound of laughter is a blessing and a song, and to realize that the bright hours spent with my family and friends are extraordinary treasures to be saved, because those same moments are a medicine, a balm. Those moments are a promise that life is worth fighting for, and that promise is what pulls me through when depression distorts reality and tries to convince me otherwise.”  ― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

 

  • “I wish someone had told me this simple but confusing truth: Even when everything’s going your way you can still be sad. Or anxious. Or uncomfortably numb. Because you can’t always control your brain or your emotions even when things are perfect.”  ― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

 

  • “I can tell you that “Just cheer up” is almost universally looked at as the most unhelpful depression cure ever. It’s pretty much the equivalent of telling someone who just had their legs amputated to “just walk it off.” Some people don’t understand that for a lot of us, mental illness is a severe chemical imbalance rather just having “a case of the Mondays.” Those same well-meaning people will tell me that I’m keeping myself from recovering because I really “just need to cheer up and smile.” That’s when I consider chopping off their arms and then blaming them for not picking up their severed arms so they can take them to the hospital to get reattached.” ― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

 

  • “To all who walk the dark path, and to those who walk in the sunshine but hold out a hand in the darkness to travel beside us: Brighter days are coming. Clearer sight will arrive. And you will arrive too. No, it might not be forever. The bright moments might be for a few days at a time, but hold on for those days. Those days are worth the dark.”  ― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

 

  • “Don’t compare your insides with someone else’s outsides.”  ― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

 

  • “The only person you need to be better than is the person you were yesterday”  ― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

 

If you struggle with a mental illness or just want a fabulous book to read, I 50000% recommend Furiously Happyby Jenny Lawson! 

 

I am currently a freshman sociology major at Stephen F Austin University. I absolutely love all things movies, tv shows, and books. If you ever need a recommendation, I am here for you! Although (like most college students) I don't know exactly what I want to do with my life, I do know that I want to write fun and interesting articles for Her Campus that I hope you enjoy!
Brianna is a Psychology major with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies here at SFA. She is passionate about people and that's how she landed a spot as CC for Her Campus' chapter at SFA! She enjoys hanging out with her cats, getting tattoos, and doing research. Her passion is to help the LGBTQ+ community by focusing on LGBTQ+ health and therapy in the future.