Get a Grip, Love: The hilarious, honest story about living with depression, and how-to self help guide to recovering from a mental health illness

A candid book that uses a mix of colloquial chat, peer and personal experience, and expert advice to talk about tackling mental illness as part of the generation so often poked fun at for having feelings – and who often call themselves out for it, too. A record-breaking number of anti-depressants are being prescribed each year. While positive steps are being taken and we are speaking more about our problems, in this new age of having conversations about mental health, everyone and their neighbour has a ‘miracle cure’ to throw at those of us who are struggling. There’s an enormous gap in the knowledge and understanding of what depression is and isn’t – not least in that it doesn’t look the same on every person. Exploring the science behind mental illness and its treatment, and including stories from a number of sufferers of depression and anxiety disorders, Get a Grip, Love provides a witty, razor-sharp exploration of mental health, and a no-nonsense guide that explains where the advice to ‘go for a run’, ’stay off social media’ or ‘make some new friends’ comes from. It separates the facts from the fiction about what could work, speaks openly about how it feels to live with a mental health disorder, and demonstrates that it’s ok to feel the way that we do when we’re struggling, and that we certainly don’t need to get a grip. Funny, irreverent, and understandable, Get a Grip, Love recognises that depression sucks, but that together, we can get through it. 'Clever, kind, funny and wise, this book is an uplifting and useful addition to your self help library.' Daisy Buchanan, How to Be a Grown-Up We're all talking about mental health a lot more now than we were ten years ago, which is great . . . isn't it? Kate Lucey has been 'officially' depressed (as in, diagnosed) for six years. In that time she's experienced everything from bad therapy, knock-out meds, and friends-with-too-many-opinions, to good therapy, medication, and solutions that actually work. This book recognises that getting help is not as easy as 'just telling someone' or 'taking some pills'. It weaves real peoples' experiences of depression with the opinions of actual qualified experts and facts from scientific studies to create a no-nonsense guide to mental health. Funny, irreverent, and relatable, Get a Grip, Love also tells you what to say to those mates who fancy themselves as amateur psychologists, and speaks honestly about how it feels to live with a mental health disorder. Crucially, as well as poking fun at mental illness and all its absurdities (because what are we without laughter, hey?), Kate reminds you that it's fine not to feel ok. That you can go back to crying at any time. And that you do not need to get a grip.