"Are U Ok?" by Kati Morton

Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-help

Page Count: 200+

Published: 2018 (Da Capo Press)

Potential Triggers:

Mental Health Topics: mental illness, mentions major depressive disorder (MDD),

This book was absolutely fantastic. There's no other way to say it. Any uncertainties that I had about mental health vs. mental illness and reaching out for help in terms of my struggling mental health were calmed by reading this book. It gave me concrete answers to questions I didn't even know I had and it did it in a non-judgmental, open-minded way. For anyone out there who is looking for an in-depth explanation of when you should get help and why, this book would be a great place to start. While it may not have absolutely everything you're looking for, it would certainly give you an idea of what you need to be thinking about or looking for.

Are U Ok? is a self-help book that gives insight into where you should start when it comes to caring for your mental health. It encourages everyone, whether you're mentally ill or not, to take care of themselves before their mental health becomes a serious mental health issue.

I have two takeaways from this book that I wanted to share with you in this review and they're things that struck me as so important for anyone to hear. The first is just a reminder that you don't have to fit diagnostic criteria in order to get help for something. You don't have to be sure that you're going to be diagnosed with so-and-so disorder in order to reach out for help. You can be uncertain, scared, and just plain hurting and need help. That's totally okay! And the second one is so important, I'm going to put it in the next paragraph. Are you ready?

Therapy is for everyone. It's not just for the mentally ill, it's also for those who are just plain struggling with their mental health or who need to hear a new (and unbiased) perspective on things. Same as the last one, there are no criteria for who needs therapy and who doesn't. If you aren't doing well mentally, though, therapy is always a helpful option. There are so many different kinds of therapy out there that I'm confident that everyone can find that one type of therapy that works for them, whether it involves animals, music, or humans.

Altogether, this book had so much more brilliant advice than I could ever give and I would so so highly recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their mental health in any way. Just taking care of yourself and keeping in mind the simple things mentioned in this book help so much and it was amazing for me to see that turnaround in my life when I started trying to implement those things. This book was amazing and I'm unashamed to say that I think all of y'all should read it.