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A review by mschlat
How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use by Randy J. Paterson
3.0
The conceit of this book is that Paterson isn't telling you how to be content or happy or more confident, but how to be deeply unhappy. He details an exercise from his clinic where he asks depressed people how they could be more unhappy. To their surprise, they often make suggestions that they have already implemented in their life (and then realize how they can avoid those strategies). From that, Paterson develops his approach: if you are looking for a way out of misery, it might help to look backwards to see what got you there.
The content of the book is 40 strategies (each described in about four pages) where Paterson puts his tongue firmly in his cheek and outlines what you can do to increase misery. There are four sections (lifestyle choices, cognitive effects, relationships, and personal purpose), and I found some sections much better than others. For example, you can probably guess some of the lifestyle choice strategies (don't get enough sleep, spend way too much time on the internet), and I didn't get much out of that section. But I found the cognitive section first-rate and have already adopted a strategy in my life to change my affect. (Paterson has tons of advice on how our thinking sets up and informs our emotional response.) Similarly, I found the section on personal meaning in your life more helpful and informative than the relationship section.
Paterson's approach (increase the misery!) does get a bit tiresome at times, and I found some strategies a bit of a slog to work through. However, the conceit works brilliantly at times, so I found the overall impact of the prose helpful, enough so that I'm considering buying the book.
The content of the book is 40 strategies (each described in about four pages) where Paterson puts his tongue firmly in his cheek and outlines what you can do to increase misery. There are four sections (lifestyle choices, cognitive effects, relationships, and personal purpose), and I found some sections much better than others. For example, you can probably guess some of the lifestyle choice strategies (don't get enough sleep, spend way too much time on the internet), and I didn't get much out of that section. But I found the cognitive section first-rate and have already adopted a strategy in my life to change my affect. (Paterson has tons of advice on how our thinking sets up and informs our emotional response.) Similarly, I found the section on personal meaning in your life more helpful and informative than the relationship section.
Paterson's approach (increase the misery!) does get a bit tiresome at times, and I found some strategies a bit of a slog to work through. However, the conceit works brilliantly at times, so I found the overall impact of the prose helpful, enough so that I'm considering buying the book.