Notes on a Nervous Planet

By: Matt Haig

Narrated by: Matt Haig

Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

A follow-up to Matt Haig's internationally best-selling memoir Reasons to Stay Alive, a broader look at how modern life feeds our anxiety, and how to live a better life.

The societies we live in are increasingly making our minds ill, making it feel as though the way we live is engineered to make us unhappy. When Matt Haig developed panic disorder, anxiety, and depression as an adult, it took him a long time to work out the ways the external world could impact his mental health in both positive and negative ways. Notes on a Nervous Planet collects his observations, taking a look at how the various social, commercial, and technological "advancements" that have created the world we now live in can actually hinder our happiness.

Haig examines everything from broader phenomena like inequality, social media, and the news; to things closer to our daily lives, like how we sleep, how we exercise, and even the distinction we draw between our minds and our bodies.

©2019 Matt Haig (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Readers who have experienced anxiety without a tangible cause will find comfort in Haig’s words and vulnerability. Haig articulates much of what isn’t working for humans in today’s world while refraining from being too cynical." (Salon)

“Notes on a Nervous Planet contains lists, imagined conversations, essays, and personal stories that critique the damage that worry - about the environment, politics, the news, and everything else that demands our attention on a daily basis - wreaks on our ability to live a full life. Haig artfully, powerfully counters these challenges with battle-tested advice from his own hard-won experience.” (Booklist)

“In this illuminating follow-up to his memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, novelist and children’s author Haig (How to Stop Time, 2018, etc.) continues to explore how the rapid pace of our modern world can adversely affect our psyche.... In bite-sized chapters, the author considers the various issues that plague us, including our increasing addiction to smartphones and social media, the emotional impact of absorbing 24-hour cycles of often grueling international news events, and our collective lack of sleep.... [An] often wise and inspiring self-help title strengthened by the author’s very personal experiences and acquired insight.” (Kirkus)

“A primer for how to live in the present moment, this book will find grateful readers everywhere.” (Nigella Lawson, author of How to Be a Domestic Goddess and Nigella Bites)

Just what I needed.

I plan to listen to this over and over. Such great life reminders. Thank you.

Incredible

These words really helped me. Thank you, MATT for putting words in a page and for being unequivocally imperfect. This is what I needed. Definitely too 3 favorite book

I could listen forever

Matt’s voice telling me the realities of all the good and bad that make my emotions soar into the extremes of depression or joy is somehow intoxicating. It’s odd but I love it; probably because I agree that it is not bad to not read the news.

Helping Me

This book was the start of my journey through getting over my social anxiety. Just let it be

Will “read” this yearly

This book is just what I needed. So much so that I think I’ll re-listen immediately now that I’ve finished. It was calming, reassuring and validating.

I needed this more than I knew

Wow! I’m planning to listen again, because this one hit me in the solar plexus, in the best, possible way. Thank you. I will definitely be recommending this book in Audible or written format. What a treat.
Thank you, again.

How to navigate this nervous planet

So glad I picked this up from Audible.

I’ve been following Matt Haig on Twitter for quite a while and it was not long ago when I decided to finally check out his books. I’m yet to read/listen to Midnight Library.

Anyway, this book - Notes on a Nervous Planet - is formatted the way the title speaks of itself. It’s like a compilation of notes arranged into bigger chunks or categories. Although I listened to the entire book in just a matter of a week, I think there’s value in going back to it and pondering upon the topics Matt has presented.

I love his affirmations and I do believe that this has somehow changed my worldview even by just a bit.

I can't recommend this book more.

this book is a needed book for our time. it helps us to understand ourselves and how-to care for our mental health.

Very wise

Well done. Thorough. Good research but most importantly very timely, practical and helpful.

It’s good to be spending time and energy on mental health. It’s under appreciated and more important than ever.

Interesting and Thought Provoking

Excellent look into the mind of a chronic depressive with anxiety disorder and a description of how today's world, with its technology and social media demands can easily exacerbate the condition. The text and story are good and I understand the author reading this insightful and very personal work, but at times I found him difficult to understand or follow.

Definitely worth a listen and definitely put some of his very clear and concise ideas into practice.