Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith

 Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith is a self-help book and mental health tool kit which is perfect for everyone. In this book, Dr Smith goes through many topics which are a matter of everyday life, including, but not limited to, motivation, emotional pain, grief, stress and fear, and provides practical advice on how one can better cope with these everyday issues. Dr Smith does a good job of explaining the theory of the problems, as investigated by many psychologists, before providing some practical advice which she would use in her therapy sessions.

I originally came across Dr Smith at one of the talks she did at the Warwick Arts Centre in 2023, and from that point, I have been eager to read the book. I liked this book because rather than just giving people the solutions to their problems, it also provides the reasons why they are feeling that way, which is essential knowledge if one wants to overcome mental ill health. The strategies that Dr Smith writes about are all simple, everyday activities that the reader could easily try for themselves without a trained therapist, which really adds value to the book. This book is also great for people to come to when they are having a particularly bad time with their mental health, as the chapter/lesson summary at the back of the book provides all the essential information from the chapter in a nutshell.

There are, however, some things which may improve the book. Although this book is for the layman in psychology, it may have been nice to see a bit more depth in some of the theories which were explained. Also, it would have been nice to see more references from researchers in the book, as this would further show that it is evidence-backed. This is because there were a few concepts mentioned in the book that can be linked to researchers who researched that area, but these researchers were not named. Despite this, there were chapters of varying lengths, from very short to medium, which is always good to see.

Altogether, I rate this book 4 stars because it is a good book on a very important topic. It is important that people both talk about mental health and that they have at least some access to support and strategies to help them when they are struggling with their mental health. Although this book cannot be a substitute for professional mental health support, it is a great starting point and especially useful for those who may not have access to professional support for whatever reason. I would definitely recommend this book.