Book Review: DEVELOPING YOUR EMOTIONAL HEALTH, Nick Hern Books

Part of the series of Compact Guides from Nick Hern Books, Developing Your Emotional Health is a pocket sized guide authored by Andy Barker, Brian Cooley and Beth Wood. Aimed at actors and other creatives it is split into sections which can be read independently, or alternatively followed as a full programme for emotional healthcare.

As well as the book itself, links are included for a workbook to allow the reader to fully participate in the exercises, as well as audio recordings of those exercises to ensure the guide is accessible to all and able to be followed as part of a busy schedule.

Physical health is often the main focus of self-help texts, so it is good to see this title looking at topics such as resilience, motivation, positive thinking, and emotional intelligence, which are relevant to all readers, as well as more specific support for tacking auditions and dealing with periods of unemployment.

One chapter which stood out to me was about understanding where your place is in the industry, and accepting that certain paths may not be for you; another was about using negative energy to develop a wellbeing plan and understanding your social skills. The structure of different voices split between the three authors works well, while the exercises tackle belief, imagination and reflection.

I found this an extremely interesting and useful book for anyone in a creative role, especially for one which involves participating in social media and digital spaces. Particularly pertinent was a sense of feeling proud and involved in your work without becoming a narcissist, and moderating your thoughts with empathy for others. There is also a discussion on physical signs of emotional engagement and burnout, with exercises I found beneficial to my own situation as a writer.

At just over 208 pages, this small and light paperback can be easily transported about with you and just dipping into any page may well be rewarding. For example, how to deal with creative stress, releasing emotions, recognising your physiological responses, or setting up a self-tape. Using tried and tested models (ABC, STOP) alongside visualisation and mindfulness techniques, this book aims to capture it all in one little volume.

This is a toolkit to help creatives in a business which is often hard to navigate, and I feel it is an excellent addition to the material currently available on the subject. It is written in a chatty and approachable style, and the bitesize structure is perfect for reading on the go.

Developing Your Emotional Health is available now from Nick Hern Books