Stuff That Sucks, Ben Sedley
Stuff That Sucks, Ben Sedley
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Stuff That Sucks
A Teen's Guide to Accepting What You Can't Change and Committing to What You Can

Author: Ben Sedley

Narrator: Zac Katz-Stein

Unabridged: 2 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/30/2024


Synopsis

If you struggle with negative thoughts and emotions, you should know that your pain is real. No one should try to diminish it. Sometimes stuff really does suck and we have to acknowledge it. Worry, sadness, loneliness, anger, and shame are big and important, but they can also get in the way of what really matters. What if, instead of fighting your pain, you realized what really matters to you—and put those things first in life? If you did that, maybe your pain wouldn't feel so big anymore. Isn't it worth a try?

Stuff That Sucks offers a compassionate and validating guide to accepting emotions, rather than struggling against them. You'll learn to figure out what you care about the most and prioritize your thoughts, feelings, and values. The skills you'll learn are based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Yes, there are a few written exercises, but this isn't a workbook. It's a journey into the stuff that sucks, what makes that sucky stuff suck even more, and how just a few moments each day with the stuff that matters will ultimately transform the stuff that sucks into stuff that is just stuff. Make sense?

Maybe you want to be more creative, do better in school, or be a better friend? This book will show you how to focus on what you really care about, so that all that other sucky stuff doesn't seem so, well, sucky anymore.

About Ben Sedley

Ben Sedley is an experienced clinical psychologist and ACT therapist with fifteen years' experience in both primary health centres and community mental health teams in New Zealand and London, working with children, adolescents, adults and families facing mental health difficulties. Currently, Ben works as a Clinical Practice Advisor at Victoria University of Wellington, and well as maintaining a private practice two days per week. Ben wrote a PhD dissertation examining children and young people's understandings of mental health, which has helped guide him on the best ways to explain mental health concepts and ACT to young people. His book Stuff that Sucks has received praise from young people, parents and clinicians around the world and was included in the UK Reading Well programme, which has led to it being recommended by GPs across England. Since the release of that book, Ben has also been active in running workshops across New Zealand and Australia introducing ways to use ACT with young people and will be a trainer at the Melbourne ACT Like a Pro Bootcamp in August 2018. Ben was the coordinator of the Wellington ACT Special Interest Group for 7 years and was Programme Chair and conference coordinator for the Australia and New Zealand ACBS Conference in 2015. In 2010, Ben completed a Victoria University of Wellington course in writing for children.


Reviews

Goodreads review by ❄️✨ Kat ✨❄️ on September 28, 2017

I couldn't finish this book, because it was obviously written for teens, and the language was just not keeping my interest, but I do think from what I did read that this should be read by teens who are dealing with shame, guilt, worry, sadness, or any other issue in their life. It explains to teens......more

Goodreads review by Katie on June 28, 2018

A good book, even if I'm not the designated age range.......more

Goodreads review by Peran on November 19, 2019

Simply written, but despite that, it really made me think deeply about how it can help me, I related to it a whole lot, and had me repeating lines to my partner a few times, who recommended this self-help book a while back.......more

Goodreads review by Ro on March 08, 2017

This is one the best books I've read in last year. Full of compassion, really down to earth human connective compassion. The fact it's got pictures and not necessarily aimed at my age group doesn't lessen the wisdom within, actually it makes it more of a bonus because it's compact and easily to read......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on December 31, 2021

We learned about this from an autism therapeutic program Orry is in. He says they read excerpts from it and do some of the activities. It is grounded in ACT, which I’ve heard can be too complex for kids on the spectrum, but because it’s in this laidback, accessible book I think that any kid, spectru......more