You Are Not a Rock, Mark Freeman
You Are Not a Rock, Mark Freeman
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You Are Not a Rock
A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Mental Health (for Humans)

Author: Mark Freeman

Narrator: Stephen Graybill

Unabridged: 7 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 09/04/2018


Synopsis

Mental health is . . . being yourself.

A prescriptive and positive guide, making the case that mental well-being, like physical health, can be strengthened over time and with specific techniques

We all want to feel less anxiety, guilt, anger and sadness. We want to obsess less and be less lonely, free ourselves from our demons, compulsive habits, and stress. But as humans (unlike rocks) we experience all of these. And paradoxically, trying to avoid and control them only makes things worse.

Having struggled with serious mental illness for many years himself, Mark Freeman has become a dedicated mental-health advocate and coach. He makes the case that instead of trying to feel less and avoid pain and stress, we need to build emotional fitness, especially our capacity for strength, balance and focus. With wit, compassion, and depth of experience and anecdotes, he shows that we can recover from many mental disorders, from mild to very serious, at all ages and stages of life, and even if other methods have failed. Freeman's innovative approach makes use of a range of therapeutic techniques, mindfulness training, peer support, humor, and common sense.

About The Author

Mark Freeman is a mental health coach and human-centered design workshop facilitator based in Toronto. After recovering from severe mental illness himself, he now focuses on leveraging technology and design to help others navigate the complex changes necessary to improve and maintain great mental health and fitness. He is the co-founder of the online mental health community Everybody Has a Brain, and he is a Stanford Medicine X ePatient Scholar.


Reviews

Goodreads review by melissa on March 02, 2025

4 ⭐️ “the practice of caring for your health is a lifestyle, it’s a way of living. It’s not a magic pill, an app, a device, or mantra. It’s a way of doing what you do, wherever you are, wherever you’re going.” i took a lot of notes while reading this book. i took my time reading through the chapters,......more

Goodreads review by Kate on November 04, 2024

I find Mark’s approach to be incredibly helpful and accessible. Approaching mental health like physical health is a simple but effective metaphor. We can define ourselves by the healthy direction we’re moving in and the mental fitness we are building, not our weaknesses. We can only choose how to ac......more

Goodreads review by charlotte on June 14, 2024

this took me 6 months of picking up and putting down and slowly digesting and practicing, which i think is the way it should be read. great ACT-based self help book for anyone with anxiety, even though it’s a book aimed at OCD, i really think the way he defines a compulsion makes it applicable to pe......more

Goodreads review by Kira on March 30, 2024

LOVE this book! I cried several times during this book. I learned things about myself that I didn’t want to face, and more importantly, learned that I can tackle those things if I am willing to make it happen. I love books with actionable content, that don’t make everything sound like rainbows and b......more

Goodreads review by Beth on February 25, 2019

A great book on caring for our own mental health. Better to have a print or digital copy than audio in order to take full advantage of the exercises outlined in the book. Multiple readings are beneficial.......more


Quotes

“The best book, by far, I’ve read on mental health and fitness. Mark has become a trusted friend, thought-partner, and counselor. By reading this book, you too can gain a wealth of knowledge and actionable steps to live a richer, fuller, and more present life. I really couldn’t recommend it more.” —Brad Stulberg, co-author of Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success

“Mark Freeman has created a roadmap to calm the worried mind, chock-full of useful practices, no-nonsense strategies, and trench-harvested wisdom.” —Mark Wolynn, author of It Didn’t Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle
 
“This sensible and highly practical approach to mental health offers a welcome antidote to the fear-based thinking that has become all too prevalent in our culture. Try some of Freeman’s exercises for yourself—you might be surprised by how readily even longstanding emotional roadblocks can be cleared away!” —Gail A. Hornstein, author of Agnes’s Jacket: A Psychologist's Search for the Meanings of Madness