How to Feel Better... Realistically is a no-nonsense guide on how to feel better no matter what life throws at you.
The chief recommendation of the book is that we should be realistic. Other guides to happiness and feeling better have recommended techniques such as positive thinking, positive psychology, mindfulness, living in the present, chasing your dreams, and so on, but none of these work reliably over the long run. How to Feel Better... Realistically moves forward from these approaches to provide genuine, workable, practical answers to all of life's difficulties. No issue is shied away from. Nothing is left hidden. Everything is brought out into the open and fully answered.
Every issue of life is covered, including all the ineffective ways we may try to be happy, difficulties with other people, bad events happening in the world and our own lives, illness, accidents, mistakes, our own lack of abilities, aging, and our mortality. Practical, realistic ways to feel better about each of these issues are completely explained.
The role the subconscious plays in our decisions and view of life is fully examined. Solutions are given on how to cooperatively lead our subconscious towards better feelings for us and itself.
How to Feel Better... Realistically also gives the best ways to deal with other people, including the difficult and the not-so-difficult "normal" ones. It explains why we spend so much of our time looking for what is bad and what we can do about this. It advises how we can understand and improve how we feel about the world's "unfixable" problems. Finally, it gives practical advice on when it is worthwhile to follow our dreams and the best way we can do it.
How to Feel Better... Realistically is entirely realistic in its approach. Its solutions work in all circumstances and keep working over the long run.