Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Psychology & Mental Health

Whether it is fitting in at school, struggling to connect with colleagues in a new job or just feeling out of place in your own family, we all, at various stages in our lives, find ourselves questioning our identity. For Dr Holan Liang, this crisis of identity cuts right to the heart of the modern epidemic of anxiety and depression. In this groundbreaking book, she draws on her own experience as an immigrant to the UK, and on 20 years of caring for patients suffering from a range of mental health conditions, to explore a radical new perspective on mental health.

Spite covers psychology, economics, genetics, literature and current affairs to examine why humans inflict self-harm just to get one over on someone else. Why do we secretly want our friends to fail? Lots of irresistible stories about toxic behaviour in supermarkets and over the privet hedge, ramping up to incendiary divorces, vicious business practices, backbiting politics, scorched earth terrorism, Trump and Brexit. Was Trump elected because people voted out of spite for Hillary Clinton?

Julia Kelly met charismatic and successful artist Charlie Whisker while she was working on her first novel. He was 20 years older than her. Their relationship was passionate and extraordinary; each of them inspired the other. Their friends were writers, artists and rock stars; they lived a glamorous life of exhibitions, parties and concerts. They became parents to a daughter they adored. But Charlie suddenly changed, becoming hopelessly forgetful, angry and confused.

In Stop Being Reasonable, philosopher and journalist Eleanor Gordon-Smith tells six lucid, gripping stories that show the limits of human reason. From the woman who realised her husband harboured a terrible secret, to the man who left the cult he had been raised in since birth, and the British reality TV contestant who, having impersonated someone else for a month, discovered he could no longer return to his former identity, all of the people interviewed radically altered their beliefs about the things that matter most.

Why do we dream? How can you sleep better? How do you control your dreams? Discover the theories and techniques to ensure a rich world of dreams every night. Decode your dreams – over 50 common dream scenarios are interpreted in detail. What do they mean – to you? Ever dream of flying? Winning the lottery? Flunking an exam? Understand what your mind is telling you when you’re asleep and you’ll unlock your true potential when you’re awake. Night Vision holds the answers.

Spotting a face in a crowd is so easy, you take it for granted. But how you do it is one of science's great mysteries. And vision is involved with so much of everything your brain does. Explaining how it works reveals more than just how you see. In We Know It When We See It, Harvard neuroscientist Richard Masland tackles vital questions about how the brain processes information - how it perceives, learns and remembers - through a careful study of the inner life of the eye.

All of us experience a sense of wonder at some point in our lives. Perhaps you felt it when you experienced your first kiss; when you grasped the perfectly balanced beauty of an equation; or when you first saw the rose windows of Chartres Cathedral? Whatever the circumstances that triggered the feeling, you were left speechless by this extraordinary world of ours. We may speak different languages, cling to different ideas about politics, religion and love - but a longing for wonder connects us all through space and time.

Over the last 500 years, life for the average human being has changed dramatically - plagues no longer wipe out entire families, and no longer do we empty our chamber pots into the street. Nope, not today. But, Western progress has shown that no matter how many dangers we neutralize, new ones emerge. Now we remain at the mercy of an invisible enemy - fear. Our well-being suffers and our imaginations are stifled.

Late one night, while Rebecca Fogg was alone in her apartment, her hand was partially amputated in an explosion. Quick thinking saved her life, but the journey to recovery would be a slow one. As the doctors rebuilt her hand, Rebecca (who also survived 9/11) began rebuilding her sense of self by studying the physical and psychological process of recovery.

Under the new rules of social media, we are not what we eat, but rather what others believe we eat. The 21st century has marked the emergence of social media networking sites. They have become a major part of our lives: we can't imagine our lives without them, and it's unrealistic to assume that's even possible. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook haven't been around long, but they are already having far-reaching impacts on our health and wellbeing.

When Vanessa Potter woke up one morning blind and paralysed, she was astonished to discover that it was meditating, not drugs, that saved her. Working with neuroscientists on a unique ‘citizen science’ experiment, wearing a portable EEG headset that records her brain activity, Vanessa becomes a human guinea pig, investigating whether meditation can transform her life, forever. Books on meditation normally teach us how to meditate - not what happens when we try. For the curious or sceptic alike, Vanessa provides a glimpse into how powerful the right practice can be.

In the 2008 US election, many Americans believed Barack Obama was a Muslim. The conspiracy theory book 9/11: The Big Lie has become a best seller. Hearsay has fuelled economic boom and bust - so much so that in many places it's now a crime to circulate false rumours about banks. Why do ordinary people accept rumours, even untrue, bizarre or damaging ones? Does it matter? And, if so, what should we do about it? As Cass Sunstein shows in his brilliant analysis of the phenomenon, there are many different ways in which rumours are dispersed.

Today we face a greater range of potential disasters than ever before - and Laurence Shorter is feeling anxious. Every time he turns on the radio or opens a newspaper he finds another reason to be tearful. It's time to make a change. The Optimist charts Laurence's quest for inner happiness. Can Desmond Tutu bring a smile to Laurence's face? Will he ride out the tide of pessimism with California's famous Surfing Rabbi?

Our ability to make choices is fundamental to our sense of ourselves as human beings and essential to the political values of freedom-protecting nations. Whom we love; where we work; how we spend our time; what we buy: such choices define us in the eyes of ourselves and others, and much blood and ink has been spilt to establish and protect our rights to make them freely. Choice can also be a burden. Our cognitive capacity to research and make the best decisions is limited, so every active choice comes at a cost.

Instantly acquire all the knowledge you need to pass as an expert in the world of sex, seduction, and the sensual arts. Never again confuse a Flying Wallenda with an inverted wheelbarrow, food sex with vanilla sex, or a banjo string with a cupid stunt. Bask in the admiration of your fellow enthusiasts as you pronounce confidently on the comparative pleasures of identifying and arousing ‘P-spots’, ‘E-spots’ and ‘G-spots’, and effortlessly learn how to hold your own (figuratively speaking) against keen devotees of ‘frottage’.

The body's natural way of re-energising and healing, sleep nourishes the mind and body with it's numerous health benefits. Whether you sleep like a baby or are a perennial insomniac, Sleep will guide you through the cultural and historical perspectives of shut-eye, explain why our body clocks are so important and delve into the four stages of sleep, from shallow to deep. You'll learn about why it's so important to nourish the mind, what really goes on when you're dreaming and how to tackle the perpetual problem of insomnia.

The Book of Feeling Blue offers hope to those experiencing depression, explaining the nature of the condition and the many different forms it can take at different life stages, and offering straightforward advice about how to manage it. Written in a chatty, reassuring tone, chapters cover all aspects of the condition, including how to support a family member or friend who may be suffering from it, providing a therapist's evidence-based, practical toolkit for dealing with this widespread and debilitating mental-health problem.

There's a lot of angst around these days. This heightened sense of fear, concern, insecurity and uncertainty can be overwhelming. Bestselling author of The Book of Overthinking and The Book of Knowing Gwendoline Smith explains what angst is and the ways in which deep anxiety can manifest. Gwendoline then drills down into social anxiety, which is often underdiagnosed but is one of the most common of the anxiety family. Using simple, clear language and humorous illustrations, Gwendoline gives detailed step-by-step advice on how to cope.