The User's Guide to the Human Mind · Why Our Brains Make Us Unhappy, Anxious, and Neurotic and What We Can Do about It by Smith, Shawn T. -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction

What This Book Is About

Protection at a Price

Luke’s Struggle My Mind, My Bodyguard The Argument Trap The Paradox of Thought Suppression

A Day in the Life of a Mind

What Is the Mind? Why the Mind Worries How the Mind Speaks Anxiety and Depression: Ancient Tools for Modern Times The Mind Is Always Rational, from a Certain Point of View

Letting the Mind Do Its Job

From the Mind’s Point of View, Survival Matters Most Thoughts Are Not Facts Observing Your Thoughts Observing Your Emotions

How the Mind Uses History

How Penelope Lost Track of Her Values The Past Is Not the Problem The Mind’s False Dilemmas

The Mind’s Skewed View and Biased Memories

What the Mind Fears and How It Responds The Survival Value of Biased Recall How the Mind Makes Rules to Keep Us Safe

Values and Action

Training the Mind to Tolerate the Pursuit of Values The Higher Mind Finding Your Values Control Your Life, Not Your Mind The Trap of Waiting for Thoughts and Feelings to Change Take Your Mind with You on the Road to Valued Living

That Was Then and This Is Then

What Meg Doesn’t Know About Andy Why Our Minds Rely on History

Trump Cards and Double Standards

Trump Cards Responding to Trump Cards Double Standards Staying Observant and Maintaining Distance

Pessimistic Thinking

It Isn’t Pessimism—It’s Error Management Pessimism: The Ancient Cure for Modern Times Living with a Pessimistic Mind

Quick Fixes

How the Mind Competes with Itself Breaking the Quick-Fix Habit Managing the Drive for Quick Fixes

Welcome to Your State of Mind

Mallory’s Mood Don’t Trust Every Mood You Meet My Mind Might Be Wrong Opposite Action: Moving Toward Values To Medicate or Not to Medicate?

Mind the Basics

References