Review of The Breakthrough Overthinking Method
Posted: 18 Jun 2022, 03:05
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Breakthrough Overthinking Method" by Mark Howards.]
The Breakthrough Overthinking Method by Mark Howards is a self-help book that aims to turn overthinking into mindfulness through a process that retrains your brain to transform your chain of thoughts bit by bit. The author describes the I.S.A. (Identify, Solve, Act) rules that help you break negative mental habits. Overthinking can generate stress and anxiety, get you stuck and unable to make decisions, and even make you fall into an obsessive state that can become pathological.
Thinking before acting is good but there's a point after which you're overthinking. Thoughts focus on negative elements leading you to the worst-case scenario. Bad experiences can push us to negative thinking which in turn leads us to bad decisions or the inability to make decisions. Mark Howards used to be that kind of person and decided to study psychology to solve his problem. Eventually, he devised a method to break out of those toxic habits and create new, positive habits.
This book is short with its 124 pages that include a reference list that is useful as well if you're interested in some scientific studies that offered Mark Howards suggestions for his method. The author explains the I.S.A. rules step by step, also using tables and summaries at the end of his chapters. They make things as clear as possible and make it easier for readers to come back for a quick review. That's what I appreciated the most about this book.
The chapter about the Act rule includes parts about eating and physical exercise because physical health is connected to mental health. Mark Howards doesn't go in-depth because those are not his specializations but offers some suggestions that are useful to improve your physical health and mood.
The problem with the book is that it contains several errors and sometimes the phrasing is a bit awkward. The important concepts are still easy to understand, so my reading experience and my understanding weren't affected. However, in my opinion, in this kind of book, it's particularly important that everything is very clear, so this is the part I didn't like. I think that some polishing in the form of correcting the mistakes and rephrasing some bits would improve the book.
I already knew some of the techniques described in this book because I have a tendency to overthink, so I already looked for solutions in the past. I'm already working to add some of the techniques I learned from this book to achieve another step forward toward mindfulness. As the author points out in his book, it's a process in which every bit helps.
I found this book very useful, as Mark Howards explains practical rules you can integrate into your everyday life to improve your state of mind. It's a process that has benefits that increase with every step you take with all the possible positive ramifications on your life.
Only because of its errors, I have to rate The Breakthrough Overthinking Method 3 out of 4 stars. If you have a tendency to overthink, I recommend reading it. The absence of profanity and sexual references makes it suitable for teenagers as well, as they can learn to properly focus their thoughts before their overthinking becomes a problem.
******
The Breakthrough Overthinking Method
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Breakthrough Overthinking Method by Mark Howards is a self-help book that aims to turn overthinking into mindfulness through a process that retrains your brain to transform your chain of thoughts bit by bit. The author describes the I.S.A. (Identify, Solve, Act) rules that help you break negative mental habits. Overthinking can generate stress and anxiety, get you stuck and unable to make decisions, and even make you fall into an obsessive state that can become pathological.
Thinking before acting is good but there's a point after which you're overthinking. Thoughts focus on negative elements leading you to the worst-case scenario. Bad experiences can push us to negative thinking which in turn leads us to bad decisions or the inability to make decisions. Mark Howards used to be that kind of person and decided to study psychology to solve his problem. Eventually, he devised a method to break out of those toxic habits and create new, positive habits.
This book is short with its 124 pages that include a reference list that is useful as well if you're interested in some scientific studies that offered Mark Howards suggestions for his method. The author explains the I.S.A. rules step by step, also using tables and summaries at the end of his chapters. They make things as clear as possible and make it easier for readers to come back for a quick review. That's what I appreciated the most about this book.
The chapter about the Act rule includes parts about eating and physical exercise because physical health is connected to mental health. Mark Howards doesn't go in-depth because those are not his specializations but offers some suggestions that are useful to improve your physical health and mood.
The problem with the book is that it contains several errors and sometimes the phrasing is a bit awkward. The important concepts are still easy to understand, so my reading experience and my understanding weren't affected. However, in my opinion, in this kind of book, it's particularly important that everything is very clear, so this is the part I didn't like. I think that some polishing in the form of correcting the mistakes and rephrasing some bits would improve the book.
I already knew some of the techniques described in this book because I have a tendency to overthink, so I already looked for solutions in the past. I'm already working to add some of the techniques I learned from this book to achieve another step forward toward mindfulness. As the author points out in his book, it's a process in which every bit helps.
I found this book very useful, as Mark Howards explains practical rules you can integrate into your everyday life to improve your state of mind. It's a process that has benefits that increase with every step you take with all the possible positive ramifications on your life.
Only because of its errors, I have to rate The Breakthrough Overthinking Method 3 out of 4 stars. If you have a tendency to overthink, I recommend reading it. The absence of profanity and sexual references makes it suitable for teenagers as well, as they can learn to properly focus their thoughts before their overthinking becomes a problem.
******
The Breakthrough Overthinking Method
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon