Stuff that sucks A teen's guide to accepting what you can't change and committing to what you can

Ben Sedley

Book - 2017

"Sometimes everything sucks. This unique, illustrated guide will help you move past negative thoughts and feelings and discover what truly matters to you. If you struggle with negative thoughts and emotions, you should know that your pain is real. No one should try to diminish it. Sometimes stuff really does suck and we have to acknowledge it. Worry, sadness, loneliness, anger, and shame are big and important, but they can also get in the way of what really matters. What if, instead of fighting your pain, you realized what really matters to you--and put those things first in life? If you did that, maybe your pain wouldn't feel so big anymore. Isn't it worth a try? Stuff That Sucks offers a compassionate and validating guide t...o accepting emotions, rather than struggling against them. With this book as your guide, you'll learn to prioritize your thoughts, feelings, and values. You'll figure out what you care about the most, and then start caring some more! The skills you'll learn are based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Yes, there are a few written exercises, but this isn't a workbook. It's a journey into the stuff that sucks, what makes that sucky stuff suck even more, and how just a few moments each day with the stuff that matters will ultimately transform the stuff that sucks into stuff that is just stuff. Make sense? Maybe you want to be more creative? Or maybe you simply want to do better in school or be a better friend? This book will show you how to focus on what you really care about, so that all that other sucky stuff doesn't seem so, well, sucky anymore"--

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Subjects
Published
Oakland, CA : Instant Help Books [2017]
Language
English
Main Author
Ben Sedley (author)
Item Description
Originally published in Great Britain in 2015 by Robinson.
Physical Description
89 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm
ISBN
9781626258655
  • Stuff About this Book
  • Stuff that Sucks
  • Stuff that Makes the Stuff that Sucks Suck More
  • Stuff that Matters
  • Stuff that is Here and Now
  • Stuff that is Just Stuff
  • Other Stuff that Helps.
Review by Booklist Review

There's no getting around it: some things in life suck. With this basic premise, this empathetic book guides readers through some of the inevitable bummers of the teenage years. Sedley, a clinical psychologist and an experienced practitioner of family and adolescent therapy, presents plenty of generalized problems and issues that are common among young people, and offers potential solutions and ideas to combat them. Confronting negative thoughts and feelings is the basic strategy of the acceptance and commitment therapy that Sedley puts forth. He describes skills that can help readers stop trying to fight against their unwanted emotions and cope with inevitable setbacks. Sedley's credibility is bolstered by his openness about not having the answer to every problem or question faced by readers; rather, he encourages kids to look for strategies that work for them. Some exercises are written, while others are behavioral or observational. At its core, the book is a self-help tract on learning to accept one's emotions that will serve readers through their adolescence and beyond.--Anderson, Erin Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In a book first published in the U.K., clinical psychologist Sedley uses the language and tactics of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to encourage teens to recognize the feelings negatively affecting them, and offers tools and ideas for how they can mitigate or otherwise get a handle on them. Sedley doesn't get much into the specifics of what might have caused the hurt readers are feeling, and he doesn't need to. Worry, shame, and anger (just some of the "stuff that sucks" covered) can have any number of sources, and the suggestions he proposes-identifying one's core values, reaching out to friends (or professionals), and trying to think of persistent negative thoughts as annoying rather than day ruining-are broadly applicable. Occasional b&w line drawings are perhaps a tad juvenile for the target audience, but Sedley's informal but candid tone is consistently reassuring. Ages 13-up. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up-Teens and advice go together like, well, chocolate and sardines. But if a teen were to have a hankering for advice from a book, this might be one to suggest. Using a catchy title, this brief but informative selection presents Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which includes a heavy dose of mindfulness, an emphasis on accepting feelings, and a commitment to future goals and methods to change behavior. The author, a clinical psychologist, is well versed in this field and practiced in working with teens. Sedley's approach is -viable for those with issues large and small. He provides strategies for self-talk and ideas for dealing with friends, discovering personal values, and overcoming defeatist behaviors. Although the text is laudable, the design isn't. Unfortunately for libraries, there are three pages where readers are asked to write down answers to questions posed. While this volume isn't marketed as a workbook, the write-in feature encourages readers to enter their thoughts, and those entries could influence future ones. Handwritten chapter titles seem to be amateurishly scanned, but serviceable black-and-white illustrations appear throughout. Back matter offers those interested in ACT three additional reading recommendations but no other resources. VERDICT Useful information that could have benefited from better presentation. Consider only where self-help materials are in demand.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A very generalized introduction to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).Developed by psychologist Steven Hayes, ACT is designed to help patients move beyond the stresses caused by negative thoughts. Author and clinical psychologist Sedley begins by acknowledging many of the negative emotions that teens may experience: worry, sadness, loneliness, anger, and shame. Then, using a caveman analogy, he explains that human brains are hard-wired to look for danger, which in the modern age is social rejection. ACT contends that breaking the cycle of negative thoughts involves accepting themrather than focusing on shame about past behaviors or fear about potential future behaviorsand using mindfulness to focus on the immediate moment. The book suggests activities such as listening to music, staring at a body of water, or paying attention to breathing to aid with mindfulness. Sedley also includes a rating scale to help readers discover their personal values, which they can then use when setting goals for working toward a lifestyle that demonstrates these values. The brevity of topic coverage (typically only a page) necessitates a lot of generalization, and readers may find themselves frustrated. The childish, black-and-white line drawings lend the book a distressingly patronizing feel. This may work as an introduction to the concept of ACT, but it's too simplistic to help readers engage in self-directed ACT practices. (Nonfiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.