5 Lines I love from Notes on a Nervous Planet

Matt Haig, is a brilliant mental health author. If you haven’t read any of his books and you’re looking for the brutally honest truth about living with depression and anxiety, then Haig is your man.

I can’t profess to have read all of his books, if I’m being totally honest with you I started reading Reasons to Stay Alive, but because I was in a massive anxious phase, I didn’t finish it. However I did read enough to know that it is a book worth finishing.

One of the reason I know I’ll pick Reasons to Stay Alive up again is because I am reading Notes on a Nervous Planet. It is a great read for many reasons, however one of the things I love about it is that each chapter is very short, they literally are ‘notes’. It’s like Haig has been travelling continuously on public transport and what we’re reading is a collections of his musings onboard a train.

I will be writing a full review of the book when I have finished it, but what I wanted to share with you is five of my favourite lines from the book.

It’s all suspense, no action. It’s like Jaws without the shark.’

Matt Haig

Now this is the line that actually inspired me to write this blog post because I honestly think he has hit the nail on the head perfectly. When explaining anxiety Haig says: ‘It’s all suspense, no action. It’s like Jaws without the shark.’

‘Unlike my smartphone, there is no ‘slide to power off’ function for anxiety.’ Imagine how cool it would be if there was though?

‘Worry is a small, sweet word that sounds like you could keep an eye on it.’

This line I think perfectly summarises exactly how many people live their lives today. ‘A yin to the frantic yang of 21st century life.’

The last line that’ll mention is probably one of the most poignant and one I would like to explore further at a later date. Haig discusses the media in a chapter titled ‘Where does anxiety end and news begin?’ The line that really stands out to me is this: ‘Sex isn’t really what sells. What sells is fear.’

Think about that last line for a moment and then ask yourself what you have read in the news today? Was some of it frightening? For me the answer is yes. No wonder we’re all such anxious beans!

Notes on a Nervous planet is on sale for £8.97 on Amazon.

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