How to Stay Sane

There is no simple set of instructions that can guarantee sanity, but if you want to overcome emotional difficulties and become happier, psychotherapist Philippa Perry, author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, argues that there are four cornerstones to sanity you can influence to bring about change.

By developing your self-observation skills, examining how you relate to others, breaking out of your comfort zone and exploring new ways of defining yourself, Philippa demonstrates that it is possible to become a little less tortured and a little more fulfilled. How to Stay Sane is at once a brilliant explanation of our minds and a profoundly useful guide to facing up to the many challenges life throws our way.

Discover more inspirational guides from The School of Life series: How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric, How to Worry Less About Money by John Armstrong, and How to Think More About Sex by Alain de Botton.

About the Author

Philippa Perry is a psychotherapist and writer who has written for the Guardian, the Observer, Time Out and Healthy Living magazine and has a column in Psychologies. In 2010 she wrote the graphic novel Couch Fiction, in an attempt to demystify psychotherapy. She lives in London and Sussex with her husband, the artist Grayson Perry, and enjoys gardening, cooking, parties, walking, tweeting and watching telly.

The School of Life is a London-based enterprise that is dedicated to the most useful ideas relevant to the dilemmas of everyday life. We consider questions like: How can we fulfil our potential? Can work be inspiring? Why does community matter? Can relationships last a lifetime? We don’t have all the answers, but we will direct you towards a variety of useful ideas – from philosophy to literature, psychology to the visual arts – that are guaranteed to stimulate, provoke, nourish and console.