Why We Suffer and How We Heal

This morning I finished reading a short but informative nonfiction book titled Why We Suffer and How We Heal by Suzan Song. Suzan Song draws from experiences from her own life as well as the patients she’s worked with throughout her two-decade career. On top of being a psychiatrist, she is a humanitarian.

Little Book With Lots of Information

There’s a lot to love about this book. There are reminders that of course we should know but there’s also a lot of new information too. How rituals and a sense of purpose can help heal. While I’ve always been on the fence about this term “toxic positivity” & I know it’s been around longer than this book, I just call it avoiding the issue. At the same time, I like that Suzan’s book discusses not staying there and remaining in victimhood. My favorite part is her acronym for breaking cycles and patterns called REPEAT. R is for Recognize the underlying problem. E is for Explore the Repetition. P is for Pause the Pattern. E is for Embrace. A is for Act with Intention. T is think Through the Maze.  It’s not enough to just acknowledge something needs to change or it needs to be confronted, action needs to be involved.  Why We Suffer and How We Heal by Suzan Song is available now wherever you get your books!