Notes on a Nervous Planet
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“When anger trawls the internet, Looking for a hook; It’s time to disconnect, And go and read a book.”
Notes on a Nervous Planet is an eminently quotable book written by an anxious human for anxious humans. That being said, reading it increased my own anxiety levels and I couldn't sit still while listening. Its best paired with an activity - I chose bread to knead out my own nerves while listening.
Haig looks at both the internal and external factors that have lead to so many of us dealing with mental health issues and examines them with compassion and wit.
Are we too hard on ourselves? “Remember no one really cares what you look like. They care what they look like. You are the only person in the world to have worried about your face.”
Is there just a lot going on at all times leading the default to be overstimulation? “I sometimes feel like my head is a computer with too many windows open. Too much clutter on the desktop. There is a metaphorical spinning rainbow wheel inside me. Disabling me. And if only I could find a way to switch off some of the frames, if only I could drag some of the clutter into the trash, then I would be fine. But which frame would I choose, when they all seem so essential? How can I stop my mind being overloaded when the world is overloaded? We can think about anything. And so it makes sense that we end up thinking about everything. We might have to, sometimes, be brave enough to switch the screens off in order to switch ourselves back on. To disconnect in order to reconnect.”
Are large chunks of society set up to actively encourage dissatisfaction or anger to keep us clicking on headlines and buying the next new thing? “When anger trawls the internet, Looking for a hook; It’s time to disconnect, And go and read a book.” Ending on this because its one of my favorite quotes I’ve read in a minute. I’m definitely guilty of doom-scrolling and picking unwinnable fights online, so I’m taking this as my goal from the book. I’m going to work on being more mindful of my time spent online and if it isn’t adding (positive) value, I’m going to practice putting the device down and walking away.
I don't know that I learned anything new while reading Notes on a Nervous Planet, but Haig has an excellent way with words and sometimes its validating just to hear someone else saying its ok to be overwhelmed. The book doesn’t get 5 stars thanks to that and because its somewhat disorganized, but overall its absolutely worth reading or listening to.
Bread recipe was pulled from the Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book. It’s a whole wheat rosemary and olive loaf and it was DELICIOUS.
