Description
When life feels heavy, it can be hard to think clearly, know what to do, or where to turn.
This booklet offers a different starting point.
Written by Dr Rani Bora, consultant psychiatrist and co-founder of The Holistic Psychiatry Clinic, this guide brings together clear clinical insight with a deeper understanding of how the mind works.
Rather than viewing you as broken, it helps you reconnect with your innate capacity for resilience, clarity and recovery.
Inside, you will find:
– A simple, grounded explanation of how your thoughts and emotions interact
– Practical ways to settle the mind and reduce overwhelm
– The Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine to support mental and physical wellbeing
– Clear, balanced information about antidepressants, including benefits, risks and alternatives
– The BRAIN framework to help you make informed decisions about treatment
This is not a quick-fix or a one-size-fits-all approach.
It is a thoughtful, evidence-informed guide designed to help you slow down, reflect, and take your next step with greater clarity and confidence.
Whether you are experiencing anxiety, low mood, burnout, or simply feeling stuck, this booklet offers a calm and practical path forward.
A professionally printed copy of the booklet, designed to be read slowly and reflected on. Ideal if you prefer a tangible guide you can return to.
Helen Callen –
I have found this booklet incredibly helpful. For anyone considering taking antidepressants, it clearly explains the potential implications of taking them and the realities that some people may face, before embarking on a journey that may not deliver the improvements they had hoped for. Informed consent is something everyone should have before starting these medications.
Rani clearly outlines what you should be thinking about and what conversations you should be having with your doctor before taking something that may not help.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Helen. We’re so glad you found the booklet helpful. Informed decision-making matters deeply to us, and we’re grateful that these ideas resonated with you.
Jacqui Footman –
This booklet is exactly what is needed in General Practice and anywhere that people first go for help with feelings of low mood or the beginnings of mental health problems. It is very clear, positive, understanding and supportive of patients, written in a calm and balanced professional tone by a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It takes a refreshing, balanced approach to the question of when to consider antidepressant medication, emphasising fully informed consent with a helpful acronym – BRAIN (Benefits | Risks | Alternatives | Information and Individual needs | Next Steps. Widespread distribution through the right hands as the exciting potential to make a major difference to people’s ability and confidence to take manage their mental health.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Jacqui. Your kind words mean a great deal to us. We share your hope that resources like this can help more people feel informed, supported and empowered in their mental health decisions.
Fiona Mary Ferrar –
This little book contains hope for anyone struggling with their mental wellbeing.
In it you’ll find things explained in simple language.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Fiona. We’re delighted that you found hope and encouragement in the booklet. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
Dr Kirstien Bjerregaard –
This is such a helpful booklet that I have shared with my clients who are on or considering taking anti-depressants. It draws attention to the innate health at play within everyone no matter what they are going through. It clearly and simply explains how your mind is designed to recover and ways in which to work with your psychological immune system. Alongside being practically helpful in terms of questions to ask and things to consider when deciding to take or come of anti-depressants. A client immediately lit up on reading the first page of the booklet when it asked them to consider how it they wanted their life to be, rather than what they didn’t want.
I can’t recommend this booklet enough, I’m sure it will help so many people.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Kirstien, for your generous feedback. It means a great deal to know that the booklet has been helpful for both you and your clients. We are deeply grateful for your support and recommendation.
Hilary Barnett, Homeopath –
It’s refreshing to read a booklet that takes such a holistic approach to mental health. Rani offers a powerful perspective on the nature of our thoughts, how we experience them, how we relate to them, and how, through greater understanding, we can begin to transform our experience of life. Easy to read and full of insight, practical wisdom, and helpful information, it provides simple yet meaningful steps towards greater wellbeing. I particularly loved the QR codes, which make it easy to access additional resources and deepen understanding. I have already shared this booklet with others and will continue to recommend it. Thank you for creating such an accessible, valuable, and easy-to-read resource.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Hilary. We’re delighted that you found the booklet practical, insightful and easy to use. It means a lot to know that you’ve shared it with others.
Sue Pilkington, Homeopath –
This booklet/e-book is a beautiful gift to people on anti-depressants or in any conversation about them. The information regarding anti-depressants brings clarity and empowers the patient to join in the conversation with GPs/prescribers for an informed decision. This booklet is so supportive at a time when many feel very vulnerable and powerless. Additionally, Rani reminds us all that we are not broken and shows a different way of understanding experiences – invaluable in pointing back to natural wellbeing. Thankyou for this Rani, this is a fantastic resource to share with my homeopathic clients and colleagues.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Sue, for your kind and thoughtful words. We’re so pleased that the booklet has helped support informed conversations and offered a hopeful perspective on wellbeing.
Lucy Fernandes –
I like this booklet because it’s a pragmatic, concise and focussed guide to some key considerations in difficult times. Most of us will have come across some of the ideas inside the booklet but what makes it so helpful is they’re all in one place, and the reader can choose which part is most useful as a starting point to learn more. It draws on existing knowledge and established strategies such as lifestyle medicine, the work of Sydney Banks, and the latest research on deprescribing. It also offers a frame for informed consent if someone is considering a psychiatric drug.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Lucy. We really appreciate your thoughtful review. Bringing together practical ideas and trusted knowledge in an accessible way was one of our aims, and we’re pleased that this came across.
Rebecca Abrahams (psychotherapist) –
An excellent new resource. This evidence-based, yet commonsensical, booklet offers a refreshingly holistic insight into people’s innate mental wellbeing and an approach to the use and management of anti-depressant drugs. My clients say it has given them reassurance, valuable new information and a feeling of being more in control of their mental health decision-making.
The Clinic Team –
Thank you, Rebecca. We’re grateful for your encouragement and delighted to hear that your clients have found the booklet reassuring and empowering.