Reasons to Stay Alive Summary

Reasons to Stay Alive

Matt Haig

At just 24-years-old, while living in sunny Ibiza, Spain with his girlfriend, Matt Haig had a terrible panic attack that left him in bed for three days. It also began a long road to recovery from the depression and anxiety he'd been silently experiencing.

While his mental health troubles seemed sudden at the time, Haig looked back and noticed the signs were always there. From an anxiety-filled camping trip as a youth, to a college presentation that made him hyperventilate, his mental illness was always lurking. But like most people with depression, and especially men, social isolation kept Haig from getting the help he needed until it was almost too late. Thankfully, Haig learned a few strategies to cope and now lives a happy life with his wife and kids. We can't pin down the exact cause of mental illness, and it's impossible to prescribe a one-size-fits-all fix to it. But Haig has discovered some simple strategies that helped him get through it, and they might just help you too.