Faith G Harper – Unfuck Your Brain (Literature Review)

CW: Due to the nature of the book discussed in this review, this article contains coarse language and references to mental illness including trauma and addiction.


Re-released last month, Unfuck Your Brain is an engaging, accessible take on managing mental illness.

Well known in field of psychology and counselling in the United States, there’s no doubt that Dr Faith Harper is more than qualified to write a book about how the mind works when dealing with mental illness.

In fact, she has such an illustrious reputation that you might say there are few more qualified. And when the latest re-release of her highly acclaimed book, Unfuck Your Brain, has already received such stellar reviews from readers and colleagues alike, it’s hard to disagree.


Unfuck Your Brain has been one of the most, if not the most enjoyable book I have read on mental illness in quite some time. I stumbled across the original edition in a bookstore one day, and while I didn’t buy it then, it did pique my interest. So when Scribe Publishing (Australia) reached out with the opportunity to review the re-realise, I couldn’t say no.

There are so many books on the market that discuss mental illness, and it can be difficult to know which one can be right for you. This is something I have personal experience with, having managed my own anxiety and depression since my late teens.

Unfuck Your Brain didn’t really offer anything new in terms of techniques for managing symptoms of depression, or dealing with panic attacks for me personally, but I can see how it would be incredibly helpful for someone who had been recently diagnosed with mental illness or a trauma-related condition.

For me, what I got most out of Unfuck Your Brain was the way in which the author was able to cut through the science-y explanations of what happens to your brain when dealing with mental issues, and give it to you in plain English.

The wit and cheekiness with which she delivers it is also something that I’d not encountered before, and at times it was more like you were talking about your problems with a friend, rather than from someone who is actually qualified to teach you how to manage such things.

My favourite laugh out loud moment was when Dr Harper wrote (and I’m paraphrasing slightly), ‘Fuck you. Fuck this shit. This is how this works. I don’t care how offended you are by my cursing because I have a Phd, and that entitles me to drop the F-Bomb as much or whenever I want to.’
It was such a down to earth thing to say that it really helped ground me as the reader and enhanced that connection you should feel when enjoying a book.

Ultimately, Unfuck Your Brain won’t be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. It was a great reminder of techniques and tips you can use to manage mental illness crises and really helps you understand what’s happening in your brain, rather than bombard you with science-based data you can’t unravel.

Unfuck Your Brain is out now through Scribe Publishing (Australia).