How to be Human: Review

A month ago I went to TV presenter Ruby Wax's book signing. How to be Human: The Manual was written in conjunction with Ashish Ranpura, a neuroscientist, and Gelong Thubten, a Buddhist monk.

I recently finished the book. It's a light-hearted look into humankind: our behaviours, attitudes, quirks and drives. Although an interesting read, I found I had a lot of problems with it. The book's opening chapters describe our anthropological roots- how our caveman ancestors' behaviours wouldn't have been that different to ours today, and how their small, close-knit communities instilled in us a fear of being outcast. All of this is described as if profound, but there's a lot already written about this out there.

She then moves on to present day mental health conditions, and how these issues are formed. Despite writing this with the help of a capable neurologist, she still touts the now-debunked left-brain / right-brain theory, suggesting one side works with emotion, the other with critical thinking.

Along with this, she touts the dubious 'higher power' reference in addiction groups- the idea that we ask God or some other entity to 'remove defects of character.' I have some small experience of attending addiction groups, and some experience of being a neuropsychology patient. Take it from me, putting religion into treatment for a neurological condition will only cause more harm. Science won't. (That's why I'd personally advise people to avoid the Anonymous groups.)

Ms Wax is also guilty of using the phrase 'commit suicide.' It's generally accepted that we should change the language to say 'died by suicide.' People who take their own lives should not be viewed as criminals, but people who didn't get the help that they drastically needed, and a mental health advocate like Ms Wax should have known better.

One of the more interesting parts of the book is about 'mindfulness,' a buzzword at the moment, and a form of meditation. A few people have encouraged me to give it a shot. Ms Wax describes, though, 'when I slip into the depths of depression, it would be cruel to do any kind of therapy, let alone mindfulness... If you could tune into your mind in the depths of depression, you'd most likely hear the voices of hell, because that is a symptom of the disease.'

What concerns me is that a number of professionals and relatives have tried to push mindfulness on me, and when I gave it a shot I had this exact problem. I overthink. And I don't need more of that. Given all of this... Why didn't the neuroscientist Ash proof read this and make those corrections?!

How to be Human is an interesting but somewhat misleading read. Approach with caution.