Overthinking About You: Navigating Romantic Relationships When You Have Anxiety, OCD, and/or Depression

by Allison Raskin

Overview

Dating is hard. But pursuing love and relationships when you live with mental illness can be even more overwhelming.

Allison Raskin knows this challenge firsthand and shares her journey with perfect candor. She’s learned from her experiences, and we get to learn from her, discovering new ways to form healthy dating and relationship habits. How do you talk to a partner about your mental health? What is the potential impact of SSRIs on your body? What is the difference between having valid concerns and catastrophizing? It’s all here, from meeting online to how to handle a breakup, from recognizing and avoiding unhealthy relationships to the big one—sex.

Woven in throughout are interviews with clinical psychologists, a psychiatrist, a sexologist, relationship experts, and real-life couples for their points of view and professional guidance. All to help you walk away from this book feeling less alone in the struggle and better prepared to tackle dating and relationships with more confidence and less worry.

It’s a transformative book, with insights on every page and an inspiring message of optimism and hope.



        

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523517794
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	05/03/2022
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	179,982
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Allison Raskin is a New York Times bestselling author. She is also the cohost of the popular podcast Just Between Us and cocreator of a YouTube channel by the same name. Allison has written and developed multiple TV shows and created the original scripted podcast Gossip. A vocal mental health advocate, Allison also runs the mental health–focused Instagram account @emotionalsupportlady.

Table of Contents

Contents 

Note to the Reader

Resources

Introduction: What is this book? 

Chapter 1: How can I handle breakups better? 

Chapter 2: What’s me and what’s my disorder? 

Chapter 3: How do I avoid an unhealthy relationship? 

Chapter 4: How do I talk about mental health with my partner?  

Chapter 5: Will medication help or hurt?  

Chapter 6: What’s sex got to do with it?  

Chapter 7: How do I date productively?   

Chapter 8: How do I not give up? 

Acknowledgments 

Editorial Reviews

02/14/2022

Self-help and memoir collide in this courageous and practical guide by Just Between Us podcaster Raskin (I Hate Everyone Except You) on how people with mental illness can “form healthy dating and relationship habits.” Raskin, who has been diagnosed with anxiety, OCD, and depression, shares her struggles with mental illness while delivering actionable advice in the form of conversations with psychologists, a therapist, and a sexologist, among other experts. The author provides tips on how to talk about mental health with partners, noting that readers don’t have to divulge everything at once, that they should address their illness deliberately (not compulsively), and that they should be forthright about how their symptoms present. Raskin also tackles such questions as, “How do I date productively?”; “What’s me and what’s my disorder?”; and “How can I handle breakups better?” Raskin’s podcasting roots show through in her conversational prose (“Why shouldn’t devouring an ice cream sundae be as valuable an experience as multiple orgasms?”), which is studded with lengthy quotes from experts and couples, all tied together by her unwaveringly empathetic approach. This invaluable and empowering primer delivers on its promise to help readers date while struggling with mental illness. Agent: Stacy Testa, Writers House. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Allison Raskin is a warm hug in the world of mental health. She reminds us that this life is meant to be enjoyed and to never give up on love because we all are more than deserving of it. This book is going to save relationships!” —Kelsey Darragh, author of Don’​t F*cking Panic: The Shit They Don’t Tell You in Therapy About Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, and Depression

“Romance and love can press all the buttons for overthinkers, denying us what we ultimately crave. Thank you, Allison, for being the brave soul to finally show us we can do both—fret and share a healthy intimate connection with another awesome human!” —Sarah Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of First, We Make the Beast Beautiful

“A warm and thoughtful guide to an under-discussed topic.” —Mara Wilson, writer and actor

“This invaluable and empowering primer delivers on its promise to help readers date while struggling with mental illness.” —Publishers Weekly

“A quick, quippy book that can be read in an afternoon. The thing I liked most was Raskin’s observation that we’re allowed to be works in progress, and that if you’re prone to overthink, it doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t be in love.” —Boston Globe

“Raskin’s book is a powerful reminder that while mental health can be all-consuming, it doesn’t define you—and it certainly doesn’t have to define your relationships.” —Teen Vogue

From the Publisher