Managing Your Emotions for a Healthier Life

by Mark W. Baker

Have you been hurt by someone and want to learn to trust again? Do you need help with your sadness or anger? Are you looking for relief from shame, anxiety, or fear? Do you desire the true happiness and love that come with emotional healing? Christian psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Mark Baker shows how to handle eight basic human emotions in order to heal from emotional pain--and discover the bright future God has in store for you. Managing Your Emotions for a Healthier Life is the same compassionate advice he shares with his clients, allowing you to reap the benefits of expert counseling from the comfort of your own home.

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2020

About the author

Dr. Baker received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Master's Degree in Theology from Fuller Seminary, and has received a Certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute. He is licensed as a Psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapist in California, and has served as an ordained minister. Dr. Baker is the Executive Director of the La Vie Counseling Centers with offices in Pasadena and Santa Monica, which has been serving the Los Angeles area for over thirty-five years. Dr. Baker is a frequent lecturer on the topics of spirituality and emotional heath on radio, television and churches, and his best selling book Jesus- The Greatest Therapist Who Ever Lived has sold over 2 million copies and been published in several languages around the world.

Reviews

[Katrina Swartzentruber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was increasingly disappointed with this book as it wore on. It was helpful in the sense of drawing awareness to some things but Bakers theology left much to be desired. I would possibly recommend sections of this book if it felt applicable to a situation

[Daphne Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book uses several anecdotes and examples to explain a variety of emotions found under larger umbrellas (think sadness, fear, happiness, etc.). Each example is one or two pages of a brief description of the sub-emotion, an example from real life about what that emotion looks like (often drawn from Baker's own patients), and a reflection on how to deal with that emotion, sometimes with a theological connection as well. It was a decent book that addressed a wide variety of issues and emotions.

Reading it straight through, however, proved to be a challenge, and it took me a long time to finish the book. I'm happy I did now, but I think in the future, I would only use this book as a reference and read specific anecdotes that may pertain to my own curiosities or struggles. Baker is wise with his words, and the stories he tells are fascinating and real. He is a good writer.

Baker describes himself as a counselor and theologian, and I wish I had seen more of the theology aspect in the book. Bible verses were not referenced and were thrown in haphazardly at times. Some of the supposedly spiritual connections felt strained or even nonexistent in places. Not that it has to be a "throw-all-the-Christian-truth-in-your-face" kind of book, necessarily, but there were a few moments where I wish he had added more than he did. And again, this book felt like quite a slog at times - 300 pages and more than 90 chapters. Some chapters were better than others.

If you want to read this book, I certainly think it's worth it to sort through some of your emotions in a very concrete way, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it.

[Ozbernie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this book was much more of an “overview” about different emotions we experience such as pain, anger, guilt, shame, sorrow, anxiety, fear, happiness and love.

I didn’t find it to be a book that was really about how to “manage” these emotions.

For me, it was more an informative book and I took some sections to be really insightful and helpful too in identifying and also validating much of my emotional ride.