Cheaper Than Therapy: How To Forgive and Overcome Anger, Anxiety, Fear and Stress
by Mykey Robinson
Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction
Average rating on Goodreads: 4.35

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but WORDS WILL OFTEN HURT YOU. Just because you can’t see a bone sticking out doesn’t mean you’re not hurt. An untended emotional wound still festers. Do you want to forgive but can’t seem to? Do you know you have hurts from your past but can’t put your finger on it? Using Mykey’s technique, you’ll not only be able to identify the who, what, how and when, but also maximize your chance of getting entirely free of it.If you've been hurt by people you love(d), or if trusting sometimes makes you fearful and anxious, this book is for you. Everyone has challenges – whether it be families, friends or lovers. Forgiveness is the life skill we need to get through them. With the help of this book and the people you love, you’ll be able to. Cheaper Than Therapy is a simple, entertaining guide on how to forgive for all beliefs and backgrounds. Written in the Self Help/Pop Psychology genre, it is a quirky take on the process of forgiving - for people who have tried it, (perhaps even done counseling) but can’t quite seem to put their finger on what the problem is, or how to solve it. Instead of looking at depressing horror stories, the book is filled with stories of everyday people - packed with humor, practical tips, simple illustrations and exercises. Cheaper Than Therapy applies quantitative research to a qualitative problem of the heart, with spectacular results. Forgiving is an art form - there are no guaranteed, “secret” formulas that work for everyone, but just like art, the more you practice the better you get. You can go from kindergarten finger painter to Leonardo DaVinci’s prodigy with enough practice". Based on real psychological findings, it not only provides deeply insightful observations about how the human heart works, it gives you a practical, step-by-step way of doing it. It truly is an invaluable manual for real life conflict situations.Essentially, forgiveness is a means to an end, not an end in itself. If the whole point were to forgive, it wouldn’t really give us much incentive. But there are massive benefits that come with real forgiveness. If we can forgive, we have the chance to gain access to these benefits. If we can forgive, we will be able to trust again. If we can trust again, we open ourselves up to the chance of loving again. The giving and receiving of love is essential for us to live full lives, without which we may feel broken, hurt, alienated or all three. The belief that makes a person say “I’m unlovable” (or the many variations thereof) is the most common cause of brokenness today.The Book is divided into 3 sections:Section 1: What Is Forgiveness and Why Should We Do It?In the first section we’ll look at what forgiveness is, and why we need to do it. In Chapters 1 and 2, we clarify what forgiveness is, and set some clear goals and definitions of what it looks like when we succeed. In Chapter 3 we focus on finding a motivation to forgive. Having a clear motivation is the most important element in forgiving, without which, we’re just fooling ourselves. In Chapter 4, we look at the difference between our hearts and heads, and how we need to get them working together.Section 2: How To ForgiveChapters 5, 6 and 7 lay out a practical step-by-step forgiveness process. We look at how people owe us “debts”, and what to do to get rid of these permanently. We look at how underlying assumptions sometimes need to be altered for us to learn how to trust again, and the different relationship types our lives that owe us different types of debts. We then go through a simple step by step guide that allows us to pinpoint and cancel these debts.Section 3: How To ReconcileIn Chapter 8, we look at how we often need to assess the risks of reconciling with a person, types of abuse, how to tell whether they’re genuinely repentant, and the factors to consider when seeking justice. In Chapters 9 and 10, we look at how to approach people to seek reconciliation and how to increase our chances of success if and when we want it to happen.