Book Recommendation
State Change. Robin Berzin. 2022
How I found it
I honestly can’t quite remember how I found this book. It could well have been via the GOOP newsletter and I think I bought it just after it was published. I tend to read and listen to a lot of the wellness media that comes out of the US where Robin is based. I’ve definitely also listened to a few of Robin’s podcast appearances since then.
State Change has been on my list of books to recommend for a while, but it feels timely to write about now as the summer days are running down and our thoughts begin to turn to autumn and a shift in our routines. It’s also because I’ve been talking to, and hearing about, different people who aren’t getting the full picture of their health at the moment.
What it’s about
Good health is multidimensional. Good mental wellbeing is built on a better understanding of the connection between mind and body and the environments in which we live. In State Change, Robin Berzin provides a comprehensive explanation of how everything joins together and ways in which we can gain a more comprehensive understanding about our personal health.
There’s a questionnaire to help you look at your current symptoms, physically and mentally. This is followed by insights into the different aspects of daily life that can negatively impact your health, how diagnostic testing works, and how you can increase your energy through exercise, food, supplements and lifestyle habits.
It’s also a great introduction to functional medicine which focuses on finding the root causes of issues that are impacting your health and treating your mind, body and emotional health as a whole, rather than through single entry points.
Why I’m recommending it
It’s understandable that many people put their health in the hands of qualified medical professionals working in the NHS. But the reality in the UK is that the NHS system is not consistently giving people the full joined-up picture of what is impacting their health, where underlying issues might exist and how they can help themselves to feel better now and in the future.
I believe having a more holistic view of our health and wellbeing can help us have more agency and make better decisions for ourselves. State Change was the first book I read that laid out many of the elements of holistic health I had been thinking about and helped me make sense of the full picture.
I’m recommending it as a book that provides information about the different elements that can support good health and get people feeling better in their bodies.
There’s so much noise out there in the wellness space about fixes, potions and remedies. I’m not recommending this book to add to this list. It’s more to give a full picture of the elements of health so you can consider what resonates with you and what might be helpful. I think this book needs to be read through the lens of suggestions that might provide clues and ideas that might be valuable to investigate.
It’s not a book to follow wholesale. Some of the advice needs medical guidance and support, some of it requires financial investment, some of it is more radical than you might be comfortable with. I know some of my readers are perfectionists, so consider this full permission to dip in and out rather than feel you need to take on every section.
Who should read it
This book could be helpful for anyone who wants to better understand what they can do to feel better in their mind and body.
It’s especially relevant if you have been quietly nursing a few physical issues but haven’t joined them up with how you are feeling mentally. Or if you know that you don’t have as much energy as you would like or bump along from one issue to the next and don’t seem to be getting the answers to how to resolve this.
If you have been dealing with anxiety or low mood, it can help you to consider ways in which working more closely with your body can actually help your mental wellbeing.
Consulting a health professional, whether medical or naturopathic, alongside reading this is all recommended, especially if you are suffering with disordered eating, given some of the dietary recommendations in the book.
A note
You can read more about Robin Berzin, her work and her company, Parsley Health via the websites below:
You can also watch or listen to Robin in conversation with one of my favourite podcast hosts, Rich Roll, about her work via the link below
