Some days you really are fine.

And some days you say you're fine because it's easier than explaining what's actually going on.

This book is for those other days.

You already know how to be a good friend. When someone you care about is having a hard time, you know how to listen, how to be kind, how not to make things worse. Hey. How Are You, Actually? is about turning that same kindness towards yourself - because you deserve it just as much as they do.

Inside are twenty small things you can do, most of them only a few minutes long, for the moments that really happen. When your brain won't switch off at night. When you're waiting outside the exam room feeling sick. When a friendship fades and nobody says why. When everyone else seems fine and you're not so sure you are.

There's nothing you have to believe in. Nothing you have to be good at. Just small, real things that help.

One gentle question runs through all of it: What would you say to a friend right now, and can you say that to yourself?

Whatever you're carrying right now, you don't have to carry it alone. You can just start here.

________________________________________

For the grown-up holding this book

Written for teenagers, grounded in real research and small enough to use on an ordinary day. No pressure. You might find a few of the practices are exactly what you need too.