Book Review: Comparisonitis by Melissa Ambrosini
Comparisonitis Summary
Comparisonitis / com·par·isoni·tis/ (noun)
The compulsion to compare one's accomplishments to another's to determine relative importance.
Multiple bestselling author Melissa Ambrosini (Mastering Your Mean Girl, Open Wide, PurposeFULL) and host of the #1 podcast The Melissa Ambrosini Show puts the condition of Comparisonitis under the microscope, unpacking the symptoms, and offering practical tips you can start using immediately to break the cycle of comparison, free up mental bandwidth, and live life on your own terms.
When you cure Comparisonitis, you will:
Be free to live your life for you (no one else)
Feel peace from within
Experience genuine happiness
Truly appreciate your body and life
Free up SO much mental bandwidth for things you LOVE
Quit beating yourself up
Have more energy to go after the things that truly matter to you
Experience a radical shift towards authenticity
Be a better friend, partner, parent, family member, colleague, human
Free yourself from expectations
Unleash the courage to go after your dreams
Unstifle your creativity
Feel more liberated than you've ever felt in your life
And much more...
It creeps up on you without warning-perhaps while chatting with a friend, scrolling through social media, or even just while walking down the street.
All it takes is the hint of someone doing or having something you perceive as 'better' than you, and it hits. A feeling takes over-intense, blinding, gutting. Your brain starts spinning with toxic thoughts about yourself (or others), and you're left feeling ashamed, guilty, and even worthless.
It's called comparisonitis. And if you've suffered from it, you're NOT alone.
Comparisonitis is a contagious, socially transmitted condition that occurs when you compare yourself to others so frequently and fiercely that you're left paralyzed, with your confidence in tatters and your self-worth plummeting. It may sound trivial, but this affliction can have serious adverse effects on our mental health, leading to depression, anxiety, overthinking, and regret. To make matters worse, our comparison culture is only expanding. Thanks to social media, we have more opportunities to compare ourselves than ever before, and even kids are falling into the trap.
Described as a 'self-help guru' by Elle magazine, Melissa has experienced the effects of comparisonitis first hand, having worked extensively in industries like acting, modeling and dancing where comparison culture is not only rampant but openly encouraged. Melissa knows all too well how comparisonitis is infecting our minds and hurting our hearts, and in this book, she'll help you heal from this disease, liberate your headspace, and raise your self-worth so radically that you'll never let comparison rob you of your joy and happiness again.
My Review
Comparisonitis is one of those books that when you read it, you’re instantly like “that’s me”.
Melissa has honed in on a problem that I think affects everyone. I don’t think you can be immune to negatively comparing yourself in a world of social media.
Melissa really delves into topics such as “body comparison”, “Social media” and “Parenting comparisons”.
Melissa gives you really great tips and processes to go through when you start to feel the comparisonitis creep in.
I personally really connected with the body comparison chapter and thre social media chapter. I have completely changed my social media habit because of this book.
What I LOVE is that Melissa is super open about her own experiences and makes it a point to say that it’s not something you can just switch off. It’s a process of building your self-worth and basing your self-worth on real values that are important to you.
If you struggle hard with comparing yourself, imposter syndrome, this book is for you.
