Books by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA

PsychiatryRx is medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA. Alongside his clinical work, Dr. Refai has written three books for a general audience on anxiety, overthinking, and the patterns that keep people stuck.

We feature them here plainly, as the medical editor's own work. The books are published by shrinkMD Publishing, LLC, the same company that publishes PsychiatryRx, so they come from the same group that runs this site. We say that openly rather than burying it. The links below go to where each book can be found, and they are disclosed as exactly that. The full publishing relationship is explained on our disclosure page.

Your Mind Is Full of Sh*t

A Psychiatrist's Guide to Outsmarting Overthinking, Anxiety, and the Lies in Your Head

Your Mind Is Full of Sh*t is the book Dr. Refai wrote for the people who can't turn it off. It isn't a self-help book in the usual sense. There are no affirmations and no generic advice. It is one psychiatrist explaining, in plain language, what is actually happening when your mind won't stop, and why trying harder hasn't fixed it. The book works through the lies the mind tells about control, productivity, positivity, and happiness, then shows how the nervous system, not a character flaw, drives the overthinking. It explains why you can't simply think your way out, and it lays out a practical reset for the hard days. It draws on more than fifteen years of clinical work and thousands of conversations with patients.

View the book

Your Mind Is Full of Sh*t: The Workbook

A Psychiatrist's Companion Guide for Noticing Patterns in How You Think, Feel, and Act

The Workbook is the companion to Your Mind Is Full of Sh*t, built for the part that matters most: practicing the ideas in your own life. Reading about a pattern is one thing. Catching it in real time, on an ordinary Tuesday, is another. Across seven sections, the workbook gives you a place to see your patterns, break the loops, get out of your head, work with thoughts that feel scary, regulate your body, and build a steadier baseline. The exercises draw on cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance-based strategies, and somatic regulation, and they end with the shrinkMD Reset, a single repeatable practice. It is a starting point, not a prescription, and it is meant to be used at your own pace.

Coming soon

The Havoc in Your Head

A Psychiatrist's Reset for Anxiety, Overthinking, Panic, and the Thoughts That Won't Let Go

The Havoc in Your Head is a shorter, more focused book for the moments when the mind takes over. Dr. Refai wrote it for the patient who said, "I know it doesn't make sense, but I can't stop." Where the first book explains the patterns, this one is about what to do when anxiety, panic, overthinking, or low mood is happening right now. It starts with why thinking your way out doesn't work in the moment, then walks through the shrinkMD Reset and how to apply it to each of those states. It includes a sixty-second version for when there is no time, and an honest chapter on when the pattern has become automatic and a book is no longer enough.

Coming soon

These books are written by the medical editor of PsychiatryRx and published by shrinkMD Publishing, LLC, the company that also publishes this site. See our disclosure page for the full relationship. The books are general education and are not medical advice.