11 Must-Read Books About Mental Health
Mental health and mental illness are becoming less and less taboo, and we couldn’t be happier. We still have a long way to go in terms of education about mental health and accessibility, but books are one way we can learn and share. People must know they are not alone.
Nearly one in five U.S adults live with a mental illness. Mental disorders don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. Our counselors have gathered many books about different mental illnesses, from anxiety and depression to personality disorders, ADHD, and more. Whether you are struggling with mental health or someone you know is, it is important to learn more about it and learn ways to help yourself and help others.
Check out our list of some informative and inspirational mental health books!
1. Codependent No More
By Melody Beattie
Is someone else’s problem your problem? If like so many others, you’ve lost sight of your own life in the drama of tending to someone else’s, you may be codependent. And you may find yourself in this book.
With instructive life stories, personal reflections, exercises, and self-tests, Codependent No More is a simple, straightforward, readable map of the perplexing world of codependency. It charts the path to freedom and a lifetime of healing, hope, and happiness.
2. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
By David D. Burns
Anxiety and depression are the most common mental illnesses in the world. They affect 18% of the U.S. population every year. For many, the path to recovery seems daunting, endless, or completely out of reach.
The good news is that anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and other “black holes” of depression can be reduced. Feeling Good outlines the remarkable, scientifically proven techniques that will immediately lift your spirits and help you develop a positive outlook on life.
3. Highly Sensitive Person
By Elaine Aron
Do you have a powerful imagination and vivid dreams? Is time alone each day as essential to you as food and water? Are you “too shy” or “too sensitive” according to others? Do noise and confusion quickly overwhelm you? If your answers are yes, you may be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP).
Most of us feel overstimulated every once in a while, but for the highly sensitive person, it’s a way of life. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Elaine Aron, a highly sensitive person herself, shows you how to identify this trait in yourself and make the most of it in everyday situations.
4. Mental Health Workbook
By David Lawson
Our self-esteem depends very much on the experiences we had in the first years of life. If the relationships with the people who looked after us (parents, grandparents, teachers, etc.) were positive and rewarding, we have likely developed a positive image of ourselves.
However, emotionally unstable, offensive, and toxic role models can damage the construction of solid self-esteem before it has been completed within us.
With this collection you will learn:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
5. Delivered from Distraction
By Edward M. Hallowell & John J. Ratey
As Hallowell and Ratey point out, “attention deficit disorder” is a highly misleading description of an intriguing kind of mind. Original, charismatic, energetic, often brilliant, people with ADD have extraordinary talents and gifts set in their highly charged but easily distracted minds.
Delivered from Distraction is fit to ADD learning styles and attention spans. It provides accessible, engaging discussions of every aspect of the condition, from diagnosis to finding the proper treatment.
6. Mind and Emotions: A Universal Treatment for Emotional Disorders
by Matthew Mckay, Patrick Fanning, & Patricia Zurita Ona
7. Stop Walking on Eggshells
by Paul Mason
8. The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook
by Edmund Bourne
9. Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety
by Drew Ramsey
10. Rhythms of Renewal
by Rebekah Lyons
11. The Happiness Trap
By Russ Harris
Learn more about the counselors and staff that recommended these books!
