Self Help Books - what's you favorite?

Hi @plasmo,

sorry, I forgot to say 'hi' before in my previous post. You bring up some very good points. You might be interested in a book I read recently called "Psychobabble" by Stephen Briers.

This book explores some of the myths that self-help books have managed to gain acceptance for in popular cultue. There are many things in self-help books that have no scienfic basis and relying on these books to help you if you are seriously mentally ill would absolutely be a mistake.

What slef-help books are good for is motivating someone who is quite negative and passive to get out and do something for themselves. In doing something (pretty much anything) you actually do start to feel better, anyway. That much I know.

Hi @MoonGal,

thanks for the suggestion, I think "The Serenity Principle" would suit me as I do self-medicate with alcohol, at times, for my anxiety. I will check out the library and see if they have it.

thanks!

Hi All,

I am a book worm, always have been, thousands of nights that I read through when I could not sleep. Often now I cannot focus on content for long, so I read (listen) books more than once or twice 🙂 Here are some more apart from a lot of great ones already mentioned:

Get out of you Mind and into your Life - Hayes

Go Wild - Manning

The Bipolar Survival Guide - Miklowitz

The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion - Germer

Get some Headspace - Puddicombe

Life without Ed - Schaefer

Hi @Former-Member,

thanks for writing. Wow - "The Bible" - good suggestion. I haven't read it for a while. My favorite part of the Bible is the Sermon on the Mount. I really love that bit; I find it very inspiring. Good advice for people like me, who suffer anxiety, there.

And "The Road Less Travelled" - I read that when I was only about 20 years old! (I'm now 46) It's a classic. It's all about taking responsibility our ourselves, from what I remember. I loved the examples the author used of case histories of his own patients. It made the book very accessible.

Hi @Former-Member,

thanks for sharing....no, I don't know any of those titles. "The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion" sounds good to me.

I really love to read, too. When I was at my worst with depression, I found that I could not even focus on the page and I wasn't able to read. That was terrible, as reading has always been a good escape for me. Now that I am feeling much better, I can always rely on a good book to make me feel more calm if I am anxious.

As I was recovering from depression, I found I only wanted to read books that were very light in subject matter. I read only 'chick lit' for ages! I could not deal with reading anything that had death or suffering in it, it would send my mind racing with scary thoughts.

Thankfully, this is rarely a problem for me these days, and I can read almost anything. Since recovering from depression, I have even completed a master's degree by research - which involved a great deal of reading! Looking back, I suppose being able to hold my concentration like that for extended periods was a good indication that I was on the road to wellness.

Sorry, I am raving on a bit.

@plasmo

I get it; that is a very cute joke, there!