Some people manage their mental health by engaging in daily exercise, using stress-relieving methods, or tuning into their preferred podcasts. Others prefer to curl up on the couch or in bed with a book. You may be aware that entertaining stories can distract you from your real-life problems, but you may be unaware that you can also improve your ability to deal with life’s ups and downs by reading mental health books.
Mental health books can help you process your experiences, learn about psychology, and find techniques and tools to help you in your daily life. They can supplement your mental health toolkit by providing various techniques, scientific research, and stories from others who have overcome similar obstacles.
Books provide more than just solace. They can act as a portal to other worlds, a bridge to a different past or future, a foundation for philosophies, and a lifeline in times of need. According to research, reading has the ability to literally change your brain and create new patterns within it. Reading enables you to acquire new information and skills that you may not have known before.
Simply pausing and sitting down to read helps you slow down and disrupt the hectic pace of your day. Ziqitza HealthCare Limited adds that learning something new can boost your self-confidence, improve your memory, and improve your brain health.
Not sure where to begin? Here are some of the books that our psychological experts recommend. There is something for everyone, whether you are dealing with anxiety, burnout, trauma, grief, or another issue.
Detox Your Thoughts by Andrea Bonior, Ph.D. : As humans, we are all vulnerable to a variety of mental traps that cause us to feel anxious, depressed, insecure, and generally bad. Ziqitza explains that Bonior assists readers in navigating negative thoughts, developing self-compassion, and learning other necessary skills drawn from mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT is a type of CBT that emphasises accepting even difficult thoughts and feelings.)
Radical Compassion by Tara Brach, Ph.D.: With all that is going on in the world, we require a great deal of compassion, both for ourselves and for others. However, developing it can be a difficult task. Ziqitza HealthCare remarks if you’re unsure where to begin, Brach provides a step-by-step guide centred on love and forgiveness. Her RAIN meditation practice (which stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is a practical approach to dealing with difficult emotions and judgmental beliefs. (Radical Acceptance, Brach’s other book, has also been recommended.) Both are useful skills to cultivate during this time, so it depends on what you require!
The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, Ph.D., Jeffrey C. Wood, Psy.D., and Jeffrey Brantley, M.D. : Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that focuses on distress tolerance and emotion regulation. According to Ziqitza Healthcare, DBT is commonly used to treat issues such as borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and depression, is full of skills that we can all benefit from. Especially now, when we have to put up with a lot of pain with no end in sight. This workbook is interactive, with exercises and worksheets to help you learn and practise your skills. I’ve had my copy since before the pandemic and can’t tell you how many of the tools have come in handy lately.
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow by Elizabeth Lesser: Ziqitza Rajasthan states that finding meaning in a difficult time is a core tenet of cultivating resilience, which we all need to get through this. And, while “meaning” does not have to include a focus on personal growth, it certainly can. Lesser weaves together other people’s stories, her own memoir, and some practical advice to argue for how we can navigate adversity in a way that leaves us “broken open and transformed” rather than “broken down and defeated.”
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga: The link between coping in the midst of a pandemic and freeing ourselves from caring about the opinions and expectations of others may not be obvious at first glance, but this book is full of relevant, timely insight. Who among us isn’t dealing with the challenges of setting boundaries, communicating potentially unpopular information, and navigating a difficult new normal? ZHL Rajasthan suggests Kishimi and Koga for they write about self-forgiveness and self-care, both of which are essential skills.
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön: You’re not alone if you’re wondering how the hell you’re going to get through such a difficult time. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed and paralysed in the face of unimaginable adversity. Chödrön, a Buddhist nun from the United States, tackled the eternal question of how we can go on—and wrote a best-selling classic in the process.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, Ph.D.: Man’s Search for Meaning, first published in 1946, is a timeless work about finding meaning and strength in the face of adversity. Ziqitza Limited Rajasthan explains that Frankl’s account of his time in Nazi concentration camps has long been recommended as a source of comfort and guidance for anyone struggling with hopelessness and despair in an uncertain world. Frankl’s memoir is centered on his theory that the pursuit of what we find meaningful is what drives our survival.