Category: Mental Ill-Health
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We recommend this... if you are experiencing anxiety or trying to understand it in others. A quick summary This is one of our absolute favourites - a very short but wide-ranging and thoughtful book about anxiety. It can really help to understand what is happening in mind and body - the nervous system - when you are feeling anxiety. This book gives a great insight with plain language and meaningful illustrations. It considers big and complex ideas, and also practical everyday supports. There's nothing else like it, apart from Haines' and Standing's other brilliant books in the series - also highly recommended! More information below... -
We recommend this... for anyone who has struggled to help a friend or family member in crisis, especially a parent whose child has developed a dangerous addiction. A quick summary A memoir of a father trying to help his son, Nic Sheff, recover from drug addiction, and also a critique of the lack of effective help and care for people in crisis. David Sheff reflects on how he was consumed by his son's addictions - something many people may recognise: "I do not relish, but am used to the perpetual angst and humming anxiety and intermittent depression that comes with Nic's addictions. I don't remember me before this." He reaches his own crisis, and they both identify a route to a new way of living. Sheff does not lose sight of the luck in this, which others didn't have, and doesn't offer a false neatness or certainty in the ending. -
We suggest this... if you experience anxiety, panic, shortness of breath or chronic stress. (scroll down for more about the book) -
We suggest this... for a detailed guide to using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to improve your mental health - especially to manage anxiety, stress and worry. (scroll down for more about the book) -
We recommend this... if you are experiencing depression and it would help to know that others have been there too, or if you are trying to understand a loved one's depression, especially if you like a dose of dry Glasgow humour even in the toughest times. A quick summary This book is a relatable memoir for people with depression, and it also contains nuggets of practical advice. Susan Calman is speaking from a lifetime of personal experience, with absolute honesty and sincerity, and also, of course, with humour. The book is not about 'getting over' her depression, it's about how she learned to embrace all aspects of herself and become "the most joyous sad person you'll ever meet". Content note: contains references to self-harm, suicide and hospitalisation. -
we suggest this... if you want to try using cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) techniques to improve your mental health, either self-directed or alongside seeing a therapist. (scroll down for more about the book) -
We recommend this... for fathers who are feeling anxious or depressed following the birth or adoption of a child A quick summary Daddy Blues is an important book about a much-misunderstood and overlooked situation. Mark Williams was surprised and confused when his mental health spiralled downwards following the birth of his much-wanted child with his much-loved partner. Nothing in his personal background or wider-society's attitudes encouraged him to talk or seek help for what was happening. He managed to find a way to reach out, which led to recovery, this book and his highly-effective ongoing campaign for awareness and support for fathers. -
We recommend this... if you are interested in the impact of the internet on our personal lives and mental health, or as a relatable story, especially for millennials, of growing up with the internet. A quick summary Fiona Thomas' experiences illustrate both the pitfalls and the strengths of the digital age - especially for mental health and wellbeing. As a child of the 80s, she went through the dizzying change from landline to smartphone in her teens and young adult years, and found some of the worst and the best of it. As so often, a personal story speaks to universal concerns. Content note: includes her experiences of alcoholism and eating disorder -
We suggest this... if you are feeling in crisis with depression or anxiety, especially as a cis man. A quick summary Kevin Braddock tells the story of his personal experience of rock bottom - a crisis point at which he came very close to ending his life, after years of feeling lost and depressed, drinking heavily and partying hard. In a final roll of the dice, he typed "I need help" into his facebook status, and collapsed on the street. From that point, he began to come properly alive again, and, in a long process, discover the routes to recovery and living well. The book discusses his experience, his research on mental health and recovery processes, and the wider cultural issues in the media. It's a relatable, readable mix of memoir and journalism, and Braddock is warm, honest and compassionate. -
We recommend this... if you are struggling with disordered eating; struggling with your relationship with food; feeling ‘out of control’ about eating; or experiencing anxiety, depression or distress around body image and eating, particularly as a cis woman. Our quick summary This book is relatable and practical. Sunny Sea Gold writes from her experience of binge-eating and recovery, but also from a good basis of research. She offers refreshing honesty, a challenge to some commonly-held beliefs and stereotypes, and a toolbox of strategies to use to gain freedom from disordered eating. We think it is a light in the dark for women who are struggling with their relationship to food. -
We recommend this... as a beautiful memoir, especially if you or a loved one have struggled with substance abuse, or with having a neurodivergent mind that has gone unrecognised and unsupported. A quick summary Casey Legler (pronouns: they/them) started drinking age 15, while coping with extreme training regimes for the Olympics, far from home and disconnected from life outside swimming - terribly isolated and vulnerable to abuse. But something in Legler survived and they came back to extraordinary life - as themselves, as a high-achieving academic, pioneering model, restauranteur, author, speaker and campaigner. A diagnosis of Autism came late in the process of writing the book, so although they didn't know it at the time of writing, it is also a story of being Autistic.
