From anxiety to depression, there’s a book to help you
1) Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig (£12.99, Canongate)
At the age of 24, writer Matt Haig suffered a breakdown and contemplated taking his own life. In this moving memoir, he explains how he changed his thinking, the process of recovery and everything he has learned about the beauty of life after fixating so intently on death. As candid as it is touching, this is a book about depression that’s refreshingly uplifting, focusing on making the most of your time on Earth – even if some days feel worse than others.
2) A Beginner’s Guide To Being Mental by Natasha Devon (£12.99, Pan Macmillan)
After a decade of touring schools in the UK to raise awareness around anxiety and depression, Natasha Devon decided to collate all of the most-asked questions she received from young people about mental health, and turn them into one concise reference book.
Set in an A-Z format, this pocket guide explains everything from A (Anxiety) to Z (Zero F**** Given), using experts in psychology, neuroscience and anthropology. Devon’s insights are witty and genuinely helpful whether you suffer with mental illness or you’re trying to understand someone else’s condition.
3) How To Be Human: The Manual by Ruby Wax (£14.99, Penguin)
Ruby Wax has already cemented herself as one of the most relatable voices on anxiety with her first book, A Mindfulness Guide For The Frazzled. Here, the comic and mental health campaigner has teamed up with a monk and a neuroscientist to explain exactly what makes the mind tick.
4) We’re All Mad Here: The No-nonsense Guide To Living With Social Anxiety by Claire Eastham (£12.99, Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
We’ve all felt the worry of being judged by other people – but when the feeling takes over, it can make everything from seeing friends to getting on public transport feel impossible. Here, Claire Eastham gives a brave and funny account of what it’s like to be a 20-something living in London and working at her dream job, while secretly battling with a crippling social anxiety disorder. There’s sage advice for anyone who dreads “networking”, with no-nonsense tips on how to ease the anxiety of navigating everything from social media and university, to dating and parties.
5) Your Superstar Brain: Unlocking The Secrets Of The Human Mind by Dr Kaja Nordengen (£13.99, Little Brown)
Why does your brain work the way it does? That’s the big question that neuroscientist Dr Kaja Nordengen ponders in this fascinating exploration of the body’s most complex organ. From jealousy and anxiety, to memory and creativity, Nordengen explains how our brains co-ordinate thoughts, emotions and behaviours. This calming and rational book can help you to better understand why your brain makes you who you are, how it learns, and how it can also cause you to make bad or destructive choices by rewarding addictive behaviours.
6) Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon (£8.99, Headline Publishing Group)
Newspaper columnist Bryony Gordon has suffered with OCD since childhood and, as she got older, her illness manifested itself in alopecia, bulimia, drug dependency, and all manner of complex rules and rituals that inhibited her life. At one point in her 20s, she was even carrying her iron to work every day, so she wouldn’t constantly worry that she’d leave it on and burn her flat down. In her darkly humorous memoir, she talks frankly about how a lack of conversation around mental health left her to suffer alone in shame for years, but how in the process of writing her memoir, she hopes to throw an honest light on the burden of panic and obsession.
7) The Anxiety Solution by Chloe Brotheridge (£12.99, Penguin)
One of the worst things about anxiety is the pervasive feeling that there’s something to worry about, even if you can’t quite put your finger on what it is. Brotheridge has a clear and simple method to help readers break free from the cycle of panic and dread, by arming them with various tools and techniques that can retrain the brain’s thinking. A clinical hypnotherapist and nutritionist, she is confident anyone can get steer their thinking in a more positive direction.