Shelf Help

The List:

From Spirituality to Coping with Anxiety and Depression, There is Something on The Shelf to Help Anyone!

Ever wondered how a simple act like reading can boost your mental health? It's true! Reading can help you slow down, learn something new, and improve your self-confidence. Here's a list of top-rated mental health books, curated by experts, to help you navigate life's challenges.

1. The Power of Now: For those wrestling with anxious thoughts. Eckhart Tolle teaches us to live in the present and break free from overthinking. I recommend anything that Tolle writes. They are game changing books!

2. Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life: For setting healthy boundaries. This guide by psychologists helps you say "yes" and "no" effectively. Remember, that each word is a complete sentence, says this therapist and authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend (2017)!

3. The Burnout Workbook: Advice and Exercises to Help You Unlock the Stress Cycle: For preventing burnout, by Amelia Nagoski . Learn to recognize and address burnout symptoms.

4. Living Untethered: For understanding depressive thoughts, by Michael A. Singer. Explore the depths of depression and find hope for healing.

5. Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love: This book encapsulates all that there is about attachment theory. Amir Lavine and Rachel Heller write about how infancy and early childhood (primary caregivers/school) as well as adult relationships influence our ability to connect with others and how to become more "secure" in yours.

6. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma: by Bessel van der Kolk M.D., Sean Pratt, et al. explores themes of trauma and how neurobiology influences areas such as trust, pleasure, impulsivity and decision making and psycho-social engagement following traumatic events. This is a MUST READ for everyone. Either you have suffered a trauma or someone that you love has. There is a path forward.n This also comes in a workbook.

7. Self-Compassion: For self-love. Discover the power of kindness towards yourself in this step-by-step guide by Dr. Kristin Neff. Self-love, positive self-talk and self-worth can be achieved with the help of this book.

8. Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief: For navigating grief by Joanne Cacciatore . Find comfort and understanding in the stories of others. You are not alone, even though it may feel that way.

9. Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives: By Dr. Brian L. Weiss. This book follows the story of a hypnotherapist and his passions whose work takes the subject past hypnosis and into past-lives where she finds discoveries that help her in the here and now. This is a great book for those grieving and even better is, "Only Love is Real" by the same author.

10. The Mastery of Love: For improving relationships. Learn about the art of peaceful and fulfilling relationships. From the author of The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz rocks the world of giving and receiving love with poise.

11. Man's Search for Meaning: For finding meaning in life. A powerful tale of survival and finding purpose in the face of adversity. Victor Frankl is credited with the creation of logotherapy, which is helpful finding a way forward from grief, loss, trauma and the good ol' existential crisis.

12. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy: For science-backed tips. Discover practical strategies to improve your mood and reduce anxiety by David Burns and George Newbern, et al. This book is great for client and therapist as it provides the basics, which are vast, of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

13. The Family Guide to Getting Over OCD: For families of individuals with OCD. A helpful guide for understanding and supporting loved ones with OCD.

14. It's Time to Talk (and Listen): How to Have Constructive Conversations About Race, Class, Sexuality, Ability & Gender in a Polarized World (A Handbook ... Sexuality, Ability, Gender, and More): Brave, vulnarable and necssary conversations about segregation, politics and all of the other things that we don't bring to Turkey Dinner and should.   

15. The Prophet: By Khalil Gibran. A story of a inspiration: prose poetry meets philisophy of ife in this tale of finding the good in a sometimes challenging world.

16. Make Your Bed: For motivation by Admiral William H. McRaven. Small habits can have a big impact on your life and it might just begin with making your bead each day. Where can it go from there? That is up to you dear reader though my answer is everyhwere.

17. Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety For using anxiety to your advantage. Learn how to harness the power of your anxiety by Dr. Chloe Carmichael, Jordan Killam, et al.

18. Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself: For overcoming codependency. Break free from unhealthy patterns and prioritize your own needs. This is the book for those toxic patterns that lead to dysfuntion in a relationship. A classic book by Melody Beattie.

19. Chop Wood Carry Water: A Guide to Fiding Spiritual Fulfillment in Everyday Life: By Rick Fields, Peggy Taylor, Rex Weyler and Rick Ingrasci. Incorporrating spirituality in every day life for a peaceful, meaningful existence. This is a great book for those who think they might be going through the dreaded "existential crisis."

20. Do Less: By Kate Northrup. Learn to prioritize and manage time and energy effectively as a working mom (at home or in the office, classroom, boardroom or wherever else woman dominate). This book also looks at equity and shifting paradigms of motherhood.

Remember: If you're experiencing extreme distress, please reach out to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or the Crisis Text Line.