A while ago I decided that if I was going to beat my mental health problems I needed to know more about what was going on in my mind and body, and how to fix things, so I started to collect books on the subject.
One thing I have learnt living with my condition, is that I need to do things when I am ready, so the books did sit on the shelf for a while, unread, while the pile kept growing.
I reached a point where I felt ready to start (it was probably around October last year) and since then I have read one after another. My plan is to read a book all the way through and then go back through it and make notes, which I can refer to in future blogs.
Not all of the books are specific to mental health, some are written by inspirational people such as Chris Bertish (Stoked!), Christopher McDougall (Born to Run) and Patch Adams (Gesundheit!); and some are on specific areas such as alcohol addiction and nutrition, and the effects these have on mental health.
Three books missing from the photo are; The 4 Pillar Plan by Dr Rangan Chatterjee (I am currently reading this one), How to Control Your Anger, Anxiety and Depression: Using Nutrition and Physical Activity by Renata Taylor-Byrne and Jim Byrne, and Nature and Walking essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau (the last two are on their way in the post).
I have tried to choose books for a variety of different reasons; some are based on the writer’s personal experiences, some are ancient teachings that are still valid today, and some are purely factual about a certain subject.
One thing that was important to me was to find books that give scientific evidence or reference scientific studies; because I know that some people will not trust something without this.
I won’t claim that everything I have read so far has made sense, some of it has gone right over my head; but a lot of it has made sense and sometimes seems so obvious you wonder why you haven’t thought of it before.
Through reading the books I am learning that I am not mad, nothing is broken, and I am not alone in the struggle. I now feel a sense of hope and know that by implementing what I am learning I will not only help myself but others as well.
At times I will do mini reviews of the books I read so you can see what each one is about in a bit more detail. You will also see Amazon links to the books so you can purchase them if you wish to; this is a small way of my making a bit of money from this blog, but please do not feel obliged to buy the books.
There are so many titles out there, and you may find ones that work better for you, this blog is about the books I have found, either via recommendations or browsing in charity shops or independent book shops.
If you come across a great book please share it with us.
Happy reading
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
And Breathe...... 