Ten Must-Read Books for a Happier Mind in 2023!
Celebrating World Mental Health Day with Page-Turning Insights!
Hey there, mental health champions! World Mental Health Day is a day to give our mental well-being some extra love and attention. In honor of this day, I’ve put together a list of 10 inspiring books published in 2023, covering a wide range of mental health topics. Whether you're looking for insights, coping strategies, or simply some understanding, these books have got your back.
Dissociation Made Simple: A Stigma-Free Guide to Embracing Your Dissociative Mind and Navigating Daily Life by Jamie Marich (1/10/23) North Atlantic Books | With practical guided exercises like "The Dissociative Profile" and "Parts Mapping," this book is written for those diagnosed with dissociative disorders, clinicians and therapists who treat trauma and dissociation, and readers who are exploring whether they may have dissociative symptoms or a condition like dissociative identity disorder (DID).
Madness at the Movies: Understanding Mental Illness Through Film by James Charney (1/31/23) Johns Hopkins University Press | The study of classic and contemporary films can provide a powerful avenue to understand the experience of mental illness. In Madness at the Movies, James Charney, MD, a practicing psychiatrist and long-time cinephile, examines films that delve deeply into characters' inner worlds, and he analyzes moments that help define their particular mental illness.
The Invisible Machine: The Startling Truth about Trauma and the Scientific Breakthrough That Can Transform Your Life by Eugene Lipov (4/11/23) BenBella Books | Despite its prevalence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is often seen as an unbeatable lifelong mental disorder. However, top trauma doctors and neuroscientists now understand that the result of trauma is not a disorder but rather a physical injury, and while invisible to the naked eye, the posttraumatic stress injury (PTSI) can now be seen on a scan. Most importantly, the effects of PTSI are reversible.
The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen (4/18/23) Penguin Press | The Best Minds is Jonathan Rosen's brilliant and heartbreaking account of an American tragedy. It is a story about the bonds of family, friendship, and community; the promise of intellectual achievement; and the lure of utopian solutions. Tender, funny, and harrowing by turns, and at times almost unbearably sad, The Best Minds is an extreme version of a story that is tragically familiar to all too many. In the hands of a writer of Jonathan Rosen's gifts and dedication, its significance will echo widely.
The Modern Trauma Toolkit: Nurture Your Post-Traumatic Growth with Personalized Solutions by Christy Gibson (5/2/23) Hachette Go | Amid collective trauma, it helps to know that our bodies are built to respond to stress and what we might do to shift those reflexes. Having studied brain-based and body-based approaches to wellbeing, Dr. Christy Gibson teaches readers how to embrace their innate power and catalyze community wisdom. Drawing on her work with people suffering from stress and societal challenges, Dr. Gibson shares practical and effective mental health advice you can personalize.
Sisterhood Heals: The Transformative Power of Healing in Community by Joy Harden Bradford (6/27/23) Ballantine Books | Sisterhood is that sacred space where all the masks that are worn for the world fall off. It's the place where you lay down your load, refill your cup, and laugh until your belly aches. Our sister circles literally prolong our lives. However, building and keeping healthy friendships takes work. How must these friendships evolve as we age? What practices can we put in place? Can they be the key to unlocking a more fulfilled existence? The answer is yes.
What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us: Who We Become After Tragedy and Trauma by Mike Mariani (8/1/23) Random House Publishing | Tracing the lives of six people who have experienced profoundly life-changing events, journalist Mike Mariani explores the nuances and largely uncharted territory of what happens after one's life is severed into before and after. If what doesn't kill us does not necessarily make us stronger, he asks, what does it make us?
How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health by Caroline Leaf (8/8/23) Baker Books | Based on up-to-date research, clearly illustrated with case studies, and practically applied to the problems kids are facing today, How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess is what parents, caretakers, teachers, and counselors have been waiting for. Dr. Leaf shares a clear and effective five-step plan to teach your child how to manage their mind so they can live a life with greater resilience, health, and happiness.
No Time to Panic: How I Curbed My Anxiety and Conquered a Lifetime of Panic Attacks by Matt Gutman (9/12/23) Doubleday Books | By ABC News's chief national correspondent, an unflinching look at panic attacks by a reporter whose career was nearly derailed by them offers readers a guide to making a truce with their warring minds
Generation Anxiety: A Millennial and Gen Z Guide to Staying Afloat in an Uncertain World by Lauren Cook (9/19/23) Harry N Abrams | Millennials and Gen Z-ers are considered two of the most anxious generations in history, and with the many intense generation-specific stressors they've had to face in recent years--including climate change, political polarization, systemic racism, gun violence, and financial instability--it's easy to see why people are being diagnosed with anxiety at alarming rates.
Together, let's create a world where mental health isn't a hush-hush topic but a conversation we embrace with open arms and understanding hearts.
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