Books on understanding depression and anxiety

5 Best Books for Dealing With Anxiety and Depression

Written ByMark Manson

Filed Under Book Reviews Focus Happiness

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Depression blows. Anxiety isn’t any fun either. And perhaps the only thing worse than the well-intentioned friends and family who implore you to just “get over it” or advise you to “keep your head up” is the fact that there are approximately 3,102 crappy books out there promising to wave a little wand and sprinkle fairy dust in your ass, and everything will instantly be better.

In my experience, the best books on dealing with anxiety and depression are the best because they are honest about the situation. There is this thing that sucks, and you’re not going to magically make it go away. You have to deal with it, engage it, wrestle with it a bit and become stronger in the face of it.

I get hundreds of emails every month from people who struggle primarily with anxiety and depression. Many of them are looking for a solution or a piece of wisdom or advice. Unfortunately, the only thing I’m qualified to send them is this new care bear emoji I got on my phone. And that’s probably not a long-term solution for them.

So instead, I will send them here, to these books.

I’ve read a lot of books about anxiety and depression over the years and these are some of the best ones I’ve come across. They’re way more qualified than I am to help you through whatever suckage you’re experiencing. And this way, when nothing works and the world is still a steaming pile of dogshit, you can blame them and not me.

Books about mental health come in three flavors:

Greater Understanding/Research – These are books that explain what the latest research suggests that’s happening in your life/brain and what the most effective treatments may be. Building your understanding and knowledge about your problem can often be enough so that you can take care of it from there.
Feeling Less Alone – These books inspire hope. Usually, the author has suffered from the same problem as you, except that their situation was orders of magnitude worse than yours. This has the double-whammy effect of a) reassuring you that you’re not the only one to go through shit like this, and b) that there is hope — if this person made it, so can you. “Feeling Less Alone” books tend to be the most emotionally powerful (and best-written) of the three flavors.
Exercises/Actions – I’m personally not a huge fan of books that want you to take out a sheet of paper every other page and write a bunch of crap down. But I know some people are. And I know that some of these exercises can be highly effective. And if the exercises are well-done (usually constructed by a therapist/psychiatrist with tons of experience) you can get good results from these books.

All three flavors can be more/less useful given the situation/personality/tastes of the reader. That’s why I’ve specified the type for each book below.

One last statement before we get to the books. Why anxiety and depression together? Well, because they often occur together. In fact, they occur so often together that people will mistake one for the other. A close friend of mine recently spent the better part of a year constantly complaining of anxiety and stress. After a couple of months of therapy, she discovered that she had actually been deeply depressed. Similarly, I felt depressed for a brief period at the beginning of this year and looking back, it turns out I was incredibly anxious about something in my life and the feelings of lethargy/meaninglessness were merely my ways of escaping that anxiety.

So anxiety and depression are like two peas in a pod. Sonny and Cher. Bonnie and Clyde. Piss and vinegar. They’re a package deal. Much of what you’ll get from these books is an understanding between the two and recognizing when one or the other takes over.

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1. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon

Focuses on: Depression
Type(s): Feeling Less Alone and Greater Understanding/Research

Solomon calls his book “An Atlas of Depression” and once you’ve covered about half of the 688 pages, you start to realize why: this is everything you would ever want to know about depression—the personal experience of it, the medical experience of it, the pharmacological treatments, the history of it, the cultural interpretations of it, and of course, Solomon’s own struggles with it. The book is a lot to take in. What carries the book, though, is the combination of how well-written it is, along with the shocking severity of Solomon’s own story.

I’m going to be honest. I’ve been reading about depression and mental health for many years. I’ve even suffered from some mild depressive episodes myself. I had no idea the depths this thing can reach. This is the only book I’ve ever read that makes me understand why a person might choose to end their own life.

Reading Noonday Demon changed a number of my attitudes and assumptions that I’ve had about not just depression, but antidepressants, therapy, and mental health. Had I read it while I was depressed, it would have given me more hope and helped me to navigate getting myself out of it.

2. First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson

Focuses on: Anxiety
Type(s): Feeling Less Alone and Greater Understanding/Research

I loved this book but I don’t think everyone will. This is mostly due to Wilson’s writing style and, I suppose, the way her brain works. Like a chronically anxious person, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful is frenetic and at times, overly-energetic, leaping from story to story, back ten years to ahead five years to childhood to imagined old age, from personal disaster to scientific research to that thing my meditation teacher told me that, by the way, totally didn’t work, but hey, it’s funny now, looking back.

I enjoyed it because my brain (and writing) sometimes operates in the same way. But I’ve seen reviews online from anxious people who have commented that the book actually made them more anxious, just by reading it. Obviously, that’s not the goal.

But all of that aside, I think this book is the best demonstration of what it is to actually live with severe anxiety and still find a way to function and thrive in one’s life. Wilson has suffered from bipolar disorder, eating disorders, manic episodes, and intermittent depression. But the anxiety has always been there. Intensely there. And she’s somehow leveraged it to get her places. I’ve always argued that the key to anxiety is not getting rid of it but merely directing it in more productive ways. The heart of First, We Make the Beast Beautiful is the same argument, demonstrated through a vibrant (and slightly crazy) life that is unlike anything else I’ve quite come across before.

(Note: This book is not out yet in some countries. )

3. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns

Focuses on: Anxiety and Depression
Type(s): Exercises/Action

Godwin’s Law famously states that the longer any internet discussion continues, the probability of someone being compared to Hitler approaches 100%. Well, in my experience, the longer an internet discussion about depression, anxiety, or any other mental health problem goes on, the probability that Feeling Good gets recommended to them also approaches 100%. I see this book mentioned everywhere.

That’s because if you were going to write a comprehensive, “This is what three months with a CBT therapist would be like,” book, full of enough exercises to fill a small notebook, you’d have Feeling Good. Burns has done a fantastic job of essentially writing the closest replacement to a real therapist. As a result, pretty much any time I come across someone who needs a therapist but can’t get one for some reason, this book is the insta-recommendation.

4. The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living by Russ Harris

Focuses on: Anxiety and Depression
Type(s): Greater Understanding/Research and Exercises/Action

I love this book. It was quite influential on me when I read it years and years ago and I was quite upset to find out that I had inadvertently ripped off one of the exercises in it in my Self-Knowledge PDF (it has since been fixed and credited appropriately).

Harris is probably the most visible proponent of something called ACT or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. ACT is a relatively new form of therapy that argues that the key to dealing with depression, anxiety, or addiction is to not necessarily to remove bad feelings. Instead, ACT focuses on developing mental tools and habits to simply weather those bad feelings more effectively. Whereas CBT is focused on channeling pain and suffering into more productive interpretations and actions, ACT just says fuck it, bad feelings are bad feelings and they don’t necessarily have to mean anything at all, if we don’t let them. To me, ACT is one of the more promising recent developments in psychology as it incorporates some of the benefits of mindfulness, with a zest of eastern philosophy thrown in.

The Happiness Trap is also one of the most approachable and enjoyable psych reads out there. The writing is clear and fun, and the exercises are engaging. In my opinion, the best pop psychology books bring some humor and humanity to the subject, and this is one of the few books that pulls that off really well.

5. Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff

Focuses on: Anxiety and Depression
Type(s): Greater Understanding/Research and Exercises/Action

In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (yes, I had to find a way to plug my own shit here), I made the point that true self-esteem can’t be a measure of how someone feels about their successes, it must be a measure of how we feel about our failures.

This isn’t a terribly original idea. People have been shitting on self-esteem for a couple decades now. But Neff is the first psychologist to conceptualize an alternative metric for self-esteem: self-compassion.

People with self-compassion can weather failures, can forgive themselves for screwing up, can accept their insecurities and flaws and continue trying despite them.

Ignore the cheesiness of the title here. Self-compassion gives you the answer and the how-to for every time you’ve ever heard someone say, “hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” In this book, Neff proposes self-compassion as a more effective measurement of psychological health and did the research into how we get there. How do we cultivate self-compassion? How do we forgive ourselves for fucking up, for not living up to what we want from ourselves, for having failures and down moments and days where nothing seems to go right? *Infomercial Voice* Read this book to find these answers and more!

Like many pop psychology books, her examples and anecdotes are sometimes cliche-ridden. However, the central idea is important enough that this book is still worth a read if you are the insanely self-critical type.

I think this list of books will help you better understand depression and anxiety. But you might still be wondering: will they actually help me deal with my depression and anxiety?

Well, I’d answer that with “it depends.” (Sorry, but you had to have seen that coming.)

I love books. I read them every single day. But if you’re reading a book with the hopes that it will permanently “fix” you, then no, none of these books will help you.

You could read every single book ever published on money and personal finance. But if you don’t apply that knowledge and save and invest your money, you’ll still be broke. You’ll understand why you’re broke really well, but you’ll still be broke.

This seems so obvious when it comes to more tangible outcomes like money or losing weight or whatever. But when it comes to our emotional and mental health, we often believe we can just think the problems away.

Getting your emotional and mental shit together is a lived experience. You have to face and endure the pain, not rationalize it away. You can do it with a therapist or a family member or a good friend. In some cases, you might be able to do it alone. But no matter what, it has to be done, not simply thought about and analyzed.

So, yes, these books are helpful—as a starting point. They will give you perspective on what your depression and anxiety really are and where they come from. They will show you that you’re not alone, and that others have gone through what you’re going through. They will show you that, yes, you can come out the other side a happier, stronger person.

They’ll make the work a bit easier. But you still have to do the work.

A Little Something for You

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and ultimately build a better life.

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If you’re already a site member, you have full access to all that the Mark Manson Premium Subscription has to offer. If not, what are you waiting for? Check it out.

The 15 Best Books About Depression

Best for dealing with grief: It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand
Best holistic view: Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression
Best for spiritual connection: Depression, Anxiety, and Other Things We Don’t Want to Talk About
Best for a new perspective: The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression Without Drugs
Best for Buddhist philosophy: The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness
Best for scientific explanation: The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time
Best for pessimists: The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking
Best for a natural lifestyle: Depression-Free, Naturally: 7 Weeks to Eliminating Anxiety, Despair, Fatigue, and Anger from Your Life
Best for multiple perspectives: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
Best for changing your mood: Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
Best for positive thinking: Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
Best for breaking bad habits: Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Medication Can’t Give You
Best for mindfulness: Full Catastrophe Living
Best for entertainment: Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
Best for educators: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

Depression is more than just feeling down or having a bad day. It’s a mood disorder that affects the way you think, act, and feel. It can take different forms and affect individuals in different ways.

Read on to learn more about depression and how it affects people. You’ll also get to know what treatments and lifestyle changes improve symptoms, and how more people can get the help they need.

Thankfully, there are quite a few resources out there, including the following books that each offer a unique perspective.

Suicide prevention

If you think someone is considering suicide, get help from a crisis or suicide prevention hotline. Try the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

Depression is a common mood disorder that causes many people to feel sad, lost, or angry on a fairly regular, constant basis. It can also include feelings of self-loathing or a lack of self-esteem, and it’s a serious medical condition that can interfere with everyday activities.

Depression can come up in different ways for different people. For instance, it can interfere with your day-to-day work, causing you to lose track of time and productivity. Or it might affect your relationships and may worsen some chronic health conditions, including arthritis, asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

Some of the most common symptoms of depression include:

feeling sad, anxious, or “empty”
feeling hopeless, worthless, and pessimistic
crying a lot
feeling bothered, annoyed, or angry
loss of interest in hobbies or activities you once enjoyed

A common method to treat depression is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of cognitive and behavioral psychotherapy is one of the most evidence-based psychological treatments for depression. Based on the concept that negative feelings or actions come from current distorted beliefs or thoughts, CBT changes the thought patterns of the patient so that, over time, mood and behavior change, too.

When you see a therapist for CBT, they work in a structured setting to pinpoint how you negatively think about and behave in response to stressful or challenging situations. Then, they create more balanced or constructive responses intended to help mitigate or remove the negative situation.

Other treatments for depression include medications like:

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)
tetracyclic antidepressants
dopamine reuptake blockers
5-HT1A receptor antagonists
5-HT2 receptor antagonists
5-HT3 receptor antagonists
monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
noradrenergic antagonists

It’s a good idea to read up on depression and get a better sense of what it can entail.

There’s a wealth of information out there on the subject, including many books that can help you feel more understood, provide coping mechanisms, and offer education on the topic. Take a look below, keeping in mind that these books won’t be a substitute for professional help or medication.

The following books are written either by professionals in mental health or by people who have managed and conquered depression in their own lives, giving them expertise on the subject. The books also have high customer ratings, and some have been featured on bestseller lists.

Pricing guide

$ = under $15
$$ = $15–$18
$$$ = over $18

When looking for helpful books on depression, you’ll want to think about:

the author’s relevant experience, expertise, and reputation as it relates to the subject matter
the approach or theme discussed in the book, and if you think it’s something that will resonate with you
the style and tone of writing — you should try to get a sense if it suits you and will hold your interest
reviews from other readers (everyone responds differently to writing, but it can be helpful to consider feedback from buyers)

Best for dealing with grief

It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand

Price: $
Who it’s best for: people who want to learn about living with grief

Written as a response to society treating grief as something that needs to be fixed and removed from our lives as fast as possible, “It’s OK That You’re Not OK” shares Megan Devine’s approach to dealing with painful loss or life-shattering events. She points out, “Grief is simply love in its most wild and painful form… It is a natural and sane response to loss.”

Megan, who experienced grief as a therapist and witnessed the accidental drowning of her partner, shuns the idea of returning to a “normal” life. Instead, she replaces it with a middle-ground of creating a healthy life with grief.

In this New York Times, Reader’s Digest, HuffPost, and NPR’s Radio times-featured book, you’ll get sound advice, wisdom, stories, research, life tips, and creative and mindfulness-based practices for dealing and living with grief.

Pros

honest and open
relatable and accessible writing style

Cons

excludes certain losses (like parents)
may feel repetitive to some readers

Shop now at Amazon

Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression

Price: $$$
Who it’s best for: those looking for a holistic approach

Sometimes psychotherapy and antidepressants simply don’t work for people struggling with mental health issues. In his book, “Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression,” James Gordon uses his 40-year trailblazing career in psychiatry to bring you a seven-stage process that can work.

Using a combination of nutritional supplements and food, movement, exercise and dance, Chinese medicine, meditation, psychotherapy, guided imagery, and spiritual practice, Gordon shows readers that there are other methods to cope with depression.

Pros

good variety of approaches
well-structured and supportive

Cons

long-winded

Shop now at Amazon

Depression, Anxiety, and Other Things We Don’t Want to Talk About

Price: $
Who it’s best for: those who believe in God and value spirituality

Pastor and psychotherapist Ryan Casey Waller believes that we are not meant to manage the mental illness we struggle with. In his book, “Depression, Anxiety, and Other Things We Don’t Want to Talk About”, he points out that mental health issues are not a symptom of failing spiritually or lacking faith, and that the battle doesn’t need to be lonely and discouraging as experienced by so many.

Waller combines clinical insight with practical theology and deep empathy, inviting us to talk about mental health without shame and discover why self-awareness is important. He encourages us to explore how psychology, biology, and spirituality intersect and discover different ways to heal.

Pros

helpful perspective on substance abuse
useful for people who believe in God

Cons

no warning when suicide is discussed
less beneficial for people who aren’t religious

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The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression Without Drugs

Price: $
Who it’s best for: those who prefer or need to avoid drugs

It’s not a coincidence that depression rates have gone up in our modern, fast-paced society.

In “The Depression Cure,” Stephen Ilardi, PhD, reminds us that human minds and bodies weren’t designed to function well with poor sleeping and eating habits and long work hours.

He takes us back to basics, using examples of techniques to combat depression that are inspired by populations like the Kaluli of Papua, New Guinea, who are still untouched by modern technology.

Ilardi is a clinical psychology associate professor at the University of Kansas and conducts research on mental health and depression. His program, the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC), is based on years of clinical research. It revolves heavily around lifestyle changes, such as physical activity and social connection, for antidepressant benefit.

Pros

easy to read and follow
well thought out

Cons

some tips are obvious or self-evident

Shop now at Amazon

The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

Price: $$$
Who it’s best for: those looking to bring mindfulness to their lives

Mindfulness is a Buddhist philosophy that began about 2,600 years ago. Psychologists believe real mental health benefits can come from breathing and being in the moment.

J. Mark G. Williams, DPhil, John D. Teasdale, PhD, Zindel V. Segal, PhD, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, are the authors of “The Mindful Way Through Depression.” In it, they emphasize how trying to simply “snap out” of depression can lead to more negative feelings. They also explore other methods of defeating those negative feelings.

Mindfulness comes with so many benefits, including stress reduction, anxiety control, and improved emotional health. This book does a great job of explaining how mindfulness works to combat a negative thought process and how you can use it to help with depression.

Pro

highly informative
helpful CD
useful exercises

Cons

little or no real-life examples
long-winded

Shop now at Amazon

The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time

Price: $$$
Who it’s best for: those who like to understand how things work

There’s a science behind how depression works. Causes can be biological or circumstantial, or a combination of both, such as brain chemistry, hormones, family history, medical conditions, and substance misuse.

In his book “The Upward Spiral,” neuroscientist Alex Korb, PhD, explains the process in your brain that causes depression.

Using this information, he outlines tips for how you can apply neuroscience research to rewire your brain toward healthier, happier thoughts.

This book is great for people with depression, or for people who just want a better look at how our brains function and deal with different emotions.

Pros

good explanation of reasons and causes
common sense, logical approach

Cons

repetitive and long

Shop now at Amazon

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking

Price: $$
Who it’s best for: those who find happiness in the unconventional

This is a self-help book for people who hate self-help books. Not everyone is wired to respond to the promise of positivity.

“The Antidote” takes a more existential approach. This book explores how embracing some negative feelings and experiences as a part of life can actually be uplifting.

Many people find that some aspects of life like money, romance, and family don’t fulfill them completely. While this certainly doesn’t apply to everyone, this book is written specifically for people whose happiness might revolve around other things.

Pros

helpful and clear writing and storytelling
new approaches

Cons

too academic

Shop now at Amazon

Depression-Free, Naturally: 7 Weeks to Eliminating Anxiety, Despair, Fatigue, and Anger from Your Life

Price: $$
Who it’s best for: those looking to lead a natural lifestyle

It’s been said that you are what you eat. Nutritionist Joan Mathews Larson, PhD, believes imbalances and deficiencies are the cause of depression and anxiety. Some vitamins, herbs and supplements and types of food have been found to help those with depression, including vitamin D, the keto diet and certain teas.

In “Depression-Free, Naturally,” she offers tips for emotional healing and suggestions for foods, vitamins, and minerals to boost health and keep depression at bay.

The book allows for self-screening for certain behavioral symptoms, followed by a guided plan to help naturally heal your mind and body and become a healthier person overall.

Pros

lots to learn about useful, well-tested treatments

Cons

complicated
doesn’t account for degrees and types of depression

Shop now at Amazon

The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression

Price: $$
Who it’s best for: those who are looking for various perspectives

Depression isn’t a one-size-fits-all mood disorder. It can affect everyone differently, and “The Noonday Demon” attempts to shed light on that.

Author Andrew Solomon explores depression from several angles, including personal, scientific, and cultural perspectives. His account includes his personal struggle and experience and the experiences of those he’s interviewed, including others with depression, doctors, policy-makers, and drug designers. It also discusses the ethics of biological questions that the illness poses.

Learn why depression and its treatments are so complex according to many different perspectives, including people living with it.

Pros

thorough and well-researched
various helpful perspectives

Cons

may be too detailed for some

Shop now at Amazon

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy

Price: $$
Who it’s best for: those who are looking to break specific negative patterns

Certain negative thought patterns, like guilt, pessimism, and low self-esteem can fuel depression.

In “Feeling Good,” psychiatrist Dr. David Burns outlines techniques to help break out of these patterns by recognizing them and dealing with them.

The book helps guide you into thoughts that help with addiction, mood swings, guilt, hostility, and other negative feelings.

The latest edition of this book also includes a guide to antidepressants and more information on treatment options for depression.

Pros

interesting
easy to read
helpful exercises

Cons

overwhelming amount of information

Shop now at Amazon

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

Price: $
Who it’s best for: those who want science-backed evidence behind advice

Contrary to the old saying, you actually can teach an old dog new tricks. Did you know this applies to retraining your brain, too? Many of us deal with unhealthy thought patterns that we would greatly benefit from ditching. The good news is we’re able to change our thought patterns. It just takes work.

In his book “Change Your Brain,” psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen uses scientific evidence to provide “brain prescriptions” that help you retrain your mind. For depression, he offers tips to diffuse automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) which lower our self-esteem, make it tough to make decisions, and put a strain on our relationships.

He gives tips on a number of mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, and anger, as well as many others.

Pros

practical advice and examples
useful information about the brain and depression

Cons

redundant

Shop now at Amazon

Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Medication Can’t Give You

Price: $$$
Who it’s best for: those who want to break bad habits

“Undoing Depression” takes a practical approach to taking on depression. Richard O’Connor, PhD, a practicing psychotherapist, focuses on the aspects of this condition that are within our control: our habits.

The book offers tips and techniques for how to replace depressive thought patterns and behaviors with healthier approaches.

Pros

holistic approach
helps with understanding the disease in others

Cons

repetitive

Shop now at Amazon

Full Catastrophe Living

Price: $$
Who it’s best for: those who want to ease stress and live in the present

In our fast-paced society, it’s easy to overlook the amount of stress and the profound effect it can have on our moods and well-being.

“Full Catastrophe Living” teaches mindfulness habits to help you live in the moment and ease daily stress. The book combines mind and body approaches, like meditation and yoga, to help you reduce stress and improve overall well-being.

Pros

great approach to mindfulness

Cons

long-winded (the CDs are more succinct)

Shop now at Amazon

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Price: $
Who it’s best for: those who love a good laugh

“Furiously Happy” is derived from author Jenny Lawson’s years of firsthand experience with depression and other conditions.

While living with severe depression, Lawson managed to find light in the darkness, and she shares that with her readers. As she says, “I’ve often thought that people with severe depression have developed such a well for experiencing extreme emotion that they might be able to experience extreme joy in a way that ‘normal people’ also might never understand. And that’s what ‘Furiously Happy’ is all about.”

The book highlights depression and mental illness, as well as Jenny’s focus on the joy she’s found.

Pros

humorous and entertaining yet still educational
relatable

Cons

lacks structure
may seem exaggerated

Shop now at Amazon

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

Price: $
Who it’s best for: those who love to move

Exercise does more than keep you fit and prevent heart disease. It’s actually a powerful ally against depression and anxiety.

“Spark” explores the mind-body connection to explain how and why aerobic exercise is effective in reducing symptoms from several mental conditions.

The book strives to help readers not only eliminate depression but also increase intellect, enhance memory, lift mood, and conquer stress.

Pros

clear evidence about the benefits of exercise

Cons

a bit repetitive
technical terms and information

Shop now at Amazon

It’s totally natural to feel lonely, sad, or depressed from time to time. These are human reactions to the events and hardships that life throws our way. But, you’ll know it’s time to see a doctor if your feelings of depression:

turn into suicidal thoughts
become overwhelming
last for long periods of time
cause physical symptoms, such as excessive fatigue, loss or gain of appetite, or lack of concentration
change how you lead your life

Is reading good for depression?

Reading can be good for depression. It can reduce stress, blood pressure, and heart rate, and it can fight certain symptoms of depression.

Can books trigger depression?

In general, reading books won’t directly cause depression, especially since it’s been shown to boost moods, reduce stress, and provide a mental escape. However, if you have strong connections to trauma, some content may trigger feelings of depression. For this reason, it’s important to check content warnings and make sure that anything you’re reading is something that won’t upset you.

Does reading reduce depression?

Reading can be therapeutic and alleviate depressive symptoms, but it’s not a cure for depression.

Reading about depression can help you understand your own thoughts and feelings.

The books listed here can help you understand how to overcome some negative thoughts you may have, and help you discover how to change your thought process.

Keep in mind that these books aren’t meant to replace the advice and care of a mental health professional. If you find managing your mental health overwhelming, schedule an appointment with a licensed professional.

5 books to help overcome depression and anxiety

Depression. Anxiety, which is also not fun. All this strikes at us, it prevents us from living fully. And even worse is that friends and family, guided only by good intentions, persuade you to "keep your head up", "do not pay attention to all this." And then there are about 3,102 books that promise to solve all your problems with a wave of a magic wand. In general, as soon as you read them, everything will immediately automatically become better.

In my experience, the best books on dealing with anxiety and depression are those that are honest about the situation. Anxiety or depression is something that doesn't magically go away on its own. You will have to deal with it, deal with it, fight and become stronger in the face of this scourge.

I receive hundreds of letters every month from people struggling with anxiety and depression. Many of them are looking for a solution, advice or some kind of wisdom. Unfortunately, all my qualifications are only enough to send them a hugging bear emoticon in response. This is probably not the best solution for them.

Therefore, in order not to send them this bear again, I will send them these books to read.

I have read many books on anxiety and depression over the years, and the ones I will cover next are some of the best. They are far more skilled at dealing with anxiety and depression than I am. And thus, if after reading the books, nothing changes in you, then you will blame them, not me.

Three types of books on mental health

Books on mental health can be roughly divided into three types:

General Understanding and Research are books that explain what's going on in your life, what the latest research is on the subject, and what the most effective methods have been for solving problems. Building your understanding of a problem may be enough for you to already understand how it can be solved.
Making you feel like you're not alone in your problem - these books are written primarily to inspire hope. This has a double effect: it reassures you that you are not the only one with such a problem and shows that there is hope for a solution to the problem - if that guy over there could do it, then so can you.
Specific actions and exercises. I personally am not a fan of such books, but I know people who have really benefited from such instructions. And I also know for sure that some of these exercises can be very effective. If the exercise is well constructed (as a rule, a psychotherapist with a ton of experience develops them), then you can get good results after using it.

All three types can be more or less useful, depending on the reader's personality and situation. That's why I listed all three types of books.

One last thing, before we get to the books themselves. Why do anxiety and depression go together? Well, because they often come together. For example, a close friend of mine recently spent the better part of a year complaining about stress and anxiety, only to discover after a couple of months of therapy that he actually had a deeply repressed depression. Similarly, I felt myself for about half a year in such an incomprehensible state: anxiety, restlessness, a feeling of emptiness in the future.

Anxiety and depression are like two peas in one pod. This is a package deal. Much of what you will get from the books below will give you an understanding of how it works.

The Best Books on Anxiety and Depression

Noon Demon: An Atlas of Depression. By Andrew Solomon

The focus is on depression. Book Type: General Understanding and Research.

Solomon calls his book The Atlas of Depression, and once you've read about half of the 688 pages, you begin to understand why depression appears: the author's personal experience, medical experience, pharmacological treatments.

The book also contains a description of the author's own difficult experience of dealing with depression.

I'll be honest. I have been reading about depression and mental health for years. I even experienced several mild forms of depression. But, I had no idea to what extent this condition could be aggravated. And this is the only book that made me understand why a person can consciously come to the decision to end his life on his own.

Reading Demon Noon has changed several of my views and assumptions about depression, antidepressants, its treatment, and mental health in general.

"First, we make the beast beautiful" by Sarah Wilson

The focus of this book is on anxiety. Book Type: General Understanding and Exploration.

I like this book, but I don't think everyone else will like it. It mostly has to do with the author's writing style and the way her brain works.

As chronically anxious people, we really make our inner beast more beautiful, overly energetic, jumping from one old story to another, remembering what happened in childhood, what can happen to us in old age, how we experienced personal disaster and so Further.

I liked this book because my brain works in much the same way. But, I've seen reviews from people on the internet who said that this book made them even more anxious than they were before.

But, all this aside. I think this book is actually the best demonstration of what it is like to live with severe anxiety and at the same time live and develop fully.

Wilson suffered from bipolar disorder, eating disorder, intermittent depression. And anxiety also accompanied her in all this. I, like the author of this book, have always argued that the key to getting rid of anxiety is not to get rid of it, but simply to channel it in the right direction, using this feeling in a productive way.

Note: This book is not yet available in all countries.

Good health. New Mood Therapy. Written by David Burns

The focus is on exercises and activities.

The author did a fantastic job: he created a manual that can almost 100% replace a psychotherapist if your case is not something out of the ordinary. As a result, whenever I have encountered someone in need of a psychotherapist almost every time, I recommend this book.

The happiness trap: how to stop the struggle and start living. Written by Russ Harris

Emphasis is placed on research and understanding, as well as a set of exercises.

Harris is an advocate for what is called ACT or acceptance and adherence to therapy. ACT is a relatively new form of therapy that claims that the key to dealing with depression, anxiety, or drug addiction is not to remove bad feelings, but to develop the ability to get rid of them effectively. While another type of therapy, SVT, is focused on channeling pain and suffering into more productive interpretations and actions. And AST says, yes, bad and bad, to hell with it, these feelings are not necessarily supposed to mean anything at all if we do not allow them to. For me personally, AST is one of a number of recent discoveries in psychology, which includes some mindfulness practices, with elements of Eastern philosophy.

The Happiness Trap is also one of the most accessible and enjoyable psychological books. Written brightly and cheerfully, the exercises are simple and effective.

Self-Compassion: Exercises by Christina Neff

Emphasis on research and exercise.

Neff is the first psychologist to conceptualize an alternative metric for self-esteem: self-compassion. People with self-compassion find it easier to get rid of failures, to forgive themselves for some mistakes. It is easier for them to accept their insecurities and shortcomings, to try to fix it.

Self-compassion is the answer every time you hear "hey, don't be so hard on yourself" without any explanation. Neff not only suggested measuring mental health more effectively, but also explained how to do it.

Like many books of pop psychology, its examples and anecdotes help to better understand the process, but the central idea is quite clear. So this is a book worth reading if you're the insanely self-critical type.

Can reading about depression really help you?

Although I think this list of books will help you better understand what depression and anxiety are, you may still not understand the answer to the question: can they really help me deal with my depression and anxiety?

Well, I would say something along the lines of, "That's up to you."

I love books. I read them every day. But, if you pick up a book with the sole purpose that it will help you solve a particular problem right now, then no - none of these books work that way.

There is a fine line between reading a book to get a fresh perspective on solving a problem and simply avoiding the problem by intellectualizing it.

You can read all the books about money and personal finance, but if you don't put this knowledge into practice, your reading will be of no use. Perhaps you will understand why you have little money, but it will not become more of it. Until you start putting what you read into practice.

It seems so obvious, but when it comes to actually solving problems, we limit ourselves to just thinking about them, thinking that they will go somewhere on their own.

Getting emotional and mental is a life experience. You have to face the pain and fight it, not try to elude it. You can deal with this on your own, you can ask a friend or a therapist for help.

So yes, these books are useful as a starting point. They will give you an understanding that depression and anxiety are not only with you, that others have gone through it too, and you too can become happier.

They help you. But, you still need to do the main work on yourself. 9Ol000 collected good publications of authors who give valuable advice, share the experience of real people and tell psychological tales to our inner child.
Books are an effective way to fight depression, a stream of negativity and complete demotivation, because they are not connected to the Internet, which means there will be no temptation to check the news again, read statements on social networks and spoil your mood even more.

E-book Audiobook The Last Thing He Told Me

Laura Dave

Hannah starts her own investigation and learns that Owen changed his name ten years ago to escape mortal danger. Gradually, Hannah and Bailey develop a relationship that they did not have from the very beginning, because only the two of them will be able to find out who the ideal husband and father really was.

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E-book Audiobook The girl who learned to fly. Spiritual fairy tales for the inner child

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Get rid of fears. Find a worthy partner. Stop feeling guilty. Learn to see happiness in the little things. We sincerely wish this for others, but we forget about what we ourselves need. The ability to overcome fears, enjoy an ordinary day, appreciate and thank those with whom we really feel good and warm - each of us has weaknesses that want to be paid attention to. Yulia Dyakova, a psychologist, trainer and body-oriented therapist, wrote fairy tales that are designed to help our inner children: forget about prohibitions and rules, listen to your intuition and allow yourself to get rid of childhood traumas - practical tasks inside fairy tales will help you with this . Everyone will find themselves in these stories - they will push you to become sincere with yourself and love yourself truly.

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E-book Audiobook Restless Brain. Useful guide to reduce anxiety and stress. How to deal with depression, anxiety disorder, PTSD, OCD and ADHD.

Uma Naidu

When choosing foods, most people think about their usefulness, which affects aging, the development of heart disease or weight loss. But almost no one knows that our diet affects not only changes in the body. but also on the brain! Uma Naidu reveals many secrets, in each chapter talking about the harmful and beneficial elements of everyday products that aggravate our psycho-emotional state.

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E-book Audiobook Art of caring for the soul. 100 Insights from a Zen Monk on a Stress-Free Life

Shunmio Masuno

Thanks to the advice of Shunmio Masuno, the abbot of a 450-year-old Zen temple in Japan, you will be able to stay in harmony with yourself and the world in the most difficult moments in life.

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E-book Audiobook 25 grams of happiness. The story of a little hedgehog that changed a person's life

Massimo Vacchetta, Antonella Tomaselli

A unique and touching story about how saving an animal radically changed the life of one person. Once Massimo Vacchetta saved the hedgehog Ninna: she was taken to the clinic, she weighed only 25 grams and was absolutely helpless. Just at that moment, the man was in a depressed mood due to difficulties in life. After this story, he decided that he would devote his life to saving hedgehogs, so he created "La Ninna".

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Inspiring stories that turn a black stripe into a take-off

Olga Savelyeva

What is a crisis? This is a turning point, a sharp turn. This word has no negative meaning, we endowed it with it ourselves. But the turning point is always hope, new opportunities and dreams. So how do you choose the right "turn"? How to find the strength not to cling to the collapsed past and boldly look into the future? And, in the end, how to live through any difficulties so that they become a starting point in a new, better life? Olga Savelieva has collected a lot of ideas on what to do in a crisis. Each of the stories in this book is called a verb and therefore cannot but encourage action: dream, love, seek! What verb do you start with?

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Audiobook Electronic Book Choosing Lilia Coh

The book includes more than twenty stories about healing, each of which is based on healing real history. The collection is called "Choosing Life" because, according to the author, we are constantly faced with this choice. Life is a path where each step is directed in a certain direction: life or death, love or hate, prosperity or decay. Lilia Koch is a certified psychologist, author of the book "100 Days Between Life and Death" and the transformational game "Phoenix-Renaissance".

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Seize the day. Gratitude Diary

Olga Berg

Thanks to this diary, you can find a ray of sunshine even on the most cloudy day. Just 10 minutes of daily gratitude practice will change your attitude towards life and prove that every day brings joy. And interesting additional tasks and checklists will help you become even happier!

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E-book Audiobook Fall in love with life.

How to learn to live again when you are almost destroyed by depression

Matt Haig

At the age of 24, I almost killed myself. At that time I lived in Ibiza, in a very beautiful villa on the quiet coast of the island. There was a rock very close to the villa. Depressed, I walked to the edge of the cliff and looked out to sea. I tried to find the courage to jump down. I didn't find her. Three more years of depression followed. Panic, despair, daily painful attempt to go to the nearest store and not faint at the same time. But I survived. I am over 40 years old. Once upon a time, I was almost certain that I would not live to see 30. But here I am. Surrounded by loved ones.
Author Matt Haig, a British journalist and writer, talks about his personal experience of life and dealing with depression, gives recommendations and a list of reasons that helped him not to commit suicide and live on. And also, teach healthy people to behave correctly with those who have depression.

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