For Mental Health Awareness Week, I thought I’d chat about 10 books about mental health that are on my wishlist, TBR, or that I’ve read.
Mad Girl: A Happy Life with a Mixed-up Mind by Bryony Gordon
Mad Girl is super accessible. It reads just like having a chat with Bryony over coffee about her OCD, and is really enjoyable and funny. Mad Girl does what I think we all should do: talk about mental health as if we were talking about the flu, honestly and without fear of judgement.
A Series of Unfortunate Stereotypes: Naming and Shaming Mental Health Stigmas by Lucy Nichol
As someone who deals with anxiety, Lucy discusses the ways in which mental illness is viewed, and tackles unfair stereotypes e.g. that people with mental illness are ‘narcissists’, ‘hypochondriacs’ and ‘psycho’.
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
Matt Haig suffers from depression (like 20% of people) and Reasons to Stay Alive is his award-winning book on how he copes with the illness. It’s loved by many and one I hope to finally read this year.
A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental: An A-Z by Natasha Devon
One for millennials, this is a guide to mental illness, from A (anxiety) to Z (zero f**ks given).
It’s All Absolutely Fine by Ruby Elliot
Rubyโs illustrations show what itโs like to suffer from all kinds of mental health issues: anxiety, bipolar disorder, self-harm, eating disorders, and depression. We all know that mental health needs to be talked about more, and I really do think that humour โ visual humour especially โ can be a great way to do it.
How to Survive the End of the World (When it’s in Your Own Head) by Aaron Gillies
If you don’t follow @TechnicallyRon on Twitter, do it now! He’s so hilarious and relatable, and I can’t wait to read his first book. He talks about the impact that anxiety has and gives readers some tools to fight back alongside his trademark humour.
The Time in Between: A Memoir of Hunger and Hope by Nancy Tucker
Nancy was diagnosed with anorexia and bulimia as a teenager and The Time in Between is her memoir of her experience and recovery.
The Self-Care Project by Jayne Hardy
Self care is something we all should do and I can’t wait to get my hands on this book, written by the founder and CEO of The Blurt Foundation, a charity that aims to increase awareness and understanding of depression.
It’s All In Your Head: A Guide to Getting Your Sh*t Together by Rae Earl
Aimed at teenagers, It’s All in Your Head is full of friendly advice, coping strategies and laugh-out-loud moments to get you through the difficult days written by someone who gets it.
Secrets for the Mad: Obsessions, Confessions and Life Lessons by Dodie Clark
A mix of doodles, poetry and prose all about self-care, mental health, life and relationships: “This is for the people with minds that just don’t stop; for those who feel everything seemingly a thousand times more than the people around them.”
12 Comments
Bookish Rita
14th May 2018 at 10:40 amThank you for putting this list of books together! I will add them to my TBR right now ?
prettybooks
21st September 2018 at 8:39 pmYou’re welcome! ๐
whatthelog
14th May 2018 at 11:53 amGreat list!! Adding them to my goodreads ๐
prettybooks
21st September 2018 at 8:38 pmYay! I hope you enjoy them.
Naty
14th May 2018 at 6:47 pmWhat a great post!!! Have you read Furiously Happy? I highly recommend that one too! I’ll check some of those on Goodreads because they sound so cool ๐
prettybooks
21st September 2018 at 8:38 pmI have! I liked it, but it’s not a favourite.
Lotus
15th May 2018 at 10:54 amThanks for the list! Mental Health is a topic that more people should really read up on.
prettybooks
21st September 2018 at 7:25 pmYou’re welcome! ๐
The Sunday Snuggle W20/2018 #TheSundaySnuggle | Naty's Bookshelf
15th May 2018 at 1:18 pm[…] Pretty Books – 10 Non-Fiction Books About Mental Health […]
Therapy With Books
11th July 2018 at 6:00 pmGreat list. Lots of new ones for me here and I am quite into the topic. Oliver Sacks books are great in this category too. I also write about books specially around books that might help people for certain challenges at: https://therapywithbooks.clinic/ , this list gives me a lot of material to go through and add! Thanks for sharing.
prettybooks
21st September 2018 at 7:24 pmYou’re welcome! ๐
Shoutout Sunday – A Whole Month’s Worth of Incredible Posts! – Use Your Words
26th September 2018 at 3:23 am[…] Stacey @ Pretty Books shared her recommendations for non-fiction books about mental illness, for those hoping to learn something new, or to help those battling mental illness themselves. I am especially keen to check out Dodie’s book, Secrets for the Mad. […]