Helpful books and resources

[Kazzl]

Hi everyone

Members often refer in their posts to books and other resources that have helped them. This thread is a place to list those books so all members can find them easily.

The titles might include scholarly, mass market and self-help books, specialist websites or blogs, podcasts, vodcasts or print or online journals or magazines. Please note BB has a list of websites and resources under Get Help, so maybe check there first for online resources. (Also note that we cannot include live links to online resources.)

To make things easy to find, please put the category of the content first in bold, then the title of the book and then, if you want, a brief comment.

Please note that anything listed here reflects the member's views only. Publications and other resources are not necessarily endorsed by beyondblue.

Happy reading!

[Guest_1055]

Oh it appears you are new here. Well a big welcome to you tenthC. Feel free to introduce yourself or start a thread . Or just read around. Don't feel pressured though. All cool.

Shell

[TheSanctum]

Hi Everyone,

Are there any good resources/books/memoirs on schizophrenia?

Thanks 😄

[Croix]

Dear All~

I'm pleased to see this thread is coming alive again. It's good to get other people's views.

Can I mention Brené Brown on TED and YouTube. I've found her talks on courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy as well as things like boundaries to be very helpful and give me a measure of perspective.

TheSanctum~

A Beautiful Mind on the Nobel Prizewinner John Forbes Nash by Sylvia Nasa was seemingly accurate and very readable. It is also a movie starring Russell Crowe.

Perhaps others might have wider experience.

Criox

[aussiejosh]

Jack Canfields "Chicken soup for this soul " is brilliant

[mddx]

I have just downloaded CBT related one, I generally have mental barrier towards self-improvement books as most them simple glorified "you can do it, if you believe it" types and some of the authors language style can be degrading which I hate the most.

No harm in trying though

[KyCoo]

There are certain self-motivation books that'll help you a lot.

1) Power of the mind in Health & Healing

2) You are Badass

3) The First 90 Days

[quirkywords]

Kycoo

Welcome to the forum. this is a caring, friendly and supportive place.

Thanks for sharing your list of. Looks that you feel will help others.

Can you explain how the books helped you and what you liked about them ?

I have not heard of any of the books so I would like to know more.

I find with self help books it is a good idea to find one helpful idea Instead of hoping one will solve all one’s problems.

I found books of quotations and poetry helped me when feeling low lost and hopeless.

Mddx, I agree and I avoid books that promise to solve all my problems in a month etc.

Quirky

[16sundayz]

I'm currently finding The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety: Using CBT to manage stress and anxiety by James Cowart really helpful. It has a bunch of coping strategies and exercises to do with your psych or on your own. I went over the word limit with an explanation of of what it's about so I'll put it in another post below this one.

[16sundayz]

In The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety: Using CBT to Manage Stress and Anxiety,
James Cowart offers a concise collection of tried-and-tested strategies
from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and makes them accessible to
people who are learning to cope with their anxiety on a day-to-day
basis. Anxiety is a normal part of our human nature. For spurring you to
make decisions or perform, it can actually be helpful. However, an
unchecked pattern of intrusive negative thoughts can escalate the
severity and persistence of the level of anxiety experienced over time.
As this worsens, it is not uncommon to feel an increasing lack of
control - ultimately leading to a chain of self-defeating behaviors that
may negatively affect all aspects of your daily life. Yet, while it is
not possible to directly control our emotions (or what others think or
do), it is possible to learn and apply coping skills that can help you
face feared situations - rather than escape or avoid them. James
Cowart's aim in The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety is to share a
toolbox of CBT techniques garnered over 40 years' clinical practice that
will enable you to manage your anxiety on a sustainable path toward
taking back some of that control. These self-help strategies focus on
developing key coping skills designed to reduce fear and anxiety, and
are complemented by a user-friendly, step-by-step program of practical
exercises that can be personalized to meet each individual's unique
needs. Informed by his extensive experience and therapeutic knowledge,
and with real-life case studies to guide you along your own journey,
James's easy-to-remember ABCS approach is as transformative as it is
simple: A is for accepting the thoughts and feelings you can and can't
control; B is for breathing slowly and naturally to relieve and relax
muscle tension; C is for countering any unrealistic or catastrophic
thoughts with truth and logic; and S is for staying with it so you can
face your fears and anxieties until they are reduced.

[16sundayz]

Each step is
explored in detail in the first four chapters, and further discussion is
also dedicated to using the ABCS with different types of anxiety
(including social anxiety, specific phobias, panic attacks and obsessive
compulsive disorder (OCD)) and coping with related depression, anger
and impulsivity. Punctuated with research-informed insight and
instruction throughout, The ABCS of Coping with Anxiety offers
hope, relief and reassurance in helping you master your anxiety and work
toward greater independence. Suitable for those living with anxiety and
for the health professionals - including psychiatrists, psychologists,
social workers and counsellors - working with them.