Self help books!
So I am not entirely sure if we are allowed torecommendbooks to the members or not but I was thinking it may be cool to have a list of some good self help books that we can recommend. A lot of the people I talk to are really nervous about going to therapy and a lot of them simply refuse to go. I was thinking that a self help book may be a nice alternative for the mean time that may also help them get the confidence to go and see a psychologist. I guess I am making this thread to see if anyone thinks this is a good idea and also for everyone to make a post about what books their therapists have recommended, what it is good for treating, and what they found most helpful for themselves. Thanks everybody!
By the way one of the books i really enjoyed is called The Feeling Good Handbook by David D. Burns M.D. My psychologist recommended it for people with depression and anxiety and its like $26!
[edited by Listener Citta]
We are all of course have the choice to read whatever book we want to read, but relating to recommending the books to the members, please be wise and careful to recommend only books you know can be trusted, written by professionals, and have good reviews and proven to be scientifically beneficial for them. Cheers!
hey that sounds like a good idea! i too, also want to know if we are able to suggest books etc?
I like this idea. I think this listwould even be useful to somelisteners on a personal level as well!
Great idea , I sometimes give members recommendations , maybe we could have a 'resource library' with links and books :)
I think a resource library is a great idea. I have personally steered members toward looking over the guides we offer here on the site and have found many of the members have never taken the time to explore that opionuntil I mentioned it.
I do the same thing and encourage them to use a lot of the resources on google as well.
I recommend people quite a lot to the guides on here as well, and I have yet to find anyone who even knew that they exist. I've gotten really great feedback about them, lots of members and guests seemed to find them very helpful, and have even written to me later to tell me that they completed the course and had a great experience.
Karen38, this is an important point. I'd encourage listeners to go through all the courses and become comfortable with their content so it's easier to suggest one or more. I alsofind that a lot of members don't know about the self help guides and havefound them helpful! Aside from letting a member know that we are always here to listen, our goal is to help our members help themselves and these guides are great for that!!
Same here
Hi! Visit this thread: What are you reading? and also check Laura's list: 23 Books
I have a thought on this, particularly on the above question whether or not we are allowed to recommend self-help books to our members.
My therapist and I have discussed this before and we agree on how there have been so many self-help books that can be misguided or aren't based on certain scientific data that they can be potentially wrong and harmful when you read it without a professional's guidance (for instance, the usage of positive affirmations). There's a chapter on this in Dr Rob Yeung's book You Can Change, in which he explained that for the materials in his books he use scientific data papers and evidence-based research, not just a mere "be positive" and "be thankful" encouraging words.
We are all of course have the choice to read whatever book we want to read, but relating to recommending the books to the members, please be wise and careful to recommend only books you know can be trusted, written by professionals, and have good reviews and proven to be scientifically beneficial for them.
:)
That is a very valid point. My psychologist recommended the book the I put in the original question so hopefully its accurate. But none the less I still completely agree with you there is all sorts of trouble out there in terms of self help books but perhaps we as listeners can make a list of some good ones and maybe a list of some bad ones for people to avoid. Not too sure...
Thanks for that, Puya! Perhaps we can encourage other listeners and members to recommend only books that we know are good :)
One book that I've used myself to great success and that I've recommended a few times (once on here and to other people in my life) is "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It's a kind of 'creativity program' meant for anyone who wants to bring creativity into their lives-not just painting, writing, etc, but creativity in the workplace, on the job, all sorts of applications. What's cool about it is that it has you challenge ideas and thoughts that you have about yourself, and to try and understand why you might have those thoughts and ways to work around them. It's just a really cool experience, and it can sometimes help someone to become 'unstuck', so to speak.
i'll recommend awaken the giant within-tony robbins, how to get from where u are to where u want to be- jack canfield, the magic of thinking big, man searching for meaning, think and grow rich, the monk who sold his ferrari, as a man thinkethetc
One of my favorite books is the Anxiety and Phobia Workbook!
https://www.amazon.com/Anxiety-Phobia-Workbook-Edmund-Bourne/dp/1572248912
I converted the book into a PDF and print off a lot of the workbook pages, its super useful!
Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws By Kate Bornstein(here on Amazon) is a book that helped me through my darkest time. Since we aren't really allowed to engage with suicidal members, I'm not sure how helpful it will be in chats but it might be something that could help another listener on here. It is a hands-on guide that has 101 genuine ideas of things to do instead of killing yourself, each suggestion rated on how easy it is to complete, and how harmful it will be to yourself. It is a very real guide for people who are invery real crisis, so some of the suicide alternatives are in and of themselves unhealthy behavior, but that was one of the things that helped me about the book when I needed it. It's real, its raw, it doesn't sugarcoat things, it takes emotional crisis seriously, and recognizes that developing a dangerous habit is better than being dead, as dangerous habits can be worked on at a later date. On the other hand, some of the alternatives are healthy, productive behaviors that have started me into some really great patterns in my life. This book is one of the reasons I am here today, and one of the only things that helped me when I was suicidal.I have an extra copy on my bookshelf just in case anyone in my life should ever need it.
Amazingidea!
For anxiety, depression, and other similar disorders or issues, my social service worker once recommendedthat I check out "The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund J. Bourne. I personally love it, it's been very helpful to me, and I can read it over and over again and still find something new to take out of it.
What I really like about it is that it's up-to-date, and it has built in exercises for you to complete (for example, rating anxiety triggers by how anxiety-provoking they are; this can be helpful to identify what exactly it is that makes you anxious)
Hello. One book I was recommended to read was called 'know your mind, everyday emotional and psychological problems and how to overcome them'. Written by Dr Daniel Freeman and Jason Freeman. This book contains questionnaires that you can do on various things amongst other helpful stuff. A better read than I expected. :-)
