Top 5 mental health books
Our mental well-being is as important as our physical well-being and, thus, must be given the same level of priority.
There is no doubt that picking top 5 mental health books that offer advice on how to tackle stress, anxiety, depression, and other illnesses, as well as the acquisition of good health habits, can be a great way of improving your health.
The following are Top 5 mental health books that will be of great help in the enhancement of one's mental health.
1. The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
This life-changing top 5 mental health books focuses on the importance of positive thinking and how it can be applied practically.
Psychologist Shawn Achor, author of the best-selling book The Happiness Advantage, debunked this myth by arguing that happiness leads to success, not vice versa.
In general, happiness is beneficial for the brain to be more positive, creative, motivated, energetic, and resistant, as well as increase productivity.
This fun book describes scientific methods to make your brain adopt the right approach with examples of over 400 research studies.
They are habits that increase your daily happiness levels, which will pay off if you take the necessary steps to implement them.
Key Takeaway:
Happiness is the driving factor that makes us strive hard even in the most trying circumstances and the struggle for success.
Micro-practices that can generate daily happiness and add joy to our lives to change the neural pathways in the brain.
2. 10% Happier by Dan Harris
TV news anchor Dan Harris suffered from an on-air panic attack and realized that it was time for a change.
He is notably the author of the inspiring memoir 10% Happier, which tells the story of his transformation from a cynical reporter to a meditation enthusiast.
Thus, though it is not a story of self-actualization, the book is filled with humor and the author's quest to find a way to deal with the voice in his head.
Any person seeking ways to manage their anxiety, wishing to stop stressing, or wanting to prevent negative thinking patterns will benefit from this book and find it amusing.
Key Takeaway:
Relaxation through meditation helps free our mind and channel our thoughts while helping us avoid stress.
A significant factor to remember is that we should approach the practice with curiosity rather than ‘trying.'
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear
This is one of top 5 mental health books about creating good habits that lead to success.
The New York Times bestseller Atomic Habits by James Cleare is a must-read that focuses on the significance of tiny changes.
The cue-craving-response-reward model that he has put forward as a mechanism of habit creation is easy to understand and doable.
Tiny changes are achieved by taking consistent action and doing more of the same over time, yielding significant outcomes.
If you need to move more, eat better, write every day, or stop doing something you should not, this inspiring book explains how to change your life for the better, one atomic habit at a time.
Key Takeaway:
The laddering principle means that making minute, sustained changes is better than attempting to make massive transformations.
A small win paves the way to successive small victories. Before you realize it, the cumulative effect is a stunning change.
4. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
This is one of the best top 5 mental health books on trauma treatment and the effects of trauma on the human Body.
The Body Keeps the Score provides a scientifically backed guide to coping with traumatic stress.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a psychiatrist whose work has been focused on trauma for more than three decades, also concludes that trauma changes people physiologically.
It helps us move on or change how we view it so we do not fester old wounds while living in denial.
Pairing up-to-date research findings with real-life accounts of people who have recently struggled with traumatic events, this compassionate book is most helpful for anyone who wants to find ways to feel safer again.
Key Takeaway:
Injury to the psyche is not mere rhetoric but a genuine physical alteration in the Body that must be treated and endured.
This is to avoid the narratives that we have pasted on ourselves being rewritten with compassion in front of us.
5. The Upward Spiral by Alex Korb
This is a book that gives detailed information on D.B.S.
The Upward Spiral provides readers with the new science of emotional health: depression, anxiety, and resilience.
Neuroscience writer Alex Korb helps dispel the confusion regarding why a person feels the way they do and how to change the patterns responsible for these feelings.
This is a well-written book where the author uses scientific research findings and real-life stories of hope and triumph to help the readers understand how our thoughts, behavior, and attitude influence the chemistry and wiring of the brain for better or worse.
An enjoyable and straightforward book, perfect to read with your coffee, will make you apply small changes in your daily routine to start a positive cycle and improve your mental state.
Key Takeaway:
Interestingly, our brains are plastic under constant change, and we can influence this process.
Micro-satisfaction and happy thoughts build up to one another to form a positive cycle that reinforces proper neural connections.
Conclusion
As with all Top 5 mental health books, the underlying theme is: ‘little by little, bit by bit, that change can make a massive difference to our mental health in the long term.'
Even when it comes to as small behavior as meditation, writing gratitude lists, calling our friends, or working on our self-improvement, we are set on an upward spiral that rewires our brain for the better.