Books for Tough Times: Health and Mental Health

A much-needed guide to dating—from apps to hooking up, sex, long-term relationships and more—from disabled essayist and author Jessica Slice and bioethicist Caroline Cupp.

Hospice care is available to patients and families dealing with terminal illness. People often do not avail themselves of hospice care because they don't understand what it entails. Demystifying Hospice describes through stories good news about end-of-life issues.

When you are diagnosed with a life-changing illness, it can be overwhelming. While your diagnosis cannot be changed, the way you experience your illness can. In Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest, Dr. Seow and Dr. Winemaker have harnessed the advice of thousands of patients to create a roadmap that every patient and family will benefit from.

Chronic illness affects everybody differently, but we all share the goal of living meaningfully and making the most of what we have. This book exists to help you take accessible steps towards that goal and build a life that truly feels like yours.

This book is for ICU patients' families, suddenly immersed in an alien and intimidating world. It clearly explains intensive care ranging from the details of the equipment and environment, to decisions about end-of-life care, focusing on how the reader can become an effective advocate for their loved one.

This self-help guide offers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to manage health anxiety by understanding its causes and reducing anxious thoughts and behaviors. Updated for today’s challenges, it provides practical steps to shift focus away from illness and regain mental well-being.

Dr. Steven Z. Pantilat guides readers through the complexities of serious illness, providing practical advice on navigating the medical system, making informed decisions, and finding the best support and care. From understanding medical jargon to planning for the future, Dr. Pantilat empowers patients and their loved ones to live as well as possible in the face of illness.

Discussing everything from diet and exercise to stress and emotion management, Live Your Life, Not Your Diagnosis provides tools readers can use immediately to help them feel better while living with a diagnosis.

In this compassionate guide, Dr. Julius Birnbaum offers essential advice for navigating the complex world of various autoimmune diseases. This resource will help patients, caregivers, and health care professionals understand the diagnosis, management, and treatment of conditions like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, and more.

A practical guide for understanding how palliative care can improve quality of life for patients and their caregivers.

From COVID-19 and autoimmune disease to chronic pain and inflammation, this new integrative approach and practical guide from two UCSF doctors is an essential guide to living with long illnesses.

A unique lifestyle journal for people living with long-term health conditions. It's designed to help you reconnect with yourself and the things that make you happy, while holding space for the challenges of chronic illness.

Chronically ill people don't always talk about it. Until now. Spanning different ages, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and diagnoses, forty-two authors from around the world open up in fifty true stories about their chronic illnesses and their search for answers, poor treatment by doctors, strained relationships with loved ones, self-doubt, and more.

Recommended by the SF Counseling Center. Also available in Spanish.
With an up-to-date section on everything you need to know about commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs and anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder, this guide can show you how to feel good about yourself and the people you care about. You will discover that life can be an exhilarating experience.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at the root of nearly all mental health disorders. In this innovative workbook, trauma specialist Glenn Schiraldi presents practical, evidence-based skills to help you heal from ACEs. In addition to dealing with the symptoms, you'll learn to address the root cause of your suffering, change the way your brain responds to stress and the outside world, and soothe troubling memories.

Psychotherapist Josh Fletcher takes us on a tour of the inner mind of a therapist—revealing a hilariously candid point of view on the therapeutic process, a practical guide to therapy, and maybe a few more cobwebs and dark corners than one might expect. It's everything you ever wanted to know about therapy (and maybe a few things you didn't).

In this candid, witty and insightful exploration into therapy, Steph Jones uses her professional and lived experiences as a late diagnosed autistic woman and therapist, as well as consulting therapists from across the world and tapping into the autistic community, to create the ultimate autistic survival guide to therapy.

Addresses anyone intimidated by oversized feelings they can't predict or control, offering the tools to understand what's really going on, find comfort, and face the future with a sense of newfound agency.

Sahaj Kaur Kohli, writer and therapist, shares her journey of straddling multiple cultures and grappling with questions of identity, mental health, and community. Through a blend of personal narrative, analysis, and research, Kohli offers practical advice and tools for navigating generational trauma, setting boundaries, and breaking down stigmas around therapy, ultimately emphasizing the interconnectedness of personal and collective healing in this revolutionary exploration of cultural duality and mental wellness.

More college students are struggling with mental health issues than ever before, but many are also speaking up and seeking help. This guide offers clear, research-backed advice and practical tips for students, families, and staff navigating mental health challenges in college.

Presented in clear, practical language and organized in short chapters, this book breaks down common problems and provides actionable strategies for addressing them. Whether students want to understand challenging emotions, transform negative thoughts, improve relationships, or explore the connection between time management and mental health, these topics and more can be found in this one book.

Almost 80% of autistic people have a co-occurring mental health condition, and this powerful book puts their voices front and centre, showcasing the human experience beyond the medicalised language and diagnoses. Covering a range of experiences from multiple ages, genders and backgrounds, discussions include trauma, relationships, masking, healthcare, intersectionality and more.

This upbeat guide is the first to detail evidence-based principles for improving well-being in those with mental illness.

This colorful graphic novel adventure through the brain demystifies and destigmatizes emotional and mental health. Each of the 9 chapters explores a different aspect of mental health, from the brain and the mind, to feelings and emotions.

Offers timely advice and practical tips for navigating unexpected life changes and challenges. Renowned author M.J. Ryan provides strategies to transform your mindset, manage change effectively, and thrive amidst uncertainty, guiding readers through acceptance, adaptability, and decisive action. Whether facing personal crises, workplace transitions, or broader societal shifts, this book empowers individuals to find resilience and growth in the midst of upheaval.

Research reveals that mental health issues are on the rise among undergrads, but many are not accessing help. If this is relatable, this book is for you. It addresses common sources of distress—including academic, social, parental, and financial pressures—and shows you how to meet those challenges head-on and where to turn for extra support.

The author of The Happiness Project discovers a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses.

Social media is here to stay, and Logged In and Stressed Out presents the right information and tools to improve our lives through examining and changing our digital habits.

This work provides readers with actionable strategies and resources for family members or friends of adults with a mental illness or history of trauma, useful tools to get through difficult times, and ways to strengthen their relationships with their loved ones.

A ground-breaking guide that provides men with tools to improve their mental health and well-being.

Military Mental Health Care is both a resource for struggling veterans and a useful tool for their loved ones, or anyone looking for ways to support the veterans in their lives.

A practical, engaging resource that offers a clearer understanding of the science of emotion and a helpful path forward in regulating your emotions.

In this essential guide, Dr. Julie teaches her millions of readers and clients how to navigate life’s toughest occurrences while they’re happening, rather than moments or years after the fact.

Although spending time alone for short periods may be restorative and helpful, unintentional or involuntary isolation can have profound detrimental effects on emotional and physical health. The book touches on how social isolation, loneliness, and stress affect each of us individually and can sometimes provoke depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidality, and substance use.

A clinical psychologist gives us 75 quick, scientifically proven techniques and exercises to manage stress and build resilience.

This is a self-care manual for the days when you feel alone—the days when you worry that you're too weird or broken or unfixable to be normal. With compassion, humor, and honesty, Jill offers signposts to help you find the path back to yourself.

Drawing on her years of professional experience as a clinical psychologist, the author offers expert advice and powerful coping techniques for fortifying and maintaining mental health, even in the most trying of times.

An all-in-one guide to taking charge of your mental health, with research-proven strategies to alleviate daily struggles such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder, ADHD, and insomnia.

Annie offers a judgment-free action plan for anyone who's ever wondered what life without alcohol is like. The rules are simple: Abstain from drinking for 30 days and just see how you feel. Annie arms her readers with the science-backed information to address the cultural and emotional conditioning we experience around alcohol.

This book is the most up-to-date, cutting-edge, best-practice version of Allen Carr's Easyway method. It now includes advice on vaping, cannabis, JUUL, self-harm & anxiety, the dopamine issue, and more advice about habitual triggers.

In this workbook, readers will discover evidence-based tools rooted in behavioral and cognitive psychology to address body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) such as nail biting, hair pulling, and skin picking. Drawing from a range of therapeutic approaches including CBT, ACT, DBT, and habit reversal training, the integrative behavioral therapy (IBT) approach offers personalized interventions to shift perspectives, reduce BFRB behaviors, and improve overall well-being and self-concept.

A leading neuroscientist and pioneer in the study of mindfulness explains why addictions are so tenacious and how we can learn to conquer them.

Specialists give veterans the tools to conquer chronic pain and substance use in this to-the-point guide.

Two experts in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) offer a blend of mindfulness, humor, and self-compassion to help you stop dwelling on what's wrong and start enhancing what's right—leading to a more joyful life. You'll discover daily games, tips, and tricks for outsmarting your OCD, meditations and mindfulness exercises, and much, much more.

Family-friendly and accessible, A Family Guide to Coping with Substance Use Disorders provides readers with important information on substance use, symptoms, causes, effects, and treatment. Written by experts in the field of addiction medicine, this book enables readers to understand substance use disorders from the perspective of their affected loved one, and provides a positive perspective emphasizing that recovery is certainly possible.

Deciding to get help for addiction is the first step toward recovery. But addiction recovery doesn't happen all at once—it's something that must be worked for, every day. This on-the-go mindfulness guide offers fifty-two powerful and effective meditations to help you manage the stress, depression, and strong emotions that can get in the way of a full and lasting recovery.

This book offers practical strategies for navigating social situations without alcohol, addressing common challenges such as peer pressure and societal expectations. Readers will learn how to maintain fulfilling relationships, handle trigger moments, and embrace the benefits of sobriety, from improved health to stronger connections with others.

Packed with tested strategies and practical tips, this 30-day plan is the essential, life-changing guide to setting boundaries with your smartphone.

Develop the skills to cope with addiction with this simple guide to cultivating resilience through mindfulness. This mindfulness workbook gives you the tools you need in order to ground yourself in the present and create a healthier mindset, so you're less likely to fall back into addictive behaviors.

Don't let your thoughts and fears define you. In Overcoming Harm OCD, psychotherapist Jon Hershfield offers powerful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness tools to help you break free from the pain and self-doubt caused by harm OCD.

Every day, over 100 Americans die from opioid abuse. Bisaga and Chernyaev provide a comprehensive medical guide for opioid use disorder (OUD) sufferers, their loved ones, clinicians, and other professionals.

In this powerful book, two anxiety experts offer proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills to help you get unstuck from disturbing thoughts, overcome the shame these thoughts can bring, and reduce your anxiety.

Accepting that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to controlling drinking, the latest edition of this bestselling book will help you assess your drinking and determine whether moderation or abstinence is the best path for you.

Rachel Hart delves into the mystery of why some individuals struggle with alcohol while others seem to effortlessly control their drinking. Drawing from her own experiences, she provides insights and tools to help readers understand their relationship with alcohol and regain control without the need for lifelong labels or a sense of powerlessness. Through this book, readers can discover their inner strength and overcome challenges associated with alcohol consumption.

Discover the differences between healthy and harmful anger with John Lee’s life-changing program. Therapist Lee’s proven method will help anyone immediately tap into the causes of their own anger, allowing them to get a handle on the emotions that cause stress and pain. Without guilt, shame, embarrassment, resentment, or hopelessness, The Anger Solution offers groundbreaking information on controlling rage.

A radically effective and evidence-based anger management tool—deeply rooted in cutting-edge research. Drawing on the gold standard treatment for anger--cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—and informed by the no-nonsense approach of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), this workbook is chock-full of powerful tools, exercises, and self-assessments to help you overcome destructive anger, once and for all.

Shame is hidden, and rarely something we talk about, but it can underlie challenges that we deal with on a daily basis, including anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. This book will help you understand what shame is, how it arises and, in turn, how to overcome it.

Written by anger management expert Ronald Potter-Efron, Healing the Angry Brain can help you short-circuit the anger cycle and learn to calmly handle even the most stressful interactions. This fascinating, scientific approach to anger management will yield long-term results, helping you develop greater empathy and put effective conflict resolution skills into practice for years to come.

If you struggle with problem anger, you know how much it can hurt your relationships and get in the way of your happiness. Based in proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Instant Anger Management is a take-anywhere guide for managing anger—whenever and wherever you are.

A holistic look at the underlying emotional, physical, and spiritual causes of anger cites the shortcomings of traditional anger-management techniques while explaining how to shift one's perspective to maintain a state of calm.

A new theory of understanding how anxiety manifests in the body and brain, and how it can be treated.

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook is an unparalleled, essential resource for people struggling with anxiety and phobias. Packed with the most effective skills for assessing and treating anxiety, this evidence-based workbook contains the latest clinical research. You'll find an arsenal of tools for quieting worry, ending negative self-talk, and taking charge of your anxious thoughts.

Relieve stress and calm anxiety with 55 quick and effective tips & tools. Each card features a short Tip, followed by a Tool, or short activity to put that Tip into practice.

An empathetic and practical eight-step guide addressing workplace stress and anxiety. Drawing on their expertise, the authors delve into the causes of anxiety and offer effective management practices to cultivate calm and reduce tension in both managers and employees. Through strategies such as balancing overload, fostering resilience, and strengthening social bonds, the book provides actionable insights for creating a stress-free work atmosphere in today's volatile and fast-paced global climate.

A powerful yet portable guide offers 52 in-the-moment mindfulness strategies you can use anytime, anywhere to cultivate calm and radically transform your life.

A road map for building strong and secure relationships for those who struggle with anxiety in their romantic connections. Seasoned psychotherapist and couples counselor Jessica Baum guides readers through understanding their attachment style at its core and building the inner strength and self-love that will lead them to more secure and satisfying relationships.

Rebecca Fox Starr shares her personal story of marriage, motherhood, prenatal anxiety and depression, severe postpartum anxiety and depression, recovery process and hope for the future. Woven throughout the narrative, Dr. Amy Wenzel, a specialist in the field of Perinatal Mood Disorders, provides readers with clinical information and advice, addressing risk factors, warning signs, definitions and recovery options.

Clinical psychologist Andrea Bonior uses techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness to teach you to understand your thoughts—and your body—in a completely different way. For each of the 10 mental traps, Bonior uses the latest research in psychology and neuroscience to help you disempower and conquer self-sabotaging thoughts and offers a new habit to practice with specific and actionable steps.

The very things we do to control anxiety can make anxiety worse. This unique guide offers a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based approach to help you recognize the constant chatter of your anxious "monkey mind," stop feeding anxious thoughts, and find the personal peace you crave.

Dr. Burns, describes a new and revolutionary high-speed treatment for depression and anxiety based on 40 years of research and more than 40,000 hours treating individuals with severe mood problems. Dr. Burns will provide you with inspiring and mind-blowing case studies along with more than 50 amazing tools to crush the negative thoughts that rob you of happiness and self-esteem.

A comprehensive guide to how family members and friends can help someone who has depression.

Using her cheeky signature graphs, Hagy keenly outlines the 7 steps that will desaturate your fear and alter the way you approach each day with fresh purpose, power, and clarity,

A bestseller for over 20 years, I Don't Want to Talk About It is a groundbreaking and hopeful guide to understanding and destigmatizing male depression, essential not only for men who may be suffering but for the people who love them.

A comprehensive approach to living, and living WELL, with depression. Tips on how to choose a good therapist, negotiate the labyrinth of healthcare, and minimize stigma are addressed, as is learning how to use biology and biography as tools of empowerment.

Be the calm and collected parent you aspire to be with this powerful, neuroscience-based guide. This book will show you how to replace parental anxiety with parental effectiveness.

Most new mothers bring their infants to the doctor but ignore any distressing feelings or sensations they might themselves have―that sense of being "rattle" at many moments throughout the day and night. In Rattled, Dr. Nicole Pensak shares her own experiences and those of her patients to help new mothers feel informed, validated, and guided through matrescence.

There's nothing wrong with being shy. But if shyness or social anxiety keeps you from building meaningful relationships with others, advancing in your education or career, or simply living your best life, The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook offers a comprehensive program to help you confront your fears and become actively involved in the world.

Overthinking is the biggest cause of unhappiness. Don't get stuck in a never-ending thought loop. Stay present and keep your mind off things that don't matter, and never will. Acclaimed author Nick Trenton will walk you through the obstacles with detailed and proven techniques to help you rewire your brain, control your thoughts, and change your mental habits.

Break free from anxiety and manage stress with simple strategies and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques in this straightforward and encouraging handbook.

Written by a therapist who specializes in helping people navigate anxiety, the chapters contain 25 creative tools specifically designed to help reduce anxiety in five key areas: stress, social anxiety, anxious thoughts, self-esteem and the future.

This no-nonsense guide to beating social anxiety covers everything from surviving university and the workplace, through to social media and making it through parties and dates (whilst actually enjoying them!)

A resource for anyone who's struggling emotionally and looking for help, from the nation's leading community-based nonprofit that addresses the needs of those living with mental illness.

An accessible guide that explains why anxiety and worry make sense once their purpose is understood. Using vivid metaphors and practical strategies, it helps readers identify triggers, manage burnout, and break harmful cycles to restore balance and mental well-being.

Using evidence-based therapies such as CBT and ACT, this book will help you take a problem-solving approach to your worries, boost your confidence, and make friends with your body.

This guide helps readers heal from body image issues by embracing "body neutrality," which encourages acceptance and respect for one's body regardless of appearance. It provides insight into common body image struggles, introduces four avatars representing different body image types, and offers a plan to help strip away harmful beliefs, ultimately fostering a healthier relationship with oneself and one’s body.

This empowering guide helps readers break free from weight stigma using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles. Through stories, exercises, and reflections, it encourages embracing oneself and focusing on personal values beyond societal pressures about body size.

This hopeful guide explores 25 methods to steer you through the challenges of the holiday season with an eating disorder.

This honest collection directly confronts stereotypes and misconceptions about what eating disorders look like and who they impact. Tapping into sources of expert knowledge throughout, the accounts showcase how you can begin to understand your own journey of body acceptance and recovery and support those struggling in silence.

Delving into the history of exercise addiction and the growing influence of "thinspiration," Katherine Schreiber and Heather A. Hausenblas illustrate the symptoms and dangers of obsessive exercise with true stories from sufferers, all while exploring why and how such a seemingly healthy behavior morphs into a dangerous means of self-destruction.

Registered Dietitian, Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, and food therapist Lisa D. Ellis offers nutritional and therapeutic support in this comprehensive guide to healthy eating. The science-backed wisdom, exercises, and activities will empower anyone struggling with food to let go of the idea of perfection and define their relationship with food on their own terms, paving the way for deeper self-discovery and a healthier way of living.

This honest guide offers a realistic look at eating disorder recovery, addressing challenges like setbacks, identity, and everyday situations. Drawing from personal experience, it provides practical advice to help those recovering—or supporting loved ones—make lasting, positive progress.

A comprehensive guide to the reasons behind burnout, with effective, practical ways to manage and prevent burnout to create a more balanced future.

Too many of us work through burnout and sacrifice our work-life balance to get ahead in our careers. But the real path to success and happiness begins with you. Rather than just accepting the fatigue and burnout, renowned mental health expert Petra Velzeboer shows you how to prioritize your wellbeing and mental health at work.

Burnout expert Charlene Rymsha teaches her proven and holistic approach to efficiently and effectively getting unstuck and provides the tools and support to maintain lasting—and evolving—transformation.

Dr. Duggins breaks down common burnout myths (it's really not about building resilience!) and encourages us all to shift our thinking away from burnout recovery, to instead living and working in a way that avoids burnout before you even get close.

This groundbreaking book explains why women experience burnout differently than men—and provides a simple, science-based plan to help women minimize stress, manage emotions, and live a more joyful life.

This practical guide helps readers recognize the signs of burnout and reclaim their energy using a 7-step framework. With expert advice and reflective exercises, it offers tools to build resilience, align with personal values, and create a more balanced, fulfilling life.

This book is a no-nonsense, practical guide to thriving in a fast-paced modern world, for the burnt out, bone tired and brain frazzled. It's a toolkit that will help you learn what ingredients you need in order to thrive and how to weave those ingredients into your day-to-day, no matter how busy life gets.

Provides a guide to selecting activities that bring the most meaning and joy, focusing energy on those, and setting aside less important tasks. Golden categorizes activities into three groups: what to avoid for now, what to be mediocre at, and what to excel in. By curating your life this way, you can achieve success and happiness in the things that truly matter.

Burnout management coach and TikTok influencer Emily Ballesteros combines scientific and cultural research, her expertise in organizational psychology, and the tried-and-true strategies she's successfully implemented with clients around the globe to demystify burnout for our post-pandemic world—and set you on a path toward a life of personal and professional balance.

From the aggressive rethinking of workload management, to introducing seasonal variation, to shifting your performance toward long-term quality, Slow Productivity provides a roadmap for escaping overload and arriving instead at a more timeless approach to pursuing meaningful accomplishment.

Break the cycle of anxiety, trauma, and burnout with the help of this informative tool book, written by a professional trauma therapist and clinical psychologist.