As the US celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month, here is a list of books that help understand, identify, and cope with mental health issues
Representative image. Pic/iStock
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is among the leading causes of disability while suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29 year-olds. The stigma surrounding mental health has for long prevented people from seeking help. In the middle of arguably the biggest health crisis in modern history, the need to break taboos and raise community awareness has never been more important. As the US marks May as Mental Awareness Month, we have rounded up a list of books that will help readers understand, identify, and cope with mental health issues
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(Don’t) Call Me Crazy
Geared toward young adults, (Don’t) Call Me Crazy by Kelly Jensen is designed to be a much needed ice breaker that enables families to talk about the taboo subject of mental health. The book is an anthology featuring essays, illustrations, lists, and comics that explore a myriad range of topics, from mental health stigma to understanding how everyone’s brain is wired differently, through deeply personal experiences with mental health. This book can be the first step towards letting go of the notion of ‘crazy’ to make way for unabated conversations in the household.
The Hours
Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize, ‘The Hours’ by Michael Cunningham is an engrossing tale of three distinct women across decades. The narrative follows prolific writer Virginia Woolf during World War II and contemporary characters, Mrs. Brown and Clarissa Vaughan. Institutionalised multiple times, Woolf was troubled by her mental illness throughout her life while the other two protagonists had their own struggles with despair. The book was made into an Academy Award winning movie starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore.
Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me
The autobiographical graphic novel explores the relationship between creative and crazy as readers follow American cartoonist Ellen Forney’s journey as an artist suffering from bipolar disorder. Forney’s struggles to find mental stability while retaining her creativity lead her to unravel stories of world renowned artists, including Vincent Van Gogh and Sylvia Plath, who also suffered from mood disorders.
After Birth
The joys of motherhood have long overshadowed the conversation around the mental and physical health of new mothers. Mainstream media has only recently started making space for the more difficult conversations, including miscarriages and clinical depression post pregnancy, egged on by personal testimonies of women who have chosen to speak up. ‘After Birth’ is revolutionary by that measure, as the 2015 book chronicles the physical and mental toll of child birth and motherhood. Author Elisa Albert touches upon themes such as postpartum depression with insight and humour that engages, yet never overwhelms the readers.
What to do When You Worry Too Much
We all have our days when we find ourselves in a spiral, obsessively worrying about mundane things that won’t really matter. As adults, we’ve developed our coping mechanisms that help us move forward but often have no clue how to deal with a kid’s anxiety. ‘What To Do When You Worry Too Much’ by Dawn Huebner is a kid’s guide to overcoming anxiety. The behaviour therapy book is designed to teach school-age children techniques to overcome anxiety, worry, and fears through self-help exercises and strategies.
The Shame Factor
Having a distorted sense of self, lack of trust in others, feeling worthless are some of the most typical symptoms of shame- an all too common yet often misunderstood emotion that has a tremendous impact on mental health. In ‘The Shame Factor’, popular clinical psychologist Stephen B. Poulter delves into the root cause of shame in our lives and explains the differences between the emotion and commonplace guilt. Through simple, guided exercises, the book is aimed to teach readers to recognise triggers that arouse negative emotions such so they then can move toward healing and lasting happiness.
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