Getting recommendations on resources for mental health can be a bit hit and miss, depending on who you ask.  Here are some of the resources that we recommend to our own patients. These are all easy to access and have been of great help to many of our patients over the years.

Books

• We love recommending books that might help you cope with stress, anxiety or depression.  One of the ones that has consistently helped many of our patients has been the Happiness Trap by Dr. Russ Harris. We love this book for its simplicity and its practicality. The book is based on principles of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and essentially teaches you how to stop chasing that illusive dream of happiness and come to terms with the life that you have.
• If you have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, or have traits of this, the gold standard psychological therapy is Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Unfortunately, the DBT program can be quite hard to access in some areas. If so, consider reading The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, by Matthew McKay and Jeffrey C. Wood. You can work through the exercises in your own time and it is written in a clear and practical way.

Mindfulness

• Mindfulness is a powerful tool. It sounds simple on paper, but it is much deeper than it looks and there is growing evidence for its effectiveness.  One of our favourite books is “Wherever You Go, There You Are” by Jon Kabat-Zinn. This is a classic resource for mental health, and for good reason. We also love the works of Thich Nhat Hanh, particularly “Peace is Every Step” and “The Miracle of Mindfulness”.  He has also written a powerful little book called “How to Love” – if you are struggling in your relationship, it’s a must-read.

Therapy

• Therapy can be incredibly helpful, but few people know what goes on in a session with a good therapist. We really enjoy reading the book “The Gift of Therapy” by Irvin Yalom, who is an experienced psychotherapist.  It is made of up case studies of real sessions between Dr Yalom and his patients and provides a fascinating insight into what therapy entails.
• Man’s Search for Meaning, by Victor E. Frankl is an incredibly moving and powerful book. Everyone should read this at least once. Many of the patients we see lack purpose and meaning in their lives and this book illustrates how finding meaning can help you deal with some of the darkest moments of your life.

Apps and Websites

• One of our favourite resources for mental health is the Headspace app. It is a meditation app and has various “modules” targeted specifically to issues you might face, such as depression, anger management,  or anxiety.  The negatives? It is a paid app and you need to subscribe to it.  If you prefer to use something free, Insight Timer is an excellent site and app that provides free meditation modules.
• We also often recommend “mood gym“. Mood gym uses principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and is an online “Self-help” style website that can help you with exercises to challenge some of your unhelpful thoughts.

This is just a short list of resources we recommend more regularly to our patients to help with their mental health. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, let us know in the comments below! What has helped you in the past?