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Book recommendations?

petrapige

Well-Known Member
#1
I am looking for some useful books that might help me deal with my situation.
I have anxiety and am very depressed and have in the past months been dealing with multiple forms of rejection romantic breakup, friend dumping me, this has been really bad for my self esteem and made me feel like an awful or even toxic person etc. etc. I just feel sad and lost and lonely and don't know what to do to get a fulfilling life ever or achieve anything ever. I am 24 years old and in uni.

If you know a book that has helped you, please share it with me (and others!), I would really appreciate it

Quick note, personally I am not into religious-themed books of any kind but someone else here might be, it's just my personal preference.
 

Petal

~*Mod Extraordinaire*~
Staff Alumni
SF Supporter
#2
The book ''Feel the fear and do it anyway'' by Dr. Susan Jeffers helped my anxiety remarkably. It was recommended by 2 different consultant psychiatrists and was in awe at how helpful it was, the book has many exercises to do and keep going back doing until you learn to feel the fear and do it anyway :) It is aimed at people with clinical anxiety. I hope it will help you as much as it has helped me and others on here, best wishes :)
 

petrapige

Well-Known Member
#3
The book ''Feel the fear and do it anyway'' by Dr. Susan Jeffers helped my anxiety remarkably. It was recommended by 2 different consultant psychiatrists and was in awe at how helpful it was, the book has many exercises to do and keep going back doing until you learn to feel the fear and do it anyway :) It is aimed at people with clinical anxiety. I hope it will help you as much as it has helped me and others on here, best wishes :)
Thank you!
 

merlin123

Well-Known Member
#4
I haven't read much although I'd want to, so right now I can only think of one book. I recommend The art of loving by Erich Fromm. He's a philosopher/humanist/psychoanalist and in this book he focuses on what the word 'love' means to him, and how important it is to love yourself. Sometimes he gets very philosophical and may be difficult to understand what he's trying to say, but it's a book worth reading

He does not only talk about romantic love, he talks about love to others, love to yourself, love to life...
 

gypsylee

SF Supporter
#5
I am looking for some useful books that might help me deal with my situation.
I have anxiety and am very depressed and have in the past months been dealing with multiple forms of rejection romantic breakup, friend dumping me, this has been really bad for my self esteem and made me feel like an awful or even toxic person etc. etc. I just feel sad and lost and lonely and don't know what to do to get a fulfilling life ever or achieve anything ever. I am 24 years old and in uni.

If you know a book that has helped you, please share it with me (and others!), I would really appreciate it

Quick note, personally I am not into religious-themed books of any kind but someone else here might be, it's just my personal preference.
How do you define “religious-themed”?
 

petrapige

Well-Known Member
#6
How do you define “religious-themed”?
Mostly things relating to Christianity/other world religions (like specifically Christian self help books), since I am a nonbeliever and I have often found self-help articles online to contain various religious currents, telling people to channel their emotions into their faith or to find solace in knowing that God has a plan for everyone. If it helps someone then that's great, but it doesn't resonate with anything in me personally. I am completely open to things that draw inspiration from the philosophy of religions though, it just isn't of much help to me if it becomes very literal, since I don't believe that any specific god has a plan for me.

Don't know if that is a clear definition (it's not) but it's the best I can do I guess :)
 

gypsylee

SF Supporter
#7
Mostly things relating to Christianity/other world religions (like specifically Christian self help books), since I am a nonbeliever and I have often found self-help articles online to contain various religious currents, telling people to channel their emotions into their faith or to find solace in knowing that God has a plan for everyone. If it helps someone then that's great, but it doesn't resonate with anything in me personally. I am completely open to things that draw inspiration from the philosophy of religions though, it just isn't of much help to me if it becomes very literal, since I don't believe that any specific god has a plan for me.

Don't know if that is a clear definition (it's not) but it's the best I can do I guess :)
After I asked that I remembered you liked the Invitation thing.. Some people would call that “religious” so I’m careful about recommending stuff. A lot of the books and things that have inspired me are “spiritual” but I don’t belong to any of the organised religions. Buddhism would be the closest but there are things about it I don’t agree with or which I feel aren’t relevant to me.

Of the spiritual/new age books I’d recommend this one:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76334.A_New_Earth

(I read The Power of Now as well and thought A New Earth was actually better).


Non-spiritual self-help which my psychiatrist recommended:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3250347-the-happiness-trap
 

petrapige

Well-Known Member
#9
After I asked that I remembered you liked the Invitation thing.. Some people would call that “religious” so I’m careful about recommending stuff. A lot of the books and things that have inspired me are “spiritual” but I don’t belong to any of the organised religions. Buddhism would be the closest but there are things about it I don’t agree with or which I feel aren’t relevant to me.

Of the spiritual/new age books I’d recommend this one:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76334.A_New_Earth

(I read The Power of Now as well and thought A New Earth was actually better).


Non-spiritual self-help which my psychiatrist recommended:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3250347-the-happiness-trap
Thank you I really appreciate it!
 

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