Armchair Self-Help: 4 Books to Elevate Your Mental Health From the Comfort of Your Own Living Room
by Marci Rae Johnson
It’s been nearly a year-and-a-half since the pandemic started here in the US (has it really only been that long?), and there’s still no end in sight. So forget armchair travel — now is the perfect time for some armchair self-help books instead, to help us get through these trying times (exacerbated by fires and floods and political upheaval and so on). Whether you’re in quarantine and can’t get to the therapist’s office, or you simply prefer to help yourself in the quiet of your own home, here are four books to help get you through.
The Thank-You Project, by Nancy Davis Kho. Some years ago, during an especially dark period of my life, I started a habit of gratitude, where I’d take a little time each day to consider the things in my life I was thankful for. Even though this didn’t completely blot out the difficult things that were going on, it did help me start to break the cycle of my negative thinking. The Thank-You Project helps us push the gratitude habit to another level by sending thank-you letters to people who have made a difference in our lives over the years. Since I’ve already been sending letters and cards to friends I haven’t been able to see as much as I would like during the pandemic, this sounds like the perfect way for me to step up my game! Try it out with me! Not only will it increase your happiness, but it will put smiles on the faces of your friends and family as well (which in turn will increase your happiness even more, since helping others gives us a tremendous boost). And you may even get a letter back! (Pro tip: include a sheet of cute stickers for the people in your life who appreciate cuteness.)
The Yoga Effect, by Liz Owen and Holly Lebowitz Rossi. As a generally skeptical person, I’m wary of anything that promises a quick fix, but I speak from experience when I say that although yoga won’t solve all of your problems, it really does help with anxiety and depression. I’m an incredibly anxious person — even something as simple as having to call the dentist to make an appointment can put me into spasms of panic! But a while back I decided to start every work day with just 10 minutes or so of yoga, and boy has it made a difference! Sure, a long day of video meetings can still make me feel panicky, but now I’m often able to calm myself by remembering my morning time of peace, and I can draw on that for strength. Try it out for yourself today!
Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. You may already be familiar with Viktor Frankl’s classic book Man’s Search for Meaning, in which he details his experience in a concentration camp and his theory that what each of us wants most from life is meaning. The big question. We want to know what the meaning of life is, and we want our own lives to have meaning. In Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning, Frankl explores in more depth how he survived the concentration camp and how he was able to find meaning in his life even in such a horrific situation.
Sisu, by Joanna Nylund. The northern countries of Europe are often considered some of the happiest places on earth. I first encountered their way of living through the concept of Hygge, the Danish and Norwegian word for comfort — and this idea of cozy comfort has helped me get through many a long Midwestern winter! And now, here comes the Finnish concept of courage, or rather, an untranslatable mixture of “courage, resilience, grit, tenacity, and perseverance.” Since I find I need to muster up a certain amount of courage just to go to the grocery store these days, I can’t wait to get started with this one. Also, who can resist such an adorable cover!?
