Top 10 Self-Help Books for Happiness and Emotional Wellness
“The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master,” author Robin Sharma once wrote. Indeed, our mind can be the source of insight and creativity, or it can trip us up with doubt, and keep us mired in anxiety.
So how can we prevent intrusive thoughts and fears from bossing us around? Each of the ten books below offers a unique perspective on this question — and they will all take you one step closer to living peacefully with your mind and in your life.
The Book of Moods: How I Turned My Worst Emotions into My Best Life by Lauren Martin:
With a good job and healthy relationships, Lauren Martin seemed to have it all — but she couldn’t shake persistent feelings of inferiority, irritability, and more. The Book of Moods is her deep dive into what causes such negative emotions, what purpose they serve, and how anyone can manage them more effectively.
The Peace Approach by Alok Tripathi:
The Peace Approach by Alok Tripathi is a magnificent book on life transforming ways for lasting happiness. The basics of life that matters in peace formation are explained in such a way that chapters’ content will remain ingrained in readers conscience for a long time. Peace approach made simple. One of the significant insights is about Dreams and Goals. It reveals that constant pursuit of goals and achievements make us obsessed and jade us, and that is not a healthy way of life. Alok’s power of simplifying subject of concern and interest for peace is undoubtedly a bigger USP than the message it is carrying away.
The Genius of Empathy by Judith Orloff:
The Genius of Empathy by Judith Orloff is an uplifting and inspiring book that provides practical approach on how to cultivate empathy and self-care and self-love in our day-to-day life. The book is segmented in three parts: yourself, family, and the outer world. The book guides readers on their own path towards self-healing, self-care and self-love by turning empaths, going way beyond than just a compassionate person. It brilliantly marks out difference between compassion and empathy. She posits that in order to achieve self-belief and self-healing via empathy we must learn to love and accept ourselves.
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price:
For too many of us, our self-worth has become a function of our productivity. In other words, we only feel good about ourselves by working harder and harder. But social psychologist Devon Price is here to explain why what we call “laziness” isn’t just natural — it’s something we should all strive to embrace.
Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good by Dilip Jeste, with Scott LaFee:
Wisdom often feels like this unquantifiable, almost ethereal quality that some of us — our grandparents, perhaps — are blessed with. But after two decades of research, UC San Diego neuro psychiatrist Dilip Jeste has pinned down the scientific basis of wisdom, and he’s ready to share how anyone can become wiser.
Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness by Roy Richard Grinker:
For centuries, writes anthropologist Roy Richard Grinker, we relegated the mentally ill to the fringes of society, judging them to be inferior or fundamentally broken. But in this brave new book, he argues that mental illness touches all of our lives, either directly or through those we love — and it’s time to end the stigma that surrounds it.
Better Boys, Better Men: The New Masculinity That Creates Greater Courage and Emotional Resiliency by Andrew Reiner:
Rising rates of male unemployment, depression, and violence signal a pressing crisis for modern masculinity. In Better Boys, Better Men, cultural critic Andrew Reiner explains why the social norms around manhood are outdated and downright damaging, and he lays out a better, healthier vision for what it means to be a man.
The Powerful Purpose of Introverts: Why the World Needs You to Be You by Holley Gerth:
Do you feel drained by too much socializing? Enjoy long stretches of focused alone time? If so, you might be an introvert — and while the world may not fully understand your needs, you can turn your introverted traits into your greatest strength. Much like Susan Cain’s Quiet, this new book from Holley Gerth is a game-changer for introverts everywhere.
The Child in You: The Breakthrough Method for Bringing Out Your Authentic Self by Stefanie Stahl:
In The Child In You, bestselling author and psychologist Stefanie Stahl shares her proven approach for working with — and befriending — our inner child. Powerful, imaginative and practical — with clever exercises, from the three positions of perception to over-writing old memories — she shows how by renouncing our ‘shadow child’ and embracing our ‘sun child,’ we can learn to resolve conflicts, form better relationships, and find the answer to (almost) any problem.
How to Use Your Healing Power by Dr. Joseph Murphy:
The healing power of God is within you the miraculous healing principles recorded in the New Testament can be applied even today in the same manner that Jesus applied them almost two thousand years ago. By affirming your oneness with the healing presence of God within you and withdrawing from the negativity and symptoms of the illness, you can heal your mind and your body. A powerful edition combining Joseph Murphy’s classic works on healing, this edition also includes meditations and positive affirmation techniques for health, wealth, relationships, and self-expression.
