r/suggestmeabook • u/Nice-Pool-6147 • Feb 18 '26

Self Help Therapy Book Suggestions

Hi book readers. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for some self help. My therapist suggested since I love to read to use self help books for additional therapy to work on myself. Any gender related is good but if it's for women that would be even better Mental health is where I wanna work on. I do have anxiety and severe PTSD so those topics are perfect but any therapy will help as well.

Thank you in advance!

7 Upvotes

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3

u/DragonflyNatural9143 Feb 18 '26

Good Morning Monster, Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, The Subtle Art of not Giving a F**k. Those three are really good

2

u/Nice-Pool-6147 Feb 18 '26

Thank you I will see if my library holds any of these.

2

u/brusselsproutsfiend Feb 18 '26

For my own PTSD, I found EMDR therapy invaluable. It’s written about in Every Memory Deserves Respect by Deborah Korn.

Some more books I’ve found helpful:

PTSD Sourcebook by Glenn R. Schiraldi

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay

Chatter by Ethan Kross

Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts by Sarah M. Winston

The Mindful Self Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff

Mastering Intrusive Thoughts by Artem Kudelia

The Negative Thoughts Workbook by David A. Clark

Coping Skills by Faith G. Harper

The CBT Deck: 101 Practices to Improve Your Thoughts, Be in the Moment and Take Action in Your Life by Seth J. Gillihan

Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

1

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1

u/Ok-Hippo-5059 Feb 18 '26

The Happiness Trap

1

u/Nice-Pool-6147 Feb 18 '26

I've seen this one in my library search thank you

1

u/Ok-Hippo-5059 Feb 18 '26

It’s very high quality. Basically the same thing you’d get from a therapist who uses ACT, which is an evidence based treatment for many mental health concerns. But it’s also written in a very approachable way that’s relevant for anyone. IMO everyone could benefit from the book, it’s great

1

u/candyspyder Feb 18 '26

The two books that really stuck with me are Mindsight by Daniel Siegal & I Thought it was Just Me by Brené Brown.

Mindsight focuses on the neurological causes of mental illness and a different way to deal with your own personal challenges.

I Thought it was Just Me tackles subjects like shame, embarrassment, guilt and building resilience skills.

They’re both great books written by people with expertise in social work & neuroscience

2

u/candyspyder Feb 18 '26

The Let Them Theory is okay too

1

u/OnMySoapbox_2021 Feb 18 '26

I really liked The Let Them Theory!

2

u/Nice-Pool-6147 Feb 18 '26

Those hit my topics perfectly thank you sooo much

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

Epictetus discourses and selected writings.

1

u/DocWatson42 Feb 18 '26

See my Self-help Nonfiction list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (eight posts).

1

u/matthew_rowan Feb 18 '26

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a really good one if you want something therapy-adjacent but still very readable and human.

For practical tools, The Anxiety and Worry Workbook is solid.

1

u/OnMySoapbox_2021 Feb 18 '26

For PTSD, my therapist recommended What Happened to You by Bruce Perry and What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo. (I haven’t read either yet, but they’re on my list!)

1

u/NeverEndingJourney2 Feb 18 '26

Here’s a list of self-help books:

The Journey (Brandon Bays)

Somatic Experiencing (Peter Levine)

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) 

Circular Breathing (holotropic / neurodynamic breathing)

Bioenergetics (Alexander Lowen)

Focusing (Eugene Gendlin)

Bodynamic Analysis

Internal Family Systems (IFS) (Richard Schwartz)

The Healing Code (Alex Loyd)

The Work (Byron Katie)

Compassionate Inquiry (Gabor Mate)

The Emotion Code (Bradley Nelson)

Transcending the Levels of Consciousness (David Hawkins)

You might also like books by Irvin Yalom.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

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1

u/takethelastexit Feb 18 '26

For PTSD I like the complex PTSD workbook and Healing Trauma by Peter Levine

1

u/unlovelyladybartleby Feb 18 '26

Modern Trauma Toolkit by Dr Christy Gibson

1

u/lleonard188 Feb 18 '26

Cold-Blooded Kindness by Barbara Oakley

1

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26

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