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As you know, I am mentally ill. I have Borderline Personality Disorder, anxiety and depression.
While I am more than my diagnosis, I also can’t just pretend they do not exist. They are a part of me and on some level, are who I am in certain moments.
When I freak out when someone leaves me, this is Borderline. Or when I cannot seem to be able to get up from bed, this is depression. And when I almost pass out in front of people, I can tell it is anxiety.
Books have been helpful in making me get off my ass and do something valuable for my health.
Now I want to share these works of art with you. Books that uplift me. Books that transformed me. Books that made me a better person.
Reading can truly and honestly change lives and bring peace to your life.
Here are 5 books that improved my mental health:
Truly a Bible of Buddhism. It changed my life the second I read it because it reminded me of something very important.
Everything is impermanent. Nothing lasts forever.
I think this is the most freeing thing I have ever learnt from anybody. It helped me with anxiety attacks and the big emptiness I feel because of BPD. This too shall pass and something else will take its place.
I am not sure I would describe myself as a Stoic but I sure do follow the principles quite often.
My favourite lesson from the book is to just do my job. Stop expecting applause or a pat on the back and just do my damn job.Â
For a big chunk of my life, I was focused on myself and how stuck I am, but with this message, I focus on others. I write to them. I create content for them. Everything that you see on my blog is to help others improve their lives.Â
It’s not about little poor me, but about what I can do to serve the greater good.
Truly the only book that ever helped me with anxiety to the point of making me cry. I remember going to my work and having anxiety attacks before I just let everything go and embraced what the book taught me.
Once I stopped fighting anxiety and just let it wash over me, it went away. Now, I won’t spoil it for you but the trick lies in letting anxiety do its own thing and not making an enemy out of it.
I love Martha Beck. I love her so much that I invested a big amount of money to buy four of her books, and the rest are on their way to my home now. She is an amazing writer.
I want to hug her and kiss her and thank her for being such an inspiration to people because her books (all of them, yes) have made me a better human.Â
But this one, in particular, is my favourite because it talks about nature and non-human animals and how to connect to both so that you experience true magic.
This is my favourite book in the entire world and I recommend every single person on this planet reads it.Â
It talks about how to find spirituality without following religions or New Age crap. It is a perfect book for atheists and sceptics because it proves you don’t need to believe in the supernatural to be spiritual.
I love how Sam marries science with Eastern wisdom and presents it in a way everyone can understand. It’s an interesting book to read that you will understand right away.
I hope you found a book that you feel called to read.
I encourage you to pick one and study it. I mean it. Really, really go deep and read it over and over again. That way you will understand it.
If you wish to support my work, you can do so by buying me a cup of cappuccino. It helps me greatly.
Tanja