Mental Health Awareness Month: Non-Fiction Mental Health books

For my last mental health awareness month post, I done some fiction recommendations. I don’t have enough non-fiction books on mental health that I’ve read to do a complete post full of recommendations of books I’ve read so I thought I would combine the very few I’ve read with some books I want to get to.

There are a variety of trigger warnings for these books, covering OCD, Depression, Anxiety, addiction and more. Just be aware that these books open up the discussion of mental health and so there may be triggering content surrounding mental health.

Mental Health Non-Fiction I’ve read:

Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig

Goodreads

I honestly can’t remember too much about this one but I think if I’m remembering correctly, it’s Matt Haig’s own struggles with mental health but also combined with things like symptoms of anxiety and depression and just general mental health information. I do remember really enjoying it and relating to it and is actually a book I decided to highlight certain parts so I could come back to them (I’ll admit, I never really came back to them because I’m bad at remembering these things). I haven’t heard a single bad thing about this book so if that’s not a reason to pick this up, I don’t know what is. But also, whether you struggle with your mental health or not, I think it’s still an important book to read. You’ll either relate to it or get understanding about it, or perhaps, even both of those things.

(Don’t) Call Me Crazy – edited by Kelly Jensen

Goodreads

The thing that really drew me to this, other than it being about mental health, was the fact that Adam Silvera has written for it but of course I read the whole thing through. There are so many different cases of mental health being discussed which is so important to stop stigma. Of course, this being an anthology type of book, there were entries that I enjoyed less than others but I can’t say I absolutely hated any of them from what I remember and I do remember enjoying most of the entries. Because this book deals with a variety of mental health problems, it is the one with probably the most trigger warnings. I can’t remember them all, so it’s probably best trying to find a review somewhere with the trigger warnings, but it discusses many things, from OCD to suicide to addiction.

Beautiful Boy – David Sheff

Goodreads

This book is a memoir about David Sheff’s experiences with having a son who’s addicted to Crystal Meth. There is so much research he done which is included in this book and while addiction may not be seen as anything to do with mental health and may be almost seen as a choice, this book shows it’s almost anything but a choice. And because it’s told from the father’s perspective, it also shows the effect of this situation on the father. I do feel this book gave me so much more understanding towards addiction. If you want to know more of my thoughts on this book, you can read my review here.

Books I want to read:

Shoot the Damn Dog: A Memoir of depression – Sally Bramptom

Goodreads

I originally saw this on amazon and this one deals with depression and also alcoholism. It’s described as a read that is relatable to those who have struggled with depression and make those who don’t, understand. It also mentions in the Goodreads synopsis that Sally Brampton offers advice to those who are struggling with the illness.

Out of the Madhouse – Iain Maitland and Michael Maitland

Goodreads

This one is actually described as a self-help book but it sounds more like a memoir in the goodreads description as it follows Michael as he enters the hospital and priory and then returns home and becomes a mental health ambassador.

The Man Who Couldn’t Stop – David Adam

Goodreads

This books deals with OCD. I think it is David Adam owns experiences combined with research on OCD and its history and treatments and whatnot. I quite like the sound of it being a combination of these two and since I haven’t read it, I could be wrong, but I do feel like this could be the kind of book to help break the stigma surrounding OCD and just what it’s like to be in the mind of a person with OCD.

Notes On a Nervous Planet – Matt Haig

Goodreads

What I like about the sound of this one is that I believe it doesn’t focus just around mental illness but how the world can affect anybody’s mental health. I believe this covers a range of areas from social media and the news and just how it affects us all.

Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought – Lily Bailey

Goodreads

This book, as you can probably tell, is another book about OCD and again, another person’s story about dealing with it and what it’s like to live with it.

Mad Girl – Bryony Gordon

Goodreads

Another book about another person’s struggle with OCD. From the Goodreads description, I think this also has a bit to do with depression, bulimia and drug dependency too.

Tweak – Nic Sheff

Goodreads

This is Nic Sheff’s, the son of David Sheff, memoir about his addiction. As I mentioned above, addiction is to do with mental health in so many ways and while I have not read this yet, I feel this book, like Beautiful Boy, will show the struggle of being addicted.

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I’m sorry I don’t have much to say about the books I haven’t read, but I haven’t read then so I obviously can’t say my opinion on them or say exactly what they’re about. I can only give you the information I know from the synopsis.

I know there were quite a few books on here dealing with OCD. I found one on Amazon and then a bunch of other came up that sounded interesting. Despite having not read them yet, I do believe all of the books on OCD, while they might sound similar, are important because like anything, everyone’s experiences are going to be a bit different.

Please feel free to leave any non-fiction mental health recommendations in the comments!

Lucy 🙂 x

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