When it comes to mental health and self-help, there is an unending selection of books out there to read, so where do you start?
October isn’t the only month we think about and advocate for Mental Health here at Exisle Publishing. Since our beginning, we’ve been drawing on the wisdom of experts who are internationally recognised in their field to publish books that help us help ourselves.
Here are two new reads to help both adults and kids manage their anxieties and escape “The Happiness Trap”.
The Happiness Trap
by Dr. Russ Harris
We are thrilled to be publishing the second edition of the million-copy bestseller The Happiness Trap from world-renowned trainer of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Dr. Russ Harris.
Updated and expanded in its second edition, this empowering book presents the ground-breaking techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), covering more topics and providing more practical tools than ever before. The Happiness Trap will help anyone who is facing illness, coping with loss, working in a high-stress job, or suffering from anxiety or depression, to build authentic happiness from the inside out.
Since 2005, Russ has run over 800 two-day workshops and provided ACT training for over 50,000 health professionals. Not to mention his series of ACT textbooks and self-help books.
The world has changed. It continues to change. Russ is dedicated to helping us free ourselves from depression, anxiety and insecurity so we can build rich and meaningful lives.
“When I set out to write the second edition of this book (sixteen years after the first one), I was expecting it to be a quick job; just a few minor changes here and there. But I quickly realised the book needed a major overhaul from start to end. When I eventually finished the task, I was surprised to find over 50 per cent of the book was new material! I guess that reflects just how much has changed over the years in the way I think about, talk about and practise this stuff.” – Dr. Russ Harris
What if…?
by Lynn Jenkins & Kirrili Lonergan
For Issy, and many more little worriers, ‘what if…’ are two small words that lead to uneasy feelings. But maybe they can be used for something a little more fun…
In this colourful adventure, ‘what ifs’ become springboards for happiness and imagination. Why worry about monsters under the bed when you could wonder what if the clouds were purple and orange and green? Children will delight in this playful exploration of words and their power to change how we feel, turning anxiety into wonder.
The duo behind What If…? are not new to the mental health scene, Clinical Psychologist Lynn Jenkins and Art Therapist Kirrili Lonergan, are behind the bestselling Lessons of a LAC series – a series of 5 books that gives children ways to think about and manage common emotional difficulties such as perfectionism, grief, anxiety and depression.
Books by this team are a valuable resource for every child to help guide their emotional development.
“We are very familiar with the catastrophic endings to ‘what if’ thoughts, but why do those two little words have to end in yuckiness? … We are the bosses of our brains and can choose to think in ways that make us feel how we want to. I wanted to create a fun and empowering way to start conversations about the power words have over how we feel; to encourage children to think about ‘How do you want to feel? Which ending to your ‘what if…’ would you choose to achieve this outcome?’”
– Lynn Jenkins
More books for a healthier mind
