
May 15, 2021 | Devin Cook
Mental Health Awareness Month: What to Read and More
Most people can say they experienced stress and anxiety in the last year. According to Mental Health America, “the number of people looking for help with anxiety and depression has skyrocketed”, as reported in their State of Mental Health in America 2021 report, with people of color and LGBTQ+ youth especially suffering more from mental illness than previous years.
Mental Health America (previously the National Association of Mental Health) established Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States during the month of May in 1949 to educate the public on mental illness, reduce societal stigma, and to promote advocacy for legislation to aid those with mental illness and their families. Their research helps us understand how the country has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic mentally and emotionally.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and we have some resources to share that are free, and/or accessible with your library card.
LinkedIn Learning offers many tutorials on meditation, mindfulness, and other ways to manage mental health. Access these videos on breathwork and more by logging in here.
Therapy and counseling has also been shown to improve mental health, and many therapists can be seen for free through Medicaid or Kentucky health insurance. There are even many services online for teletherapy options with affordable pricing, such as Peer Collective, eTherapyPro, and more. Inclusive Therapists helps you seek reduced fee teletherapy and counseling specified for your mental health needs, letting you narrow down therapists by racial or ethnic identity, or sexual orientation. Anyone can experience the benefits of talk therapy for any reason–even for those who do not consider themselves neurodivergent! We offer free Wi-Fi access in our parking lots and around our building, which can assist you in your teletherapy journey.
Many believe in the power of mindfulness and yoga. Want to join a yoga beginners class, open to all ages and levels of experience? Join us for Bend and Book Yoga in our library garden Saturday, June 12th at 12 PM.
We have plenty of reading materials on mental health–from self-care tips to stories of surviving mental illness, you’re sure to learn more on coping mechanisms that can benefit anybody. Click on the title to learn more, check it out digitally or place a hold and pick it up at the library later on!
Adult Titles
- The Anatomy of Addiction by Akikur Mohammad
- The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk
- Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
- Codependent No More by Melody Beattie
- Cure: A Journey Into the Science of Mind Over Body by Jo Marchant
- Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
- Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life by Christie Tate
- I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom
- Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
- Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb
- The More Or Less Definitive Guide to Self Care by Anna Borges
- Radical Compassion by Tara Brach, Ph. D
- When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön
- The Whole Brain Child by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
- Your Brain Needs a Hug by Rae Earl
Young Adult Titles
- All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
- The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller
- Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
- Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa
- Girl on the Line by Faith Gardner
- History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
- How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox
- The Map From Here to There by Emery Lord
- The New David Espinoza by Fred Aceves
- The Rest Of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
- This is My Brain in Love by I. W. Gregorio
- Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
- Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan
- When the Stars Lead to You by Ronni Davis
- A World Without You by Beth Revis
Juvenile Titles
- ADHD by Ann Squire
- All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker
- Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
- Courage for Beginners by Karen Harrington
- Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
- Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya
- Eleven and Holding by Mary Penney
- Guts by Raina Telgemeier
- A Kids Book About Depression by Kileah McIlvain
- The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
- OCDaniel by Wesley King
- Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear
- Where the Watermelons Grow by Cindy Baldwin
Early Titles
- A Boy Called Bat by Elana Arnold
- The Class Room Mystery: A Book About ADHD by Tracy Packiam Alloway
- The Color Thief by Andrew Fusek Peters
- I Am Enough by Grace Byers
- The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
- My Monster and Me by Nadiya Hussain
- One Wave At A Time by Holly Thompson
- Pilar’s Worries by Victoria M. Sanchez
- Playground Problem: A Book About Anxiety by Tracy Packiam Alloway
- Puppy in my Head: A Book About Mindfulness by Elise Gravel
- Red: a Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
- Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival
- Sad by Kerry Dinmont
- Tease Monster by Julia Cook
- Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
- When Sophie Gets Angry — Really, Really Angry… by Molly Bang
Here are some documentaries and movies that cover stories of substance abuse recovery, coping with mental illness, and more.
- Addiction
- At Eternity’s Gate
- Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle In Your Mind
- Chronic
- Crazywise
- Dark Side of the Full Moon
- It’s Kind of a Funny Story
- A Leaf of Faith
- Love & Mercy
- Of Men and War
- OCD and Me
- Sybil
- The Unlikely Pilgrims
We hope this Mental Health Awareness Month you can find some peace of mind and learn something along the way.