Here at The Men’s List we’re striving to be one of the trusted destinations for men looking for help and the therapists and mental health professionals who offer it. With that in mind, we’re kicking off a new feature to the site where we select 5 books that we feel can really make a great impact on anyone’s life—especially a man looking to better himself, get focused on his mental health, and live a balanced, healthier life. The books we’ve selected this week can act as a roadmap to better living in all ways. We applaud the experts who wrote these guides and give our highest recommendations to anyone interested in reading them.
The Top 5 Books Men With Anxiety. Need In Their Library
1. Brain Wash by David Perlmutter, MD, Austin Perlmutter, MD, with Kristen Loburg
2. Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us Out Of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode and Into A Life of Connection and Joy by Aundi Kolber
3. Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks by Seth Gillihan, PhD
4. Behavioral Activation for PTSD: A Workbook For Men: Reduce Anxiety and Take Charge of Your Life by Lisa Campbell PhD, Karie A. Kermath et al
5. Addicted To The Monkey Mind: Change The Programming That Sabotages Your Life by J.F. Benoist
As one of the most highly recommended books out there today, Brain Wash is everything you’d expect from a guide to destabilize the 24/7, always on, way of life but it also comes with a doctor-approved plan for healing that includes a ten-day boot camp and forty recipes to recapture a healthy diet. This book takes the notion of ‘We can eat whatever we want, whenever we want’ and flips it on it’s head to point out that just because we can, it doesn’t mean we should.
Brain Wash asks readers to dig deeper and understand that today’s society is manipulating our minds through overstimulation, leaving us lonely, anxious, depressed, distrustful, illness-prone, and overweight.
Aundi Kolber, the therapist and author of this book takes bold steps to help readers reconnect with the joy in life, following the teachings of Shauna Niequist and Brene Brown. Try Softer endeavors to sidestep the hustle culture we’re living in, and asks readers to look for a deeper understanding. That understanding shows that the over functioning, exhausted and overwhelmed way of life we have now is against what our bodies are designed to withstand.
Kolber’s debut book lays out a plan of working together through obstacles by expertly connecting the latest psychology, practical clinical exercises, and her own personal story. The Try Softer approach equips and empowers readers to connect to our true selves and, ultimately, truly live.
Wouldn’t life be easier if you could work through virtually any problem on your own? Well, if you read Retrain Your Brain, you may have just found the cheat sheet to becoming your own therapist in 7 weeks.
Seth Gillihan’s book lays out the undisputed fact that getting through depression and anxiety requires changing the way you think. By offering a simple and practical plan within the book, Gillihan has created an interactive workbook that can teach the reader cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
This book helps you build your cognitive behavioral therapy skills without getting overwhelmed and focusing on three very important focal sections: A Complete Guide to CBT; Practical Lessons; and True Relief.
This book should be considered the definitive behavioral activation workbook for all men looking to take charge of their lives and recover from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Readers of this book will encounter a proactive, evidence-based, all in one therapy program that uses actionable exercises and ultimately helps you overcome triggers and avoidance behaviors through reintroducing positive, mood-boosting activities into your daily life.
The authors (Lisa Burgert Campbell, PhD, a trauma counselor and psychologist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, along with Karie Kermath, a trauma survivor) have done a masterful job of designing a self-paced program that helps tackle the unique challenges that men specifically encounter with PTSD.
5. Addicted To The Monkey Mind: Change The Programming That Sabotages Your Life by J.F. Benoist
Almost anyone can relate to the idea of self-sabotage. This book breaks down the Monkey Mind and digs in with a step-by-step guide for creating lasting change. Readers are taken on an introspective journey where they will learn why their thoughts are so erratic; why their emotions sometimes spiral out of control; why some days a person can feel great, but other days that same person can be so anxious that they resort to drinking, using drugs, self sabotage, or feel depressed.
Benoist argues that most of us are caught in endless, self-sabotaging cycles because we’ve been taught that external factors determine our experience. The self-destructive behavior can be beaten through applying the skills of what Benoist describes as the Observing Mind and believes his book will help readers actualize what they’ve been longing for most: a substance-free lifestyle, healthy relationships, a thriving career, and a healthy body and mind.
