“I know I’m not the only guy to have depression, but I feel like I am. Do any of you guys feel like this as well?”
“I look around and none of my friends are as anxious as I am -why am I the only guy with this?”
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are all full of forums and special peer support groups of guys who are asking questions like these every single day. Despite messages and campaigns aimed at normalizing mental illness especially for men it seems that the majority of men suffer with their symptoms in silence and in a belief that they are the only ones to have an illness.
For millennia men have been sharing personal stories about life as a way of describing the outer world, its dangers and joys, and their inner world of thoughts and feelings. Personal stories connect us and have the power to dissolve hardened self judgements and open new doorways to learning and growth. With that in mind here is our Top 5 Books About Living with Mental Illness – each one a deeply, personal story about a man, perhaps like you, who has asked and answered the same questions as you.
Top 5 Books About Living with Mental Illness
1. Imagine Me Gone – Adam Haslett
2. Back, After the Break – Osher Gunsberg
3. Reasons To Stay Alive – Matt Haig
4. The Color of Hope: People of Color Mental Health Narratives – Vanessa Hazzard, Iresha Picot, M.Ed., Phillips Esq.
5. Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks On Me – Charlemagne Tha God
