Behind the scenes: 2019 in books
In 2019, I read 34 books and 41% of those were related to hypnotherapy and mental health in some way. I intended to increase the number of non-fiction books I read so I am pleased with this. In this post, I'm going to briefly discuss some of those books and what I got from them. The vast majority of them are books aimed at the general population, and not hypnotherapists or therapists.
How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald Robertson: I listened to the audiobook version of this, narrated by the author himself. This book is a must for anyone interested in philosophy, Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Ancient Rome, history, CBT, therapy, and living a good life. The book's main focus is, of course, on Marcus Aurelius. So we get to hear about his life, the ups and downs, before and after he became Emperor. We see how Marcus was schooled in Stoicism and applied these teachings to his own life, helping him to handle what life threw at him. Robertson explains the theory and practice of these techniques so that you too can benefit from them, as Marcus did. I feel it's a book that I will go back and listen to again in the future.
The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia by Nathan Filer: This book had a profound effect on me. Whilst I work in the mental health field, I tend to see people on the lower end of the scale. Those who suffer from anxiety and depression. Schizophrenia is not something I would typically work with and as such know very little about. It is a thought-provoking read, questioning diagnostic and medicating practices, mental health stigma vs discrimination, what recovery from mental illness means, and more besides. Filer introduces us to the symptoms of Schizophrenia, the impact it has on the lives of those with it as well as their families, and the experiences they have with the mental health professionals there to support them, all through hearing the stories of six individuals (and some of their family members). It's well written and insightful. I think everyone should read it, whether you have schizophrenia, work with people who have it, work within the mental health field, or not. It gets you thinking.
The Confidence Gap by Dr Russ Harris: This book outlines the theory and techniques behind evidence-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Its main focus is on confidence and how to use ACT to help be and feel more confident so that you can do the things you want to do in life. I think that everyone could benefit from this book regardless of their confidence levels. The book is accessible, interesting and makes you think. Whilst it focuses on confidence, the theory and techniques could be used for most issues where negative thoughts are problematic.
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig: This is a fantastic book! It's a quick, easy read. It's a book that doesn't know what it is - part memoir, part self-help, and part brain dump about depression and anxiety. But it works! Matt is very relatable and tells his story in a readable way. He does an excellent job of explaining what it's like to feel anxious and depressed. In addition to this, he instils hope into the reader that things can change.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Caroline Dweck: I first listened to the audio version on Blinkist which just highlights the main takeaway points of the book. I was so impressed that I bought the book. The book talks about the fixed and growth mindsets and how they impact how we live our lives. Dweck's research focused primarily on students and it was amazing to see the difference in their studies when they adopted a growth mindset, that is the belief that intelligence is not fixed but can be developed. Dweck draws on popular culture and includes a lot of anecdotes about famous people who have had fixed or growth mindsets and what that has meant for them in the face of adversity and how they've developed in their careers. At first, I found this enjoyable to have some real-life examples of the mindsets at play, but after a while, it became quite repetitive. I think I'd have liked more details about the research rather than the endless testimonials of the people who participated. It was a very good book though - it made me think about my mindset and can see how the mindsets might impact the success of my clients in therapy. It had an impact on me as I’ve written a few blog posts off the back of reading it. It's a worthwhile read.
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B Irvine: This was an amazing book! For some reason, I held off reading this because I thought it might be dry and boring. Then after a couple of solid recommendations, I decided to give it a go. I was not disappointed. The book starts with some history of the Stoic philosophers, both in Greece and in Rome. It then goes on to discuss the tenets of Stoicism and the psychological techniques the Stoics used to help them achieve tranquillity in their life. I was already familiar with a number of the techniques outlined in the book, however, the book went into more depth about them which I appreciated. In particular, the negative visualisation technique. This is a technique I would have steered clear of a few years ago, but I can see the benefit it can bring in quite a few different ways. I liked what Irvine (and the Stoics) had to say about seeking fame and how by trying to impress people, we hand the power of ourselves over to them. There was a lot of food for thought in this book. I came away from it thinking that a philosophy of life is rather appealing.
Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope by Johann Hari: I love this book! I've read quite a few books on depression due to my job and many follow a similar format. Lost Connections made a refreshing change, focusing on the lost connections that occur in life which can cause us to suffer from depression and how to reconnect to feel better. Hari provides the reader with evidence-based information from the top researchers in the field. Despite that, it's written in an accessible way so you won't get bogged down by the science. There is a hefty reference section at the end of the book for those who want to delve deeper. I’ve recommended this book a lot this last year to clients and people I know. It is one I shall revisit as there is so much of interest in there.
Habit Control in a Day by Nathan Azrin and Gregory Nunn: The book outlines the habit reversal process that the authors created back in the 70s. This technique has some incredibly impressive success rates as shown by scientific research. This book is a little dated now but was a really good read. It goes into detail how the technique can be applied to stuttering, nail-biting, hair-pulling and tics. It does outline how it might be used on other habits but predominantly focuses on these four as they were the ones used within the research. I found the book a little repetitive at times only because they talked through the technique for each of the different habits as opposed to discussing the process generally. I liked the competing behaviour examples they provided for different habits. Whilst the book is great and I would recommend it, it's out of print now. As such, it has become a collector's item bumping the price up of second-hand copies to over £130. So if you would like to benefit from the techniques that Azrin and Nunn outlined in this book, you'd probably be better off booking in for some hypnotherapy with me. I am trained in their habit reversal process and can guide you through it and teach you how to use it within self-hypnosis too to help you gain control of your unwanted habits.
Anxious by Joseph LeDoux: What a fabulous book. This is not a self-help book. It's written by a leading anxiety researcher so there is a lot of technical stuff in there which doesn't make it particularly accessible to the layperson. I loved it though. The chapters on conditioning and anxiety and fear as emotions were fascinating. There were a few chapters in the middle which were a little dry but it picked up again at the end when it discussed the psychological applications to help anxiety, in particular, exposure techniques.
Overcoming Low Self Esteem by Melanie Fennell: I've read a few books from the Overcoming series and they get a little samey after a while. The books are not aimed at therapists but at people who are experiencing the issue that the book focuses on. For someone who has low self-esteem, this book is a useful tool with lots of food for thought and practical ways to help feel better about yourself. I found it an interesting read.
Overcoming Insomnia and Sleep Problems by Colin Espie: This book was a recommendation from another hypnotherapist. It's an excellent book, probably the best book in the Overcoming... series. Lots of really useful information about sleep stages, dispelling misconceptions, sleep hygiene, sleep restriction and stimulus control, and heaps of practical advice and a program to follow to improve your sleep. I highly recommend it!
In addition to these books, I have also spent a considerable amount of time reading research papers and other academic texts for my advanced diploma, my role as Research Officer for the Professional Hypnotherapy Network, and to help write my blog posts and support my clients.
I also discovered Blinkist which have heaps of non-fiction books in their library that have been read by them and condensed down to highlight the main takeaways points from the book. I listened to quite a few books on there and found some real treats that made me go buy the book, Mindset being one of them as mentioned above, and some that I will be reading in 2020.
I also completed three free online courses through FutureLearn and Open University which are basically like reading a book, hence why I’m including them here:
Cognitive Behavioural Skills to Treat Back Pain: The Back Skills (BeST) Training Programme (University of Oxford)
Addressing Postnatal Depression as a Healthcare Professional (University of Exeter)
Panic Attack: What they are and what to do about them (The Open University)
I didn’t read quite so many books in 2018 compared to previous years so I’ve increased my reading goal this year to 52 books and I hope that there will be a lot of hypnosis and mental health books in amongst them.
Previous year’s books: