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7 must read self-help books

Self-help books can be a useful way to learn more about yourself and how you relate to the world around you


Readings self help book can be one way to practice self-care.  





Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimise frustration and anger, increase happiness and improve energy.


You will find a self-help book for absolutely anything. You could be looking for a self-help book for improving your exercise routine, building a nutritious diet, understanding conflict and how to help you manage confrontations, changing thought patterns with positive affirmations, or building a stronger connection with your partner with journal questions. Whatever you are looking for you will find it. 


Self-help books are often written by mental health specialists including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counsellors or others Allied Health professionals. Other authors of self-help books include those with lived experience. These authors have lived through a trauma or are living with mental illness and have learnt something important that could help others going through a similar experience.





The list of books below comes from the top selling book list on Amazon for the self-help book category in December 2022. 

 

1. Self-Love Workbook for Women

Written by Megan Logan, MSW LCSW


Embrace who you are with this guided self-love workbook for women

Discover how much there is to love about yourself using this practical workbook for women of all ages. You’ll embark on your journey of self-discovery by learning what self-love is and then immersing yourself in exercises to help you build your self-esteem and improve your relationships.

What sets this self-care journal and workbook apart from other self-love workbooks for women:

  • Proven techniques—Fall in love with yourself using a variety of compassionate exercises rooted in mindfulness and positive psychology.
  • Inspiring prompts and motivating activities—Explore all that you are with quizzes and journaling exercises that will help you tap into your emotions and let go of limiting beliefs. Includes writing space for reflection and introspection.
  • Empowering affirmations—Boost your positivity and nurture yourself using the uplifting affirmations interspersed throughout the book.

Create a life filled with purpose and greater self-love using the Self-Love Workbook for Women.




2. How to Talk to Anyone: 
92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

Written by Leil Lowndes



Never be at a loss for words again!

Perfect your people skills with his fun, witty and informative guide, containing 92 little tricks to create big success in personal and business relationships.

In How To Talk To Anyone, bestselling relationships author and internationally renowned life coach Leil Lowndes reveals the secrets and psychology behind successful communication. These extremely usable and intelligent techniques include how to:

  • Work a party like a politician works a room
  • Be an insider in any crowd
  • Use key words and phrases to guide the conversation
  • Use body language to connect


This is the key to having successful conversations with anyone, any time.

Become a master communicator and succeed in life, love, and business.

Have you ever admired those successful people who seem to have it all? You see them chatting confidently at parties and being listened to in business meetings. They're the ones with the best jobs, nicest parties, and most interesting friends.

But wait a minute. They're not necessarily smarter than you or even better looking. What it comes down to is their more skillful way of communicating with other people. Now How to Talk to Anyone reveals the secrets of successful communication. With Leil Lowndes's ninety-two easy and effective techniques, you will discover how to become a master communicator in life, love, and business.

Combining the latest research with Leil's trademark wit and warm-hearted observations of human foibles, How to Talk to Anyone shows you how to: 

  • Make an unforgettable entrance and meet the people you want to meet 
  • Sound like an insider in any crowd, no matter how little you have in common 
  • Use body language to captivate audiences of all sizes 
  • Work a party the way a politician works a room 
  • Always come across confident, credible, and charismatic wherever you are 

Leil Lowndes is an internationally-acclaimed communications expert and founder and director of ‘The Project’, a sexual research and counselling organisation based in New York. She has 20 years’ worth of experience consulting, giving lectures and holding seminars in communication skills for corporations, associations, and governments around the world.

Her work has been translated into 19 languages, and critically acclaimed by both Time magazine and The New York Times.




3. Why has Nobody told me this before?

Written by Dr Julie Smith



Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith shares all the skills you need to get through life's ups and downs.


Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, this is a must-have handbook for optimising your mental health. Dr Julie's simple but expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient no matter what life throws your way.

Written in short, bite-sized entries, you can turn straight to the section you need depending on the challenge you're facing - and immediately find the appropriate tools to help with . . .

- Managing anxiety
- Dealing with criticism
- Battling low mood
- Building self-confidence
- Finding motivation
- Learning to forgive yourself

This book tackles the everyday issues that affect us all and offers easy, practical solutions that might just change your life.

Dr Julie Smith is a clinical psychologist with over a decade of professional experience. She is also an online educator and social media star with a combined following of more than 4 million.

Julie launched her Tik Tok account to make her services more accessible; her posts on TikTok and Instagram have already amassed more than 20 million likes. She has appeared on BBC Breakfast, CNN International, Lorraine, Radio 2, Radio 5 Live, and in 
The ObserverThe Mail on Sunday, The Evening Standard and The Daily Telegraph.





4. Change your thinking 

Written by Sarah Edelman, PhD


The bestselling practical and reassuring guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours, using cognitive behavioural therapy.

CHANGE YOUR THINKING is the bestselling guide to managing upsetting emotions by learning to think in a healthy and balanced way. It provides practical strategies for overcoming negative thoughts and behaviours, and taking control of emotions such as anxiety, depression, frustration, anger and guilt. It also describes techniques for enhancing self-esteem, improving communication skills and developing greater personal happiness.

CHANGE YOUR THINKING is based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), the psychological approach used by therapists all over the world. Sarah Edelman explains CBT in a clear and compassionate way. This edition also contains a brand new chapter on mindfulness, demonstrating how mindfulness techniques can be integrated with CBT strategies.

'Normally I don't think books like this are very helpful, but CHANGE YOUR THINKING is really helping me to change my life. When I started reading it, I immediately felt like I could get back in control and actually improve what I had accepted as the status quo. the author gives a lot of simple tips that work, and the exercises are a big help. I highly recommend this book to anyone suffering from anxiety or depression.' (One of the many positive customer reviews.)

Sarah Edelman is a clinical psychologist, author and trainer. She has published many articles in professional and mainstream journals, and is the author of the best-selling book on CBT, Change Your Thinking.




5. Atomic Habits 

Written by James Clear



A revolutionary guide to using tiny changes in behaviour to transform your life.

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 1 million copies sold! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: • make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); • overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; • design your environment to make success easier; • get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

James Clear is a writer and speaker focused on habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. The book has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50 languages. Clear is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work has been featured in places like Time magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and on CBS This Morning. His popular "3-2-1" email newsletter is sent out each week to more than 1 million subscribers.




6. How to do the work

Written by Dr Nicole LePera



How to Do the Work is an invitation to do the work with the inner tools we all carry within ourselves. The invitation is yours if you choose to accept it. Wherever you are on your path, Dr. LePera meets you with open arms; your current level of self-mastery is the only pre-requisite. This is a guide for your journey of becoming.

Dr. Nicole LePera is a holistic psychologist. She received traditional training in clinical psychology at Cornell University and The New School of Social Research. Based on her hugely popular Instagram account @the.holistic.psychology, Dr. LePera has continued to expand her reach through her free daily content and membership-only learning site, sharing her tools for transformation with an ever-growing community of #SelfHealers. She lives in Los Angeles.




7. The Happiness Trap

Written by Dr Russ Harris


"Carefully and creatively presents techniques that anyone can use to undermine struggle, avoidance, and loss of the moment. Harris systematically explores how we get into the 'happiness trap' and then shines a powerful beacon showing us another way forward."--Steven Hayes, PhD, author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life

"Eminently practical and readable. This book reveals that when calibrating one's life according to acceptance and valued action, happiness is a pleasant sideshow in the larger carnival of an engaged and purposeful existence."--Zindel Segal, PhD, author of The Mindful Way through Depression

"An exciting alternative to the usual approach of so many self-help books. Harris explains how we can work with ourselves as we are, rather than aggressively trying to alter ourselves. I'm impressed by the simple and effective methods of ACT."--David Richo, PhD, author of The Five Things We Cannot Change

DR. RUSS HARRIS is a world-renowned trainer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). As a physician he became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of health and well-being, which led to a total career change. He now works in two different yet complementary roles as a therapist and a coach, and he is the author of numerous books. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.










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