9 Self-Help Books That Actually Help

A combination of self-help book and memoir, Sehee’s account of her sessions with her psychiatrist during a period of major depression is a fascinating read. Framed around 12 weeks of therapy, Sehee uses her book to explore ideas around negative thought patterns and harmful behaviours that readers can apply to their own lives.

Hollywood writer/producer Shonda Rhimes is best-known for shows such as Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder, but, as her book Year of Yes reveals, she was also known for being an introvert who said no to invitations and social events whenever possible. Rhimes decided to change her habits and spend a year saying yes to every opportunity that came up, and her book shows readers that making big changes doesn’t need to be scary.

Renowned feminist author bell hooks wrote extensively on the subject of love, including a trilogy that culminated in this book, Communion. Here, hooks offers a pathway to women readers on how to find and claim love in their own lives, in all its different forms. She looks at self-help, feminist movements, and freedom of choice, along with many other topics, considering them all through the lens of centring love in one’s life.

As someone who spends most of my time overthinking, I’m always looking for ways to try to quiet my mind. This book is full of tips on how to deal with anxiety, and how to shift stuck thoughts. With practical strategies and details on how to approach issues, How to Stop Overthinking is a useful guide to anyone who struggles with their thoughts.

Carving out space and time for creativity is one of the biggest challenges people can face, and in Find Your Unicorn Space, Rodsky discusses how we can do this against the challenges of work, family life, and the extra pressures that we have encountered following quarantines and lockdowns. Find Your Unicorn Space gives readers a programme they can follow to find their creativity and focus on self-discovery.

Fear and self-doubt are two of the biggest obstacles that get in our way and stop us achieving our potential. In Professional Troublemaker, Ajayi Jones talks about how to set boundaries, ask for what we want, and try new things, without letting fear take over. Whether you struggle with impostor syndrome or have trouble saying no, Professional Troublemaker will help you remove fear from your life.

I’ve loved Jessamyn Stanley’s yoga videos for a long time — as a fat woman who wants to work on my flexibility, it’s great to be able to follow a class led by someone with my body type. In Yoke, Stanley discusses how yoga has impacted her life, and gives readers guidance on how they can use it as part of their own self-help journey, to improve their own wellbeing on multiple levels.

I’ve lived with OCD for many years, and recovery is a long road, with many setbacks as the illness adapts to whatever technique you’re trying lately. One of the most useful self-help books I’ve found while working on beating my mental illness is Break Free from OCD, a practical guide that helps you work out ways and form plans to overcome your obsessions.

Another useful book for anyone who has experienced obsessive thinking, Eloise’s essays explore her history of intrusive thoughts, obsessions and fixations. While not a traditional self-help guide, her insights into her own thought patterns will be immensely useful to readers struggling with similar problems.