6 Books to Help Navigate Anxiety & Depression

Help for anxiety and depression comes in many forms. Self-help books sometimes get a bad rap because they aren’t as effective as therapy and medication in the management of these disorders. But the truth is that learning more about these disorders can be extremely helpful, especially when combined with therapy and medication. Quality psychology literature can provide you with a new vocabulary so you can better describe your experience, give insights about underlying causes, build effective coping strategies, and develop hope for your future. But with so many titles to choose from, how can you know which to choose? As a licensed therapist, these are some of the top books that help with anxiety and depression that I find myself recommending to clients.

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns

If you’ve already looked for the top books for anxiety and depression, then you have probably seen this book—and for good reason. Burns is a professor at Stanford University and psychiatrist, but writes in accessible language that doesn’t require a Ph.D. to decrypt. His work discusses how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety and depression identifies and addresses negative behaviors and thinking patterns that are common in these conditions. The book provides several worksheets and exercises to help readers target and eliminate harmful thinking patterns and develop more adaptive behaviors. This is always one of my first recommendations for books that help with anxiety and depression. I have seen it prove helpful to both occasional worriers and chronic mood disorder sufferers.

Maybe You Should Talk to Somebody by Lori Gottlieb

As the name suggests, those seeking help for anxiety and depression have probably wondered if therapy will help. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about how therapy can help and what therapy entails. In this insightful and hilarious memoir, a therapist’s future plans suddenly evaporate, leading her to enroll in therapy as a patient herself. Readers get to explore the world of therapy from the perspectives of both therapist and patient, and uncover keen insights along the way. This is a great read for anyone looking for an unorthodox book that helps with anxiety or depression; it reads like a novel but packs a ton of useful wisdom.

The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You by Robert L. Leahy

This work by psychologist Robert Leahy is one of the top books for anxiety. The book begins with questionnaires that help the reader identify what type of worrier they are and some main causes behind each type. From there, Leahy provides step-by-step instructions on how to change faulty coping techniques into helpful strategies to reduce anxiety. You’ll be encouraged to become comfortable with the unknown and abandon the quest for perfection, ultimately helping you take control of your life. Whether your anxiety is chronic and generalized or acute and triggered by relationship issues or life transitions, this book that helps with anxiety will resonate.

The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living by Russ Harris

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a therapy technique helpful for anxiety and depression that focuses on understanding and living with inevitable negative emotions rather than trying to eliminate them. Although it may seem pessimistic at a glance, the goal of ACT is to build a sense of purpose that’s more reliable than mood so you can achieve the highest quality of life possible.

If you are looking for a book that helps with anxiety or depression, this book is a great option; the techniques taught within its pages can be learned and practiced by anyone.

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff

No individual should be defined by their failures and perhaps not even by their successes. But many of us believe that if we accept ourselves as we are, we’ll fail at achieving our goals; and that if we fail we won’t be okay. What really happens when we learn to shrug off failure and accept our flaws? Kristin Neff, Ph.D. has demonstrated in her research that we get happier. This title is one of the top books I recommend for anxiety and depression; Neff outlines brilliant strategies on how to treat yourself with compassion so that you can ultimately live a happier life.

Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope by Johann Hari

This is a book that helps with anxiety and depression by getting at the roots of both. Hari explains what scientific research can tell us about the causes of depression and anxiety in the modern age, along with solutions that he discovered from trekking across the globe to speak with both renowned experts and ordinary people. He delves into human society as a whole, its influence on mental health, and how restoring connections to meaningful activities and people can be helpful for anxiety and depression.

Reach Out for Personalized Treatment

Whether you’re a therapy veteran or starting to consider your mental health for the first time, these books that help with anxiety and depression are sure to enlighten you. But if you think you may benefit from personalized care from a professional therapist, do not hesitate to contact me today.

I offer in-person therapy at my office in Playa Vista, serving Mar Vista and Culver City, and online therapy for all California residents. I offer a collaborative, customized experience for individual anxiety and depression sufferers, as well as therapy for couples, addiction sufferers, trauma survivors, and more.