Book recommendations for anxiety and low mood?

[40andlovelife]

I'm currently signed off work ( teacher) with work related stress. I'm applying for roles outside of teaching but this is a really tough process. My mood is low, I struggle to sleep , gastric problems all the usual stress symptoms. I feel so stuck as I can't face going back in to teaching even though I was very successful and well thought of, the job is all consuming. Does anyone have any good books that helped them through? I like books that help to give me perspective / self help. Thank you

This is one of my personal favourites - no nonsense, very un 'woo' and easy to put the advice into practice;

https://www.amazon.com/Responsibility-Rebellion-Unconventional-Approach-Empowerment-ebook/dp/B0892TV9RJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IBQNC1SFFWNT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6GhUekwRFeQREBNLQrBa2u5lM2VYBYdvGjmT-TUdAFk9O8eM41I0Dpm3dJRjve_TRRQP8IrqKKpso_DtWTGk-A.Q8G4tHH124AndCo0tnetOcWBt3_AEQASy8Pw6dzkzw8&dib_tag=se&keywords=kain+ramsey&qid=1708293079&s=books&sprefix=Kain+%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C233&sr=1-1

Yes. I have recommended here before and to people in real life too. Dr Claire Weekes Self Help For Your Nerves, but even better, the Claire Weekes audiobooks Hope and Help For Your Nerves and Freedom From Nervous Suffering. Her method really works. I can’t recommend her work highly enough.

Dr Julie Smith’s Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? is worth a read, although I think it’s probably more useful once you’re feeling better.

Of the self-help classics, I like Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway and Your Erroneous Zones. They are both quite challenging but contain valuable concepts. I especially like Susan Jeffers’ idea that there is no such thing as a bad decision - it’s really helpful if you’re a perfectionist or an overthinker.

good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

Matthew Mccaughty autobiography came to mind - Greenlights’ .

How to Stay Sane by Philippa Perry

And

Mindfulness - a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world by Mark Williams is one I go back to again and again.

Sorry you are suffering from stress. I hope the time off helps to lessen it. Can you have a proper break - even if just a week. Don't apply for jobs or think about the future, just be. Walk in nature, sit and rest, do breath work or meditation if you find they help. Yoga nidra is brilliant if you can't sleep, as it is the next best thing. When I have insomnia, I just do yoga nidra instead of sleeping.

It's an old book, so a bit dated, but the advice in Feel The Fear And Do it Anyway is incredibly valuable. I have been using some of her techniques for over 30 years.

Lots of people on MN like the Stoics - the ancient self-helpers - Marcus Aurelius's Meditations or Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. But when I am in low mood, I find that sort of thing a bit hard to process, as the brain can be a bit slow. There's a good, easy introduction to it all online
here