It’s officially May and this year has already taken off at lightning speed. In our area, Derby is primarily the focus at the beginning of the month, but there is also something very special about May, it’s also Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental Health Awareness is vital, as our mental health affects our overall health, and raising awareness can help individuals that may be fearful of seeking help due to the stigmatization of mental health issues. The chances of knowing someone with a mental health condition is high, according the the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Want to learn more about mental health challenges? The Library has great choices to get you started.
A Cure for Darkness by Alex Riley
Is depression a persistent low mood, or is it a range of symptoms? Can it be expressed through a single diagnosis, or does depression actually refer to a diversity of mental disorders? Is there, or will there ever be, a cure? In seeking the answers to these questions, Riley finds a rich history of ideas and treatments–and takes the reader on a gripping narrative journey, packed with fascinating stories like the junior doctor who discovered that some of the first antidepressants had a deadly reaction with cheese.
“Interweaving memoir, case histories, and accounts of new therapies, Riley anatomizes what is still a fairly young science, and a troubled one” (The New Yorker). Reporting on the field of global mental health from its colonial past to the present day, Riley highlights a range of scalable therapies, including how a group of grandmothers stands on the frontline of a mental health revolution.
Hopeful, fascinating, and profound, A Cure for Darkness is “recommended reading for anyone with even a peripheral interest in depression” (Washington Examiner).
This book is going to change the way you see your life.
Have you ever wondered “Why did I do that?” or “Why can’t I just control my behavior?” Others may judge our reactions and think, “What’s wrong with that person?” When questioning our emotions, it’s easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It’s time we started asking a different question.
Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”
Here, Winfrey shares stories from her own past, understanding through experience the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma and adversity at a young age. In conversation throughout the book, she and Dr. Perry focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves. It’s a subtle but profound shift in our approach to trauma, and it’s one that allows us to understand our pasts in order to clear a path to our future–opening the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way.
The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk, M.D.
A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times bestseller
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments–from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga–that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal–and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.
If you are facing a mental health challenge, know that you are not alone.
Mental Health America, formerly known as the National Mental Health Association, has great tools for information, resources, and free screenings for mental health. Visit https://screening.mhanational.org/ for more information.
If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you don’t feel comfortable talking on the phone, you can text NAMI to 741741 to be connected to a trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.
