Tag Archives: mental health

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Books in the Spotlight: October

LightbulbEach month CMLE will highlight three books that have some factor in common. We hope they will give you ideas for your collection, or influence an activity, lesson plan, or display. 

This month, we share three different books that focus on increasing simplicity and de-cluttering different areas of your life. These books can be used in your library to spread awareness about mental well-being or help people that may be struggling to put their life or possessions in order.

 

joy-of-lessThe Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay

This book is described on Goodreads as “a fun, lighthearted guide to minimalist living.” It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in our lives, whether physical or mental, and this book hopes to guide you through the journey of simplifying. Although, be warned that one reviewer did mention excessive use of exclamation marks in the book, so prepare yourself for some upbeat positivity!

  • The author also has a blog, and where she posted this article about Clearing Our Inner Clutter.
  • Watch this cute, quick video with five tips from The Joy of Less:

declutter-your-mindDeclutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking by SJ Scott and Barrie Davenport

Worrying and overthinking are common problems, but they can have a lasting negative affect on your mental well-being. This book provides tips and specific actions to help clear your mind. By taking the steps outlined in the book, “you’ll have the clarity to prioritize what’s most important in your life, what no longer serves your goals, and how you want to live on a daily basis.”

  • If visual reminders are helpful to you, check out this image to work your way to a clear mind.
  • Get moving and relieve anxiety with this article on walking meditation.

life-changing-magic-of-tidying-upThe Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

This book about organization and simplifying your home has been popular for awhile now, possibly because of it’s promise to get your house in order once, and never need to do it again! The author encourages people to work through their belongings on a category by category basis, and to become aware of each object’s energy, discarding what does not “spark joy.” The book has many fans as well as critics, and if you’ve read the book, tell us your thoughts in our CMLE Librarian Professionals Goodreads book group, where we are currently discussing the book!

  • Having trouble visualizing some of the suggestions from the book? This article that illustrates how to follow the folding directions will help you!
  • Here is a post from the True North Comfort blog that features just the highlights of the KonMari Method.

 

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YA books that promote mental health

mushroom photoThere are many YA books that handle the topic of mental illness, but these books are a little different. They are included in this list because they are about emotional health. The characters develop coping mechanisms to deal with depression and anxiety. Young people will see healthy coping skills in action in each of the characters.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), “Teen depression can affect a teen regardless of gender, social background, income level, race, or school or other achievements, though teenage girls report suffering from depression more often than teenage boys.” There is a good chance that someone you come in contact with in your library, classroom, or everyday life can be helped by one of these books.

YA books that promote mental health

See earlier CMLE posts that dealt with this same subject!

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/ (Manuel Barroso Parejo), licensed under CC0 1.0

 


	

	
	




	
	

				

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Bibliotherapy for teens: includes awesome booklists

		

			 		

	


		

		
Girl with bag 5Library Journal recently published the coolest, feel-good piece that would make any self-respecting librarian swoon. The heart of the post is that basically, we all want to give the end user the perfect book, the perfect match for their needs. What if the end user is a teen, and they want fiction about characters with mental health issues that match theirs? Welcome to the term bibliotherapy!


Consider that some teens need to hide their mental health issue out of self-protection in a stigma filled world. As the author points out….”kids with mental illness–kids with pills–can be confronted by others trying to buy or steal them. They can also be targets of ridicule.” Therefore, these teens often feel frustrated, alone and afraid to ask for what they need. As librarians, we need to make these books easy to find. Reading is never a replacement for professional therapy, but reading  about fictional characters who share your issue can be comforting to the isolated teen! The right books can help.


Erin E. Moulton is a teen librarian and an author and did a fantastic job writing this post. She includes the research base around bibliotherapy, her sources for her 16 mental health categories, and best yet, includes book lists for each disorder. May is Mental Health Month so you have time to consider your collection now. Do you have enough of these titles for a display?


Erin’s blog post is:  Bibliotherapy for Teens: Helpful Tips and Recommended Fiction

Erin’s display ideas are also available on Tumblr


NEW (Added 12/12/14): Bibliotherapy for Teens: An Expanded Booklist by Ashleigh Williams – written based on reader feedback!


Let CMLE staff know if you decide to do your display, we would love to share it with everyone!


Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/ofmn3md, licensed under CC BY 2.0