Have you heard of "bibliotherapy"?

I have been reading self-help books since 2017.

I have started reading self-help books in 2017, just after I started my PhD. For me, reading a self-help book about a topic that I struggle with is one of the two primary toolkits that I have in my psychology-management toolbox. The other one is, of course, therapy.

From Feeling Good, one of the very first self-help books, I learned about something called “bibliotherapy,” which I have benefitted from for the past 7 years.

“We are also beginning to learn more about how cognitive therapy works. One important discovery is that self-help seems to be a key to recovery whether or not you receive treatment. In a series of five remarkable studies published in the prestigious Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and in The Gerontologist, Dr. Forest Scogin and his colleagues at the University of Alabama studied the effects of simply reading a good self-help book like Feeling Good—without any other therapy. The name of this new type of treatment is “bibliotherapy” (reading therapy). They discovered that Feeling Good bibliotherapy may be as effective as a full course of psychotherapy or treatment with the best antidepressant drugs. Given the tremendous pressures to cut health care costs, this is of considerable interest, since a paperback copy of the Feeling Good book costs less than two Prozac pills—and is presumably free of any troublesome side effects!”

Burns, David D. . Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (p. 15). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

I am not sure all the books that I read as self-help books can be considered bibliotherapy, but I know that I have benefited from all of them. So, in this post, I share 40 self-help books that I have read in the last 7 years as

• a PhD student dealing with the constant search for outside validation,

• a kid who is expected to perform the best by her parents,

• a friend who is an overthinker, and

• someone who wants to live a healthy, balanced, purposeful life.

I categorized these books as “my favorites,” “good ones,” and “it is okay if you don’t read.”

My favorites.

1. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: https://amzn.to/4hksaBV

2. The Courage To Be Disliked: https://amzn.to/408J1kL

3. Talk Like TED: https://amzn.to/3Nso7Ws

4. The Examined Life: https://amzn.to/4eDY62a

5. Ego is the Enemy: https://amzn.to/3U9dqM4

6. Professor Mommy: https://amzn.to/3ZZ4CMy

7. F**k It: https://amzn.to/3NsdToK

8. Atomic Habits: https://amzn.to/3A22jOa

9. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: https://amzn.to/3U9dF9W

10. How Will You Measure Your Life?: https://amzn.to/3YrbOQt

11. Thrive: https://amzn.to/3BItFt8

12. Show Your Work!: https://amzn.to/4fauHwk

13. The Road Less Travelled: https://amzn.to/3Ysi4Yg

14. Feeling Good: https://amzn.to/3BHPicV

15. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?: https://amzn.to/3NqWdtS

16. The 4-Hour Work Week: https://amzn.to/4eZ5kOF

17. Feel-Good Productivity: https://amzn.to/4dM3JtN

18. Million Dollar Weekend: https://amzn.to/4f50Ghr

19. The Psychology of Money: https://amzn.to/404SSbt

20. Designing Your Life: https://amzn.to/3U9cPtG

21. Slow Productivity: https://amzn.to/3BWHGDq

22. Someday Is Today: https://amzn.to/3BWHRP6

23. The Happiness Advantage: https://amzn.to/407ymXw

24. The Pathless Path: https://amzn.to/4f64xL8

25. Reclaiming Control: https://amzn.to/3Y939Ri

26. Tuesdays With Morrie: https://amzn.to/4gZcsMl

Good ones.

1. The Last Lecture (Books): https://amzn.to/4h3bjTV

2. You Are a Badass: https://amzn.to/4eApdex

3. The Professor Is In: https://amzn.to/3U6wc6I

4. Daring Greatly: https://amzn.to/406vFpk

5. Present Over Perfect: https://amzn.to/4h2zuSn

6. The Motivation Myth: https://amzn.to/400DlcD

7. Big Magic: https://amzn.to/3UaNUpJ

8. So Good They Can't Ignore You (https://amzn.to/4dL3UWn

It’s okay if you don’t read.

1. Dying to Be Me: https://amzn.to/4eDYAW2

2. The Leader You Want to Be: https://amzn.to/4dN3Cyl

3. Rising Strong: https://amzn.to/4dLIZm6

4. Stillness is the Key: https://amzn.to/3YnJrCs

5. My Sh*t Therapist: https://amzn.to/4f3uiff

6. The War for Kindness: https://amzn.to/3Nn5KSG

And I am currently reading “The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)”¹, which will definitely be on my favorite list.

Did you read any of these books?

If you think there is a book that I need to read, please share in the comments.

I hope this newsletter motivates you to consider benefitting from bibliotherapy.

Cheers,

Sidika

1. https://amzn.to/4hab4X6