Manic: A Memoir


Terri Cheney - 2008
    But behind her seemingly flawless façade lay a dangerous secret—for the better part of her life Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder and concealing a pharmacy's worth of prescriptions meant to stabilize her moods and make her "normal."In bursts of prose that mirror the devastating highs and extreme lows of her illness, Cheney describes her roller-coaster life with shocking honesty—from glamorous parties to a night in jail; from flying fourteen kites off the edge of a cliff in a thunderstorm to crying beneath her office desk; from electroshock therapy to a suicide attempt fueled by tequila and prescription painkillers.With Manic, Cheney gives voice to the unarticulated madness she endured. The clinical terms used to describe her illness were so inadequate that she chose to focus instead on her own experience, in her words, "on what bipolar disorder felt like inside my own body." Here the events unfold episodically, from mood to mood, the way she lived and remembers life. In this way the reader is able to viscerally experience the incredible speeding highs of mania and the crushing blows of depression, just as Cheney did. Manic does not simply explain bipolar disorder—it takes us in its grasp and does not let go.In the tradition of Darkness Visible and An Unquiet Mind, Manic is Girl, Interrupted with the girl all grown up. This harrowing yet hopeful book is more than just a searing insider's account of what it's really like to live with bipolar disorder. It is a testament to the sharp beauty of a life lived in extremes.

Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill


Matthieu Ricard - 2003
    Wealth? Fitness? Career success? How can we possibly place these above true and lasting well-being? Drawing from works of fiction and poetry, Western philosophy, Buddhist beliefs, scientific research, and personal experience, Ricard weaves an inspirational and forward-looking account of how we can begin to rethink our realities in a fast-moving modern world. With its revelatory lessons and exercises, Happiness is an eloquent and stimulating guide to a happier life.

The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse


Ellen Bass - 1988
    Although the effects of child sexual abuse are long-term and severe, healing is possible.Weaving together personal experience with professional knowledge, the authors provide clear explanations, practical suggestions, and support throughout the healing process. Readers will feel recognized and encouraged by hundreds of moving first-person stories drawn from interviews and the authors' extensive work with survivors, both nationally and internationally.This completely revised and updated 20th anniversary edition continues to provide the compassionate wisdom the book has been famous for, as well as many new features:Contemporary research on trauma and the brainAn overview of powerful new healing tools such as imagery, meditation, and body-centered practicesAdditional stories that reflect an even greater diversity of survivor experiencesThe reassuring accounts of survivors who have been healing for more than twenty yearsThe most comprehensive, up-to-date resource guide in the fieldInsights from the authors' decades of experienceCherished by survivors, and recommended by therapists and institutions everywhere, The Courage to Heal has often been called the bible of healing from child sexual abuse. This new edition will continue to serve as the healing beacon it has always been.

Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety


Chloe Carmichael - 2021
    AMEN, MD, founder, Amen Clinics, and New York Times bestselling author of Your Brain Is Always ListeningLearn how to overcome anxiety by transforming it from an obstacle into an advantage. Nervous energy is something many of us are familiar with—it’s the urge to double check our work, to create a tidy strategy for an overwhelming goal, or make a to-do list and tick every box neatly. But when work and life become more complex and unpredictable, when there isn’t a straightforward to-do list or clear step by step solution, this nervous energy can spiral into anxiety and stress, becoming a roadblock to success. Instead of merely trying to overcome anxiety, Dr. Chloe Carmichael uses a combination of storytelling and step-by-step directions to share nine powerful tools thato help you harness this energy in a productive way. Based on her years of experience helping patients change their anxiety from a setback into an advantage, Nervous Energy offers: - A breakdown of three common nervous energy profiles - Step-by-step directions for implementing each of the nine tools in your life- Exercises, charts, and worksheets - Real-life stories and examples of people overcoming anxiety with these toolsA must read for anyone feeling trapped by stress and anxiety, Nervous Energy is a practical guide to transforming anxiety and nervous energy into a powerful positive force.

Happy This Year!: The Secret to Getting Happy Once and for All


Will Bowen - 2012
    Rather, happiness is a cause that is the shortest and most direct path to personal fulfillment and achievement. In "Happy This Year!," internationally-bestselling author Will Bowen teaches you how to align your thoughts, words, and actions so that they create the habits, character, and destiny of happiness. Abe Lincoln said, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Unfortunately, most of us never make up our minds as the level of happiness we wish to enjoy. This book encourages the reader to set a happiness goal and then to measure his or her success at reaching that goal.There is a FREE Smartphone app (downloadable from http://www.HappyThisYear.com) that prompts the user to set a happiness goal and then checks in several times a day to see how the person is doing at being happy.Being a happy person significantly improves all areas of life, leading to better physical health, an increased sense of well-being, greater success at work, and deeper, more fulfilling relationships with others. Through practical advice, step-by-step instructions, and inspiring stories, Will helps you remove your mental and lifestyle blocks so that happiness flows freely. Will's unique perspective on happiness, formed through a wide range of spiritual and secular influences, infuses timeless spiritual wisdom with scientific study, personal experience, and powerful anecdotes. Regardless of your challenges, you can experience increased and sustainably higher levels of happiness every day!

The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to Recognize It and How to Respond


Patricia Evans - 1992
    You'll get more of the answers you need to recognize abuse when it happens, respond to abusers safely and appropriately, and most important, lead a happier, healthier life.In two all-new chapters, Evans reveals the Outside Stresses driving the rise in verbal abuse--and shows you how you can mitigate the devastating effects on your relationships. She also outlines the Levels of Abuse that characterize this kind of behavior--from subtle, insidious put-downs that can erode your self-esteem to full-out tantrums of name-calling, screaming, and threatening that can escalate into physical abuse.Drawing from hundreds of real situations suffered by real people just like you, Evans offers strategies, sample scripts, and action plans designed to help you deal with the abuse--and the abuser.This timely new edition of The Verbally Abusive Relationship, Expanded Third Edition puts you on the road to recognizing and responding to verbal abuse, one crucial step at a time!

Taking Sexy Back: How to Own Your Sexuality and Create the Relationships You Want


Alexandra H. Solomon - 2020
    It’s time to take sexy back.As women, we’re expected to be sexy, but not sexual. We’re bombarded with conflicting, shame-inducing, and disempowering messages about sex, instead of being encouraged to connect with our true sexual selves. Sexy gets reduced to a performance, leaving us with little to no space to reckon with the complexities of sexuality. In a culture intent on telling you who and how to be, standing in your truth is revolutionary. From relationship expert Alexandra Solomon—author of Loving Bravely—Taking Sexy Back is a groundbreaking guide to deepening your connection to yourself, honoring your desires, and cultivating authentic intimate connections. On these pages, you’ll discover how to deepen your sexual self-awareness, and use that awareness to create experiences that not only pleasure, but elevate, expand, and heal you. You’ll learn to understand your boundaries, communicate what feels good, and bring mindfulness and self-compassion to sex. Most importantly, you’ll embrace your sexuality as an evolving, essential, and beautiful part of your life. Sex is about more than what your partner enjoys or finds sexy. It’s about more than having an orgasm or finding the “right” positions. It’s about you. It’s time to take your sexy back!Named one of Cosmopolitan's Best Nonfiction Books of 2020!2020 Consumer Book Honorable Mention from The Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR) As featured on The Morning Show—Australia's top-rated morning program

Happiness: The Art Of Living With Peace, Confidence And Joy


Douglas A. Smith - 2014
    Through research and study he begins to understand what the most joyful among us have in common is that they remember the past with peace, anticipate the future with confidence and live in the present with joy and exuberance. He further discovers that what gives them this perspective is a set of skills that they consistently, even if subconsciously, practice. He also realizes that he is not particularly good at several of these skills. In Happiness: The Art of Living with Peace, Confidence and Joy the author recounts, with insight and humor his journey to better understand and practice the skills of happiness with the goal of helping others on their own paths to joyful, meaningful living.

The Chemistry of Calm: A Powerful, Drug-Free Plan to Quiet Your Fears and Overcome Your Anxiety


Henry Emmons - 2010
    Henry Emmons offers a proven plan to combat anxiety—without medication—that has helped tens of thousands gain inner peace and start enjoying life. The debilitating effects of anxiety can affect your sense of well-being, health, longevity, productivity, and relationships. In The Chemistry of Calm, Dr. Henry Emmons presents his Resilience Training Program—a groundbreaking regimen designed to relieve anxiety and restore physical and mental strength. This step-by-step plan for mental calmness and emotional wisdom focuses on ways to create resilience as a key to resolving anxiety in everyday life, incorporating the latest science on: -Diet—you’ve got to eat good food to feel good -Exercise—it’s proven: moving makes you less anxious -Nutritional Supplements—boosting your natural anxiety resistance -Mindfulness—including meditation techniques to calm your body and brain Using this program, Dr. Emmons has helped countless patients reduce their anxiety and reclaim the resilience that is their birthright. Now, with The Chemistry of Calm, you can be anxiety free too!

Conquering Shame and Codependency: 8 Steps to Freeing the True You


Darlene Lancer - 2014
    Unemploment and isolation as a result of the pandemic can fuel these negative feelings. Darlene Lancer's book offers help for this particularly hard time.Learn how to heal from the destructive hold of shame and codependency by implementing eight steps that will empower the real you and lead to healthier relationships. Shame: the torment you feel when you’re exposed, humiliated, or rejected; the feeling of not being good enough. It’s a deeply painful and universal emotion, yet is not frequently discussed. For some, shame lurks in the unconscious, undermining self-esteem, destroying confidence, and leading to codependency. These codependent relationships--where we overlook our own needs and desires as we try to care for, protect, or please another--often cover up abuse, addiction, or other harmful behaviors. Shame and codependency feed off one another, making us feel stuck, never able to let go, move on, and become the true self we were meant to be. In Conquering Shame and Codependency, Darlene Lancer sheds new light on shame: how codependents’ feelings and beliefs about shame affect their identity, their behavior, and how shame can corrode relationships, destroying trust and love. She then provides eight steps to heal from shame, learn to love yourself, and develop healthy relationships.

The Headspace Guide to Meditation & Mindfulness


Andy Puddicombe - 2011
    The result? More headspace, less stress. Andy brings this ancient practice into the modern world, tailor made for the most time starved among us. Switch off after work Fall asleep at night Feel less anxious, sad, or angry Control your cravings Find a healthy weight©2011 Andy Puddicombe (P)2012 Macmillan Audio