4 Books to Get You Out of a Depression Spiral
If you are someone who has struggled with mental illness, you will know that people love giving unsolicited recommendations. Have you tried yoga? Meditation? Eliminating gluten? This awesome tea I sell (through what definitely isn’t a multi-level marketing scheme)? If you only did these things you would be fine! Try a bit harder, won’t you?
This is not one of those articles. You don’t need to read these books. You need to do whatever you can manage, even if that’s just watching the George Foreman Grill episode of The Office on a loop until you can muster the energy to be a sort-of-functioning person (my failsafe).
But when you are ready, and you can see a little glimmer of light at the top of that depression spiral, these books might help you find some normality, some humour, or some comfort, as they did for me.
The Humans - Matt Haig
Existing on earth feels really f-ing difficult sometimes. So imagine how it must feel for an alien who’s just been dropped here.
Matt Haig’s The Humans is a heartwarming tale of the messiness of humans, and what makes life worth living. Although it deals with some heavy topics, and existential questions, The Humans still manages to feel endearing and lighthearted. We see the world through the eyes of an alien and discover why humans are the way they are, even when it doesn’t make much sense.
tw: suicide.
How to
Fail - Elizabeth Day
You’ve probably heard of Elizabeth Day’s chart-topping podcast How to Fail, where she interviews a celebrity about three ‘failures’ in their life. It’s as good as everyone says it is (I dare you to listen to Andrew Scott’s episode and not fall in love with him), mainly due to Elizabeth’s passion for exploring failure as a force for good.
In How to Fail (the book) Elizabeth talks us through the big failures of her life and what she’s learnt from them. But the book never veers into toxic positivity ‘everything happens for a reason!’ territory. Some ‘failures’ in life are painful and unfair, and we should let ourselves grieve them. How to Fail offers a sensitive and hopeful way to look at life when everything feels doomed, and I return to its philosophy often.
tw: miscarriage.
Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams
When you’re struggling with your mental health, one of the most valuable things is feeling seen. Other people have been where you have been, and have made it to the other side. You’re not the only one who has felt like this.
Queenie is a twenty-something woman being swept along by a tidal wave of anxiety. She’s making all the wrong decisions for herself, because making healthy decisions isn’t top of the list when you’re barely holding it together. We follow Queenie as she begins to accept something has to change. That she deserves better. You’ll root for Queenie like a best friend, and hopefully, realise you should be rooting for yourself like that too.
tw: sexual violence, racism.
Dear Reader - Cathy Rentzenbrink
Sometimes the depression-induced brain fog makes it difficult to stick with a narrative. So a book you can dip in and out of for comfort is perfect.
In Dear Reader, Cathy Rentzenbrink talks us through the books that have been there for her, through the good times and the bad. From childhood favourites to the books that got her through the death of her brother. We get a snippet of what each book means to Cathy, and more widely, the escape that books offer us in life. A heartwarming read for any book lover.