Self Help Shelfie #1

A round up of reading

Here is the first shelfie of the year. I have picked books which tie into the themes that I have written about this month (stress, anxiety and overwhelm in case you need a little prompt):

Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown is where I got the idea for doing 'Feelings school.’ Brené has filtered her latest research into this book where she maps out the feelings that we all have as human beings. I recommend this book if you want to get more familiar with talking about feelings. As her blurb says, ‘Accurately naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power - it gives us the power of understanding, meaning and choice.’

I included the next book which is, admittedly, a heavy tome. This book is about the Polyvagal Theory which is aligned to what I wrote about when I wrote the email on stress. It’s definitely a book that you made need to pace, but I have included it because Stephen Porges’ work is really integral to a lot of the work about trauma and window of tolerance. It’s also pretty pricey, so you may prefer the pocket guide.

Next up is a book on boundaries, so vital for overwhelm. I also have a podcast episode where I talk about creating Better Boundaries with Kari Kwinn. I don’t have a physical copy of her book which is why it is not on the shelf!

However, the book I have pictured is for when you are perhaps just starting out at looking at boundaries. It covers what boundaries are, what they look like, boundary problems, how they are developed, ten laws of boundaries and different boundaries that you might require at work or with your children or family… or yourself. They link it into some Christian scripture which I found a bit much at times, but it has sold over 2 million copies.

Finally, The Power of Letting Go is full of practical exercises to help you reconnect with yourself and look at where your stressful thought pattern and behaviours may be coming from and how to address them.

If the whole Frozen ‘Let it Go’ lyrics touched something inside of you, but you don’t know what to do other than sing that song on loop, this book could be for you. It has over 1000 positive reviews on that book store that shall not be named.

If you follow through with looking any of these up and reading them (remember, there’s always the library!) let me know what you think!

That’s it for now, ‘til next time.

Jacky x