Interesting fact: According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, One in four adults−approximately 61.5 million Americans−experiences mental illness in a given year. One in 17−about 13.6 million−live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. (Learn more here.) So none of us are alone in our experiences and we should not feel that we are alone.
Today I am giving one winner the chance to pick one of three books that have been instrumental in getting me through a terribly rough time lately. I have suffered with bouts of depression and constant anxiety for as long as I can remember. In 2011, I decided that I was not going to allow my anxiety and depression to continue to ruin my life and my relationships. I have been on medication to help control my symptoms since then and I can feel the everyday difference. A wise friend told me at the time that I was battling with the decision: You are so strong to be getting help. It is NOT weakness to admit that you need more help- it is a strength. Those words helped me decide to see my doctor and to ask about getting started with medicine. I have also recently began helping my husband as he begins his own mental health journey. His upbringing has left him with scars that have caused him emotional pain and have made social interaction hard for him. Our recent trauma has caused him to finally get to the point where he wants to seek help. Our journey to mental and emotional wellness has also led us to learn about the rights that we all have as we go into counseling. Please know your rights and never let ANYONE take advantage of you as you seek to better yourself and your life. Learn more here. I also have taken the steps to learn more about myself, my problems and how they affect my life. One of the tools I use is the free app called Self Help For Anxiety Management by University of the West of England. It allows me to track my anxious feelings and how the world around me causes me to feel. You can find it for yourself here. I have also spent a lot of time reading about how to help myself through life. SO, I am giving away one copy of one of the books that has helped me. The giveaway is open to any reader who is at least 13 years of age and can receive books from The Book Depository. Here are the options:
After many years of writing her own words in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to be more attentive to the Savior's voice and begin listening for what He was saying. So with pen in hand, she embarked on a journey that forever changed her--and many others around the world. In these powerful pages are the words and Scriptures Jesus lovingly laid on her heart. Words of reassurance, comfort, and hope. Words that have made her increasingly aware of His presence and allowed her to enjoy His peace. Jesus is calling out to you in the same way. Maybe you share the author's need for a great sense of "God with you." Or perhaps Jesus seems distant without you knowing why. Or maybe you have wandered farther from Him that you ever imagined you would. Here is a year's worth of daily readings from Young's journals to bring you closer to Christ and move your time with Him from monologue to a dialogue. Each day is written as if Jesus Himself were speaking to you. Because He is. Do you hear Him calling?
Find it on Goodreads.
The 100 simple practices found in Five Good Minutes(R) are designed to help even the busiest person start the day right. Using just five minutes of mindfulness, relaxation, or imagery techniques during their morning routines, readers can set their intentions and greet the day feeling calm, centered, and energized.What difference can five minutes make in the crazy, nonstop course of a sixteen-hour day? For people feeling overwhelmed with responsibility, bored with the same tired routine, or frustrated about how to create meaning in their lives, a little time well spent can lead to extraordinary changes. This book shows readers how to dramatically improve their lives in just a few moments each day. The concept is powerfully simple: Readers take the time each morning to be fully present, to set a clear intention for themselves, and to really engage in any of 100 fun and easy-to-follow practices. Soon they will discover that amazing things can happen in just five minutes.The book provides guided imagery, relaxation, mindfulness, and meditation practices-fun activities that relieve stress and create meaning and purpose in the reader's day. These practices help readers feel good, get motivated, and become inspired to change their lives for the better. Over time, these activities become guideposts readers will return to throughout the day, providing energy and inspiration when they need them most. In other words, the time readers of this book take for themselves in the morning might just be the five good minutes that change their lives.Five Good Minutes is a trademark of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Many of us have experienced a traumatic event in our lives, whether in childhood or adulthood. This trauma may be emotional, or it may cause intense physical pain. In some cases, it can cause both. Studies have shown that compassion and mindfulness based interventions can help people suffering from trauma to experience less physical and emotional pain in their daily lives. What's more, many long-time yoga and meditation teachers have a history of teaching these practices to their clients with successful outcomes. In Yoga for Emotional Trauma, a psychotherapist and a meditation teacher present a yogic approach to emotional trauma by instructing you to apply mindful awareness, breathing, yoga postures, and mantras to their emotional and physical pain. In the book, you'll learn why yoga is so effective for dealing with emotional trauma. Yoga and mindfulness can transform trauma into joy. It has done so for countless millions. The practices outlined in this book will teach you how to use and adapt the ancient practices and meditations of yoga for your own healing. Drawing upon practices and philosophy from eastern wisdom traditions, and texts such as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bagavad Gita, and the Buddhist Sutras, this book will take you on a journey into wholeness, one that embraces body, mind and spirit. Inside, you will discover the lasting effect that trauma has on physiology and how yoga resets the nervous system. Combining yogic principles, gentle yoga postures, and mindfulness practices, this book filled with sustenance and practical support that will move you along your own healing path.
