Books about Mental Illness
Because May is Mental Health Month and it's a subject that I really feel personal about, I wanted to launch Terrier Blog by sharing some book recommendations.
Book Recommendations
For Children:
Anatole qui ne séchait jamais (Fr) / Riley Can't Stop Crying (En) - Stéphanie Boulay
Ballons for Papa - Elizabeth Gilbert Bedia & Erika Meza
The Color Thief: A Family Story of Depression - Andrew Fusek Peters, Polly Peters & Karin Littlewood
The Big Worry Day: A Book About Conquering Fear - K. A. Reynolds & Chloe Dominique
For Everyone else:
J'ai mal et pourtant ça ne se voit pas - Lucile de Pesloüan (Fr only)
Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig
Black Rainbow: How Words Healed Me, My Journey Through Depression - Rachel Kelly
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From the Canadian Mental Health Association:
Clinical depression, sometimes called major depression, is a complex mood disorder caused by various factors, including genetic predisposition, personality, stress and brain chemistry.
The main symptom of depression is a sad, despairing mood that is present most days and lasts most of the day, lasts for more than two weeks and impairs the person’s performance at work, at school or in social relationships.
Other symptoms of depression include:
- changes in appetite and weight
- sleep problems
- loss of interest in work, hobbies, people or sex
- withdrawal from family members and friends
- feeling useless, hopeless, excessively guilty, pessimistic or having low self-esteem
- agitation or feeling slowed down
- irritability
- fatigue
- trouble concentrating, remembering or making decisions
- crying easily, or feeling like crying but being not able to
- thoughts of suicide (which should always be taken seriously)
- a loss of touch with reality, hearing voices (hallucinations) or having strange ideas (delusions).
While it can suddenly go into remission, depression is not something that people can “get over” by their own effort.
Sources:
https://camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/depression
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/chronic-diseases/mental-illness/what-depression.html