April is Stress Awareness Month; since 1992, health care professionals and health care advocates have sought to bring awareness to the issue of stress. Stress and anxiety can have negative effects on not only our emotional state, but overall health, however, in today’s fast paced lifestyle and fearmongering culture it often can feel unavoidable. Although nothing can replace the advice of a trained professional and you should always consult your physician before undertaking any new health practice be it physical or mental, here are several new arrivals at HPL that could be helpful in understanding anxiety and finding ways to destress.
Worried?: An Evidence-based Investigation of Some of Life’s Common Concerns
by Lise A. Johnson
This clever book by Lise Johnson looks at some of the topics people frequently worry about large and small from food safety to asteroids striking the earth. By using science she looks at how much worry we might actually need to assign a specific topic. Included in Worried? are the preventability, likelihood, and consequences for each of the concerns discussed. This book is a good resource for combating fear from dangers often sensationalized in the news and on social media platforms.
The Small Guide to Anxiety
by Gary Small
Small’s book provides suggestions for handling panic attacks, phobias, obsessive thinking, insomnia, self-doubt and other symptoms and causes of anxiety. Chapters focus on defining anxiety, strategies to reduce anxiety, and understanding common anxiety related disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Small’s Guide could help you make big changes in your life.
Lightly: How to Live a Simple, Serene, and Stress-Free Life
by Francine Jay
You may be familiar with Marie Kondo’s popular philosophy for organizing and decluttering which focuses on objects which bring joy instead of simply acquiring more and more stuff, but often there is more weighing our lives down beyond physical objects. In Lightly, Francine Jay looks at ways you can not only free up closet space, but also your schedule and the emotional baggage that is encumbering your life.
Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls
by Lisa Damour
Although anxiety seems on the rise overall, it is especially increasing among girls according to Lisa Damour. In Under Pressure, she looks at the positives that stress can play when properly channeled including encouraging emotional growth, but also ways that parents can deal with the more negative aspects of stress that can come from a variety of source such as peer pressure and the new realm of social media, which previous generations of children were not impacted by. The book is a helpful parenting guide for those who are looking at ways to help their daughters navigate life with less anxiety and more confidence.
Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Reference
Hoboken Library Staff Picks 