7 Mental Health Books You Must Read Before 2025 Ends

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly one in every seven people around the world was living with a mental disorder in 2021, and that number has only increased in 2025. Thanks to social media, the stigma around taking therapies and going for clinical trials has reduced, but still, not everyone prefers to go for these treatments or finds it comfortable to talk to AI chatbots. In such cases, reading mental health books takes the lead.

Apparently, reading can do a lot more than just clinical therapies. It offers you a gentle hug, a safe space for your feelings, and a calm for your nervousness. Giving just 15 to 30 minutes to reading mental health books when feeling emotionally exhausted and drained helps you heal and feel better. If you are someone who loves a book in hand and the year 2025 took a toll on your emotions, reading these seven mental health books will help you make peace with your thoughts:

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1. The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Written by the well-known Dutch-American psychiatrist and researcher Bessel van der Kolk, this is a powerful book that helps you understand how stress and trauma stay in your body. In this book, Kolk explains how anxiety not just stays with your mind, disturbing your mental health, but it makes home in your body through muscle tension, disrupted sleeping patterns, and reactions. Combining several case studies, research, and therapy modules, this book makes the reader understand why the sudden breakthrough of emotional symptoms comes even when the memory of that particular trauma fades. This book serves as a therapist, guiding you on how to improve your reaction patterns, even if your body never forgets the feeling of a particular incident.

2. Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

As its name suggests, reading Enchantment literally makes you feel enchanted. Written by a British author, Katherine May, this book is a must-read for someone feeling overwhelmed with their emotions. If you feel the world around you has become harsh, stressful, and unforgiving, this book helps you feel subtle and calm. Through her writing, May takes you on a journey to regain the innate sense of wonder and awe. For a feeling of warmth during the constant chaos of the daily hustle, this book is a great addition to your bookshelf.

3. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

A New York Times bestseller, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is written by Lori Gottlieb, an American writer and psychotherapist. It is a book that makes you think and turn your thoughts more mindfully. The book is a memoir about how, after an unexpected breakup in her forties, Gottlieb chose to go for therapy herself for healing. With her dual experience as a therapist and then being a patient, Gottlieb shares how she navigates different life challenges. In her conversational writing style, Gottlieb’s memoir takes you on a journey with her, showing how even as a therapist, she herself struggles to cope with life.

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4. Buy Yourself the Damn Flowers: Tam Kaur

This book comes from a 26-year-old content creator and YouTuber, Tam Kaur, teaching the reader self-love. It is a comprehensive guide to all things self-love, leaving the reader with the thought that, in the end, all that matters is you. The concept of self-love is one of the favourites of Gen-Z and is currently trending on all social media platforms. While everyone talks about self-love, most of us fail to actualise this when stuck in a difficult situation. Tam Kaur’s Buy Yourself The Damn Flowers helps you with a step-by-step guide to actually incorporate the love and care for your inner child in regular actions.

5. Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

A New York Times bestseller and another epic from British author Katherine May, this book teaches you to navigate difficult times. If you have lost a loved one, lost a job, been severely ill, feeling lost or emotionally burnt out, this book tells you how these periods can be transformative. It teaches you the power of rest and retreat when you do not know what to do with life. It changes your perspective towards your own fellow times.

6. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions

This groundbreaking book, written by award-winning British journalist Johann Hari, who himself suffered from depression since his childhood, explores the real reasons behind depression and anxiety. Hari takes a different and more realistic approach towards discussing these mental health problems. While reading this book, you might find that most of the things we know about depression and anxiety are not the actual solutions. It is a must-read for someone trying to understand the root causes of their emotional suffering and how society contributes to it.

7. The Comfort Book

Another title by the international bestselling author, Matt Haig, The Comfort Book is a collection of heartfelt personal notes, positive affirmations, and thoughts written over several years while navigating the ups and downs of life. The book is a must-read for someone looking for comfort and a soothing reminder that what might seem dark right now may have a sharp light when looking closer.

Bottom Line

Reading is in itself a habit that helps calm your breathing and wires the brain to process things in a better way. As the year 2025 is about to end within two months, you might be looking for a good read to achieve your reading target, along with relieving the emotional burden. Reading the above-mentioned mental health books works wonders with your thought process and allows you to deal with depression, anxiety, and overwhelming feelings, with non-traditional methods.