Reading can be the best tool to relax and it works better and faster than other methods to calm frazzled nerves such as listening to music, going for a walk or settling down with a cup of tea. Psychological research shows that the human mind has the tendency to concentrate on reading and the distraction of being taken into a literary world erases the tensions in muscles and the heart. Apart from that, books specifically oriented toward self-help mechanisms actually prove to be conducive for those suffering from stress or depression. According to the University of Manchester report, bibliotherapy helps and benefits those in stress a lot when one reads self-help, or stress relieving books.
Interestingly, finding the books has become much easier today. There are many online marketplaces like Amazon, Goodreads, Kitabain, swedenborg, Kaymu etc. which maintain a huge collection of books on almost every topic. The reviews and comments about the books help the prospective reader to choose the best suitable book for him.
As everyone knows, stress is a huge problem in the workplace and generally in human life arising out of friction between one’s internal world and external world, stress can reduce productivity, increase health care costs and turns work that ought to be fun into an overhyped yet dreary chore.
Fortunately, it wouldn’t be that way no more. Here are five quick reads that help reduce the stress level
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This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
‘This is What Happy Looks Like’ refers to more than the inevitable romance – to what both Ellie and Graham really want from the rest of their lives, whether together or apart. Yet their relationship is a joy to read about as it develops quickly, although not instantly. There is a mixture of wariness and curiosity, shyness and attraction. It all starts with honest and funny emails eventually leading to interactive encounter.
Quote: “Maybe growing up was really nothing more than growing away: from your old life, from your old self, from all those things that kept you tethered to your past.”
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Rumi’s Daughter (English) by Muriel Maufroy
Rumi is acknowledged as one of the great mystical figures both within the western and Eastern tradition. The book is about the girl who is adopted by Rumi as a daughter but eventually becomes her friend and a student to quench her thirst for mystical knowledge and thrillers. If you wish to travel back in time to the beautiful landscape of Turkey filled with mystical magical detail on life, this book is a worth read. It makes one lost in nostalgia of the past and explores how the relationship nexus of Rumi, his adopted daughter and Rumi’s mentor Shams reinforces the emancipation and inner peace.
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Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Set against the backdrop of three different cultures, this book takes an individual in a journey where pleasure, devotion and the balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence accompany him. A mix of intelligence, wit, colloquial exuberance and self-conscious irresistibly empower an individual to have a broader perspective in life and leave behind the baggage of depression.
Quote: “People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.”
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Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Undoubtedly, the culture that surrounds an individual has a huge impact on the personality dispositions. Similarly, a positive corporate culture can enhance the employee productivity and add to their pleasure to work. Delivering happiness – a path to profits, passion, and purpose is a modern day manual on leadership written by an unconventional CEO-remained on New York Times Bestseller for 27 weeks.
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How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
“Those who don’t know how to fight worry, die young.” This ominous advice begins Dale Carnegie’s bestseller, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, an eight-part treatise on the follies of worrying. This book contains a practical guide driving from the experiences and interviews of the successful notables that helps one overcome worries and attain a positive attitude toward life. Evidently, “our thoughts make us what we are”, so the key to the real change lies in changing one’s paradigm about the thinking process.
The books reviewed above are available at kaymu.pk as well as Liberty books.
