Twenty books, tools and games I'd hand a friend who just found out, who's trying to stay clean, or who can't sleep. Each one comes with a short note on what to know before you buy.
Devon Price
My take. The book I wish someone had handed me decades ago. Written by an autistic psychologist, about the mask most of us didn't know we were wearing.
Good to know. Very identity-affirming. Some clinicians push back on its take on self-diagnosis.
John Elder Robison
My take. A guy who found out at 40, who builds things and never fit the script. Reading it felt a bit like reading my own mail.
Good to know. Uses the older 'Asperger's' label.
Gabor Maté
My take. A Vancouver doctor who treated people the rest of the city stepped over. Compassion first. Hit close to home.
Good to know. His 'trauma causes all addiction' model is debated by researchers. Read it as one lens, not the whole truth.
Anna Lembke
My take. A Stanford addiction psychiatrist on why everything feels like a drug now. Phones included. Practical, not preachy.
Good to know. Simplifies the brain science.
Russell A. Barkley
My take. No fluff. One of the most cited ADHD researchers alive, writing for adults who need tools on Monday morning.
Good to know. Dry, and strongly pro-medication.
David D. Burns
My take. The old-school CBT classic. Tested in actual trials. The French edition is from a Québec publisher.
Good to know. Written in 1980 and it reads like it.
Williams, Teasdale, Segal, Kabat-Zinn
My take. Mindfulness from the people who built MBCT, the approach with evidence for keeping depression from coming back.
Good to know. Only works if you actually practise. Daily.
McKay, Wood, Brantley
My take. Distress tolerance, emotion regulation, the skills I wish I'd had before every robplosion. Works for cravings too.
Good to know. A workbook isn't full DBT with a therapist.
Jonathan Grayson
My take. Real exposure and response prevention, the treatment that actually works for OCD, laid out step by step.
Good to know. Exposure is hard. Better with a clinician in your corner.
Kristin Neff
My take. Shame fed my using and my blow-ups. This is the research-backed antidote. Sounds soft. It isn't.
Good to know. Some of it reads like a pep talk. Do the exercises anyway.
Matt Haig
My take. Short chapters for nights when you can't read much. Honest without being heavy.
Good to know. A memoir, not treatment. If you're in crisis, call first, read later.
Thich Nhat Hanh
My take. Gentle and practical. Reads like someone calm sitting next to you while you're still shaking.
Good to know. Spiritual framing, not clinical.
Robert Scales
My take. Yes, it's mine. Twenty-eight animals you can actually find around here, from the beaver to the lynx, a bilingual page on each, then a full page to colour. Made for slowing down.
Good to know. Full disclosure: I wrote it, so I earn from it twice. Square 8.5 x 8.5 paperback, French and English in the same book.
My take. A 2020 trial found weighted blankets cut insomnia in people with depression, anxiety and ADHD. The pressure just calms the body down.
Good to know. Can be hot. Pick around 10% of your body weight.
My take. Québec winters are long and dark. Thirty minutes in the morning. Modest evidence, real difference for a lot of people.
Good to know. Talk to a doctor first if you have bipolar disorder: it can trigger hypomania. Check it's UV-filtered.
Apple
My take. I swear by these. Half the time there's no music playing at all. Just noise cancelling on, and the world turns down a few notches. Does wonders on overload days.
Good to know. Not cheap, and they're made for the Apple world: some features work best with an iPhone.
Time Timer
My take. Time you can see. A red disc that shrinks. Sounds dumb, works on a brain that loses three hours to one email.
Good to know. Get the silent model. The ticking drives some of us up the wall.
My take. Small exercises, one card at a time. Pull one when my head gets loud. Most take a minute or two, which is about all the attention I've got on a bad day.
Good to know. Some cards are cheesy. Skip those and keep the ones that work for you.
My take. Play counts. Tetris even has trial data on reducing intrusive memories right after a trauma. Mostly, it just quiets the noise.
Good to know. Not a PTSD treatment. The study was narrow.
P.A.T.H. Games
My take. Yes, it's mine. A solo RPG where you live a full tour with Bravo Company, 2/22 Infantry, in 1967-68, four shifts a day. The daily routine, the choices, the history, the bonds with your squad, and what you hold onto when it gets hard. No score, no winning. The goal is to make it through.
Good to know. Full disclosure: I made it. It's about war, so it gets heavy. Plays on phone, tablet or computer, with an internet connection.