Book Recommendations for Relaxation /Mental Health Breakdown

September 6, 2015 2:23 PM

A very good friend of mine has been committed to the hospital for some form of mental illness. We are looking for light reading for her while in the hospital.

It is not clear yet exactly what is going on, and she can't actually see a psychiatrist until Tuesday because of the holiday weekend. Right now they think she will likely be there a week. She is on the other side of the country and I am trying to support the caregivers that are there with her. We are looking for easy, light books for her to read to try to keep her mind off of the delusions/theories she's got running around in her head. Self help books would not be a great suggestion here. If it matters, we are thinking likely diagnosis will be BiPolar, but it's really unclear right now. Also, if there are any other suggestions out there for how to handle this, help her keep busy so to speak, how to talk to her about what is happening, etc, I would take them.

Thanks in advance for your insights.

posted by fyrebelley to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

I've been hospitalized for Bipolar II. I'm a huge reader. Mostly I wanted escapist stuff, like Neil Gaiman. I also wanted to reread books I'd loved for ages. And finally I wanted books that would make me think/distract me--I am a poet so last time I brought new poetry books. Books are a big source of comfort for me, so I brought a lot. There were some books there too, and there was also a book cart that volunteers maintained. I just asked a nurse for that.

Holidays and weekends are dreary, especially Sundays. Good idea to keep her entertained then.

Message me if you want for whatever.
posted by mermaidcafe at 2:30 PM on September 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

YA books, maybe - along the lines of mermaidcafe's suggestion of escapist literature she knows and loves.

Terry Pratchett, Madeline L'Engle, Edith Nesbitt's Book of Dragons, Nancy Drew, Roald Dahl .. when I was in the hospital a friend brought me a big book of Calvin and Hobbes. Trashy magazines are another possibility.

Good luck to your friend; this is a very nice thing for you to do for her.
posted by bunderful at 2:41 PM on September 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

If she likes fantasy or scifi, perhaps some Terry Pratchett books? Or maybe Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Georgette Heyer or PG Wodehouse? These are all authors who avoid really heavy emotion and are easy to escape into because they write compelling and fast-moving but satisfyingly predictable genre plots (romance for Heyer, comic novels for Wodehouse, mysteries for Sayers and Christie).
posted by Aravis76 at 2:44 PM on September 6, 2015

Non-stressful childrens books, or things they've liked before.

I've seen a 'Chicken soup for the soul' type book go horribly wrong as a gift, because an early story started with someone's family dying in a fire, before the 'nice thing' happened, which... Yeah. No. Just no.

So if it's something you haven't read yet, skim it to check for any tragic or disturbing content first, and err on the side of simple and reassuring.
posted by Elysum at 2:55 PM on September 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

She may find it hard to concentrate so comic books (Sunday funnies types like Calvin and Hobbes or Garfield - not graphic novels) are a good choice.

Adult coloring books and colored pencils can be nice but she would probably have to leave the pencils at the nurse's station and use them in the public space so you should check first.
posted by metahawk at 3:00 PM on September 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Felt-tip pens rather than pencils maybe.

Also, as part of a collection of other books, I did give someone The Woman's Comfort Book, which I think went down well because it was filled with ways to be... kind to yourself? While making it clear that no one is alone in feeling lonely, or scared, or tired.
posted by Elysum at 3:15 PM on September 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Urgh, third answer, but I missed the bit about non-book recommendations.

Just try and have regular visitors or phone calls. Yes, it may be a strange and disturbing experience to talk to someone in the midst of a paranoid, manic or delusional episode, but it is more disturbing to BE in one. For phone calls, set boundaries that make it possible for you to continue, if that's down to a 30 or 15 minute call, a length that means you have the capacity to call every day is much, much better than no call.
Don't support their delusional beliefs, but don't get into an argument either, just stick to, 'I don't believe that' if pressed (people sometimes panic and say platitudes like "Oh, I guess that could be true" which really doesn't help) then change the topic. With frightening delusional beliefs, they often don't want to believe them either, and you want to avoid supporting them, so they can come down by themselves in time.

An, I love you, I care for you, or I'm thinking of you, and "I will be calling tomorrow" can be really supportive. Even if they don't believe that you'll be calling tomorrow! Being a stable predictable point can help.
posted by Elysum at 3:35 PM on September 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Nth comic books. Over a stressful period I read the entire run of For Better or For Worse -- my concentration levels were not up to anything more than that, it was nice to have a storyline that progressed and a thing I could return to the fantasy world of every night, etc. Dykes to Watch Out For is also a really enjoyable thing to read in sequence. Anything where the characters age is -- I find; YFMV -- extra-relaxing because it sucks you in just that little bit more in that soap opera way.
posted by kmennie at 3:48 PM on September 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

I've had some rough periods, and stuff like Terry Pratchett fit the bill perfectly for having enough drama and emotion to be engrossing, but no so much that the books didn't feel like comfortable, comforting worlds to be in.
posted by teponaztli at 5:25 PM on September 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

I find it highly unlikely that your friend could sustain concentration long enough to read a book. Bring magazines (fashion, sport, gossip - not news).
posted by crazycanuck at 6:09 PM on September 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

crazycanuck, that's a good point.
posted by teponaztli at 10:16 PM on September 6, 2015

Response by poster: Thank you so much for all the suggestions. As always, Metafilter is such a help with mental illness. We are getting her many of her childhood favorites--Little House, Charlotte's Web, Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables, etc. There are also some great Pippi Longstocking comic books that we'll get if we can find them. And some coloring books with crayons.
posted by fyrebelley at 8:56 AM on September 7, 2015