Books on Self Love to Help You Manage Social Anxiety
Self love books can be about anything from changing your mindset to practicing better self acceptance. The key ingredient that binds them all together is the idea that you are worthy “just the way you are” (to quote a line from Bridget Jones’ Diary).
This is an important concept to master if you have social anxiety because so many people who feel ill at ease in social situations also tend to judge themselves for their anxiety. You might feel like you don’t measure up or that you aren’t as deserving as others. In short, you don’t value yourself.
Well, I’m here to tell you that this path of self-love is not what you think it is. It isn’t being self-involved or a braggart. In fact, when you’re doing it right, self-love gives you the ability to give back to other people in so many ways.
Imagine how it would feel to not be concerned about how others are perceiving you and just do what you feel is best.
To have the ability to help others in need when they need it because you are not caught up in worry about what they might think of you.
That’s the beauty of self-love. It’s not about thinking highly of yourself. It’s about recognizing that everyone is equally worthy, regardless of where you are in your life.
With that in mind, I thought I’d run through a list of some of the hottest self-love books on the market. Perhaps you’ve got your own that you would add to the list? If so, feel free to mention them in the comments.
Don’t like to have a lot of physical books lying around or can’t wait for them to be delivered? Consider checking out services like Kindle Unlimited or Amazon’s Audible!
You can get a 30-day FREE trial and start listening right away with Audible!
Mindset
This list would not be complete without a Jen Sincero book. Her wit and humor make changing your mindset a breeze. I’m sure there are other mindset books on self-love, but this is pretty much the cream of the crop.
Self-Esteem
A building block of self-love is self-esteem. If you constantly compare yourself to others or feel that you aren’t good enough in some way, these books could help you boost your self-esteem, which will make self-love easier.
- The Self-Love Workbook: A Life-Changing Guide to Boost Self-Esteem, Recognize Your Worth and Find Genuine Happiness
- Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be
Self-Compassion
Self-compassion is another key part of self-love. It means being kind to yourself and forgiving, when things don’t go the way you hoped they would. It means not ruminating after a social encounter, and instead letting things go and accepting that you don’t have to do everything perfectly (in fact there is no such thing as perfection).
- The Self-Love Experiment: Fifteen Principles for Becoming More Kind, Compassionate, and Accepting of Yourself
- Self Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
- The Mindful Path to Self Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions
Self-Acceptance
Self-compassion and self-acceptance go hand in hand. Are you accepting of yourself just the way you are? Whether you are anxious or not, it’s important to treat yourself well. Of course you’d rather your anxiety went away, but are you able to accept yourself if it does not? Secondary anxiety is what you feel when you don’t accept anxious feelings, and it’s the one thing you have some control over.
- Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self Acceptance
- Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
- Radical Self Love: A Guide to Loving Yourself and Living Your Dreams
- How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t: 14 Habits that Are Holding You Back From Happiness
- The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Self-Love
We’ve come back full circle to books about self-love. Self-love encompasses everything that’s been mentioned in this post, so you might want to consider these books last.
- I Heart Me: The Science of Self-Love
- The Self-Love Experiment: Fifteen Principles for Becoming More Kind, Compassionate, and Accepting of Yourself
- Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It
- Madly in Love with ME: The Daring Adventure of Becoming Your Own Best Friend
- Becoming Whole: A Healing Companion to Ease Emotional Pain and Find Self-Love
Journals
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- Busting the myth that you have to get a "more interesting life" to be more interesting"
Journals are excellent ways to put your self-love goal into actual practice. They take knowledge and translate it into action.
- Zen as F*ck: A Journal for Practicing the Mindful Art of Not Giving a Sh*t (Zen as F*ck Journals)
- Present, Not Perfect: A Journal for Slowing Down, Letting Go, and Loving Who You Are
- Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration
Whether you are looking for books on mindset, self-esteem, self-compassion, self-acceptance, self-love, or journaling, there’s a ton of resources out there to get you started.
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The Best Self Love Books for Social Anxiety
Here are some of my favorite social anxiety tools
Thanks for reading! I hope you found some helpful tips. Since this site is about social anxiety, I wanted to also share some tools I use that I hope you’ll find helpful. Some of these are affiliate links, so if you decide to try them, I’ll earn a commission. However, I only recommend things I have used myself and would recommend to a friend or family member.
Online Therapy: For online therapy, I have personally used and like the service offered by Betterhelp. It's easy to get started from the comfort of your home. You'll even get a discount on your first month of therapy when you use my link.
Doctor Visits: For doctor visits, Web Doctors offers convenient online appointments.
Audible Subscription: I recommend a lot of self-help books on this site, but I actually prefer an audiobook subscription over print books! My favorite subscription service is Audible because it has all the best-sellers and they stay in your digital library forever (even if you end your subscription). You can sign up for a free trial and listen to your first two books for free.
Social Anxiety Masterclass: The Social Anxiety Masterclass is my signature course where I walk you through everything I know about how to manage social anxiety. If you're not ready to enroll in the course, be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter to hear about special deals!
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