Stress follows us everywhere, at work and at home. It interferes with our relationships and damages our health. But why read? Because reading for 6 minutes can reduce stress by 60%. In fact, reading is the best stress reliever. I’m sharing with you the 3 best books to read to combat stress and soothe yourself.

1 – To combat stress: Pursuit of Perfect by Tal Ben-Shahar

Pursuit of Perfect is a fascinating book about perfectionism. This tendency has taken hold in our modern society. This “always more” and above all this “perfect or nothing”.

In this book, the author talks both about his own life experiences – he’s Harvard’s Professor of Happiness, and his course was the most widely attended of all time at this school – and about scientific studies, all with the aim of helping us better understand our tendency to stress ourselves on a daily basis.

What’s more, the author helps us to sort out our lives, to invite joy rather than stress. These are very practical things, like: how to formulate our goals without stressing ourselves out, how to better manage our way of thinking to invite as little stress as possible.

I recommend this book for fighting stress, because the examples taken by the author really resonate with us and it teaches us to become imperfect and therefore less stressed.

2 – LIVE LAGOM: BALANCED LIVING by Anna Brones

LIVE LAGOM: BALANCED LIVING is a feel-good book. First of all, because it’s beautiful. The paper is pleasant to the touch and there are magnificent photos that invite us to breathe more deeply and calmly. In fact, this book invites beauty and gentleness into our lives.

What’s more, the author’s advice is relevant and inspiring. She draws on Swedish culture to help us live better with less, whether at work, at home, in our relationships or on our plates.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book as a way to combat stress, because it’s simply fascinating, and it invites us to rethink our way of life to invite gentleness and beauty into it. In fact, we’re invited to detach ourselves from our tendency to “always more” and get back to basics, so we can breathe easier.

3 – To combat stress: The Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness

The Art of Happiness is a magical book! The Dalai Lama, a person of great wisdom and infinite compassion, reveals what he considers to be a happy and serene life.

The book reads like a conversation. The author tells us things, reveals his ideas, and it feels good. It resonates, it inspires.

And it’s magical, because our stress disappears with each page, as we get back to basics.

I highly recommend this book as a stress-buster, because it’s full of advice on how to put things into perspective and make peace with what’s stressing us. You’ll come away from this book with new ideas for living a more zen everyday life. What’s more, the author puts into words our deepest fears, such as the fear of suffering, illness and death. And here too, it helps us breathe easier.