Mental illness has an alarming power to isolate, and convince its sufferers that nobody else's brain does such terrifying and inscrutable things. Often, it's only by reading the stories of others that people can understand the commonality of their experiences; though no two instances of mental illness are identical, there's a profound power in recognising your struggle in another's. These five books about mental health might spark that reassuring recognition, or simply expand your understanding of the diversity of mental illness.

My own moment of familiarity came with David Adam's The Man Who Couldn't Stop, the first book I read that seemed to reflect aspects of my own experience of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Too often, I saw my illness reduced to stereotypes about cleanliness and meticulous organisation; all too rarely did I read about the obsessive panic that motivates compulsive behaviours. Reading about Adam's experience, and the case studies he presents, felt like something dissolving, something that convinced me I was impossibly and insurmountably different.

The following books span illnesses from depression to addiction to schizophrenia; you might recognise your experience in them, or relinquish stereotypes you once held about mental illness after reading. Whatever you take from them, they're very much worthy of a read.

'The Man Who Couldn't Stop' by David Adam (2014) Amazon As mentioned above, David Adam's The Man Who Couldn't Stop was the first book that felt familiar to me in its depiction of obsessive-compulsive disorder, despite the vast differences between Adam's experience and mine. Science writer Adam writes both on his own illness, which manifests most significantly as a debilitating fear of contracting HIV/AIDS, and the history of the disease. As the Guardian reports, the book "takes in traditional psychiatry...evolutionary psychology, genetics, aversion therapy, philosophy, social history, religion, neuroscience, anthropology and even zoology." Adam also incorporates significant case studies, both famous and not (Hans Christian Andersen's obsessive fear of being buried alive spoke to me). His comprehensive study dispels the myths and comic stereotypes surrounding a frequently incapacitating disease, and will prove refreshing (though potentially triggering) to people with OCD who are tired of seeing their illness misrepresented. Buy The Man Who Couldn't Stop from Amazon.

'The Recovering' by Leslie Jamison (2018) Waterstones Leslie Jamison is a writer whose every line I've clung to since The Empathy Exams, her astonishing 2014 essay collection. In The Recovering, she turns to her own experience of alcohol addiction (preceded by an eating disorder) and sobriety. Integral to her journey to sobriety is her preoccupation — and a broader societal preoccupation — with alcohol and creativity. Were her favourite authors, Jamison asked, inspired by their addiction to alcohol? Can creativity and sobriety co-exist? Jamison worries over the work of Raymond Carver, Jean Rhys, Elizabeth Bishop and more in her quest to answer the questions that plague her. Ultimately, in recovery from addiction (attained courtesy of Alcoholics Anonymous), Jamison finds "relief from [her] own plotline," as the New Yorker writes. The magazine continues, "We perhaps have no writer better on the subject of psychic suffering and its consolations," a statement I emphatically second. Buy The Recovering from Waterstones.

'No One Cares About Crazy People' by Ron Powers (2017) Amazon Two of Ron Powers' sons were diagnosed with schizophrenia, and Powers tells their story alongside the history of mental illness and its treatment in No One Cares About Crazy People. "Sweeping exposition and finely grained narrative weave together," the New York Times says, as Powers details the struggle of his family to protect their children while exploring the mental health crisis in America today. Emails from sons Kevin and Dean provide vivid insight into the experience of schizophrenia, while excruciating figures (there are "10 million Americans with mental illness and only 45,000 inpatient psychiatric beds", the New York Times reports) expose the profound failure of the American healthcare system to treat mental health issues. This isn't just an American story — the Guardian reports that in 2018, there are 30% fewer beds in the UK for mental health patients than there were in 2009. Powers' book will infuriate and galvanise readers, while elucidating one of the most misunderstood and stigmatised mental illnesses. Buy No One Cares About Crazy People from Amazon.