Mental Health Awareness shouldn’t just be for a week

Mental Health Awareness Week might be over but that doesn’t mean we should stop working towards removing the stigma around talking about mental health. We’ve rounded up our top pick of books on mental health, finding balance in your life and nature – the theme of 2021’s Mental Health Awareness Week – as well as some feel-good reads that we hope will soothe your mind.

 

No Such Thing As Normal by Bryony Gordon

 

From depression and anxiety to personality disorders, one in four of us experience mental health issues every year and, in these strange and unsettling times, more of us than ever are struggling to cope. In No Such Thing As Normal, Bryony offers sensible, practical advice, covering subjects such as sleep, addiction, worry, medication, self-image, boundary setting, therapy, learned behaviour, mindfulness and, of course – as the founder of Mental Health Mates – the power of walking and talking.

 

Your Mental Health Workout by Zoe Aston

 

 

In just 5 weeks, you will come out of Your Mental Health Workout with a sharper mind, clearer-decision making skills and greater resilience.

Your Mental Health Workout™ provides you with exercises, tools, affirmations and expert guidance so you can start looking after your mental health for the long term. Zoë Aston, psychotherapist and mental health consultant to many high-profile individuals, has devised a ground-breaking 5-week schedule to help you build mental muscle; she incorporates 2 to 3 years of one-to-one therapy in one book. Our mental health is just like our physical health; we all have psychological weak spots or injuries and, just like physical injury, when they get used they may feel tender or uncomfortable. They need to be cared for in the right way so they can heal.

 

 

The Joy of Gardening by Ellen Mary

 

 

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week’s theme was ‘Nature’, which is no surprise given the indisputable benefits of nature for our emotional and physical wellbeing. So from sowing seeds to deadheading flowers, growing your own potatoes to welcoming feathered friends into your own garden, discover the joy to be found in every moment of gardening by slowing down, observing nature and planning ahead for the seasons.

 

Your Time To Thrive by Marina Khidekel

 

Live the life you want, not the life you settle for.

 

Helping people build healthy new habits that improve their lives is more important than ever. Arianna Huffington launched Thrive Global to do just that – Thrive’s specific mission is to end the epidemic of stress and burnout and help individuals and companies unlock their greatest potential. Science continues to show that we don’t have to sacrifice our well-being in order to succeed; in fact, it turns out that well-being is critical to peak performance.

 

The Secret World of Weather by Tristan Gooley 

 

 

The weather changes as we walk around a tree or turn down a street. There is a secret world of weather – one that we all live in, but very few see.

Each day we pass dozens of small weather signs that reveal what the weather is doing all around us – and what is about to happen. The clues are easy to spot when you know how, but remain invisible to most people.

In The Secret World of Weather you’ll discover the simple rules that explain the weather signs and will help you to appreciate all the hidden and small signs in nature. And you’ll learn rare skills that enhance every minute you spend outdoors, whether you are in a town, on a beach or in a wilder spot.

 

 

The Joy of Baking by Steph Blackwell

 

 

This book encourages you to become absorbed in the everyday magic of transforming a few simple ingredients into something utterly delicious. From the focus of baking sourdough to the quick-win of a cheesy biscuit, gut-friendly muffins to crowd-pleasing carrot cake, there is a recipe for every mood and every occasion.

 

The Circling Sky by Neil Ansell

 

 

In the form of several journeys, beginning in January 2019, Neil Ansell returns for solitary walks to the New Forest in Hampshire, close to where he was born. With beautiful sightings and observations of birds, trees, butterflies, insects and landscape, this is also a reflective memoir on childhood, on the history of one of the most ancient and important natural habitats in the United Kingdom, and on the Gypsies who lived there for centuries – and were subsequently expelled to neighbouring cities. It is also part polemic on our collective and individual responsibility for the land and world in which we live, and how we care for it.

 

The Joy of Writing Things Down by Megan C. Hayes

 

 

In this book you’ll discover practical ways to turn the ordinary ritual of jotting things down into a remarkable source of peace, focus and confidence. Learn to take pleasure in your correspondence, find fresh delight in your diary writing and put renewed heart in your humble to-do list.

 

 

 

A Toolkit for Modern Life by Dr Emma Hepburn

 

In this warm, wise book, clinical psychologist Dr Emma Hepburn (Instagram’s @thepsychologymum) introduces her proven and practical tools for taking care of your mental and emotional wellbeing every day.

 

Using her trademark illustrations, Dr Hepburn shines a welcome ray of light into the neglected corners of your brain. From identifying what triggers unhappy thoughts to overcoming the fear of making mistakes, A Toolkit for Modern Life will help you to cultivate positive habits and feel more confident, happier and in tune with yourself.