Reading Well for adults

Better sleep, less stress, more energy, mood boost - these are the four pillars of wellbeing and there is no one better placed to show you how to do exactly that than Nicola Elliott, founder of NEOM. After 17 years of building the UK's leading wellbeing business, she has been there, done that and got the weighted blanket. In this practical book she reveals what works, what doesn't, whose advice is worth listening to, with insights from leading experts such as Mo Gawdat, Dr Kimberley Wilson and Dr Zoe Williams. Wellbeing starts with the little moments so whether you've got 30 seconds or 30 minutes, you will find simple tips and tricks that fit with your lifestyle and help you feel better than ever, the NEOM way.

Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith shares all the skills you need to get through life's ups and downs. Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, this is a must-have handbook for optimising your mental health. Dr Julie's simple but expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient no matter what life throws your way. Written in short, bite-sized entries, you can turn straight to the section you need depending on the challenge you're facing - and immediately find the appropriate tools to help.

People say when you want to change your life, you need to think big: swap job, move house, change partner. But they're wrong. World-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered a completely different way to transform your behaviour. He knows that lasting change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of tiny decisions - doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call. He calls them atomic habits. In 'Atomic Habits', Clear delves into cutting-edge psychology to explain why your brain can amplify these small changes into huge consequences. He uncovers a handful of simple life hacks (the forgotten art of Habit Stacking, or the unexpected power of the Two Minute Rule), to show how you too turn minuscule shifts in behaviour into life-transforming outcomes.

Modern life is a minefield for stress. Whether it's juggling work, relationships or money, we often struggle to make time for ourselves and can find ourselves stuck in a rut with bad habits or worries. Owen O'Kane reveals how smart, short techniques throughout the day can form a healthier perspective and let you ditch harmful thought patterns. Using the latest evidence-based tools and techniques from across a range of therapies including CBT, mindfulness and interpersonal therapy, Owen provides empowering solutions to managing what keeps you stuck so you can move forward.

A practicing psychologist - one of the top popularizers of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - offers a fresh, welcome approach for treating mental health issues that speaks to our times, blending mindfulness and spirituality with CBT to effectively overcome negative thinking, achieve deep healing, and truly attain lasting peace.

As a society, we are more exhausted than ever before but despite hearing the call to relax, many of us find it hard to switch off. We see busyness as a badge of honour but, ask yourself, does this approach to life work for you? Self-care expert Suzy Reading is here to challenge everything you've ever been told or told yourself about rest. Rest is not only calming and restorative, but energising and fortifying, a way of preparing you for the days, weeks or months ahead. You can also reset in as little as one minute - when we're already struggling to find a work-life balance, many of us feel like we don't have time to rest. This book is here to take the pressure off. Rest need not be another thing to add to your heaving schedule, many practices take seconds and can be woven into everyday life in no extra time.

Walking meditation, also known as Kinhin meditation, is widely practiced in many forms of Buddhism, blending the physical experience of walking with the focused mindfulness of a meditative state. This can be done anywhere, from a few steps at home to a short walk on a bustling street, or a longer hike in the countryside. Walking while meditating boosts awareness, improves sleep quality, offers mental clarity and facilitates a mind-body connection. It is a practice you can develop each time you leave the house, to help you refocus and come back to yourself.

How can gardening relieve stress and help us look after our mental health? What lies behind the restorative power of the natural world? In a powerful combination of contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis and brilliant storytelling, 'The Well Gardened Mind' investigates the magic that many gardeners have known for years - working with nature can radically transform our health, wellbeing and confidence.

Forgetting your password, spilling coffee on your white shirt, missing your train - as our lives begin to return to normal and our days become busier, the challenges of daily life can easily build up and overwhelm us. But after 20 years of treating patients at the brink of burn-out, leading psychiatrist Dr Samantha Boardman has discovered the secret for how to combat micro-stressors and turn full days into more fulfilling days. In 'Ready for Anything', she explains that the key is to cultivate our vitality, the positive feeling of being alive and the energy that lies at the heart of a good day.

Learn to breathe correctly and you will be calmer, lose weight, sleep better. Yolanda Barker is a yoga teacher and film maker. She has developed a seven day breathing programme for anyone and everyone to re-teach us how to breathe and experience the benefits of harnessing our breath.

Worrying is a normal part of the human experience, but when it starts to impact our mental and physical well-being, it's time to do something about it. In this book you will learn the benefits of mindfulness and meditation, how you can harness the power of positive thinking, and techniques for managing daily stress.

Now expanded with new reader oriented lessons, and a powerful and transformative personal story of the practice in action. Kamal Ravikant knows misery well. In 2011, the company Kamal had spent the last ten years of his life nurturing and growing, suddenly and embarrassingly went under. He experienced a profound depression, the kind that made him physically ill and bedridden. The only source of light in this darkest moment was a meditation, a chant that came to him and provided the only source of comfort he could muster: I love myself. Kamal began his transformational journey by repeating this over and over to himself. I love myself. I love myself. I love myself. Even when he didn't believe it (especially when he didn't believe it). This book tells the powerful story of Kamal's radical self-growth journey and his specific practice for readers.

If you've struggled to deal with an overwhelming fear, phobia or anxiety - one that may have prevented you from living your life to the full and taken a toll on your mental health - then this is the book for you. Written by Christopher Paul Jones, 'Face Your Fears' is a practical guide to taking control of your mental wellbeing and treating common phobias, including fears of flying, spiders, public speaking and heights, as well as claustrophobia, agoraphobia and anxiety.

Manage OCD and live a better life, thanks to this friendly Dummies guide. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) need skills and tools to manage their symptoms. 'OCD For Dummies' offers help for you or your loved one when it comes to recognizing, diagnosing, treating, and living with this common mental and behavioural disorder.

A good night's sleep is essential for a healthy brain and body. So why do so many of us struggle to sleep well? In '4 Weeks to Better Sleep', Dr Michael Mosley explains what happens when we sleep, what triggers common sleep problems and why standard advice rarely works. Prone to insomnia, he has taken part in numerous sleep experiments and tested every remedy going. The result is a radical four-week plan, based on the latest science, designed to help you re-establish a healthy sleep pattern in record time. With plenty of surprising recommendations - including tips for teenagers, people working night shifts and those prone to jet lag - plus recipes which will boost your deep sleep by improving your gut microbiome, '4 Weeks to Better Sleep' provides the tools you need to sleep better, reduce stress and feel happier.

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), initiated in 2008, has made psychological therapy more accessible to those in need. This series of self-help titles is the first to be created specifically for low-intensity IAPT and all titles follow an evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach which is the treatment of choice for depression and anxiety disorders. This book aims to help you beat insomnia and sleep problems, either by yourself or in conjunction with the support of an IAPT service. It is written in a friendly, engaging (and jargon-free!) style and encourages interactive reading through tables, illustrations and worksheets. Real-life case studies illustrate the use of each intervention and demonstrate how you can work through your sleep problems.

'Chronic Pain Reset' is an indispensable guide to the key role your brain plays in processing chronic pain, and the small, simple actions that can make profound changes in how you experience it. Using the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy, you'll try one new evidence-based strategy each day for 30 days, from paced breathing and healthy sleep hacks to mindful walking and acts of kindness.

Lauren Windas is one of the estimated 250,000 people suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in the UK. Whilst at university in 2012 she fell ill with a viral infection and was later diagnosed with CFS. Since then she has devoted herself to reclaiming her health and being able to live a full life, drawing on the knowledge of experts to help manage her often mysterious and hard-to-manage condition. In this book, Lauren recounts the highs and lows of her own health journey and experiences. She provides personal anecdotes, clinical expertise, recovery tips, and nutrition and lifestyle strategies to employ to support the recovery process.

ME/CFS affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK, roughly 3 in every 1,000 people. Chronic fatigue conditions are some of the most frustrating and life-altering conditions to suffer from, so why are they still so poorly understood? As of 2020, medical science still cannot explain why some people get chronic fatigue syndromes and there is very little effective treatment. While many people with ME/CFS are able to live a fairly normal life despite their symptoms, a significant minority have symptoms so severe that they are confined to their house, or even their bed, and suicide rates are well above the national average. This much-needed, evidence-based guide for people struggling with ME/CFS, or their friends and family, provides information and advice about the nature of the condition, how it progresses, and what they can do to improve their health.

With the advanced state of brain research today, it's easy to think that we're arming ourselves with knowledge about how best to care for our precious minds and brains. Are we? Or is the prevalence of chronic illness a sign that we're still all too vulnerable? 'Medical Medium Brain Saviour' offers a way forward. With practical steps and clear explanations of the 'why' behind it all, the this book provides compassionate, life-altering guidance. On top of new information on healing foods, herbs and supplements, you'll find specialized techniques to restore stability to your brain and harmony to your life.

Checking into a psychiatric institution wasn't exactly on Ruby Wax's agenda for 2022 - writing about it wasn't either, but here we are. These days, trying to stay sane in a completely chaotic world makes life incredibly difficult, especially if you're struggling with your mental health. While searching for inner peace and equanimity amidst global chaos, Ruby realises that, ultimately, the most challenging gauntlet we all must face is ourselves. 'I'm Not as Well as I Thought I Was' is an insight into the depths of her psyche, and a stark exploration of what trauma can do to someone. Reflecting on years of personal and professional experience, she opens up to readers about her struggles with mental health and different treatments over the years, hoping to provide reassurance and guidance to anyone confronting their own anticipated, or unanticipated, struggles with mental health.