Inspiring new books about mental health

By Lucy Brooks on 11/1/2019

Making positive changes is about more than salads and squats. Resolve to keep your mind healthy with these refreshing new manifestos on how to enjoy food, cook for pleasure, exercise for confidence and overcome negative thoughts.
New Year, new onslaught of exercise memoirs, recipes and diet books. But 2019 offers something a little more insightful than the hackneyed ‘lose weight, be better’ brigade. From practical actions for combatting dark moods to the restorative magic of making a roast chicken, these four new books will fill you with hope and arm you with tips for a happier year.

Just Eat It by Laura Thomas

Eat what you want, when you want... It sounds simple. It also sounds impossible and alarming, because our perception of food is steeped in ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘reward’ or ‘punishment’. In Just Eat It, Nutritional Scientist Laura Thomas debunks diet culture with an appeal for intuitive eating. It's not about weight or body shape but 'to help you get your shit together around food'.

It might be standard common sense, but the book builds a compelling case by exposing the intrinsic fallacy of restrictive diets before outlining a series of exercises to realign your emotional response to food. Like an extension of mindfulness, it teaches you how to understand hunger rather than repress it. Practical numerical scales and step-by-step lists provide a toolkit for recognising and reconnecting with the joy of eating (from cabbage to cake).

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Published on 10 January

Singing in the Rain by Rachel Kelly

Since sharing her experience with depression in 2014’s best-selling memoir Black Rainbow Rachel Kelly has become an ambassador for mental health. The journalist turned author and speaker offers practical, accessible steps for overcoming dark thoughts in her new book Singing in the Rain.

Illustrations punctuate exercises, puzzles and tips in a workbook style, which brings back comforting memories of childhood activity books. The emphasis is on action, with plenty of manageable tasks to turn to when you feel overwhelmed or on the verge of a negative spiral. You fill in blanks and circle choices like a series of worksheets, each designed to provide a moment of serenity, focus or reflection. The actions may be small, but they span all kinds of challenges – from belly breathing to escaping comfort zones and speaking assertively. Keep it in your handbag to dip into in those moments when your mind is whirring.

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Published on 10 January

Jog On by Bella Mackie

All too often exercise is presented as an ordeal we must endure to counteract indulgence. So it’s refreshing to hear how digging out an old pair of trainers gave journalist Bella Mackie an appetite for life. Jog On begins with a broken heart. After years of anxiety and the brutal blow of a divorce, Mackie finds unlikely solace in the heart-pumping high of jogging. While the notion of a runner’s high is nothing new, it’s Mackie’s self-effacing honesty and warm prose style that makes this story so affecting.

We grimace in sympathy as she recounts going on that first excruciating run, but it’s the way in which she finds confidence and clarity that make this book so uplifting. Jog On may well inspire you to plod through through the park, but more importantly it’s a reminder that hope and happiness can appear where you least expect it.

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Midnight Chicken by Ella Risbridger

Ella Risbridger’s recipes tell a story of trauma and recovery, with a hearty helping of humour along the way. At 21 she was stifled by anxiety and suicidal thoughts. But when Risbridger’s boyfriend taught her to cook, she found a coping mechanism and a new passion.

From the methodical calm of measuring out spices to the deep comfort of a roast chicken however late at night, Risbridger's recipes spark with life. She writes with such generosity, you can’t help but be swept along. Instead of the professional chef’s precision, Risbridger fills the how-to process of preparing food with soul. The recipes are about intentions, not exactitude. It’s a celebration of cooking for the sheer joy of it, with no pressure, lots of wine and ‘if in doubt, butter’.

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Published on 10 January