Rach's Recommended Resources: The Best Books And Podcasts For Greater Wellbeing, Mental Health, And Happiness
One of my wonderful podcast listeners, Sarah, sent me an email with a very interesting idea.
She often listens to my podcast, The Mindful Kind, when she’s driving and doesn’t always get the chance to write down the books and podcasts I recommend. So, she was wondering if I could create a resource with all my best recommendations!
And I thought it was a great idea…
Until I emailed my subscribers asking if they might also be interested in learning about my top books and podcasts for mental health.
I spent the better part of two days replying to everyone who said, “YES!”
And I realised it wasn’t just a great idea. It was totally brilliant. (Thank you, Sarah!).
So, without further ado, please find my top recommendations for books and podcasts (and more!) about mental health. I’ve organised them into fun categories so you can easily identify the resources that might be best for you!
Please note that this article contains affiliate links and if you purchase via my link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work and I hope you enjoy this article as much as I enjoyed creating it for you.
Another quick note - I’ll be adding new resources to this article, so please feel free to come back in the future for more recommendations!
My Top Book Recommendations (Of All Time)
These books about mental health are my absolute favourites. I regularly recommend them to my podcast listeners, clients, and students! I actually think they’re so important that everyone should read these books at least once.
Lost Connections by Johann Hari
The Happiness Trap by Dr. Russ Harris
Be Who You Want by Christian Jarrett
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
Great Podcast Episodes About Mental Health
I love learning about mental health and the episodes below are all super interesting, educational, and compassionate. Each episode is less than an hour, but if you’re short on time, check out the episode How To Manage Expectations (it only goes for 15 minutes).
Transforming Your Inner Critic (The One You Feed Podcast)
How To Make Catastrophic Thinking Work In Your Favour (Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast)
All About Exposure For Anxiety (Hardcore Self-Help Podcast)
Overcoming Trauma: My Life Will Never Be The Same (Not Alone Podcast)
How To Manage Expectations (Well Balanced Podcast)
5 Inspiring Books I Read When I’m Feeling Low
Big Magic was a particularly exciting discovery for me - I’ve read it multiple times and I love it even more each time! I’ve also really enjoyed all of Meredith Gaston’s books, but The Art of Wellbeing is probably my favourite. These are all fantastic books if you’re feeling a little down or you’d like to feel inspired.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Art of Wellbeing by Meredith Gaston
Phosphorescence by Julia Baird
Believe In Yourself And Do What You Love by Kate James
Powerful Podcast Episodes About Wellbeing
Brain health, pain, loneliness, rest… These are the key topics covered in some of my favourite podcast episodes about wellbeing! Pop in your headphones and tune in below.
Simple Daily Habits To Improve Your Brain Health (Feel Better, Live More Podcast)
Living With Pain As A Result Of Injury And Rebuilding Trust With My Body (Off The Record Podcast)
The Science Of Making And Keeping Friends (Ten Percent Happier Podcast)
7 Types of Rest You’ve Been Missing (The Savvy Psychology Podcast)
3 Great Books About Relationships/Family
I’m really passionate about strengthening my relationships. There’s plenty of research to suggest that meaningful connections with other people tend to boost happiness, wellbeing, resilience, physical health, and more. So, it’s a topic I love learning about and finding new ideas I can implement into my life! The three books below are all fantastic if you’d like to understand yourself and your relationships a little deeper.
Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Parenting Freedom by Dr. Renee Cachia
My Favourite Podcast Episodes About Personal Growth
If you’d like to make some practical changes to grow and develop in meaningful ways, then I highly recommend all of the following podcast episodes. Some of the episodes are solo episodes and some are interviews, but I think they’re all interesting and helpful!
How To Find Happiness From The Inside Out (Not Perfect Podcast)
Present Bias (Bitesize Behaviour Podcast) (Note: thank you to one of my Mindfulness Made Easy students for sharing this podcast with me!)
7 Things Confident People Do Differently (On Purpose Podcast)
How to Fail Miniseries: Yinka Bokinni (How To Fail Podcast)
Letting Go Of Inner Struggle (Practicing Human Podcast)
4 Interesting Books About The Brain
Even if you’re not interested in the brain, I highly recommend that you at least read Keep Sharp by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It’s so important because it helps you protect your brain health (even if you’re at a young age!). I also have a soft spot for Mindfulness For Health - it includes practical mindfulness strategies to help you relieve pain and reduce stress.
Keep Sharp by Dr. Sanjay Gupta
The Stress-Proof Brain by Melanie Greenberg
Mindfulness For Health by Dr. Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman
How The Brain Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
Rach’s Own Resources
With my qualifications in psychology, mindfulness, and meditation, I’ve carefully crafted some powerful resources of my own over the last six years! Check out my signature online course, Mindfulness Made Easy, The Mindful Kind podcast (and book!), and my calming meditation albums.
Mindfulness Made Easy Online Course
Self-Compassion Meditation Album
Other Helpful Resources I’ve Recommended on
The Mindful Kind Podcast
In the 6+ years that I’ve been hosting my podcast, I’ve recommended many different resources, including quizzes, apps, courses, and more. Below, I’ve included the resources I still highly recommend and I plan to add more to this list as I find them!
Betterhelp Online Therapy Service
The Myer-Briggs Personality Test
My Recent Podcast Interviews
I’ve been taking a break from interviews over the last few years, but I just couldn’t say no to being a guest on these podcasts! I’ve got some exciting podcast interviews lined up for 2022, so make sure you check back here soon for more episodes to dive into.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of my top resources for greater wellbeing, mental health, and happiness. I’ve genuinely loved every resource I’ve shared and I hope you will, too!
