This is the time of year when people are making resolutions and trying to revolutionise their lives - myself included - but that can be overwhelming and easily ditched once January really kicks in. One habit that could be useful is to use Finch, a self-care app that has an adorable and gamified approach to keeping you on track.

Another Matt Haig book in the series of books that are just designed to make you feel a bit better about life. It’s full of anecdotes, quotes, lists, stories, anything light and lifting. Some bits were quite eye-opening, others are tropes you’ll have heard before, but it’s always good to be reminded. It’s not a long book but it’s definitely one that’s worth dipping into every now and again.

A sort of follow up to Reasons to Stay Alive, this book takes a similar format - notes, stories, anecdotes, quotes, etc - and applies them to the very real concept of stress and anxiety in this modern world. It’s great, it’s incredibly relatable even if you’re not having trouble with your mental health, it’s just nice to know that other people find the modern world stressful just like you no doubt do. Short, but powerful, I’ve really loved these two books.

The author opens up about his own experiences with depression in a book that doesn’t really try to help or prescribe solutions (other than sharing what has worked for him in the past), but really exists to show that you are not alone. I haven’t had this level of depression before, but have definitely experienced some of the moments where the world is overwhelming and you need some kind of coping mechanism to get on with it. This is a great, encouraging book to read, if only to know that this too shall pass.

I don’t know a lot about Hadley Freeman’s work, but have seen the occasional article here and there. This book details her own experience of anorexia as a teenager, spending a good few years in and out of eating disorder hospitals, but it also approaches the subject as a journalist might - looking for facts, figures, the development and evolvement of the disorder and how it’s treated, plus catching up with people from her past and seeing how they are doing now. It’s a stark read, brutal in places, but a really important and honest look at a disorder that is misunderstood and often mishandled.

We’re a week into October already, so I’m a bit late to share this, but I recently stumbled on the Optimistic October calendar produced by Action for Happiness, and I love it. It’s just a simple idea each day to try and feel a bit happier and why not? It’s been a while since I did a 30 day challenge but this one seems a worthy contender.

Just love these graphic novels. Ahead of watching the latest series on Netflix, I thought I would read the book first - they’re so similar, the TV show so faithful to it’s source material, so it’s nice to read it ahead of time. In this one, things are starting to get serious and it has a darker tone but such important stuff - the idea of vulnerability, of dealing with your mental health, but also how difficult it can be for those trying to support as well. Really good.

Lydia West seems to have a knack for picking incredible TV shows to appear in - Years and Years was terrifying, brutal and brilliant. It’s a Sin broke me so badly I still struggle to think about it. And now Big Mood, where she stars alongside Nicola Coughlan who is taking the world by storm since first appearing on Netflix’s Bridgerton. With two such strong actors in the lead roles, we’re off to a good start with this Channel 4 show about friends pushed to the breaking point by life, growing up, and mental health.

My traditional new year post comes with a wrap up of the year just gone and a look ahead to my aims and goals for the next twelve months. The year just gone can be summed up quite simply as chaos - there was so much going on in both work and life that I was supremely grateful to have time off over Christmas just to rest and recuperate. And mostly play Spider-Man 2.

I’ve had a couple of mental health revelations this year, simple things that I’ve learned about myself. They mostly fall under the category of things that you read tips for all the time and think, well sure that’s just common sense, then realise you’re not actually doing it and that might be why you’re bending under the stress. Meanwhile, recently, Apple launched a new element to their health tracking platforms called State of Mind. This falls under the category Mental Wellbeing in the health app, alongside Time in Daylight (I really want to use this measure but seem to always have too long sleeves) and Mindful Minutes (used to be called Breathe, I think?).

Wow, this is quite the book. It’s creating headlines all over the place, and quite understandably as there are new revelations and shocking moments mentioned in the book. I found it to be a really interesting listen, perhaps not the most flamboyantly written memoir but a really solid piece of work that is honest and open and clearly speaking from the heart. I suspect some of the events in the book will have two sides to the story but it doesn’t matter, the most important thing about this is that Britney has taken control of her life and grabbed the opportunity to tell her side.

Oh wow, I really loved this book. I listened to the audiobook read by the author, so enjoyed Fern’s amazing accent throughout, but it was the content that really shone. The way Fern describes what she’s faced and been through before and after a late autism diagnosis and her difficulties with her family, and how she interacts with the world… it’s brilliant and funny and moving and startlingly honest and just wonderful.

I’ve been wanting to read this for a while and I’m glad I finally got round to it. Bella tells the story of how she discovered running after a painful divorce and found it really helped with her anxiety and other mental health struggles. This is an unflinchingly honest look at how difficult and far-reaching mental health issues can be, and how there’s no one solution fits all. But for Bella, and for others that she talks to throughout the book, it was running that did it. This is a great, and important read. I felt it was a little bit repetitious in places, but I think it will be unfailingly useful for others going through the same thing. Just to know you’re not alone is the first step on a difficult journey and Bella’s done a brilliant job here of reaching out a hand.

Really good - written with diversity in mind, short chapters, key points, and an overriding message to be kind to yourself. There are tips for dealing with your ‘care tasks’ when struggling with depresion, but even if you’re not, there’s some helpful advice. It made me rethink the way I approach some tasks and definitely to consider the way I talk to myself about what I’m managing to get done each day or not. Very insightful and useful book.

This is a really beautiful book, although actually quite hard to read in places as Emma really suffers over the course of the year. The diary is split into months, starting in the autumn/winter period, and we travel with Emma as she goes for walks in the countryside, really delving into the nature that surrounds her to try and help or maintain her mental health.

Another audiobook I raced through, with the lovely Susan Calman talking about her struggles with depression. It’s open and honest, candid in a way you would expect from Susan, but with the humour required to make it a light and lovable listen, despite the weighty and serious subject matter. Although Susan is clear about not giving medical advice and that everyone navigates their own mental health differently, there are some good tips on improving your outlook on life, and it’s always good to hear how someone manages to keep the crab of hate at bay.

I’ve really enjoyed reading these How to guides from Merky Books, and seeing how they follow the same initial structure but then vary depending on the subject matter. Unfortunately, I think this was the weakest one for me - it had some good thoughts about taking care of yourself and how important it is to look after your wellbeing, but I wasn’t sure about all of the practical advice. I wasn’t sure about the scientific backing behind all the therapies suggested and recommended, so I think you’d have to take this book as a first port of call and then do some significant further research. But it’s always good to have a place to start!

This is such a good book. It’s just the simple insight and opening up of one man’s struggle with his mental health - something that needs to be, and gradually is being, talked about more. I think it’s crucial that there’s no big catastrophe that causes Josh’s mental health problems - of course it’s so tough for him but a clear example that brains are really complicated and can just sometimes change the way they work.

This was an Oprah’s Book Club pick that I know I wouldn’t have found if she hadn’t recommended it. And it’s probably the first since I started playing along that I didn’t really appreciate. Charting the lives of the large Galvin family – mom, dad, and twelve children, six of whom developed schizophrenia – alongside how they helped in the fight to understand this challenging mental disorder.

A good book, this one, a guide to living life in a calm and happy fashion - acknowledging that there are bad times as well but they can be dealt with. Fearne leads us through various topics, like being kind to your body, meditations, recipes, good friends, work/life balance, with a scattering of activities to be that bit more interactive.

This is a really interesting book, I think. Not totally successful but quite a thought-provoking piece of work. It’s stacked full of sub-plots that confront a lot of issues - empty nest syndrome, falling out of love with your partner, affairs, racism, getting older, the fickleness of celebrity, and at its heart, just plain mental health issues.

I really like the simplicity of the idea behind Three Good Things, an app that does one thing well. You are tasked with logging three good things for each day, with the aim of stringing together streaks of days and generally making your world a little bit of a happier place. The things don’t have to be life-changing, and they don’t have to be complex. You’re only given 100 characters to log each thing anyway, so the simpler the better. Examples featured in the marketing material for the app include having a delicious takeaway meal, or your favourite artist releasing a new song.

This was an interesting one. An artist / support worker finds himself caught up in family drama, surrounded by death and searching for the truth. The story winds its way along, with a mix of fast-paced drama and then slow tick-tock waiting. It keeps you interested but I’m not sure I’m totally convinced.

You go into the book knowing exactly what you’re getting, within the first few paragraphs you know there are a family of five sisters who all kill themselves. The odd style of narration (third person plural) gives it an inclusive edge, and allows for the story to cover all kinds of things that just one person wouldn’t know. Presenting the evidence of the Lisbon girls’ short lives and abrupt deaths, the story meanders to its heartbreaking conclusion in a compelling and tasteful way.