I would encourage anyone to seek out their own inspiration and help in learning more about emotional and psychological health, and there is so much out there.
I have listed some of my favourite books, websites and videos below, and hope they are useful. If you are looking for something else, please just get in touch and ask.
Books & Authors
Julia Samuel is a wonderfully accessible psychotherapist who writes and speaks about life’s most painful moments and experiences, and guides and inspires the reader to find hope and resilience. Her books include Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death and Surviving (2017) and This Too Shall Pass: Stories of Change, Crisis and Hopeful Beginnings (2020).
Kathryn Mannix writes with wisdom, honesty and vast professional insight about death and dying. She can be found online, on YouTube and often talks on the radio. Her book With The End in Mind is as much about life as it is about death, and offers vital insights and themes especially for those who might fear what is to come.
Other recommendations:
Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zin
The Compassionate Mind, Paul Gilbert
Why love Matters: How affection shapes a baby’s brain, Susan Gerhardt
Mating in captivity, Ester Perel
Reinventing Your Life: The bestselling breakthrough programme to end negative behaviour and feel great, Jeffrey Young & Janet Klosko
Websites
A wealth of information is on all of these websites, including exercises you can practice to work on developing skills in areas such as relaxation and managing difficult thoughts:
Relationships and parenting:
Psychological health and self-help:
https://www.actmindfully.com.au
https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/
Mental health:
Videos
Interested in learning about stress, common psychological processes and how to help with them? These are just a small selection of good quality videos with useful and inspiring messages:
On empathy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz1g1SpD9Zo
On the effects of stress on the brain:
https://www.ted.com/talks/madhumita_murgia_how_stress_affects_your_brain/transcript?language=en
On how are brains are wired from an evolutionary perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv6HkipQcfA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CpRY9-MIHA
On relationships:
On grief:
Exercises for moments of overwhelm, and other mindfulness practices: