Mental Health Non-Fiction for Upper School, Sixth Form, & Staff by

Counselling & Support at FHS

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:52:30 UTC

If you'd like some in-person support, contact anyone here, or email counselling@fhs-sw1.org.uk to request an appointment.

Browse the full Wellbeing Collection remotely:

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:52:33 UTC

If you would like to reserve one of these books so that you can pop in and it will be ready to collect discretely, please email library@fhs-sw1.org.uk.

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The Sad Ghost Club by Lize Meddings

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:53:31 UTC

Welcome to the Sad Ghost Club - a club for anyone who has ever felt sad or lost. We can all feel anxious and alone sometimes. Like you're almost... invisible. But at the Sad Ghost Club, you can find your kindred spirits and know you're not alone. In this graphic novel, discover the Sad Ghost Club's rules for taking things one day at a time. With heartwarming and very relatable comic illustrations, discover how to make it through the day, grow through the hard stuff and look out for your fellow ghosties.

Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson & Olivia Hewett

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:53:39 UTC

We all have a mind, so we all need to take care of our mental health as much as we need to take care of our physical health. And the first step is being able to talk about our mental health. Juno Dawson leads the way with this frank, factual and funny book, with added information and support from clinical psychologist Dr Olivia Hewitt. Covering topics from anxiety and depression to addiction, self-harm and personality disorders, Juno and Olivia talk clearly and supportively about a range of issues facing young people's mental health - whether fleeting or long-term - and how to manage them.

Health Mind, Happy You by Emily MacDonagh

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:53:49 UTC

Healthy mind, happy you! This reassuring, fact-packed book for girls and boys is all about how to maintain good mental health while growing up. Dr Emily MacDonagh talks about anxiety and mental health in a simple and friendly way. Topics include: What is anxiety, and how can you manage it? Why do people have low mood and depression? How to understand and express your emotions. Plus, expert tips and practical information on self-esteem, the physical changes of puberty, resilience, and lots more.

The Teenage Guide to Stress by Nicola Morgan

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:54:15 UTC

The Teenage Guide to Stress – written for teenagers but essential for adults who want to understand – tackles all the external stresses that teenagers face, including feelings of anger, sadness (and depression), fear and failure; issues caused by changing bodies, body hatred, weight problems, eating disorders and self-harm; pressures of exams and schoolwork; sleep problems; changing relationships with friends and family; boyfriend/girlfriend issues and sexual pressures; bullying and cyber-bullying; problems arising from the internet; and looks at how pre-existing conditions such as OCD and dyslexia may be affected by adolescence. As well as a sympathetic, practical and positive look at all those stresses, The Teenage Guide to Stress clearly explains the biology behind stress and, crucially, a huge range of strategies and suggestions to deal with it and prevent negative symptoms.

Blame My Brain by Nicola Morgan

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:54:19 UTC

Contrary to popular (parental) opinion, teenagers are not the lazy, unpleasant louts they occasionally appear to be. During the teenage years the brain is undergoing its most radical and fundamental change since the age of two. Nicola Morgan's carefully researched, accessible and humorous examination of the ups and downs of the teenage brain has chapters dealing with powerful emotions, the need for more sleep, the urge to take risks, the difference between genders and the reasons behind addiction or depression. The revised edition of this classic book contains important new research, including information on mirror neurons and their effect on the teenage brain.

The Little Book of Mindfulness by Tiddy Rowan

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:54:24 UTC

More and more of us are suffering from the stresses and strains of modern life. Mindfulness is an increasingly popular discipline that can not only help alleviate the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression brought on by the pressures of our daily existence but can actually bring calm, joy and happiness into our lives. In The Little Book of Mindfulness Tiddy Rowan, herself a practitioner for over 30 years, has gathered together a seminal collection of over 150 techniques, tips, exercises, advice and guided meditations that will enable people at every level to follow the breath, still the mind and relax the body, whilst generating and boosting a feeling of well-being and contentment that will permeate every aspect of everyday life.

My Anxious Mind: a Teen's Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic by by Michael A. Tompkins & Katherine A. Martine

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:54:30 UTC

My Anxious Mind helps teens take control of their anxious feelings by providing cognitive behavioral strategies to tackle anxiety head-on. My Anxious Mind helps teens feel more confident and empowered in the process of taking control of their anxious feelings. It also offers ways for teens with anxiety to improve their inter-personal skills, manage stress; handle panic attacks; use diet and exercise appropriately; and decide whether medication is right for them.

A Head Full of Everything by Gavin Oates

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:54:35 UTC

Welcome to life. Teenage life. The most awkward 7 years you’ll ever have; 84 months of change, 364 weeks of weird and 2,555 days of scrolling and inconvenience. In the grand scheme of life, it’s not a lot. Unless you’re an actual teenager, in which case, it’s EVERYTHING! “It’s the best years of your life!” they tell us. And yet, while it should be, for so many it just doesn’t feel like it. For most it’s an emotional assault course of acceptance, stress, anxiety, heartbreak and peer pressure, all whilst navigating the ‘hashtagony’ of social media. Misunderstood by society and misrepresented by the media, teenagers have it tough. A Head Full of Everything demonstrates that being a teenager doesn’t have to suck. And when it does, there’s some cool things you can do to make it suck a little less. This book will challenge you to embrace your inner weird, to never grow up, be true to yourself, protect your mental health and be sure that for your 7 glorious teenage years, you act your age. Literally.

You're Crushing It! : Positivity for Living your Real Life by Lex Croucher

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:54:56 UTC

No, Instagram filters won’t make it look any better. And, yes, we all feel this way. An honest, thoughtful and hilarious survival guide for young people by social media sensation, Lex Croucher. Learn that you can face whatever today throws at you, because it has terrible aim anyway. And realise that only you scrutinise your flaws – seriously, no one else is paying attention, there’s far too much interesting stuff on Netflix. A must-read for anyone who wants to embrace their actual, real, unedited life. Just always remember … YOU’RE CRUSHING IT.

No Worries by Nicola Morgan

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:55:06 UTC

Anxiety is on many teenager's minds - it's the word they use most often when they talk about their mental health. Author and teenage brain expert Nicola Morgan is here to help, with this practical guide to help young people understand their anxiety and cope with the challenges of modern life. Based on the latest science, 'No Worries' is packed with advice to help teenagers master the best tricks and hacks to stay firmly in control of worries and embrace calm. From understanding how anxiety works, to building strategies to calm the body and mind, this essential guide equips young people with the tools to tackle their worries and live brilliantly.

My Anxiety Handbook by Sue Knowles, Bridie Gallagher, & Phoebe McEwen

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:55:12 UTC

Helping young people with anxiety learn to recognise and manage their symptoms, this anxiety survival guide teaches young people aged 10+ how they can overcome their biggest worries. Showing that anxiety is a normal human emotion that many people face, this book helps young people understand the ins and outs of their own anxiety and helps them to challenge the difficult patterns they may get into. Co-written with a college student who has experienced anxiety herself, it is a relatable and straightforward guide. As well as providing tried-and-tested advice and exercises that are proven to reduce feelings of anxiety, it includes recovery stories from young people who have managed their symptoms successfully. With practical chapters on sleep, exam stress, transitions, and seeking extra help, this is a go-to guide for any tween, teen or young person living with anxiety.

Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety by Christopher Willard

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:55:25 UTC

Now fully revised and updated, including new and fun activities for dealing with school anxiety, social media overwhelm, bullying, and more. Being a teen is hard enough without anxiety getting in the way. Not only are you changing more than ever before—physically and mentally—you’re also facing an increasing number of global issues, such as pandemics, school violence, and climate change. On top of all these big events, if you suffer from panic attacks, chronic worry, and feelings of isolation, it can be very difficult to meet your goals and succeed. The good news is there are real, powerful ways that you can take control of your anxiety—and your life! Christopher Willard offers teens like you proven-effective, mindfulness-based practices to help you cope with your anxiety, identify common triggers (such as dating, social media, or school performance), learn valuable time-management skills, and feel more calm at home, in school, and with friends. You’ll learn doable skills for dealing with specific situations that cause anxiety, such as public speaking, taking tests, meeting new people, and more. You’ll also discover special breathing exercises to help you stay calm in moments of panic, and guided visualization exercises to be cool and collected, even in the tensest situations. If you are ready to move past your anxiety, panic, and worry and start being your best, this workbook will be your guide—every step of the way.

Unwinding anxiety by Judson Brewer

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:55:35 UTC

We are living through one of the most anxious periods any of us can remember. Whether facing issues as public as a pandemic and political upheaval or as personal as having kids at home fighting the urge to reach for the wine bottle every night, we are feeling overwhelmed and out of control. But in this timely book, Judson Brewer explains how to uproot anxiety at its source using brain-based techniques and small hacks accessible to anyone. We think of anxiety as everything from mild unease to full-blown panic. But it's also what drives the addictive behaviours and bad habits we use to cope (e.g. stress eating, procrastination, doomscrolling and social media). Plus, anxiety lives in a part of the brain that resists rational thought. So we get stuck in anxiety habit loops that we can't think our way out of or use willpower to overcome. Dr. Brewer teaches us to map our brains to discover our triggers, defuse them with the simple but powerful practice of curiosity, and to train our brains using mindfulness and other practices that his lab has proven can work.

Body Brilliant by Nicola Morgan

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:55:46 UTC

We're all bombarded with information and images - through the media and our peers - about being too big, too small, being cool, being popular or having the 'right' kind of clothes. This book addresses the body issues that nearly everyone worries about at some point in their lives and gives practical and mindful solutions to work through worries, using real-life examples, quotes and anecdotes from young adults interviewed especially for this book. 'Body Brilliant' explores psychological pressures that make us see our bodies in certain ways, positively or negatively, as well as considering how adolescent body changes, gender identity and gender expectations, sexuality and sexual orientation affect self-image, and looks at issues such as body dysmorphia and eating disorders.

CBT: your toolkit to modify mood, overcome obstructions and improve your life by Elaine Iljon Foreman & Clair Pollard

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:55:56 UTC

Change can often seem like an impossible task, but this practical book will help you put it into perspective. With guidance from two experts, you'll recognise the behaviours and thoughts that hold you back, and will develop skills to think more positively, act more calmly and feel better about yourself. Using the same tools employed by CBT practitioners, this book is full of activities and experiments to explore and challenge, stories and exercises to provide perspective, and a clear framework to encourage and guide you. The authors' friendly and supportive approach will help you learn to manage recurrences of negative thinking and behaviours, and to develop strong coping strategies. CBT incorporates the latest therapies and research, including ACT and mindfulness, and explicitly addresses problem areas like insomnia and depression.

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:57:29 UTC

Life can be relentless, frantic and exhausting - but it doesn't have to be this way... Authoritative, beautifully written and much-loved by its readers, Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World has become a word-of-mouth bestseller and global phenomenon. It reveals a set of simple yet powerful practices that you can incorporate into daily life to break the cycle of anxiety, stress unhappiness and exhaustion. It promotes the kind of happiness that gets into your bones and allows you to meet the worst that life throws at you with new courage. Mindfulness is based on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Co-developed by Professor Mark Williams of Oxford University, MBCT is recommended by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and is as effective as drugs for preventing depression. But, equally, it works for the rest of us who aren't depressed but who are struggling to keep up with the relentless demands of the modern world.

10 Minutes to Better Mental Health: A Step-by-Step Guide for Teens Using CBT and Mindfulness by Lee David and Debbie Brewin

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 09:57:38 UTC

What can you really do in 10 minutes? You can make a cup of tea or coffee, walk about 0.6 miles and now, with this book, you can improve your mental health. No matter how busy or stressful your day, with 10-minute steps and quick exercises, you can better understand your experiences and learn how to survive setbacks. The book covers everything from dealing with worry and anxiety and building your confidence, to creating healthy life habits and positive relationships. It includes sections to read, questions to reflect on, video clips to watch and things to try out in your everyday life. Using evidence-based approaches like CBT and mindfulness, it will help you to get the best out of life and become the person you want to be.

This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health by Nathan Filer

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 10:09:09 UTC

This timely and important book from a former mental health nurse and the bestselling author sheds light on one of the most misunderstood of conditions – schizophrenia – as well as reflecting on the problematic effects of diagnostic language on individuals and society alike. A journey into the heartland of psychiatry. This book debunks myths, challenges assumptions and offers fresh insight into what it means to be mentally ill. And what it means to be human.

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 10:09:25 UTC

In Furiously Happy, Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best. As Jenny says: 'You can't experience pain without also experiencing the baffling and ridiculous moments of being fiercely, unapologetically, intensely and (above all) furiously happy.' It's a philosophy that has – quite literally – saved her life.

Natural Health Service by Isabel Hardman

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 10:09:50 UTC

In 2016, Isabel Hardman's mind, in her own words, 'stopped working' as she fell prey to severe depression and anxiety. She took time off on long-term sick leave and despite several relapses has returned to work in much better health. She has since become one of the country's most prominent public voices on mental health issues. She credits her recovery to her passion for exercise, nature and the great outdoors - from horse-riding and botany to cold-water swimming and running. In 'The Natural Health Service', she will draw on her own personal experience, interviews with mental illness sufferers and psychologists, and the latest research to examine what role wildlife and fresh air can play in helping anyone cope with mental illness.

How to Be Sad by Helen Russell

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 11:56:22 UTC

Helen Russell is an expert on the pursuit of happiness. In How to Be Sad she combines her powerful personal story with surprising research and warm advice to reveal the secret of finding joy: allowing sadness to enrich your life and relationships. Timely and essential, this book is about how we can better look after ourselves and each other, simply by getting smarter about sadness.

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 11:56:27 UTC

What does it mean to feel truly alive? Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. It has helped millions of people do the same. Moving, funny and even joyous, these are the lessons Matt learned. His reasons to stay alive.

Notes on a Nervous Planet

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 11:56:34 UTC

The world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index. How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? How do we stay human in a technological world? How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious? After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the 21st century.

It's Not Ok to Feel Blue... And Other Lies ed. by Scarlett Curtis

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 11:56:50 UTC

Everyone has a mental health. So we asked: What does your mental health mean to you? The result is extraordinary. Over 60 people have shared their story. This book is here to tell you: You are OK.

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 11:57:47 UTC

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. From managing anxiety, dealing with criticism or battling low mood, to building self-confidence, finding motivation or learning to forgive yourself, this book tackles the everyday issues that affect us all and offers easy, practical solutions that might just change your life.

It's All in Your Head by Rae Earle

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 11:59:15 UTC

Rae says: As a teenager, I was very adept at hiding my OCD, my anxiety, my depression and my eating disorders. That's why I've written this book - because I hate to think of any teen going through what I did, and feeling like they can't talk about it, or need to hide it. So let's break down some taboos and start a conversation. I want to help you come out the other side feeling happier and healthier, with a deeper understanding of what's going on in your head and how to navigate through life without feeling overwhelmed or isolated.

Failosophy: A Handbook for When Things Go Wrong by Elizabeth Day

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 12:02:04 UTC

In Failosophy, Elizabeth Day brings together all the lessons she has learned, from conversations with the guests on her award-winning How to Fail podcast, from stories shared with her by readers and listeners, and from her own life, and distils them into seven principles of failure. Practical, reassuring and inspirational, these principles offer a guide through life’s rough patches. From failed exams to romantic break-ups, from career setbacks to confidence crises, from navigating anxiety to surviving loss, Failosophy recognises, and celebrates, the fact that failure connects us all. It is what makes us human.

All Mental Health Awareness Week lists

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Mental Health Fiction List

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It's All Absolutely Fine by Ruby Elliot

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 14:47:06 UTC

If you've ever looked around and thought, 'What is going on? Who am I? When is it dinner?', or maybe you haven't found a way to explain why you are currently melting into a puddle of your sadness, or if you just want to see a shark called Dave I drew this one time, then this book, filled with drawings about all the terrible and strange and hilarious things life can do at you, will almost certainly be something you'll probably enjoy. Opening up about her own struggles with mental health, Ruby draws about everything from depression, body image and eating disorders to anxiety, low self-esteem and working out how to be a 'grown up' in the most inverted comma-y sense of the word.

Quiet by Susan Cain

FHS_Library — 2025-05-07 15:25:41 UTC

Our lives are driven by a fact that most of us can't name and don't understand. It defines who our friends and lovers are, which careers we choose, and whether we blush when we're embarrassed. That fact is whether we're an introvert or an extrovert. The most fundamental dimension of personality, at least a third of us are introverts, and yet shyness, sensitivity and seriousness are often seen as a negative. Some of the world's most talented people are introverts - without them we wouldn't have the Apple computer, the theory of relativity and Van Gogh's sunflowers. In Quiet, Susan Cain shows how society misunderstands and undervalues introverts while giving them the tools to better understand themselves and take full advantage of their strengths.

Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with real stories, whether an introvert or extrovert, this book will change how you see human beings for good.

'I had a black dog, his name was depression...'

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:18:01 UTC

Writer and illustrator Matthew Johnstone offers a short video illustrating struggling with depression

YoungMinds

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:18:46 UTC

Mental health information & support

Childline

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:19:02 UTC

Support via phone, online chat, or email

Kooth

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1:1 online support & wellbeing activities

The Mix

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Info & free online/ phone/in person support

Shout

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:19:36 UTC

24/7 support via text

Beat Eating Disorders

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:20:15 UTC

Info & support about disordered eating

Cruse

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:20:24 UTC

Bereavement Support for Young People

Mind

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:20:33 UTC

Support for and information about a variety of mental health issues

Mental Health

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:20:42 UTC

The Mental Health Foundation's information about a variety of mental health issues

Mind Out

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:20:52 UTC

Mental health support for LGBTQIA+ people

FHS_Library — 2025-05-08 14:21:02 UTC

Information about and advice for those coping with mental illnesses