This mental health crash course from the clinical psychologist and TikTok sensation Dr Julie Smith is the kind of toolkit everyone can take something from.

Packed full of research-backed techniques for dealing with everything from anxiety and criticism to low mood and self-confidence, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? offers a helping hand for anyone struggling with the ups and downs of daily life. 

Buy Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith (Michael Joseph) at Bookshop, £16.14

This new book from the co-founders of modern therapy service Self Space explores the concept of ‘everyday mental maintenance’ and how to get to grips with what looking after your mental health on a regular basis really means.

If you’re looking for tangible advice you can apply to your daily routine, this is the book for you – not only does it define a number of key terms, but it also provides advice on how to deal with common wellbeing issues including change, break-ups, grief and comparison.

Shop How To Grow Through What You Go Through by Jodie Cariss and Chance Marshall (Vermilion) at Bookshop, £15.79

If you or someone you love deals with panic attacks, then this is the book for you. Part memoir, part guide, the book is based on the experiences of Claire Eastham, the award-winning blogger and author of We’re All Mad Here, who experienced 371 panic attacks (and counting) over a seven-year period.

An honest, detailed and ultimately uplifting book, it covers everything from practical tips for dealing with panic attacks to interviews with experts about the anatomy of panic and how it manifests in the body.  

Shop F**k, I Think I’m Dying: How I Learned to Live With Panic by Claire Eastham (Vintage Publishing) at Bookshop, £12.08

If you’re looking to learn more about taking care of your mental health, then this book is a pretty good place to start. Written by chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson, How To Build A Healthy Brain is a science-based guide to all-things brain health.

Packed with lots of practical, holistic advice on how to look after your mental and physical wellbeing, the book features chapters on topics including the importance of sleep, understanding emotions and the role of breath in stress and anxiety – all of which make for fascinating reading. 

Shop How To Build A Healthy Brain by Kimberley Wilson (Hodder & Stoughton) at Bookshop, £12.08

In his first mental health book, Matt Haig outlines his experience with depression and suicidal thoughts – and describes the journey he underwent to find recovery.

Presented in bitesize, memorable chapters, Reasons To Stay Alive is packed full of memorable musings on life, depression, anxiety and everything in between, and will help you to see mental health through a series of thought-provoking and eye-opening lenses. Everyone will learn something from this book, no matter what relationship you have with your mental health. 

Shop Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig (Canongate Books) at Bookshop, £9.29

The second book from author, journalist and mental health advocate Bryony Gordon, Mad Girl is a powerful, heart-wrenching, humorous and raw account of Gordon’s life and relationship with her OCD and depression, and what living with mental illness means in the 21st century.

Mad Girl is not a self-help book (Gordon makes this clear in the book’s introduction) but what it is is an incredibly honest and authentic look at the reality of mental illness. It is this which makes the book at-once powerful and comforting, especially for those who can relate to Gordon’s experiences.  

Shop Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon (Headline Publishing) at Bookshop, £9.29

Edited by writer and mental health advocate Scarlett Curtis, this bumper book contains over 70 essays on mental health from celebrities, public figures and influential voices such as Candice Carty-Williams, Emma Thompson and Yomi Adegoke, covering everything from depression and trauma to anxiety and happiness.

A poignant reminder that everyone has their struggles, It’s Not OK To Feel Blue And Other Lies is one of those books you can pick up and read whenever you need it. 

Shop It’s Not OK To Feel Blue (And Other Lies) edited by Scarlett Curtis (Penguin) at Bookshop, £8.36

This short, pocket-sized guide from #Merky Books’ ‘How To…’ series is jam-packed with tools, exercises and tips to help you understand what’s going on inside your head.

Written by YouTuber, influencer and mental health advocate Grace Victory, with a foreword by Black Minds Matter UK, How To Calm It is a must-read if you’re on the hunt for practical, no-nonsense advice that gives you everything you need to calm your mind and feel empowered to look after your mental health. 

Shop How To Calm It by Grace Victory (Merky Books) at Bookshop, £6.50

Get A Grip, Love may only have been out for a couple of months, but it’s frank, humorous and uplifting exploration of what it means to seek help for depression (and the all the unhelpful ‘helpful advice’ that comes with it) has already created plenty of conversation.  

One of the best bits about this book is its multi-faceted approach. As well as sharing her own experiences of depression, the book’s author Kate Lucey also features the stories of other people who have struggled with their mental health alongside the opinions of various experts and facts from scientific studies, so you get a real sense of the subject at hand. 

Shop Get A Grip, Love by Kate Lucey (HQ) at Bookshop, £13.94

A practical approach to putting yourself and your mental health first, in Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide To Reclaiming Yourself Nedra Glover Tawwab explores how a lack of boundaries can impact your wellbeing, and why it’s so important to establish and maintain healthy boundaries in all areas of your life.

Full of lots of useful tips, and rooted in the latest research and best practices used in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), this book is perfect for anyone who wants to make a change to the way they navigate the world and define their place in it. 

Shop Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide To Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab (Little Brown) at Bookshop, £13.94

Comedian, writer and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax has written a number of brilliant books about mental health since Sane New World was published in 2013, but it’s still one of her best.

Leaning on her own personal experience, Masters from Oxford in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and neuroscience, Wax explores how the way the human brain functions can actually put our mental health at risk – and provides a toolkit to help readers rewire their thinking to calm themselves despite it all. 

Shop Sane New World by Ruby Wax (Hodder & Stoughton) at Bookshop, £10.22

An instant New York Times bestseller, Maybe You Should Talk To Someone is Lori Gottlieb’s account of seeking therapy while working as a therapist herself.

Not only is it a fascinating insight into the lives that go on behind the scenes of the therapist’s chair, but in her observation of her own struggles as a patient and a clinician, Gottlieb is able to paint a unique perspective of the human mind and the challenges we face throughout our lives. Whether you think therapy is nonsense, are thinking about getting it or simply want to learn more, then this book is a must-read.

Shop Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb (Scribe Publications) at Bookshop, £15.79