The conversation around mental health is no longer hush-hush. As a result, the audiobook world is packed with inspirational titles offering actionable advice and motivational tales in equal measure. Whether that motivation comes from rigorous military training or an OCD-impacted bipolar meltdown isn’t relevant, it’s the outcomes that matter. Here are some of our favourite mental health audiobooks.
Mark Manson’s excellent The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F⋆ck sets its stall out before you load it up and press play. Narrated by Roger Wayne, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F⋆ck is a self-help guide for the 21st century. This is an audiobook free of excess noise, allowing the listener to focus on what matters and make some serious mental health progress. After all, figuring out what truly matters is vital to a happier life. Mark Manson’s excellent audiobook is here to help make sense of the chaos.
Narrated by the author, Admiral William H. McRaven, this New York Times bestseller shines in audiobook form. Admiral William H. McRaven dispels wisdom with all the prestige of a veteran in this title. Make Your Bed centres around McRaven’s ten life-changing principles, learned during nearly four decades of his life as a Navy SEAL. But don’t expect Make Your Bed to be a discipline-heavy struggle. It’s quite the opposite. McRaven’s principles are all relatively simple things that can open doors and close others. Sometimes, simplicity is the key to tackling mental health issues and Make Your Bed is precisely the type of audiobook that can kick start a personal revolution.
The way people approach trauma and mental health problems has greatly improved in the last twenty years. Social media has helped, encouraging people to speak up about their fears as society takes the first step toward a more caring and coordinated community. Central to this is the ideological shift that runs through this mental health audiobook. It’s a charming conversation between a renowned trauma expert and one of the world’s most famous voices. What Happened to You? has Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry (who reprise their roles in the audiobook adaptation) discussed that change. They focus on what has been done to a person. Science, humility, neuroscience, and experience abound in equal measure throughout What Happened to You? - a must-listen for anyone and everyone with an interest in mental health.
Brilliantly narrated by Angus King, Gary John Bishop’s Unf⋆ck Yourself is a self-help audiobook for a new generation. This title isn’t about wallowing and moping; this is about real-life change and actionable expertise, coming together to create a better life. Isn’t that what we all want? Unf⋆ck Yourself has made plenty of waves since it was initially published, but the audiobook format imbues it with a fresh sense of inspiration. It is focused on helping listeners put one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. It is about responsibility, accountability and understanding, but it is about life - joyful, kaleidoscopic life. Learning to Unf⋆ck Yourself might be the key to a new world.
Now and then, a mental health book changes the game. Bessel Van Der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score was one such book, and this audiobook adaptation (voiced by Sean Pratt) adds to its life-changing legacy. Trauma is a far more complex subject than most people realise, and The Body Keeps the Score lets listeners in on a litany of secrets that help make sense of it all. It is a paradigm shift in mental health. This book covers healing in a way that can make an actual change for many worldwide. The audiobook version is a triumph, bringing the ideas of Dutch psychiatrist Bessel Van Der Kolk to life. It is no great shock that The Body Keeps the Score is an Audible bestseller.
Brené Brown is an absolute titan of the self-help world. The American research professor’s work on shame and vulnerability has been particularly influential. Narrated by Lauren Fortgang, I Thought It Was Just Me is Brown at her inspiring best. It strips back seemingly iron-clad beliefs and shows the listener that the world is much more fragile than we tell ourselves, so our fragility can find its place. I Thought It Was Just Me results from seven years of research and interviews. Brown scoured the globe, searching for expert voices on why people strive for perfection and how dangerous the whole thing can be. I Thought It Was Just Me should help listeners to embrace their imperfections. A gorgeous listen.
Sticking with ideological shifts in mental health, Dr. Julie Smith’s excellent Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? takes a hatchet to assumptions and presumptions. It draws on her years of psychological experience to help shepherd the listener through the chaotic noise of day-to-day life. There is a short story feel to Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? that makes it a tremendously accessible listen, narrated by Dr. Smith herself in a convivial and charming style. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before is a guide in many ways. It is a self-help audiobook that helps with everything from time management to dealing with anxiety, forgiving yourself, finding motivation, and much more.
Inspirational, shocking, and memorable, Can’t Hurt Me is a mental health audiobook unlike any other. David Goggins endured a childhood beset with neglect, poverty, prejudice, and violence. Somehow, he overcame this to become known as America’s Fittest (Real) Man. How did Goggins do it? Let the man himself tell you his story in Can’t Hurt Me. This hugely inspirational memoir slash self-help book is both unpausable and actionable. Goggins has lived a remarkable life, but you don’t need to be a Navy SEAL or Air Force Tactical Air Controller to identify with Can’t Hurt Me. This audiobook adaptation also includes commentary from journalist Adam Skolnik, providing even more background to some seriously inspiring words.
Despite the strides made in awareness and communication regarding mental illness, it isn’t hard to see that the world is in the midst of a mental health crisis. How could it not be? Social media and smartphones have rewired our understanding of rewards, food and alcohol have become far too accessible and misused, and short-term pleasure has become the norm. Luckily, Dr. Anna Lembke is here to save the day with her excellent audiobook, Dopamine Nation. Narrated by the good doctor herself, Dopamine Nation is science told by your best friend. It is an audiobook of complex neuroscience allied to understandable themes with actionable advice. It is an extraordinary listen, an absolute must for anyone who feels that their understanding of pleasure has warped.
A magnificent listen, The Happiness Trap sums up its aims in the tagline, promising to show the listener how to stop struggling and start living. It is an ambitious aim, but Russ Harris exceeds it in what has become something of a mental health bible, the world’s best-selling guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Narrated by Dr. Harris, The Happiness Trap is laser-focused on reducing stress, breaking down self-loathing, building stronger relationships and handling feelings. Of course, these are all complex subjects, but all utterly vital to a fulfilled life. This is a mental health audiobook for everyone, no matter the situation.
Sounds simple, right? The key to loving yourself is learning how to love yourself. Vex King is on hand to help make it all a little bit easier. A Sunday Times bestseller, Good Vibes, Good Life is a mental health audiobook filled with personal experience and undeniable wisdom. It is an audiobook all about inspiration and empowerment, with the title hinting at the desired result. Narrated by King’s famous content creator wife Kaushal, Good Vibes, Good Life will help manifest goals and overcome fears. The key is focusing on positivity even in the bleakest of circumstances.
When it comes to audiobooks that help with mental illness and negative thoughts, sometimes it is best to look outside the non-fiction world for inspiration. The literary world is full of inspirational tales of overcoming adversity in the face of challenging mental health struggles. Few books are as inspiring as Paulo Coelho’s iconic tale of Santiago’s epic search for treasure. Narrated by Jeremy Irons (incredible as ever), The Alchemist shimmers in this audiobook adaptation. The Alchemist is as life-changing in audio form as it was when it was first published all those years ago.
Another from the wonderful world of fiction, Elif Shafak’s seminal book The Forty Rules of Love is a veritable conveyor belt of otherworldly advice that weaves around a modern love story. It shows the unpredictable magic of romance. Voiced by George Blagden, Shafak’s masterpiece is a tour de force of weight and wonder. The Forty Rules of Love has vivid characters whose inner turmoils and external solutions provide surprisingly workable advice for real-life situations. Even in the most hopeless situations, light finds a way. The Forty Rules of Love isn’t afraid to embrace the darkness from time to time, but there is so much to love here.
Moving from fiction and non-fiction into the incredibly fertile podcast world, Derren Brown is on hand to help rebuild lives and put mistakes squarely in the past. This podcast is full of life-changing advice, and Brown delivers it in his inimitable style from the very get-go. The podcast features interviews with experts from various fields, from clinicians to experts in psychotherapy and more. It bridges the divide between scientific research and accessibility as only Derren Brown can. An Audible Original Podcast, Derren Brown’s Bootcamp for Life is an absolute must-listen in the world of mental health struggles.
If you dig deep enough into all things depression, phobias, chronic pain, and other mental health issues, trauma is sometimes found waiting at the bottom of it all. This is no great shock, as traumatic events almost always have long-lasting effects, but Mark Wolynn’s groundbreaking book is a generational approach that might change the game. It Didn’t Start With You is revolutionary, building on the work of experts around the globe in the hope of decluttering the fog and mess that trauma (experienced or inherited) can leave behind. Narrated by Wolynn, It Didn’t Start With You is a new way to look at something that has plagued mental health since the beginning of time.
