Best Audible Books For Anxiety And Depression
Updated: Mar 16, 2022
By Claire The Millennial Londoner
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This blog is purely for informational purposes compiled from personal experience and reputable sources. If you require any health advice please speak to a medical specialist. This blog also contains affiliate links that allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Anyone that has these disorders knows how debilitating they can be, especially if you don't have the money for weekly therapy sessions, it can make you feel lost and hopeless. Luckily there are plenty of books and resources online that are much cheaper. I personally love using Audible because I can multitask whilst listening to the books and find it helps to coach me through anxiety attacks.
Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health disorders people suffer from worldwide. According to Our World In Data, anxiety disorders are the number 1 most common mental health disorder with a whopping 284 million cases. Depression comes in as the second most common mental disorder with a staggering 264 million cases worldwide. So having the right tools to manage them is vital because most people will either have these disorders or know someone who does.
Anxiety and depression tend to go hand in hand so if you suffer from depression you will most likely have anxiety symptoms and vice versa. According to Bupa, there is a strong connection between anxiety and depression so much so that having comorbidity of the two is more common than having regular depression. You can read that article HERE
Anxiety and depression can range from being mild to severe. If like me you want to learn more about the inner workings of these mental illnesses I have compiled a list of my faves. I think these books offer some amazing tips and techniques to combat anxiety and depression. There are THOUSANDS of books surrounding mental health on audible to choose from so be sure to check out the best sellers because every month you're subscribed to Audible you'll get 1 credit which can be spent on ANY book so be sure to check that out cause you can get £20 book essentially for free.
The first 5 audible books are for Anxiety and the next 5 is for depression.
1. Joshua Fletcher: Anxiety Panicking About Panic
Great book for anyone who wants to overcome anxiety and panic disorder. I love how relatable Joshua is and he doesn't use overly complicated words. I feel like he has the readers best interest at heart rather than making a quick buck. The best bit is the PDF that comes with this book so you can work on your anxiety whilst listening to the audiobook.
2. Catherine M. Pittman PhD: Rewire Your Anxious Brain
If you want to understand the inner workings of your brain and how it affects your anxiety then this is the perfect book for you. I love the way Catherine breaks down the neuroscience behind anxiety disorders and makes it seem less daunting. Learning where your anxiety origins from will allow you to notice when it's kicking in and how to prevent your thoughts from spiraling into panic.
3. The Anxious Truth: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Panic, Anxiety Agoraphobia
If you listen to ANY audible book this year make it THIS one. I can't recommend this one enough because of how much it has helped me. Most anxiety books will go into depth on anxiety (which is great don't get me wrong) but this book tells you straightforwardly what to do to stop anxiety. If like me you suffer from agoraphobia this is a FANTASTIC read cause you realise how many coping mechanisms you inadvertantly relied on daily and how to overcome them.
4. Joshua Fletcher: Practical About Panic
A follow up from his previous book, Joshua Fletcher has released another great book that can really help you understand anxiety. The book is great for anyone wanting to learn about anxiety from the perspective of someone who has been through anxiety. He lays out different steps in understanding anxiety and changing your perspective on it to make it seem less daunting. As per usual he leaves a very helpful panic attack help page at the end of the book.
5. Dr Rangan Chatterjee - Feel Better In 5
Feel Better In 5 is a fantastic book for anyone looking to improve their lifestyle. It's reassuring knowing a medically trained doctor is giving you advice and techniques that he has tried himself. Along with the audiobook you get a PDF to help you achieve your daily health snacks. I love that the techniques in the book are easily manageable in day to day life and find it has improved my anxiety and energy levels greatly.
6. Robert Duff: Hardcore Self Help: F**k Depression
Next on my list is this fantastic book by Robert Duff, a trained psychologist who talks about depression in a way that is relatable. While listening to the book you feel like Robert Duff is talking directly to you, as if he were a friend chit-chatting with you. Some of the ways he improves depression might sound a bit daft a first but they really work.
7. Hilary Jacobs Hendel: It's Not Always Depression
This book by Hilary Jacobs Hendel is fantastic book for anyone suffering from depression. She goes into depth on how to control our emotions so they don't weigh on us while also embracing them and not hiding from them. She also includes a handy dandy PDF that includes "The Change Triangle" which allows you to restructure your thought process.
8. Thibaut Meurisse: Master Your Emotions
Master Your Emotions is one of my new faves i'm still
reading but I love it so far and needed to include this in the list. I personally love it not only because Thibaut Meurisse references Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy (my favourite band) but because he breaks down the way our mind works and gives you tasks to combat those thoughts.
BONUS BOOK: The Chimp Paradox By Steve Peters
This is a cheeky suggestion because it isn't exactly about depression BUT you can apply the Chimp Theory to every aspect of your mental health. The idea at first sounds bizarre but when you ruminate on it you'll find it's easier to navigate your brain. You're almost giving your impulsive, irrational and negative thoughts a separate entity which is a pretty cool way of looking at mental health. It's easy to let your thoughts make you feel like YOU are the problem.
9. Matt Haig: Reasons to Stay Alive
Perfect book right here for anyone that wants to learn about how to manage depression from the perspective of someone who has it and came out the other side. Matt also touches on anxiety and how it plays a role in depression which I personally related to which is why I put this on this list. Anything that helps me I hope can help others and this book certainly does that.
10. Alex Korb PhD.: The Upward Spiral
The Upward Spiral is PERFECT for anyone wanting to understand depression and how to rewire your brain to manage it. There's a lot of scientific explanations behind it that went way over my head but Alex will break that down into simple terms for people like you and I that have no idea about neuroscience.
Conclusion
I'll make a follow up blog post on more books that are great for mental health. Let me know what you think of this selection and comment if you have any recommendations for me to check out. See you in the next post.
