A selection of books to help self-isolators pass their time wisely
As far as we're aware, Amazon Prime deliveries are still operating - although my home gym set-up is still yet to arrive today as promised - so we thought it would be appropriate to suggest some of our favourite health and wellbeing books to help get you through these trying, self-isolated times.
The good news is that while we're all working from home, it is less likely you'll miss a delivery and the chances are we'll have plenty of time to spare in the coming weeks and months. Plus, it's important to switch off from the news regularly and there's only so many Netflix series you can watch before you start believing everyone living in your street is a serial killer.
So here are a few wholesome reading tips lifted straight from the editor's bookshelf…
Dr David Hamilton cut his teeth in the pharmaceutical industry before dedicating his career to using science to inspire and improve wellbeing. After studying the powerful effects of placebo, Dr Hamilton's work explores the healing power of the mind. His book ‘The Five Side Effects of Kindness' demonstrates how showing kindness, which he says is the opposite to stress, is proven to change the brain positively and impact the heart and immune system, as well as treat depression and slow the ageing process. A rather topical viewpoint given the situation we are facing.
Those who saw Matt Janes speak at the COVER Mental Health & Wellbeing Summit recently will know how mind-blowing his approach to mental health and nutrition is. Saving Dad tells the story of his father's personal struggles with bi-polar disorder and how Janes was able to treat his depression by using his knowledge of neuroscience and a special diet to balance his autonomic nervous system. Unbelieveable.
A lot of us are probably wishing we could go and live somewhere else at the moment, but as we can't it is well worth doing it vicariously through Helen Russell's experience as an expat in Denmark. Considered the happiest place to live in the world, ‘The Year of Living Danishly' is a humorous account of life in the land of Lego and interior design, and where childcare is free. Imagine that.
Not for the faint hearted or prudent, the autobiography of Storm in a Tit Cup blogger Heidi Loughlin tells of the trials, tribulations and tragedies of her cancer diagnosis and devastating loss of her daughter. Don't be put off by its heavy subject matter, ‘Heidi's Lifeline' is a hilarious and life-affirming look at how the human race can cope even in the most unthinkable circumstances.
In my humble opinion, no list of life-altering books could go without mention of Echart Tolle's game-changer ‘A New Earth'. Offering a guide to breaking down the ego to create a new world order based on self-compassion and hope, this book from the mindfulness guru offers us all a ray of hope as we face the biggest cultural and spiritual shake-up of a generation. Not convinced? I'll leave you with this quote from the book: ‘When faced with a radical crisis, when the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of nature doesn't work anymore, when survival is threatened by seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual life-form - or a species - will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap.' Deep.
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