Introduction to 10 Best Health and Wellbeing Books 2022
Welcome to this post where I share my top 10 books on health and wellbeing published in 2022. This is a very personal selection as there were thousands of books published in this area. I’ve included some on specific topics (allergies, women’s health) and some much broader ones (wellbeing journal, manifesting). Below – in no particular order – I describe what each book covers and why I chose it. Purchase links are affiliate.
The Female Factor by Dr Hazel Wallace
I’ve been following Dr Wallace on Insta for some time and love her nutritional advice and mouth watering videos. Check her out at @thefoodmedic. As you might guess from the title, The Female Factor is about women’s health. In clinical medicine the male has always been the default with the assumption that women are just smaller versions of men. This is wrong, and has caused a gender health gap. Women deserve the same health outcomes as men. The Female Factor offers methods to protect and maximise your health through positive actions. I love how broad it is, covering everything from sleep to hormones and exercise to nutrition. It’s geared towards different life stages so will be one to refer to over the years. I feel more empowered reading it as it helps me know what to ask at doctor’s appointments.
The Fatigue Book by Lydia Rolley
Geared towards people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), post-viral fatigue, long covid and similar, The Fatigue Book is essential reading. Packed with 100 tips with advice for dealing with all aspects of fatigue. They are grouped thematically into 11 chapters covering areas including: mindset, sleep, energy, pacing, relationships etc. The style of this book lends itself well to being read in bitesize chunks – clearly being written for a fatigued reader. As someone with ME/CFS I’ve found it an invaluable resource.
There is a full review of The Fatigue Book in the reading section of the blog.
The Art of Enough by Becky Hall
I picked up The Art of Enough by Becky Hall because I was decluttering and wanted to stop myself from later accumulating replacements. I was decluttering my personal belongings, but realised that my scarcity mindset was pervasive in other areas of my life too. This is a great book for addressing mindset shift from either scarcity or excess to a more balanced approach. We live in such a competitive society with the need for ‘more, more, more’ being forced on us from every quarter.
The book is written in three parts (Arts): being enough, doing enough and having enough. The first tackles mindset, permission and presence. The second: looks at enough boundaries and enough resource. The third explores enough growth and enough connection. I love that this book has exercises and reflections for the reader to do, so that they can tailor the concepts individually.
Understanding Allergy by Dr Sophie Farooque
This is a great introduction for those who are new to allergies. One in three people will experience allergies so it makes sense to have the right info. Dr Farooque is a leader in her field, therefore she has a great overview of the allergy epidemic. In Understanding Allergy she debunks many of the common myths as well as addressing key topics. She deals with hayfever, food allergies, severe allergy (anaphylaxis), drug allergies and eczema. There are also chapters explaining the immune response, allergy prevention, and what to do if you think you have an allergy.
The language is very accessible and Farooque gives clear explanations. The book is a handy guide and fairly short. If you’re well versed on allergies, or have something less common such as MCAS, this isn’t the book for you. If however, you’re new to the topic, or want to brush up or update your knowledge then this is a great tool for your allergy arsenal. Dr Farooque is on twitter as London Allergy.
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? By Dr Julie Smith
Dr Smith is another person whose book I bought because I love her socials content. Check out her insta because she has these brilliant short reel explainers that make you feel so normal!
This was a no.1 bestseller in the non-fiction charts and it’s easy to see why! Smith explains in straightforward language how the mind works and provides the reader with a useful toolkit for when things go off-kilter. Whether you have difficulties with anxiety, self-confidence or low mood, want to boost your motivation, tackle your depression, break out of negative cycles or just learn to deal with criticism better, Smith has you covered. She uses examples which are easy to identify with and explains through analogies which are easy to follow. After the challenges of the pandemic, Why Has No One Told Me This Before should be on everyone’s bookshelf for those times in life when our resilience needs reinforcements.
How to Meet Your Self by Dr Nicole LePera
Dr Nicole LePera is bestselling author of How To Do The Work. Readers found the book so life-changing they begged for more and thus How To Meet Your Self was born. Dr LePera has a huge online following, you can find her on socials as The Holistic Psychologist where she shares threads of focused help and how-tos.
How To Meet Your Self is interactive workbook designed to help every reader uncover their authentic self. It guides the reader in how to notice and observe the conditioned patterns and habits they have. Then to reflect and decide which of those patterns we not longer wish to carry into the future. It transforms both the reader’s inner world and their outer interactions.
Manifesting for Beginners
Manifesting? That’s just wishing really hard for stuff and waiting for it to come true right? That’s what I thought; a bit of airy fairy nonsense. Then I started to notice people whom I respect mention manifestation and their practices. Hmm… I decided to investigate further and picked up Manifesting for Beginners by Victoria Jackson.
This is a perfect introduction for anyone completely new to the process. Over 9 chapters, it gives background on the karmic laws of the universe and takes you through the concept of manifestation step by step, with a variety of techniques so the reader can pick what’s right for them. There is actually a lot more to it that I misconceived. It’s about tuning in to your true desires, identifying any limiting beliefs and removing them, and truly aligning yourself with your purpose through the actions you take every day. I’ve had a go at doing a mood board (surprisingly fun) and clarified my goals (not what society thinks I should achieve) and the actions to support me. Victoria Jackson has a lovely ‘voice’ which comes across in how this book is written and she has a gorgeous insta too, as well as a variety of courses and membership in her Manifestation Collective.
Navigating Stress
When the pandemic came, as someone who was ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ I had to shield. It was extremely difficult to cope with the anxiety and fear: how do I get food delivered when I can’t get a slot? Who can I ask to collect my medicines? Will I catch covid? If I do, will I die? Etc. I’d been through stress before, but nothing like this which left me questioning whether I had the resilience to cope long term? That was my motivation for reading Navigating Stress by Joy Langley.
Over the course of 7 key chapters I learned: what stress is and how it affects the body and mind, what my stress energy is and my internal and external triggers, how I experience stress and what I can do about it, and how to cultivate a positive mindset. The advice is a good blend of common sense and new research findings which gave me a few “aha!” moments. It’s written in an accessible, easy to follow and persuasive format. I now feel better equipped to cope with both common or garden stress, and the next “unprecedented” global event.
How We Heal
I first came across author Alexandra Elle on the Insight Timer app. There was a new year course with a different person leading the meditation each day. Alex Elle’s was about the power of journaling and it really resonated with me. I followed her on Insta and seeing her wise words persuaded me to buy How We Heal. The book is divided into 4 parts: starting from scratch, befriending your fear, reclaiming your power, healing your heart. Each one has several sections which guide the reader and there are also journaling, meditation and breathwork exercises.
Elle weaves personal wisdom in with her own experiences and mini-interviews with others. This creates a unique and original ‘voice’ to the book which I really warmed to. The advice comes from a place of freedom and expansion whilst acknowledging with compassion how challenging the process can be. And healing is a never-ending process, but with the support of this book I feel better-equipped for my journey.
Breathe Wellbeing Journal
This is a little gem I saw on socials and thought I’d give guided journaling a try. The Breathe Wellbeing Journal, by the Editors of Breathe Magazine is a hardback guided journal. It’s beautifully illustrated and an absolute joy to use. It’s packed with short sections around different themes such as taking life at a slower pace or making your home a better place to live (my favourite tip “tidy like a monk” silently, with focus, and timed for 15 mins). There are questions to guide the reader to reflect on their own life and experiences in the context of each section’s theme.
This process gave me insights into both how I can improve my life externally and how I can improve how I perceive things internally. It’s not dated so can be used at any time and over any frequency – although it’s so lovely you’ll want to spend time on it daily. It’s also one of a series from Ammonite Press, I’m already looking to get: resilience, happiness and thrive.
Conclusion to 10 Best Health and Wellbeing Books 2022
Have you read any of these books? Do any of them pique your interest? Let me know in the comments below.
