Search Results for: General Interest

You’re not alone in feeling lonely

In a world more connected than ever before, it can be hard to unravel why it is that you feel alone. The truth is, whether you’re sociable or solitary, extroverted or introverted, loneliness can affect us all at some point in our lives.

This pocket-sized guide will help you recognize and understand the way you feel, and offers practical advice for looking after your mental and physical well-being. From improving self-care to cultivating relationships, this book is here to help you break up with loneliness for good.

A comforting guide for whenever loneliness strikes, filled with kind words, helpful ideas and down-to-earth advice

We all feel lonely sometimes

In a world more connected than ever before, it can be hard to unravel why it is that we feel alone. The truth is, whether you’re sociable or solitary, extroverted or introverted, loneliness can affect us all at some point in our lives.

This clear and comforting book is here to help you understand loneliness and the importance of looking after your mind, body and soul whenever you feel alone. Packed with easy-to-follow advice and bite-sized tips as well as a selection of uplifting quotes, it’s a go-to guide for anyone feeling lonely or isolated.

Learn and understand more about:
– Why loneliness is so common and what we can do about it
– How to nurture your mind and body to give you greater confidence
– What the best strategies are to support your mental health and well-being
– How to form and build on new connections in your life

Do you have a deep-rooted fear of flying, or would you simply like to be more relaxed when you get on a plane? In this informative and accessible guide, veteran airline pilot Captain Keith Godfrey and psychologist Dr Alison Smith welcome you aboard and take you through everything from take-off to touchdown, helping you to feel more confident and at ease when journeying by air. Many of the questions that trouble nervous flyers are addressed; for example:

• What is turbulence?
• Why are there so many unusual noises during a flight, and what are they?
• How does an aircraft stay in the air?
• What happens if an engine fails?
• How effective are air traffic controllers?

Do you have frequent feelings of worry, nervousness or unease?

Do you wish you could be more confident and self-assured?

In this book you will learn tips and techniques for positive thinking, the benefits of mindfulness and how to build your confidence, from the way you speak and breathe to the way you stand. With advice on healthy lifestyle habits and behaviour patterns, and how to manage your anxiety, How to Feel Less Anxious is your starting point for a happier, healthier you.

Don’t let anxiety define who you are

In a world where we are constantly comparing our looks, our lifestyles, our jobs and our relationships with others, it can be easy to let worries get the better of us. The truth is, whether you’re sociable or solitary, extroverted or introverted, anxiety will affect us all at some point in our lives.

This pocket-sized guide will help you recognize and understand the way you feel, and offers practical advice for looking after your mental and physical well-being. From challenging the way you think to making positive lifestyle changes, this book is your starting point for a more carefree, content and confident you.

Though many of us are unaware of it, everyone has messages running through their head. Some of the messages are positive: ‘Well done, that was great’, or neutral, ‘What am I going to have for dinner?’ But for many people the messages are negative and self-critical: ‘Why did you go and say that?’, ‘You’ll never be successful’, ‘You’re pathetic’. These messages have a profound impact on how we feel and behave, and ultimately they affect how happy and successful we are in life.

This is the first book to provide a range of tried and tested techniques for transforming  your inner critic. By using these techniques you can transform your thoughts, feelings and behaviour to become a happier person. This book covers such topics as:

• Understanding your inner critic

• Listening to your whole self and not just your inner critic

• Being proud of yourself and your strengths

• Releasing your inner wisdom

• Handling criticisms from others

• Creating more fun in your life

An exhilarating and deeply moving story of one man’s attempt to sea kayak the areas of the Shipping Forecast, perfect for fans of The Salt Path and Attention All Shipping

Foreword by Charlie Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping

The Shipping Forecast has been described as the UK’s national lullaby: a source of dependability and calm in our often chaotic world, it has charmed millions of listeners and aided generations of seafarers across the decades. No stranger to weathering a storm after living with a rare life-limiting condition and facing the death of his brother, avid kayaker Toby Carr set out to explore the areas of the Forecast.

On a journey that took him to the harshest and most tranquil stretches of our sea, Toby found the real people, places and stories behind the familiar names and imagined environments of the well-loved BBC broadcast. From the wildness and peace of the sea, looking back at the land, Toby hoped to gain the strength and balance he knew nature could provide and to discover what anchors us to each other.

Written by Toby’s sister Katie from his extensive notes and recordings after his untimely death, Moderate Becoming Good Later is both an epic adventure – sometimes choppy, constantly moving – and a personal voyage of discovery that includes old friends and new, plenty of wildlife, and the ever-present sea.

A practical, supportive and easy-to-read guide to help you understand and overcome stress, filled with helpful tips and actionable advice

Feeling overwhelmed? This little book is here to help.

How to Understand and Deal with Stress is a friendly, accessible guide with all the information and advice you need to identify the source of your struggles, and to take practical steps to reduce or manage the burden. By learning the science behind stress and understanding how it affects your mind and body, you’ll start to dismantle its hold on you. And with practical ways to manage the condition – including physical, medical and therapeutic perspectives – this book will help you work out the best ways you can support your mental health and improve your overall well-being.

By the end of this book, you will:
– Understand the science behind stress, how it manifests, what causes it, and how to identify symptoms and triggers
– Be armed with physical and practical steps you can take to alleviate stress, from breathing exercises and healthy lifestyle choices to problem-solving techniques and coping mechanisms
– Have a host of holistic remedies up your sleeve for when stress strikes, such as mindfulness, visualization and breathwork
– Know about the medical treatments and therapies available, and know how and when to seek professional help or support

With the right knowledge and guidance, you can learn to understand and manage stress so that you can get back to feeling like you again.

“Dr Kaye is the mate who’s always got your back, she knows her stuff and tells you exactly how it is” SARA COX

The complete one-stop guide to the perimenopause and menopause, by Dr Philippa Kaye, with a foreword by Vanessa Feltz

Menopause is the last taboo. But it does not have to mean the end of your libido, of sex, of work, or of feeling like who you used to be.

With modern treatments and evidence-based knowledge, no woman need suffer or “just about” manage. You are still who you are – let’s celebrate that. Let’s get informed and get empowered to make our own choices about our symptoms, our treatments, our minds and our bodies.

The M Word covers everything from understanding symptoms to managing relationships to which treatments really work. Discussing HRT as well as self-help and lifestyle tips, this fully updated edition of the bestselling book will be your companion through the years before, during and after the menopause.

Topics covered include:
– Hot flushes and other physical symptoms
– Psychological symptoms
– Sex, libido and contraception
– HRT and other treatments
– Lifestyle changes
– Health after the menopause
And much more!

Written in a positive, uplifting and light-hearted style, with plenty of quotes from real women, this book shows you how to not just survive, but thrive through the menopause, letting you remain you.

Written by an airline pilot and a clinical psychologist, this combination of practical explanation and self-help techniques is the definitive guide to help anyone overcome their fear of flying.
Sometimes unnecessary anxiety is caused by events which airline crews may take for granted, including aspects of flights that are mystifying and even alarming to less frequent flyers. This new edition incorporates the recent advances in technology within the aviation industry, as well as the increased security checks as a result of 9/11.

When Mimi first started jogging on a treadmill as an unfit 36-year-old mother-of-three, she never imagined she would go on to become a World-Record-breaking ultrarunner.

After coming to terms with the anorexia that had impacted her life from a young age, Mimi begins to reassess her relationship with food and finds a new resolve in running. With a renewed sense of purpose, she decides to take the sport that saved her life to the next level, training hard and throwing herself in at the deep end by entering the epic Marathon des Sables in the Sahara desert, despite still being a novice runner. One startling success leads to another, as she finds herself taking on ever-more-challenging races – from the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, USA, to the 6633 Arctic Ultra – all building up to her biggest challenge yet: attempting to gain the Guinness World Record time for a female running 840 miles from John o’Groats to Land’s End.

This incredible story of how an ordinary mum ran her way into the record books will inspire beginner runners and die-hard marathon devotees alike, proving that, no matter where life takes you, it’s never too late to achieve your dreams and do the impossible.

Be kind to the planet, but most of all, be kind to yourself


When you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, grab this book for a dose of calm and courage. Packed with reassuring tips and advice, from mindfulness exercises to practical steps you can take to make a difference, this guide will ease your eco-anxiety and help you to live a more environmentally friendly life.

Losing weight has become the modern woman’s holy grail… everything will be better when we’re thin.

We’re obsessed with weight, we dislike our bodies, we worry about the food we eat, we feel guilty, we diet… Too many of us are locked into a war with our own bodies which we’ll never win, and which will never make us happy.

The Ministry of Thin takes a controversial, unflinching look at how the modern obsession with weight loss, youth, beauty and perfection got out of control. Emma Woolf, author of An Apple a Day, explores how we might all be able to stop hating and start liking our own bodies again. And she dares to ask: if losing weight is the answer, what is the question?

You might not be a spring chicken any more, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep on strutting your stuff! This collection of witty quotations, light-hearted yarns and cheerful jokes will help you stay young at heart, and see the funny side of getting older with a smile on your face.

Tap into the tingly world of ASMR and experience the soothing power of sound with this immersive activity book

A soft whisper in your ear. Someone playing with your hair. A feather lightly brushing your skin. If these things give you pleasant tingles up and down your body, then you already know the joy of ASMR.

ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, relates to the tingly, pins-and-needles sensation and positive feelings you experience when you’re exposed to audio or visual stimuli. It’s a practice you can engage with to soothe your mind, relax your body and enter a state of low-grade euphoria.

Teeming with tips, activities, breathing exercises and colouring pages, this mesmerizing book will trigger your ASMR response. Use the pages of the book for folding, brushing, crinkling, or cutting, and discover how to trigger your ASMR response using techniques such as lip smacking, sound baths, massages and playing with slime.

Whether you’re tracing patterns, whispering words, or creating your own tingle-inducing tools, one thing is for sure: This Book Will Give You ASMR.

Connect with your body, balance your emotions and take charge of your life with this supportive guide to your hormone cycle

Hormones play an integral part in many of our daily functions and continue to influence our mood, sleep and sex drive throughout our lives. They not only impact our physical health – including our digestion, energy and weight – they affect our emotions too.

This feel-good guide will accompany you on your hormone health journey, covering everything you need to know to help you understand and regulate your hormones, enabling you to regain control of your body. Part 1 demystifies the role of hormones and provides essential information and exercises to explore how they are impacting your life. Part 2 is filled with holistic tips, simple strategies and encouraging affirmations to help you navigate hormonal imbalances and feel better in your mind and body.

By following the advice in this beautiful book, you’ll feel refreshed, revitalized and ready to reclaim your hormone health.

“A magical and hugely captivating journey – filled with such beauty, wonder and surprise. A simply marvellous read, hugely recommended“ – Stephen Fry

A real-life journey through the fantastical world of The Odyssey

It started with a boy, of course. Seeking solace from the pain of heartbreak and her father’s illness, Laura Coffey embarks on what was meant to be a simple holiday. But her newfound fascination with ancient Greek myths transforms her trip into a six-month odyssey, around tiny archipelagos and mystical Mediterranean islands thought to be the setting of Odysseus’s epic journey. As she chases one of the most conflicted, flawed and yet beloved heroes through his fantastical sea-kingdoms, looking for the places where geography and mythology collide, she discovers the wild beauty of the islands, and the redemptive powers of travel and nature, cold-water swimming, long hikes up mountains, and luminous star-lit skies.

But her quest to find happiness, safety and the true meaning of home is overshadowed by the deepening illness of her father. Returning as he’s dying, forced to confront the very things she was running from, Laura reflects on what she has lost, how to live between story and reality, and the way we craft our own mythologies. Slipping between the mythical realm and the real world, she finds enchantment and healing in the magic of both.

“If you love memoir and Greek mythology, this is a delight. A spellbinding book about growing up, grieving and the gods.” – Clare Pollard, author of Delphi