Your Mental Health Workout by Zoe Aston is a self-help book that offers a holistic approach to improving mental health. The book is divided into three sections: mind, body, and soul. Each section provides exercises and activities to help readers improve their mental well-being.

Your Mental Health Workout is a comprehensive and well-written book that offers a variety of tools and resources for improving mental health. The book is easy to read and understand, and the exercises and activities are practical and effective. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to improve their mental well-being.

We workout to maintain our physical health, so why don't we give the same attention to our mental health? Your Mental Health Workout is a perfect sized guide, with practical tips, tools, exercises and affirmations so you can focus on giving your mind the same attention.

Really impressed with this book. Did think is it just another mental health title but It really was useful. Would def keep it to refer to when needed

A great book that everyone should read. Giving you a plan to follow that will help you become stronger and happier. Loved the things covered a real gem of a book!

An interesting book, especially useful if you’ve struggled during/after lockdowns.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for a review. I will be putting this on Amazon too.

This book had some interesting stuff I have gone on the buy the workout book that it is a prequel to

This is a helpful little book to try and help those of us who have been left a little shaken after lockdown. I do think its best for people who haven't read much about ways to combat anxiety or mental health issues as, having done so myself, I felt like some of this was already known to me. Its set out well though, and guides the reader well through different steps to give an overall "workout".

I found this a helpful and practical book. It isn't overly 'fluffy' and would be useful to work through, it is a surface book thought, nothing very deep.

I like that this is a 5 week plan, allowing you to form new habits to help improve your mental health.

I also like that there isn't chapter after chapter talking about why mental health is important and how the author improved theirs, instead, you get to work through it yourself without feeling bad if you cant keep up with where the author was.

This book was published in the light of the pandemic and leads the reader to consider their mental health in the same way that they would consider their physical health. The importance of how we might keep mentally healthy and undertake 'mental health workouts' - as we keep our bodies and muscles supple and toned, so we should also do so with our thoughts.

Learning more about how we interact with our feelings will allow us to increase 'your range of motion for a happy, healthy and curious mind.' The author shows us how our mental health can be seen in a similar light to our physical health. Our thoughts are the ‘equipment’ of the gymnasium. Stress is the equivalent of physical injury. 'Swelling' is a response to injury, which can be relieved by reassuring yourself that you are now safe, and away from the threat/stressor at hand. Self-esteem is like our 'core' muscle, which, if worked on each day, leads to greater strength. Emotional expression is like being supple - we should avoid only focusing on expressing one emotion - sadness, anger etc. Self-care provides the energy and stamina to keep up with the workout. Affirmations are like stretches, encouraging a full range of emotional motion.

The author encourages good mental practices for dealing with stress - especially journaling. A daily check in; once a week, when calm, plan as much of the week as possible so to avoid making decisions when under pressure. In addition to this, take time to list events and memories that lead to good thoughts and feelings - and also to focus on what are our main fears, and to list them. She also suggests limiting emotional capacity with more distant acquaintances so as to be able to focus emotionally on close friends and family - wise words for this time of social media dominance, when posts from near-strangers can cost us huge amounts of time and emotional energy.

The author admits that they have been on both the receiving and the giving end of professional help, which is illuminating and refreshing. She also makes clear this is not a ‘self-care’ book, which she points out is connected to trends that are rarely cheap and can be preoccupied with beauty and appearance.

I found this book intriguing. However, I did think that the metaphor of mental workouts, contrasted with physical movements, was a bit strained at times. I found it interesting but not convincing enough to commend to others.

An interesting structure, setting out a 'workout' routine for mental health. There are some great ideas, but to follow the whole routine sounds a bit too complicated and long-winded.

A useful and informative book to help us manage our mental health (particularly important given the current COVID/lockdown situation).
Workouts and steps that, if you are prepared and committed to, are easy to work into your every day.

A delightful book I’m glad I was given the opportunity to read and review. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for approving this.

I was offered the opportunity to read this book by Net Galley and the publishers in exchange for an independent review. I’m glad to have had that opportunity but I must begin by saying that there seemed to be some confusion over which book I was reading! The title of the book I am reviewing (the one which downloaded) is “Your Mental Health First Aid Kit: quick and easy techniques for coming out of lockdown” which is not the title of the book on my Net Galley shelf. That said, I’m sure there is plenty of overlap between the two.
Applying the analogy of a workout to mental health is a very clever idea, particularly for those who physically work out regularly. The author explains concepts clearly and for young people in particular (which does not include me) I can see how it will demystify the need to take care of our mental health just as we should take care of our bodies. Explanations are clear and encouraging. I found the quick-fire workouts particularly helpful. These are interspersed between the longer chapters and it is easy to turn to a workout for stress or anxiety - whatever need you have at the time - for some clear explanations of what is happening in your mind and strategies for dealing with it.
I was not expecting to learn anything new from this book and I was wrong. I learned a lot! A worthwhile read.

A great book for anyone and everyone – whether you suffer with mental health or not, it might help you understand others better.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

A good book with loads of people should read. Made me realise a few things about myself and my mental health. Definitely recommend,

This book gave some interesting perspectives and helpful advice but it was not entirely what I expected from the blurb. It is a short book with practical examples and I loved that it was framed as “exercise” as I think people often overlook exercising mentally in the same way we do physically. I do wish there had been a bit more to it though, I think some parts were a little repetitive and did not really give me anything new I had not considered. I would recommend for anyone who has not read many other mental health books and is looking for an introduction.

Really found this useful, especially during these tough times surrounded by Covid. Life has changed so much and our mental health has become just as important as our physical health but sometimes we don’t realise this until it is too late.

I would recommend that you read each chapter in full before beginning each step. This will really help with the mental workouts and make you understand why we feel this way and what we can do to help ourselves.

It was such an interesting read and a good experiment for me. It is now going to be my “go to” book.

Well written and not at all patronising.

Would definitely recommend you give it a go.

I think this is such a great book, but I struggled to use it on kindle! I will be keeping my eye out for a physical copy as I think that will work better for me

This book just didn't work for me.
One thing that I didn't expect was the explicit expectation that this book would be something to use alongside ongoing therapy - the author suggests that without therapy then you shouldn't expect too much.
That said, the exercises detailed in the book seemed sound, nothing particularly new or different, but providing a fairly standard basis for trying to improve your self image, etc. (e.g. with a number of affirmations that you can repeat each day).
Not my cup of tea, but a reasonably well written 'self help' book.

Your Mental Health Workout focuses on giving your mind some attention, in the same way you might change your eating or exercise habits to get physically fitter. Think of it as the mental health equivalent of a five-week gym membership, focusing on your thoughts and feelings and how you respond to them. The book was very easy to navigate, with weekly checklists and planners at the beginning to keep me on track (printable copies are available from the author’s website). Everything in the book is very practical and explained in simple terms and a friendly tone. I loved the way Zoe Aston, a psychotherapist, approaches a mental health workout in the same way we would approach a physical one – setting goals, warming up, weekly workouts and daily workouts – with easy exercises to build ‘mental muscle’. There’s even an additional chapter on ‘Physio for your feelings’. A fun and informative way to look after my mental health and keep stress and anxiety at bay.