mindfulness resources for mental health

Introduction

Mindfulness is the ability to be fully engaged in the world around you—and engaged with yourself. And it can be a key to cultivating a sense of wellness and stability in an unstable world. But with so many distractions competing for attention, be it work or school or general life stressors, it can be hard to access the skill of mindfulness. Happily, mindfulness is a muscle you can strengthen, using everyday practices such as reading, to improve mental health. To learn more about mindfulness—including why reading is good for you and how mindfulness can promote empathy in the classroom and beyond—check out the resources listed below.

Mindfulness Resources to Improve Mental Health

For those curious about the general practice of mindfulness for improving wellness, this list of organizations and resources will surely answer your questions.

Mindful.org

Mindful is a magazine and online community devoted to promoting mindfulness. Their website provides guidance on meditation, articles on different wellness topics, and even a directory for more mindful resources.

Mindful Spring

This website aims to educate people about mindfulness so that they can begin to practice it in their daily lives. It offers many free resources, including guided meditations, blog content about the benefits of mindfulness, and a list of good books to read. 

American Mindfulness Research Association

This organization promotes the scientific study of mindfulness and the development of best practices for applying mindfulness in any setting. Though it is a more professional space, the website offers plenty of information that’s accessible to the general public.

Healthy Mind Space 

This website was founded to showcase how the practice of mindfulness can never start too young. It offers resources to help parents and educators engage the children in their lives in the art of mindfulness.

Meditation for Students and Families

Educational nonprofit Mindworks provides several articles about why mindfulness, and specifically meditation, can be useful in many scenarios that children and parents encounter. These helpful reads include tips to help kids deal with the stress of school and social media, as well as ways parents can use meditation to better understand their kids.

The Mindfulness Benefits of Reading Books

We’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about reading, an activity that can improve mental health through mindfulness as well as be improved by mindfulness. The following resources explore the benefits of reading and why it is good for you.

The Mental Health Benefits of Reading

This Psychology Today article discusses how reading can positively impact one’s mental health. It posits that not enough people consider the benefits of reading, especially in times of stress, and shares empirical evidence of why people should read more.

Benefits of Reading Fiction

One of the noted benefits of reading fiction is an increased ability to be empathetic and a higher level of emotional intelligence. Because fiction inherently lends itself to deep reading—when the reader “draws connections to other parts of the material, finds applications to the outside world, and asks questions about the content presented”—it improves mental capacity and creates a positive effect on interpersonal relationships.

How Reading Aloud Embodies Mindfulness

A key aspect of mindfulness is being in the moment rather than dwelling on the past or fretting about the future. Since reading—especially reading aloud—pulls you into the world of a story and gets you out of your own head, it is a perfect activity for keeping you present and focused on what you’re doing.

Reading as Meditation

Most people meditate as a way to calm their minds and center themselves. Engaging in a compelling read is a way to accomplish those same goals without actively pursuing them. This piece makes a subtle case for reading physical copies of books, as feeling the pages beneath your fingers is another way of grounding you in the moment.

Reading as Connection: Virtual Book Clubs

We can also combat feelings of loneliness or isolation through reading—and forging connections through the books we read. That might explain the growing popularity of online book clubs! Here’s a list of 20 popular book clubs you can join without leaving your living room.

Mindful Reading and Writing Resources 

There is an infinite number of books and creative exercises for practicing mindfulness. This collection includes both reading and writing resources to help you make a change for the better.

Books to Learn About Mindfulness

If you’re still unsure of what, exactly, mindfulness is, the books on this list are sure to answer your questions. With these selections, you can learn about meditation, how to incorporate mindfulness into your diet, and even how mindfulness can improve your productivity.

50 Mindfulness Books to Read

From mindfulness for beginners to audiobooks and even free PDFs, Positive Psychology has pulled together a great list of mental health books.

Best Books for Gaining Self Awareness 

Being self-aware means being mindful of your own feelings and experiences. It’s about checking in with yourself to see how you’re faring physically, mentally, and emotionally. These books can help you get in touch with yourself.

Guided Journals to Achieve Mindfulness

Meditation looks different for different people. It can be listening to music, practicing simple yoga sequences, and even journaling. This resource offers prompts and suggestions to help you tap into your creativity and engage in mindful writing.

Tips for Mindful Writing

What does mindful writing look like? Much like mindfulness in general, it’s all about being in the moment. These tips will help you develop your ability to write mindfully.

Mindfulness Resources for Difficult Times 

When it comes to personal tragedies or major life upheavals, it can feel difficult to stay in the moment; it might even seem like the worst place to be. The following resources offer guidance on using mindfulness to cope with and overcome unforeseen troubles.

Six Tips for Mindfulness During Difficult Times

When faced with times of high stress or tough circumstances, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. These tips, ranging from self-compassion to leaning on your support system, offer many options for riding out the storm.

Healing from Loss through Mindfulness

Psychology Today provides a contemplative look at grief and how mindfulness can guide someone through the process of acceptance. It posits that, more often than not, acknowledging the pain of loss is the only way to truly heal from it.

Mindfulness in the Face of Chronic Illness

People with chronic illnesses may be too familiar with being in the present as the severity of their condition may greatly impact their daily routines. This brief article from the Center of Mindful Psychotherapy details the benefits of using mindfulness to cope with chronic illness.

Easing Stress During Times of Change

Even when change is exciting—a new job, a new city, a new addition to the family—it can introduce stress into your life. This article, which includes a helpful infographic, suggests how to train your brain to welcome change.

Guided Meditation for Transitory Periods

In addition to the above article, this piece includes a 15-minute video that guides viewers through a meditation on navigating the ups and downs that come with transition.

Mindfulness Apps for Times of Crisis

It isn’t always easy to know what you need to properly process your feelings during times of crisis. This is where some screen time can be of good use. With these mindfulness and meditation apps, you can learn how to cope healthily.

Mindfulness Strategies to Help You Manage Covid Stress

This article provides techniques and information on stress related to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as mindfulness exercises recommended by health care professionals.

Mindfulness Resources for Mental Health and Wellness 

There are many avenues for seeking help to improve mental health, with mindfulness being just one option. The following resources cover the gambit of mental health organizations, presenting many options for finding the right help.

MentalHealth.gov

This website acts as a one-stop resource for many of the national organizations and institutes dealing with issues of mental health. It covers information on a number of disorders, including behavioral, mood, and personality disorders, and informs those in need of where they can find mental health services.

Affordable Mental Health Resources

Unfortunately, not everyone has the access to mental health services that they need. Greatist offers a collection of 80 different resources that are either free or fairly affordable. The list includes online resources, official hotlines, and even podcasts and apps that can provide some relief.

Resources for Adolescents and Young Adults

The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine has provided a thorough collection of resources specific to the mental health struggles that young people encounter. It even includes links to nonprofit advocacy groups dedicated to supporting youth with mental health concerns.

Mindful Stress Management

Oftentimes, adults are so desensitized to stress that they can’t even recognize the signs. Mindful Stress Management provides a wealth of resources, including blog content and even workshops, to help adults in danger of burnout from stress and anxiety.

Audiobooks for Anxiety Relief

If you’re in the market for books that delve into the causes of anxiety and how to overcome your anxiety symptoms/avoid your triggers, these 10 audiobooks are a great place to start. From a series of lectures to guided sleep and anxiety meditations, these titles have something for everyone.

Best Meditation Apps

If you’re a big-time techie who likes having any and all resources in the palm of your hand, you might want to check out this list of apps that promote mindfulness through meditation and other helpful techniques.

Mental Health Resources for College Students 

Being a student of any age comes with its own special litany of stressors, but there’s something unique to the stress of college. Struggling students can hope to find something useful with any of the following resources.

How to Deal with Stress in College During Covid-19

College is stressful under normal circumstances, and Covid-19 has upended the traditional college experience. Study.com's detailed guide aims to help students identify and address different stressors, including those posed by the global pandemic.

50 Tips for Adjusting to College

Even if it seems like you spent most of high school preparing for college, it’s a different beast altogether when you finally step foot on campus. This collection of advice, which includes insights from college faculty and staff, touches on just about everything you’d want to know about becoming a college student.

Adjusting to College as a Student with a Disability

First-time college students with disabilities have their own set of considerations while adjusting to collegiate life. This list of resources provides guidance on several aspects of the college experience, from applying to navigating the transition and dealing with stress. 

Books on Health and Wellness in College

It may feel counterintuitive to add a bunch of books on top of your coursework, but these selections are just as educational as any textbook. They provide insight into eating better, sleeping better, and feeling better when the stress of your classes starts getting in the way of your personal health and wellness.

Recommended Bibliotherapy for College Students

Sometimes, the right piece of prose is all it takes to improve one’s outlook or mental wellbeing. This list of 22 books, both fiction and nonfiction, cover anything from mental health issues to addiction to finding one’s identity.

10 Ways to Reduce Stress in College

ThoughtCo provides a succinct list of tips for college students to minimize their stress. Though some of the advice may seem obvious, you’d be surprised how many students need the reminder to eat and sleep!

Mindfulness Resources for the Classroom

Many educators are beginning to see the benefits of bringing mindfulness into the classroom, with a particular focus on how mindfulness can improve comprehension. With the following resources, teachers can determine the best ways to fold mindfulness into their curricula.

Association for Mindfulness in Education

This national organization advocates for K-12 educators to receive mindfulness training. Its website includes the latest research on mindfulness in education, training events across the country (and online), and other resources to help teachers better understand the benefits of educational mindfulness.

Mindfulness for Reading Comprehension

Metacognition, or the ability to monitor your thinking, is an integral component of reading comprehension—and a clear form of mindfulness. This entry from We Teach Literacy offers insights on how to integrate mindfulness practices into literacy instruction.

Mindfulness for Students with Dyslexia or Attention Disorders

This scientific article provides evidence that incorporating mindfulness and stress reduction techniques into reading instruction is beneficial to students dealing with dyslexia or attention disorders. 

A Writer’s Guide to Mindful Reading

This open-access textbook focuses on developing students’ mindful reading skills, which will make them better readers, better writers, and better learners. It includes reading selections, assignments, and activities to build up students’ ability to read mindfully.

How to Be Mindful While Reading

This New York Times article provides tips for mindful reading, to help readers find "an oasis even in more turbulent settings."

Mindfulness Books for Kids

There are many books for young readers that offer insight into mindfulness. This article lists 10 picture books, along with suggested classroom activities, for teaching students about mindfulness. It also includes additional reading and a free download of a collection of mindfulness exercise cards.