Stress Awareness Month: Calming audiobooks for mindful listening.
Stress Awareness Month: Calming Audiobooks for Mindful Listening
Stress awareness month is an annual event that is held every April since 1992, originally started by the International Stress Management Association(ISMA), to help increase public awareness about the causes, effects, and practical management of stress. It is a time set aside to lessen the stigma associated with mental health, discuss coping strategies, and motivate people and organisations to make better lifestyle choices.
In this blog, we’ll provide a general overview of stress, alongside practical techniques to help manage it, such as reading or listening to audiobooks. We’ll also share our top audiobook recommendations on the subject. From comedian Ruby Wax’s guide to finding the ‘off’ switch, to Fearne Cotton’s kind and sincere invitation to discover peace, we explore supportive voices that offer different paths to calm and balance.
What is Stress?
Stress is the body’s natural response to feeling threatened or under heavy pressure. When this occurs, our systems release adrenaline, often called the ‘fight or flight’ hormone, which provides the drive to react quickly.
Because stress is subjective, the way you respond to a situation may vary significantly from how another reacts to the same triggers. This is why we must listen to our bodies at all times; doing so helps us avoid overburdening ourselves and prevents the long-term risk of a physical or mental breakdown.
Recent research indicates that between 74% and 91% of adults in the UK have ‘tapped out’ or experienced burnout due to stress within the last year, with approximately 63% experiencing stress at least weekly.
Furthermore, stress can negatively impact both reading physical books and listening to audiobooks. It interferes with the reflective parts of the brain, acting as a hindrance to absorbing new information, comprehending text, or recollecting what has been read.
This Stress Awareness Month, we explore practical activities to help reduce stress, highlight the relaxing benefits of audiobooks and share our top picks to help you unwind.
Practical Activities to Help Reduce Stress Include:
- Engaging in Wellbeing Activities: Practices such as meditation, yoga, Pilates, deep breathing, and mindful relaxation can help calm and centre the mind.
- Staying Active: Going on a 10-to-15-minute walk can help you connect with nature, while gardening or other physical activities help increase endorphin levels.
- Building Meaningful Connections: It is important to speak with family or friends about your feelings. Sharing your experiences helps to ease your mind and relieve internal pressure.
- Participate in creative hobbies: Creative hobbies such as writing, journalling, scrap booking or reading are brilliant methods of triggering the "rest and digest" response, helping to reduce anxiety and improve your mood.
- Listening to Audiobooks: This is a vital aspect of de-stressing that is often underutilised. When managing stress levels, ‘reading’ is incredibly important, as it helps slow heart rates and ease muscle tension. However, not everyone has the patience or ability to sit through a physical book, especially when stressed, which makes focusing even more of a challenge.
This is where audiobooks step in to close the gap. Listening to audiobooks helps calm the body and promotes overall well-being. Research has shown that audiobooks can aid in reducing stress levels by up to 68%. This is because listening can act as a form of escapism, helping to curb anxiety and reduce negative, intrusive thoughts.
Other Benefits of Listening to Audiobooks
1. Offers companionship
A feeling of loneliness frequently worsens stress. A special kind of companionship and connection is offered by audiobooks. The brain can be experiencing a sensation of harmony by hearing a steady, kind voice in your ear. This presence lowers the physiological indicators of loneliness, which is a significant and frequently subtle cause of long-term stress.
2. Offers an immersive form of escapism
Audiobooks, especially children's/YA and fantasy novels, are brilliant for escapism, allowing listeners to lose themselves in another reality or world.
3. Enchantment and Rhythm
We frequently fail to notice how rhythmic communication is. A skilled narrator uses a particular cadence and tempo. If you choose a narrator with a calm, steady pace, your nervous system can soften to that rhythm, physically slowing your heart rate and breathing without you consciously trying to meditate.
4. Safe Exposure Therapy for the Release of Emotions
Because some individuals don't think they have a safe moment to be emotional, a lot of people repress their tension. By proxy, audiobooks help facilitate emotional release. Through a character, you can feel deep sadness, happiness, empathy or victory.
Here is our selection of tried and tested audiobooks you can listen to during your recovery to help promote your mental well-being and restore you to your A-game.
A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled by Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax's A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled is the clever, scientifically supported manual for figuring out the ‘off’ switch if you've ever felt like your mind is a runaway train. Wax explains why our 21st-century minds are always on high alert by fusing her signature comedy with her Master's degree in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.
She offers a practical explanation of how we might reorganise our neurological pathways to achieve calm in a chaotic world rather than ‘zen’ fluff. For everyone too busy, too anxious, or simply too human to sit on a hilltop, it is an open, humorous, and incredibly useful manual. This is the ideal choice if you want the science of mindfulness without the incense.
A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled by Ruby Wax is available for members to borrow here.
Your Mind Matters: Beating Stress and Anxiety by Honor Head
Honor Head provides the best survival guide for anyone feeling overwhelmed by the demands of contemporary life in Beating Stress and Anxiety. Instead of giving meaningless "just relax" advice, this guide reveals the reasons for our bodies' reaction to stress as a threat to survival and offers a useful toolkit for manipulating that system.
Head turns overwhelming worry into a manageable challenge by teaching people how to master the mental "reset" and navigate the toxic side of social media. It's a quick, nonjudgmental guide that not only explains the reasons behind your stress but also provides you with the tools to regain control.
Your Mind Matters: Beating Stress and Anxiety by Honor Head is available for members to borrow here.
Calm by Fearne Cotton
In a world that never seems to end, Fearne Cotton's Calm is a kind and sincere appeal to discover serenity. Cotton discusses her own experience with anxiety and the straightforward, daily routines that enabled her to rediscover her joy while stepping away from the pressure of perfection.
The book is a lovely combination of professional guidance, imaginative exercises, and open storytelling that feels like a discussion with a close friend. Rather than offering a universally applicable answer, she urges readers to discover their own calm by engaging in tiny acts of self-care and changing their understanding of what success actually entails. For anybody who wants to reduce noise, let go of expectations, and regain a sense of equilibrium in their everyday life, it is soothing and visually inspirational advice.
Calm by Fearne Cotton is available for members to borrow here.
Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On by Mark A. Reinecke
If you're sick of hearing the advice to ‘just relax,’ Mark A. Reinecke's Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On provides a much-needed reality check. Reinecke, a renowned specialist in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, offers twenty succinct, potent teachings that might halt a whirling mind.
This book focuses on useful ‘in-the-moment’ techniques to counteract the catastrophic thoughts that cause anxiety rather than in-depth philosophy. Reinecke teaches you how to break tension before it starts by concentrating on how we perceive the world. For anyone who wishes to remain grounded and productive no matter what life throws at them, it is straightforward, sympathetic, and incredibly practical guidance.
Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On by Mark A. Reinecke is available for members to borrow here.
When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté, M.D
Gabor Maté's When the Body Says No is a potent wake-up call for anyone who thinks they can just push through the strain. Maté examines the profound, frequently undetectable connection between our emotions and physical well-being, contending that when we lack the mental capacity to say ‘no,’ our bodies finally do it for us through sickness.
He explains how long-term stress and suppressed emotions can cause everything from autoimmune disorders to cardiac problems using compelling clinical case studies and state-of-the-art research. This is more than simply a book about stress; it's a deep examination of how our biological survival is directly impacted by our life stories and personality qualities, such as the urge to please others. It’s a must-read for those ready to stop ignoring the physical symptoms of their busy lives and start the journey toward genuine healing.
When the Body Says No by Gabor Maté is available for members to borrow here.
You Can Master Meditation by David Fontana
David Fontana's You Can Master Meditation is the best way to get mental clarity if you think your mind is too noisy for traditional quiet. Psychologist Fontana dispels the mystique and fear associated with meditation, demonstrating that it is a useful technique that anybody can acquire to improve attention and reduce stress.
The book offers a methodical approach to strengthening your mental muscles through easy-to-do exercises that can be included in a hectic schedule. Fontana demonstrates how to utilise meditation to notice your thoughts without being carried away by them, as opposed to requiring hours of your time. It is a practical, powerful manual that replaces frustration with a sense of calm control. This book illuminates why your previous attempts at meditation may not have succeeded and provides guidance on how to effectively engage in the practice.
You Can Master Meditation by David Fontana is available for members to borrow here.
If any of this feels familiar, know that you don’t have to carry it on your own. Whether you’re dealing with persistent stress or just finding things a bit too much right now, there is support out there, along with practical guidance and reassurance when you need it most.
MIND is a UK mental health charity that helps people who are struggling with things like stress, anxiety, and depression. They offer support through a helpline, easy-to-understand information, and local services like counselling and support groups. They also work to raise awareness about mental health and push for better care and support in the UK.
Anxiety UK is a charity that supports people who are dealing with anxiety, stress, and related conditions. They offer practical help like a helpline, therapy options such as CBT, and useful information to help people understand and manage their anxiety. They also provide membership support services and work to make sure people feel less alone while dealing with anxiety.
No Panic is a UK charity that supports people living with panic attacks, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). They offer a helpline, self-help resources, and recovery programmes to help people manage their symptoms step by step. They aim to give practical support and reassurance so people can gradually build confidence and reduce anxiety. While Samaritans provides emotional support to anyone who is struggling or in distress. They are available 24/7, and you can contact them for free by phone, email, or sometimes in person. Their volunteers listen without judgment and offer a safe space for people to talk about whatever they’re going through.
In this Stress Awareness Month, it's worth asking, when was the last time you truly gave your mind a moment to rest? Listening Books offers a gentle way to enjoy stories without the strain of reading. We provide thousands of audiobooks for children, teenagers, and young adults, covering both fiction and non-fiction. These can be accessed online or offline, with over 10,500 titles available to stream from our website or download via the Libby app on a phone or tablet. Membership costs £25 a year, though it is free for those who cannot afford it. Click here to browse our collection or join today – and help us keep audiobooks accessible for everyone. For more informationon children's membership click here.
Blog written by Jennifer Amaechi
