19 Items To Buy For Your Mental Health, Because Self-Care Isn't Always Free

San Francisco Bath Company Lavender Bath Salts, $13, Amazon

Lavender’s link to mental health goes back to medieval herbaries, but we still use it today for its calming properties; it’s been compared to the best anti-anxiety drugs on the market. Combine it with one of the best self-care activities out there, a hot bath, and you’ve got a recipe for a truly stellar bit of mood boosting.

Image: San Francisco Bath Company

The Little Book Of Mindfulness, $6, Amazon

Mindfulness — practice of bodily awareness, consciousness. and stress control through daily 10min meditations — is being touted as the next big thing in helping anxiety, mood swings, and depression. This small book explains the principle behind it in completely non-wishy-washy terms. If you’ve heard of it but are suspicious, this is the book for you.

Image: Gaia Books

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplements, $30, Amazon

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, have been linked by scientific studies to the improvement of mental health, from depression to schizophrenia. A daily intake, supervised by your doctor or medical professional, is a good way to boost your brain, particularly if you really don’t like fish.

Image: Dr Tobias

Sephora Instant Nail Cuticle Care, $18, Amazon

Manis and pedis are often on the lists of women’s self-care activities. They’re simple, inexpensive, take concentration, and immediately produce a self-esteem boost. You can buy kits that replicate salon conditions and have more bells and whistles than a Porsche, but if you want to keep it simple, Sephora’s line is lovely.

Image: Sephora

Z afu Organic Meditation Cushion, $35, Amazon

If meditation is one of the tricks you use for mental health, these cushions are your way forward. They’re eco-friendly, come in a huge range of colors, and are perfect for your posture and your butt.

Image: Zafu

TriggerPoint Massage Ball, $21, Amazon

Not all of us can run out and get a massage the second we feel like throwing cutlery. Luckily, however, there are self-massage products on the market, so that we don’t even have to rope in a significant other to make us loosen up our muscles. This one by TriggerPoint is designed to replicate what it feels like to be pummelled in the deep tissue, so use it wisely.

Image: TriggerPoint

Green & Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate (10 Pk), $35, Amazon

Seriously dark chocolate is a good mood booster, as it enhances serotonin production. The sugar’s not the point here, though: it’s the cocoa that does the work, so a bar of milk or white chocolate won’t do the work. Green & Black’s is an organic beauty made in England, but any good organic chocolate with high cocoa levels will do.

Image: Green & Black’s

Leschi Warming Pillow, $41, Amazon

One, this is adorable. Two, muscle tension is a classic symptom of anxiety disorders, and post-panic attack, your neck and shoulders can hurt like hell. This heated warming pillow will help loosen the muscles and reduce the ache.

Image: Lesci

The Mindful Way Workbook, $23, Amazon

This is a workbook that combines mindfulness with cognitive behavioral therapy, which is one of the most common methods used in therapy to change the disordered thinking behind a lot of mood disorders. You can do it with a therapist or on your own over an 8-week period, progressing from writing down difficult thoughts to learning how to tackle them.

Image: The Guildford Press

Wild Republic Stuffed Three-Toed Sloth , $15, Amazon

Interaction with animals calms humans down, and hospital nurses report that if they can’t get visits from actual therapy animals, stuffed animals help the mood of their patients. Plus how could you resist cuddling a sloth when times got tough? Thought so.

Image: Wild Republic

How To Cook Everything, $21, Amazon

One of the first things to go in self-care is preparing food. It’s difficult, it’s messy, it takes time and attention, and then you have to wash up. This is a cookbook for those people who find cooking an alien experience: baking in particular, with its need for precision and attention to detail, is known as a mentally healthy activity.

Image: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Heavenly Tea Green Leaves Sampler, $32, Amazon

Small studies indicate that green tea may boost brain function, and it’s been linked to all kinds of physical wellness from cancer prevention to liver disease. This is a kit for people who want to get to grips with green tea’s different flavors, from sweet sencha to chun mee, otherwise known as eyebrow tea.

Image: Heavenly Tea

Bucky Luggage 40 Blinks Ultralight Sleep Mask, $12, Amazon

A good night’s sleep is critically important for those battling mental health problems. Serious insomniacs will need to seek medical help, but if you’re just in need of a decent bit of shuteye, this effective and stylish sleep mask is your ticket.

Image: 40 Blinks

Bodywisdom Yoga For Beginners DVD, $11, Amazon

Yoga, particularly for adolescents and young people, has been shown to have a role to play in controlling anxiety, low mood and stress. Starting out with a full-blown class can be too much for people with social anxiety, but a simple at-home DVD introduction is a better idea.

Image: Bodywisdom

L’Occitane Shea Butter Beauty Balm, $42, Amazon

Sometimes luxurious pampering is the way to feel better. Shea butter balms smell great and are good for your skin, and a long period of massaging will calm you down and stimulate your nerves.

Image: L’Occitane

America’s Great Hiking Trails, $30, Amazon

The great outdoors: it’s good for you. Studies show that outdoor activity, particularly in green areas, helps all kinds of mental health difficulties, including self-esteem. If you’re not sure whether you want to go all Cheryl Strayed just yet, pick up this book and see if there’s anywhere in your area for a quick hike.

Image: Rizzoli

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Secret Garden Coloring Book, $10, Amazon

Feel the need for something intricate and involved to focus your brain on for a while? Pick up this adult’s coloring book, which combines detailed coloring pages (the linework is incredible) with a treasure hunt for tiny creatures in the foliage.

Image: Laurence King

Click here to buy.

There are several apps about that help with cognitive behavioral therapy, but this is a simple one, particularly for people who’ve just started the journey to diagnosis and self-care. It’s a mood diary for phones, where you can input time, date and your mood. (There’s a Jung psychology questionnaire that you can get into if you like, but the tracking bit’s more applicable to everybody.)

Image: Radiant Monkey