The 8 Best Audiobooks for Soothing Anxiety

The 9 Best Audiobooks for Soothing Anxiety

From tactical self-help to guided meditations, these listens offer resonant relief in worrisome times.
Anxiety is one of the most common struggles of our time, and tackling it is easier said than done. Although anxiety is best managed with professional help, we handpicked some of the best self-help audiobooks full of useful tools for coping with symptoms of anxiety.
Even if you feel like you’ve heard it all before, you’re bound to learn something new from the comprehensive research offered in these listens. Add these 9 best audiobooks for anxiety to your mental health arsenal today.
Product list
  • Maybe You Should Talk to Someone cover art

    • Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

    • By: Lori Gottlieb
    • Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
    • Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
    • Release date: 09-05-2019
    • Language: English
    • 4.8 out of 5 stars 847 ratings
    • This insightful, moving, and witty memoir explores the struggles we all face as humans and our ability to move forward by talking about it. Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb takes the listener behind the scenes as she shares her patients’ stories as well as her own challenges. She combines her clinical knowledge with personal experience to teach us more about ourselves and the power we have to transform our lives for the better. Written with raw honesty and refreshing humour, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone shows the listener that many of the hardships, anxieties, and emotions we grapple with are universal. If you’re struggling with anxiety, this audiobook is a welcome reminder that you’re not alone and there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

    $42.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • The Upward Spiral cover art

    • The Upward Spiral

    • Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time
    • By: Alex Korb PhD.
    • Narrated by: David deVries
    • Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
    • Release date: 01-03-2015
    • Language: English
    • 4.7 out of 5 stars 144 ratings
    • Using the latest research in neuroscience, The Upward Spiral teaches us how to improve our own happiness and wellbeing — one little step at a time. Neuroscientist Alex Korb explains the processes in the brain that cause depression before going on to provide dozens of simple and effective steps you can take to rewire your brain for a happier life. This includes tips on how to have a more positive mindset, how to create a gratitude circuit, and an entire chapter dedicated to overcoming anxiety and worry. As you listen, you’ll realise that even small things like relaxing certain muscles to reduce anxiety or encouraging yourself to have more positive social interactions can make a huge difference. This empowering audiobook will leave you with practical, sustainable ways to improve your mental health and create a better life, from the inside out.

    $28.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • Dare cover art

    • Dare

    • The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks Fast
    • By: Barry McDonagh
    • Narrated by: Barry McDonagh
    • Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
    • Release date: 27-04-2016
    • Language: English
    • 4.8 out of 5 stars 206 ratings
    • Dare is a guide to ending symptoms of anxiety and stopping panic attacks in their tracks using Irish psychologist Barry McDonagh’s tried and tested method, the DARE technique. The practices that he explains are tools that anyone can use to help themselves cope, regardless of whether or not they’ve been able to identify the underlying sources of their anxiety yet. McDonagh not only overcame his own struggles with panic disorder, but also spent a decade working with people who suffered from various forms of anxiety in order to better understand how to help them. One of the best parts about this audiobook is his earnest, calming narration. Listeners grappling with anxiety will find Dare to be a refreshing and effective approach to accepting and moving forward.

    $22.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • Rewire Your Anxious Brain cover art

    • Rewire Your Anxious Brain

    • How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry
    • By: Catherine M. Pittman PhD, Elizabeth M. Karle MLIS
    • Narrated by: Susannah Mars
    • Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
    • Release date: 29-07-2015
    • Language: English
    • 4.4 out of 5 stars 744 ratings
    • Rewire Your Anxious Brain is a well-researched and fascinating look at anxiety from the perspectives of two experts in the field of psychology. As the title suggests, the authors offer neuroscience-based practical tips on how to rework the thought processes that lead to anxiety, obsessing, and ruminating. Thanks to skilled narrator Susannah Mars’s delivery, this audiobook is an enjoyable listen, even as it delves into the more technical, nuanced aspects of neuropsychology. Her narration is equal parts engaging and educational. Listeners seeking a better understanding of how humans both initiate and respond to emotions such as fear, anxiety, and worry will be thoroughly satisfied by this in-depth examination of how the brain works. You might just find yourself marveling at the power of your own brain by the time you finish this listen.

    $22.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • The Solution to Social Anxiety: Break Free from the Shyness That Holds You Back cover art

    • The Solution to Social Anxiety: Break Free from the Shyness That Holds You Back

    • By: Dr. Aziz Gazipura PsyD
    • Narrated by: Dr. Aziz Gazipura
    • Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
    • Release date: 25-07-2014
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 89 ratings
    • The Solution to Social Anxiety guides listeners through the process of identifying their natural strengths to increase self-esteem, overcome fear of rejection, and nurture new and existing personal relationships. Dr. Aziz Gazipura provides dozens of clinically proven techniques to help listeners gain perspective and improve their overall mental health. Gazipura himself narrates in an authoritative yet gentle and compassionate tone, inviting listeners to let their guards down and take his words seriously. This audiobook is one of the best possible choices to help someone find a functional solution to their social anxiety. Sceptical listeners who previously thought that breaking free of their crippling shyness would be a gruelling process will be pleasantly surprised by the end of this listen.

    $22.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • How to Be Yourself cover art

    • How to Be Yourself

    • Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety
    • By: Ellen Hendriksen
    • Narrated by: Ellen Hendriksen
    • Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
    • Release date: 13-03-2018
    • Language: English
    • 4.7 out of 5 stars 119 ratings
    • Narrated by the social anxiety and confidence expert herself, clinical psychologist and podcast host Dr. Ellen Hendriksen creates an unforgettable listening experience to help lead people to a place of self-assuredness. Hendriksen shares powerful science-backed tips based on years of personal experience empowering patients to overcome anxiety, including anecdotes to keep listeners engaged from start to finish. By trying Hendriksen’s simple techniques, listeners can quiet their own inner critics and rewire their brains through behavioural changes. As someone who struggled with social anxiety for years, Hendriksen is empathetic, realistic, and offers some comedic relief along the way.

    $21.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • Feeling Good cover art

    • Feeling Good

    • The New Mood Therapy
    • By: David D. Burns MD
    • Narrated by: George Newbern
    • Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
    • Release date: 21-03-2017
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 105 ratings
    • In this guide to overcoming anxiety and depression, psychiatrist and author David D. Burns guides listeners along the path to a complete mindset shift. Even total sceptics will find themselves drawn to try Burns’s methods for building self-esteem and feeling good on a daily basis. The step-by-step instructions are delivered with a steady tone, making the daunting task of transforming your mindset seem much more manageable. Performed by Earphone Award-winning narrator George Newbern, the technicalities of changing your perspective seem achievable and easily accessible. Listeners will complete this listen feeling not only confident, but also equipped with the life-changing tools to develop a positive outlook that lasts.

    $27.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • Don't Feed the Monkey Mind cover art

    • Don't Feed the Monkey Mind

    • How to Stop the Cycle of Anxiety, Fear, and Worry
    • By: Jennifer Shannon LMFT
    • Narrated by: Jennifer Lund Jorgens
    • Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
    • Release date: 11-05-2017
    • Language: English
    • 4.7 out of 5 stars 61 ratings
    • Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind is a guide to identifying and silencing the incessant irrational thoughts (or 'monkey mind' chatter) that plague millions of people with anxiety. Jennifer Shannon, a brilliant psychotherapist specialising in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), shares her expertise in a concise and easy-to-follow manner. Listeners will feel reassured and empowered after following Shannon’s CBT-based approach to reclaiming your mind. Before you know it, you’ll be controlling your thoughts again rather than letting them control you. Thanks to the efficiency of the method and its lasting positive effects, Don’t Feed the Monkey Mind might just be one of the most effective audiobooks for anxiety available.

    $16.99 or free with 30-day trial

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  • Make Anxiety Your Superpower with Sarah Wilson Podcast with Sarah Wilson cover art

    • Make Anxiety Your Superpower with Sarah Wilson

    • 4.4 out of 5 stars 51 ratings
    • There is no more reassuring feeling when you’re anxious than knowing you are not alone. In Sarah Wilson’s Make Anxiety Your Superpower, listeners have the chance to hear from 10 different people who are also dealing with anxious thoughts. This format is a great way to dive into the range of anxieties felt by those riddled with mental health challenges, as well as get a better understanding of how anxiety can affect different people in different ways. Powerful, honest, and full of raw experience, Make Anxiety Your Superpower doesn't shy away from what it means to have anxiety. This podcast helps listeners identify their own anxiety and begin to use it not as a crutch, but as a valuable tool of empowerment. By listening to others’ stories, anyone grappling with anxiety will gain encouragement to self-reflect and hopefully embark on a similar journey of self identity and control while living with anxiety.
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Audiobook lists are hand-picked by Audible editors; inclusion is based on a number of factors including
listener ratings, narrator performances, presence on Audible best seller lists and cultural relevance.


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