I work with people setting goals and I'm other areas. I love books that contain great tools that I can pass onto clients and use on myself. This book was full of great takeaways to add to our mental toolboxes.

This had a ton of practical tips for everyday wellness, geared around when wellness feels un-manageable. I found it helpful and will keep it in mind for my own life.

A mental health toolbox that addresses the meaning of wellness. The tools include talking, crying, hugging, daily routines, sunsets, affirmations and crystals. Alongside these more mainstreamed self-care ideas, the toolbox also tackles issues like attending weddings, hospital appointments and school. A simple and approachable introduction to people seeking an overview of popular wellness ideas.

Your Wellness Toolbox by Ali Swift is a follow-up to the author’s book, My Wellness Toolbox. Your Wellness Toolbox is marketed as a supportive self-help guide filled with tools to help build a more positive mindset. As someone who works in mental health, I struggled with this book. #YourWellnessToolbox #NetGalley

This is a topic I love and I had high hopes for the book but it ultimately was not a good fit for me. It felt jumbled and lacked a logical sense of organization. I didn't find very helpful tips and had a hard time continuing with it. It's not a book that I'll publicly review since it was a miss for me.

I'm not generally an anxious or depressed person but I did enjoy reading about coping strategies and I think I would be able to use many of these tools going forward. I also look forward to sharing some ideas with friends.

I found portions of this book to be problematic. While the author asserts in the beginning that this book should not replace traditional therapy, many of her "tools" are extremely therapeutic in nature but not described or applied with in the text in their true form. Presented as a self-help workbook, the book presents too many pseudo-therapeutic suggestions to truly be responsibly self help but the author isn't credentialed as a mental health practitioner. I would have received this book better if she presented it as a memoir of her journey to wellness rather than a workbook.

Your Wellness Toolbox by Ali Swift is a follow-up to her first book, My Wellness Toolbox, which I previously reviewed. Both books are based on her own experience of what has helped with depression and anxiety.

This book contains 14 new tools, including descriptions of the circumstances struggling with her mental health in which the author came up with them. The tools include crying, going to the beach, and guided meditations. She pointed out that when she initially tried meditation, it didn’t do much for her. She was reluctant to try it again, but then had a positive experience when she tried Headspace, so it made the list of tools for this book.

Some of the tools lean in a bit of a woo-woo direction, like crystal healing and placenta encapsulation, but the author presents these in a balanced way as something that worked for her that may not work for everyone.

Besides the descriptions of the 14 new tools, the author writes about different challenging scenarios, such as the holidays and job interviews, and which tools, including the 26 tools from her first book may help with getting through them.

I liked that saying no and saying yes are both part of the toolbox, but in different scenarios—saying no to maintain boundaries, but saying yes to taking advantage of new opportunities.

This book was short and very easy to read. I found the layout a bit confusing, as it was hard to differentiate between headings and the titles of new chapters. I had an epub copy, and that may have been an issue of the ebook formatting not being quite up to par with the print version. Overall, though, it’s a lovely little read.



I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I made the decision to concentrate on self-care reads on Sundays, to improve my own mental health and educate myself. I was delighted when NetGalley offered me a gifted digital version of Your Wellness Toolbox.

Over the past two weeks, Ali Swift has introduced me to forty new coping strategies that can be used as and when needed for any life event. This toolbox is simple and easy to read, with Ali giving examples of how she has used the techniques as well as offering some practical writing exercises that the reader can complete, such as gratitude lists.

The greatest asset of this book is that it can be personalised for any individual circumstance. I personally will be keeping this close at hand as a simple reminder that there are not any emotions or situations that I am unable to overcome. It’s perfect for dipping in and out of.

The only reason why this is not a five star for me is because there were things that were not relevant for me, such as placenta encapsulation so I did skim through some of these sections.

After reading this Your Wellness Toolbox, I am feeling empowered and more confident about my own well-being and definitely recommend this for a self care Sunday read!

Unfortunately I did not find this to be a useful book. It is set out very oddly and seemingly randomly; there are chapters on challenging events such as interviews, weddings, hospital visits, interspersed with well being tools, chapters on crystals and limiting beliefs and copies of blog posts. The well being tools are rated out of 10 for effectiveness, ease and cost but this is all very subjective. There are much better books out there on this topic.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC