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A Path to Healing
An autobiographical account of how Sharon Lowell was able to recover from debilitating, suicidal depression to a new life of joy, appreciation, hope and faith. This is an audio e-book complete with live telephone nterviews with indutry experts, and Sharon's complete explanation of her healing process and how she maintains her new state of healing.
Preview Website - 12-Jan-2006 - Hits: 210 - Rate This | Details

Active Treatment of Depression ^{Top Rated}
Addressing his fellow professionals in the mental health field, O'Connor argues that the current state of understanding of the causes and treatments for depression are woefully inadequate and quite often counterproductive. He argues that no single theory can adequately explain the causes and no single treatment plan can successfully be applied universally to depressed patients. He also calls upon his colleagues to recognize that although incidents of depression may sometimes be successfully treated, all too often depression is a chronic disease that is not improved by one-time interventions of pharmaceuticals or other therapies. O'Connor advocates for an "active" treatment that holistically explores multiple causes of depression and looks to all treatment modalities to find the proper combination of methods that can be applied to each unique case.
Preview Website - 7-Jan-2003 - Hits: 1201 - Rate This | Details

An Unquiet Mind
In Touched with Fire, Kay Redfield Jamison, a psychiatrist, turned a mirror on the creativity so often associated with mental illness. In this book she turns that mirror on herself. With breathtaking honesty she tells of her own manic depression, the bitter costs of her illness, and its paradoxical benefits: "There is a particular kind of pain, elation, loneliness and terror involved in this kind of madness.... It will never end, for madness carves its own reality." This is one of the best scientific autobiographies ever written, a combination of clarity, truth, and insight into human character. "We are all, as Byron put it, differently organized," Jamison writes. "We each move within the restraints of our temperament and live up only partially to its possibilities." Jamison's ability to live fully within her limitations is an inspiration to her fellow mortals, whatever our particular burdens may be.
Preview Website - 29-Mar-2005 - Hits: 433 - Rate This | Details

Beyond the Blues, A Guide to Understanding and Treating Prenatal and Postpartum Depression
Beyond the Blues contains the most up-to-date information about risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mood disorders in pregnancy and postpartum. Straightforward yet compassionate, it is required reading for all who work with pregnant and postpartum women, as well as for those suffering before or after the baby is born.

"Refreshingly easy to read and understand. Informative, concise and truly user friendly. A valuable tool for clinicians and consumers alike."
- Joyce A. Venis, R.N.C.

You can also visit their website at http://www.beyondtheblues.com/.
Preview Website - 13-Apr-2003 - Hits: 263 - Rate This | Details

Body Health Soul LLC
With the use of Yoga, A Proper Diet and Positive thinking, we aim at increasing fitness and health for the body and soul. With Drugless healing, we also offer free resources to aid with Depression, Skin-Disorders and Respiratory health
Preview Website - 26-Dec-2005 - Hits: 73 - Rate This | Details

Coming Undone: My Battle With Depression
A woman's personal struggle for years with depression. She hopes to uncover the stereotypes and hopefully other people can relate as well "because we all know how invalidating feelings is sometimes the worst part. I have included my personal diary and I welcome you to submit yours as well."
Preview Website - 16-Jun-2004 - Hits: 351 - Rate This | Details

Defeating Depression: Real Help for You and Those Who Love You
In Defeating Depression: Real Help for You and Those Who Love You, author Howard W. Stone, Ph.D., takes a multi-faceted (cognitive, behavioral, physiological, and interpersonal) approach to the treatment of depression recognizing that the most effective treatments address multiple aspects of the disorder. Along with this approach, the book advocates an "active" rather than passive response to the depression and addresses both the depressed individual and his or her support system in developing an appropriate response. The book also acknowledges the importance of the individual's spirituality and belief system in developing a plan for treatment. In an active, yet compassionate voice, Defeating Depression puts the task of managing depression and minimizing relapse squarely in the hands of the depressed individual with educated support from loved ones.
Preview Website - 12-Nov-2007 - Hits: 72 - Rate This | Details

Depression Fallout
The official website for author Anne Sheffield, whose latest book is Depression Fallout: The Impact of Depression on Couples and What You Can Do to Preserve the Bond (Quill/HarperCollins, 2003). The site has details on Sheffield's books, links to depression resources, and an interactive message board for depression fallout sufferers to visit and post messages.

If you have a family member or close friend with a depressive illness, you may have "depression fallout," a term the author uses to describe the burnout and stress loved ones of those who suffer from depression often experience.
Preview Website - 11-Aug-2003 - Hits: 670 - Rate This | Details

Depression is a Choice
In our culture, it is taken as an unquestionable fact that depression is a disease, that it is quite common, and that it is the explanation for everything from lethargy to conditions and actions that are much more serious. In her thoughtful and at times explosive new book, A. B. Curtiss takes a look at these assumptions, exploring them from a philosophical, psychological, and often a deeply personal point of view. She tells us that for many, depression is a choice. Using a technique the author labels "directed thinking," Curtiss creates a road map for converting the energy we put into being depressed into a strength that can ultimately lead us out of depression.

As someone who has suffered from depression herself, and who is also a practicing psychotherapist, Curtiss is uniquely qualified to pose these questions. For example, she asks whether, in the name of depression, we excuse ourselves of responsibility in certain areas of our lives. While acknowledging the seriousness of depression, she asks whether at times we falsely classify what we are feeling as depression, the disease, when in fact we are simply experiencing the difficulties that are part and parcel of the human condition, part of the process of living.

Curtiss suggests that we are living in a culture that is deeply "psychologized," and that psychological terms and perspectives have become so imbedded in who we are and how we categorize people and things that at times we may rest on those categories, and therefore give up the chance to overcome them, on our own.

Curtiss takes the available research on depression and the brain, and makes a convincing case that just as individuals who are depressed reside in their depression -- to the point where it becomes their focus -- that focus can be turned on its head and into a determination to find our way out.

The book's website (see below) will put you in touch with some entirely new thinking about depression which began with the publication of the book Depression is a Choice: Winning the Battle without Drugs by A. B. Curtiss. On this site you can read some of the latest writings about depression from many thinkers who look beyond prescription drugs for a cure for depression; thinkers like Paul McHugh, Psychiatrist-in-Chief of Johns Hopkins University, and Martin E. Seligman, the father of positive psychology. On this site you will find some helpful do's and don'ts for when depression hits. You will also find a section of mental exercises that can help change the habitual neuronal connections in your brain which contribute to depression.

You can also visit this book's website at www.depressionisachoice.com.
Preview Website - 1-Jul-2002 - Hits: 881 - Rate This | Details

Do One Thing Different ^{Top Rated}
Ten Simple Ways to Change Your Life
By Bill O'Hanlon

You can move quickly from "stuck" to "smooth sailing" in all aspects of your life using Bill O'Hanlon's ten easy Solution Keys, Humorous, direct, and effective, they help you change how you view and "do" your problems-from difficult relationships to enhancing sexuality and resolving conflicts of all kinds. The next time you have a problem, try one of these solution Keys: Break Problem Patter: Change any one of what you usually do in the problem situation-i.e. do one thing different! Example: If you usually get angry and defensive, sit quietly and listen.

Find and Use Solution Pattern: Import solutions from other situations where you felt competent. Examples: what do you know on the golf course that you forget when you get behind the wheel of your car? What do you say to resolve a problem with an angry customer that you don't say to your angry partner?

Shift Your Attention: Focus what you would like to have happen rather than on what is happening.

Grounded in therapeutic practice, this bold and funny book will put you back in control of your emotions and your life.
Preview Website - 29-Mar-2005 - Hits: 627 - Rate This | Details

Feeling Good Handbook ^{Top Rated}
Depression is a crippling and often misunderstood disorder in today's society. While many people advocate a purely medical model of this problem (and label it a "disease," like cancer), others find it more helpful to explore the depths of depression and other possible causes. Since medication isn't right for everyone with this disorder, and not everyone can afford to attend weekly therapy sessions, David Burns has written a book for those people looking to help themselves through this disorder.

This excellent how-to manual leads people who are depressed on a journey of understanding and self-discovery. Beginning with an easy to read and understand overview of the cognitive theory of what causes people to become depressed, it goes on to discuss the multitude of methods and techniques used to help treat depression. You don't have to believe in everything the cognitive theory of depression tells us about this disorder to attain a great deal of benefit from the techniques found throughout the book. The daily homework assignments coupled with the elaboration of the kinds of cognitive mistakes everyone makes everyday (for instance, overgeneralizing one bad thing which happens to you to mean that you are a bad person) are especially helpful. It is really chock full of useful and down-to-earth explanations and things which people can do everyday to try and help themselves. Based upon Aaron Beck's cognitive work in researching depression.

This book is on my bookshelf for good reason. It is not only a good read once, but you can pick it up time and time again to reference and refer to items which you may have forgotten. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is currently suffering for depression, or as a gift to someone who you know is suffering from this terrible disorder. While not everything in it may make sense to everyone who reads it, there is really something for almost anybody who suffers from depression. Softcover, 220 pages.
Preview Website - 5-Apr-2000 - Hits: 1060 - Rate This | Details

It's Not as Bad as It Seems
A Thinking Straight Approach to Happiness
By Dr. Ed Nottingham
Book review by Craig Phillips.

Dr. Nottingham has produced a fantastic book! It has all of the things I dearly love to see between the front and back covers. It's easy to read, and has a down to earth common sense approach that provides answers to a lot of the common questions depressed people have. Of particular interest are the examples of conversations between Dr. Nottingham and some of the people he has worked with. Through these fictional accounts we are able to get many of the questions depressed people have answered in a realistic format and see how the methods described in the book are employed. There are a variety of exercises included that allow you to take an active role in discovering what your triggers are, and what the best way for you to work through them.

Preview Website - 4-May-2000 - Hits: 318 - Rate This | Details

Living Without Depression and Manic Depression: A Workbook for Maintaining ^{Top Rated}
Those affected with depressive and manic depressive disorders can live fairly normal lives with proper treatment: this title provides self-help tips to supplement treatment programs, providing encouragement for self-advocacy and including recommendations for support and self-help therapy. From minimizing negative influences from the past to using peer counseling effectively, this provides a workbook packed with tips.
Preview Website - 7-Jan-2003 - Hits: 408 - Rate This | Details

Overcoming Depression
By Demitri and Janice Papolos

A very informative book about depression and manic depression. A good overview of the disease and its effects on those of us who suffer with it. Some of it is a little on the technical side, but it's full of facts and explanations for those with the disease and those around them. A lot of the really spooky aspects of depression (what happens if I have to be hospitalized) are discussed in depth.

Preview Website - 4-May-2000 - Hits: 376 - Rate This | Details

Self-Care Depression Program
This free, 47-page self-help manual is a practical evidence-based guide to applying cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies to recovery from depression. Developed by a mental health services research group at the University of B.C. in Vancouver.
Preview Website - 24-Jul-2002 - Hits: 951 - Rate This | Details

Talking Back to Prozac
What Doctors Won't Tell You About Today's Most Controversial Drug
by Peter R. Breggin, M.D. and Ginger Ross Breggin

One of the most controversial books in its time, it is also one of the most detailed analyses of how drug manufacturers gain FDA approval. In making such an analysis, the Breggins also indict the drug manufacturers and the whole drug approval process as inherently flawed, biased, and inadequate for protecting Americans from potentially-harmful new medications.

Some parts of this book are too detailed and can be boring to some readers (professionals especially, who may already have the necessary education and background to skip the sections about how the brain works). But the large majority of the book is neither boring nor easy to put down, as the Breggins detail how Eli Lilly conducted its drug approval studies, analyse the resulting data themselves, and illustrate how Prozac, the popular antidepressant, did only barely better than a sugar pill (or placebo) in some of the studies used for FDA approval.

A reply to another popular Prozac book (Listening to Prozac by Peter Kramer), this book can sometimes go too far in drawing conclusions which the data neither support nor suggest. I would suggest it as a must-read though, if you are taking Prozac or a similar SSRI for the treatment of depression, and especially if you have already read Listening to Prozac. In the context of the other book, it presents "the other side," and in-between, I'd suggest, you will find a middle ground... Yes, there are problems with our current drug approval system, but it still remains one of the more conservative and best such systems in the world. Available in both paperback and hardcover.

If you're taking Prozac or any other of the newer antidepressant medications today, you should read this book.
Preview Website - 4-May-2000 - Hits: 235 - Rate This | Details

The Antidepressant Sourcebook: A User's Guide for Patients and Families
In 1998, over 120 million prescriptions were written for antidepressants. That number is projected to rise by almost thirty million by the end of 2000. Despite this growing trend, many patients find that their doctors do not tell them all they need to know about the medications to make their treatments as successful as possible. The Antidepressant Sourcebook is the first place to turn for people taking antidepressants for the first time and for the millions who have already taken them.

Here, in one concise reference, is all the reader needs to know, including what to talk about with the doctor, how to start and stop medications, and what to expect in the course of treatment. It is a written complement to what the doctor tells you. It answers every question a patient might have: How do I know if I'm on the right medication? Will my antidepressant interact with other medications I'm taking? Can I take it while pregnant? Will it change my personality? Do I need psychotherapy? If you or someone you love is taking antidepressants for depression, an anxiety disorder, or any other reason, your concerns will be addressed here.
Preview Website - 7-Jan-2003 - Hits: 266 - Rate This | Details

The Cairn
Two Women - One Journey of Recovery - Two Perspectives.

The Naked Bird Watcher by Suzy Johnston
To Walk on Eggshells by Jean Johnston

With these accounts by both the patient and her recovery, there is now a rare and unusual insight into living with and learning to manage a severe mental illness. Easy to read, the books document the thoughts and lives of a mother and daughter as they learn to live with and manage a mental disorder and emabark on a journey of recovery from such acute psychiatric illness. They highlight the importance of good psychiatric treament, the role of the support and the carer and the value of careful self-management as the vital aids to recovery and mental stability.

"Emotive but practical, these books should be read by those affected by mental illness and all working within the profession"
- Claire Letham, RMN, Psychiatric Nurse, UK

'The Naked Bird Watcher' by Suzy Johnston, ISBN 0954809203 'To Walk on Eggshells' by Jean Johnston, ISBN 0954809211
Preview Website - 6-Apr-2005 - Hits: 107 - Rate This | Details

The Depressed Child: A Parent's Guide for Rescuing Kids
By emphasizing how parents can talk to their children about thoughts and feelings, exploring how children develop negative beliefs about themselves, and teaching parents how to help their children change those hopeless self-perceptions, this book outlines practical methods that parents and children together can use to find solutions to the dark thoughts that plague so many young people today.

Ten brief but thorough chapters cover the most common negative beliefs that trigger depression and such companion problems as substance abuse, prematurely intense relationships (what he calls "miniature marriages") that blindside adolescents when they come to an end, and suicide. Riley illustrates each point with case studies that offer readers a chance to learn from his dialogues with his patients. He suggests strategies for everything from closing "the physical distance between you and your child" in order to soothe and encourage them, to some particular lines of questioning for uncovering negative beliefs, to the crucial, often overlooked act of listening ("your ears cannot be fully open until your mouth is fully shut"). He also discusses when to seek professional help and how to step in swiftly and effectively in the case of a suicidal child. Riley's advice is commonsensical and sound, and the concrete tools he offers in this slim, practical volume provide a lifeline to parents of any child struggling with depression.

This is a must-have book for any parent with a depressed child or teen.
Preview Website - 29-Mar-2005 - Hits: 193 - Rate This | Details

The Education of Mrs. Bemis
The novel is about an elderly woman who falls into a major depression; she’s first found in a Boston department store curled up on a 4-poster bed, seemingly catatonic, in the fetal position. A young female psychiatrist from a renowned Boston-area mental hospital finds her, takes her as a patient, and then takes a risk by treating her in a more humanistic fashion that the usual prescription medication approach. They become friends, learn from each other, and each of them makes important emotional discoveries which boost the psychiatrist’s professional and personal understanding and leads to Mrs. Bemis’ cure.
Preview Website - 28-Mar-2003 - Hits: 133 - Rate This | Details

The Emotional Revolution
"Dr. Norman Rosenthal has compiled an astonishing amount of cutting edge clinical research and history, combined this information with his clinical expertise, and morphed it into a comprehensible book loaded with astute insights and practical advice you can use every day. One of the more remarkable elements of his writing is his ability to synthesize massive amounts of highly technical brain research into easily understandable text, so you really KNOW what's going on with your brain when you are sad, happy, relaxed, or angry. He then uses examples, vignettes and very specific behavioral guidelines to show you what simple steps you can take to lead a happier, healthier life. Dr. Rosenthal's brilliant, seamless, sensitive, writing will educate, fascinate, and benefit all who are fortunate to read it."
Preview Website - 29-Mar-2005 - Hits: 123 - Rate This | Details

The Naked Bird Watcher
This book is an unusual account of living with a depressive disorder (bipolar affective disorder) in that it is positive in its message. This is primarily because the author, Suzy Johnston, believes her condition to be only a part of her life.

She writes, "I have been surprised but encouraged at the amount of interest in it and I hope it has brought hope and encouragement to others."
Preview Website - 9-Aug-2004 - Hits: 101 - Rate This | Details

The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression ^{Top Rated}
The Noonday Demon's contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition in general is stunning. The book examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policymakers and politicians, drug designers and philosophers, Solomon reveals the subtleties, the complexities, and the agony of the disease.

Solomon, whose 1998 New Yorker article on depression garnered vast attention, confronts the challenge of defining the illness and the wide range of available drug treatments, the efficacy of alternative treatments, and the impact depression has on various demographic populations. He also explores the thorny moral and ethical questions posed by emerging biological explanations for mental illness.

Like Jacques Barzun, Robert Hughes, or Elaine Pagels, Solomon employs a single lens—depression—and through it shapes a work of immense cultural significance. This book will change readers' view of the world.

Winner of National Book Award for Non-Fiction 2001. You can visit the book's website at www.noondaydemon.net.
Preview Website - 20-May-2002 - Hits: 191 - Rate This | Details

The Wave Riders
"Bipolar depression has been increasing because our minds have been evolving. We have been given a gift of creativity and now we have the manual. The Wave Riders: A Manual for the Bi-Polar Depression Phenomenon will show you how to have the life you have been seeking."
Preview Website - 3-Dec-2002 - Hits: 277 - Rate This | Details

Undoing Depression ^{Top Rated}
Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn't Teach You and Medication Can't Give You
by Richard O'Connor


Richard O'Connor knows what he talks about in one of the most thorough, comprehensive, and enjoyable books I've ever read on the beast we call depression. As a therapist, a supervisor, an administrator, and perhaps most importantly, as a human being. O'Connor brings more to this topic than a simple recitation of facts and self-help methods. He brings the human experience home to the reader, in a way few writers do in this book genre.

O'Connor warns in the introduction that this is a book filled with stuff that the two distinct audiences (mental health professionals and laypeople) may not ordinarily share. Each chapter offers not only in-depth and balanced knowledge and information O'Connor imparts to the reader, but also a good dose of humanity and caring. For instance, interspersed throughout each chapter are personal stories from therapy, and clients' own stories, bringing home specific, important points. It makes what might otherwise be yet another impersonal self-help book (from a mental health professional) into a relevant, useful guide easy to relate to aspects of one's own life.

O'Connor's writing is fluid and down-to-earth; he never gets mired in details losing the main point of his argument or discussion. He gives specific examples throughout each chapter, and keeps everything understandable while not minimizing the complexity of specific subjects. The book is extensive, and its length may be off putting (especially to those currently suffering from depression). But its length is also its greatest strength, because it covers so many topics relating to depression so well. Offering a single guide to depression is a big undertaking, since depression infiltrates so many aspects of a person's life.

If you're suffering from depression and have tried other self-help methods, you might want to try this book. 358 pages, hardcover (softcover edition also available).

Preview Website - 4-May-2000 - Hits: 346 - Rate This | Details

We Don't Live Under Normal Conditions
This is a documentary film about depression, available now on DVD. There is a tendency afoot today to blame the epidemic sweep of clinical depression in the US on bad genes or screwy brain chemistry. But what if the causes of depression, suicide, or other mental illnesses, do not emanate from the individual?

This artful documentary film brings six people together for three days of emotional, and at times heated, discussion about the sources of their despair. Intermixed are hard-to-find facts which challenge the psychiatric industry's claims that depression is a biological disorder.

Fundamentally about empowerment and the resilience of the human spirit, this surprisingly inspirational new movie will change the way you think about "normal." The website also includes articles and links.
Preview Website - 29-Sep-2004 - Hits: 166 - Rate This | Details

www.survivingteendepression.com
new book on teen depression
Preview Website - 24-Aug-2007 - Hits: 52 - Rate This | Details