The book answers most of the questions people have when diagnosed with depression. Dr. Preston wrote three chapters explaining the many causes of depression. He believes that making sense out of what caused our depression can improve our chances for recovery. The author includes existential losses as a cause. One of these is the disillusionment or loss of a dream. This often starts when one finally loses hope for a change in our life. Although brief, the book covers many treatments including self-help, exercise, cognitive therapy, and journaling. His chapters on contolling our negative thoughts are excellent.
Psychiatric syndromes like depression, anxiety, and bipolar are explained along with reasons why certain drugs are used instead of others. About two pages are devoted to each medication. Common, expected side effects are described. For example, Paxil is said to take two to four weeks to cause improvement, even though side effects may appear in one to two days. Fatigue, weakness, and sexual dysfunction are to be expected for about half of the people. Your symtoms may return even if you taper off the medication gradually. If you want to know how exactly drugs work, Appendix A shows the part of the synapse/neuron that is involved for each of the major classes of psychiatric drugs. Many people on this forum ask about the medicine they are taking--this book will give them all the answers and much more.
The authors have crafted an excellent, complete book describing the many aspects of Manic Depression (now called bipolar disorder). Symptoms, risk factors for relapse, possible causes, and treatments are all covered in detail. However, the book goes much further by giving interesting facts dug out of history and little-known research studies. If readers think they know everything about bipolar disorder, they are in for a delightful surprise when they study this fascinating text. The authors also provide short descriptions of many books and websites that would be of interest. Many of the books listed deal with how others have wrestled with the disease. Some of the people who wrote books about themselves are very educated and, in fact, are psychologists. Other books describe some famous people who have had manic depression: Rosemary Clooney, Virginia Woolf, Patty Duke, Abbie Hoffman, and major-league baseball player Jim Piersall. Although the medical field has many medications for treating the highs and lows of this disease, the authors frankly admit that we are still at the try-it-and-see-if-it-works stage for knowing what to do. The authors write, "After listening to individuals describe their experiences with mania, one is not surprised that they would wish to experience it again. Who would not like to have boundless energy, to need only two or three hours of sleep, to be capable of performing sexually for hours at a time, to experience music and sights more intensely than others, to be An Important Person?" Abbie Hoffman, the radical who founded the Yippies of the 60's, commented on the mania of the bipolar with, "There's no drug in the world that could take you to that level." Many people, including writer and psychologist Kay Jamison, would choose to have had manic depression if they were given a choice. People who have experienced the mania often do not and will not take their medication. Like a drug addict they will do anything to get that high again. Medication will control the disease in most people, but the patient will not take it. Studies have shown manic depression to be associated with creativity--Creativity in bipolars and in their relatives. Most scientists believe multiple genes are involved in passing the condition along. Perhaps, one who receives less than all the responsible genes is blessed with unusual creativity; thus explaining why the relatives of the manic depressive are particularly creative. Reducing stress may help reduce relapses. Regular exercise and regularly scheduled meals are two methods mentioned. Large studies have shown repeatedly the importance of getting a good night's sleep to prevent a recurrence of manic phase. Some cultures have more-or-less established customs in which people seem to go crazy at times. The people have sudden outbursts of motor action and screaming, along with violent attacks on people, animals and inanimate objects... These celebrations have different names: amok throughout Southeast Asia, negrinegri in Papua New Guinea, and piblokto among the Arctic Eskimos.
Everyone with a connection to Manic Depression should read this book to get a more total view of the disorder.
This excellent, short, easy-to-read book gives 101 ways to raise your mood. Most of these ideas have been advocated by many writers and experts. The strength of Recharge in Minutes is that each idea is described in a single page or less. If one is depressed, it is difficult to read a long, detailed manual about what to do. Just a few minutes with this book can boost your mood. I have used many of these methods to battle depression, anxiety, ADD, and alcoholism. When I'm depresed and/or anxious I'm confused. I don't know where I'm going. I can't see the big picture. I need to get in touch with my inner self. This book reminds me of what me in the past and tells me what will help now. These tools put you in touch with your soul. They can help you find your destiny, what you want to get out of life, and what you want your life to have meant to the world. Many therapists have cited the benefit of writing in a journal. Rechange in MInutes gives you many things to write about. One method is to write a "dream letter" to a friend. You are to pretend it is 2 years from now, and you are to describing your ideal life.
This is an excellent book that details how drug companies make enormous profits. For example, Sarafem was marked as a new drug to treat premenstrual syndrome, yet it was just Prozac with a different color and a higher price. Many drugs are just not that effective. They would not sell--without the push from advertising. A review of all studies done on the 6 most widely used antidepressants (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Serzone, Effexor) found that placebos were 80% as effective. In other words, they were just a little bit better than sugar pills. The difference was only in 2 points on a 62 point depression scale. We are reminded in the book that most clinical trails last just 6 weeks. So pills may be safe for six weeks, but we do not really know what will happen after many years of use. The author is well qualified because she is an MD and an editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. If you can not believe her, who can you believe.
The two authors who both have ADD give much insight into treatments for ADD. They highly recommend physical exercise saying, "Ten minutes of exercise is equal to one Prozac and one Ritalin." Besides describing the usual types of treatments they offer various balance exercises and drawing drills to help rewire the brain. They offer a method of modifying AA's twelve steps to control ADD. They talk about other disorders like bipolar illness that often occur together with ADD. They have a whole chapter illustrating the subtle differences between the two. Basically ADD people are consistent with their moods, bipolar people cycle through periods where they might be quite functional.
Buddha says much of our suffering comes from our attachment to people and things. We want to have the things that give us pleasure remain as they are. In other words, we do not like change; a change may result in losing a part of our life that we have grown attached to. A sense of loss can cause us to spiral down into depression. Obtaining an acceptance of a world that changes can help us climb out of the pit of despair.
Fear can be a major component of depression. We worry that in some future moment we will not have what we want, or will lose what we have. We don't want to feel this pain. When we are faced with real danger right now, fear is useful, and it is what we need to be feeling. But much of our fear comes from projection into the future--worry and anticipation over what might (or is going to ) happen.
Meditation can remove the lid and let out the terrifying, ugly, and boring thoughts and emotions that we had locked away inside of us. It can allow us to feel and accept our true feelings. When we face these demons inside of us, they lose the power to overwhelm us. They might still be there, but they do not stay in control.
Depression makes us aware of doubt that we carry with us. We wonder if anyone really cares or if we are really of any use in the world. We may have looked to a job, a relationship, a belief, or a philosophy to give us some certainty. We want our life to be predictable and right. Mediation will help us to live peacefully with doubt and unpredictably.
Buddha also described a fundamental truth that the suffering in our lives is caused by our desire. We want experience, sensation, and pleasure. At the same time we try to avoid merely uncomfortable and neutral feelings as well. And even when we experience something pleasurable, it is flavored with the thought that we could lose it, so we cling to it even more strongly. Some of us seek relief from uncomfortable feelings with alcohol and other drugs. These often work for a while, but sometimes eventually steal our souls. More socially approved ways of seeking relief from unacceptable feelings are food, television, sex, and work. By reducing this quest for total and permanent pleasure, we can rise from sadness without resorting to drugs or obsessive behaviors.
Many of our beliefs develop from our judgments. We may judge the world and others. If we judge others harshly--we probably also have high standards for ourselves. It is difficult to always reach our high standards so we frequently judge ourselves as being not good enough for falling short. This idea was summarized in the bible with "Judge not, lest you be judged."
"Meditation is nothing special or exotic. Instead, it is simply slowing down to listen to what is within and around us. It is paying attention with our heart and our mind to each moment as it presents itself to us. " Meditation has allowed me to grow beyond my depression to a whole new life. This book can also help you go beyond low points in your life, to become the person you were meant to be.
In a chapter entitled "Focus on Target Symptoms" we are given methods that can quickly alleviate the disabling parts of depression. Contrary to what many believe, prolong discussion of feelings can intensify the feelings. Such excessive "ventilation" of feelings often strains relationships with friends and relatives. To deal with "overwhelming problems" the patient could be asked what solutions he would offer to another person in a similar situation. Although depressed patients do sleep less than other people, many patients exaggerate the extent of the insomnia. If a person said he was awake all night, he was probably in a light sleep for a good part of the time. Depressed persons tend to make broad categorical judgments and show a typical all-or-nothing response to bad events. A good exercise is to try to list some possible benefits.
Of particular help is the chapter entitled "Depressogenic Assumptions." Depression is mostly a thinking disease. Cognitive therapy aims to correct negative thought patterns. This chapter goes to great depth explaining the many faulty beliefs that depressives cling to. Everyone with depressive moods will find themselves written about here. People who suffer frequent bouts of depression often hold high expectations for themselves; they believe that to be happy they must never make a mistake, must be accepted by all people at all times, and/or must be successful in whatever they attempt. These beliefs were acquired from childhood experiences or from the attitudes and opinions of peers or parents. A part of cognitive therapy is to identify the chief assumptions that lead people into depression. The patient must be actively involved in discovering these depression-producing ideas, simply pointing out dysfunctional thought processes is not effective. It must be noted that sometimes people have periods where their expectations are working; for example they may make the starting football team or make the cut for cheerleader. When experiencing success, the person is exuberant and becomes bonded to the idea of seeking high levels of success in order to be happy. To ensure high performance, that is to be larger than life, the depressive often develops many shoulds and rules of living.
Many people have belief systems organized around "justice" and "deserving." These sometimes work well, but the depressive goes overboard. One might believe that if one worked hard one should always succeed. However, how hard should one work? Also, what exactly is success? What does it mean to be good? One series of thoughts to understand this is given as: "When someone says, 'Dr. So-and-So is good,' what does that mean? Does it mean he is good in all realms of a medical doctor, or in special areas? Does it mean that he is a good clinician? Is he good with patients? Is he good at research? Is he good at emergencies? Or does it mean he is a good husband, father, neighbor, church member, and bridge player?"
Depressives need to train their minds at looking for alternative ways of viewing situations. Fairness is often a matter of personal opinion or bias. "The employee believes, 'I do the work around here. I produce the product. I should receive more money. It's not fair.'--while the owner believes. 'I produce the capital. I invested it. I took the risk. I should get more money instead of having to give it to workers.' In nearly ever case, fairness can be looked at from two or more points of view."
This book is not a quick, easy read. Rather, it is detailed and thought provoking. Some of us people with depression need thought-provoking ideas instead of simple instructions. If you worry and think a lot, you will love this book--but it might cause you to change your opinions and lose your depression.
Positively ADD.
by C. Corman and E. Hallowell. 2006. Walker & Co., NY
Excellent easy-to-read book about how various, successful people have managed their diagnosis of ADD. Everyone with the ADD label, especially children, should read this collection of stories to receive inspiration and learn that they are not alone. In the AA program, alcoholics share their stories of experience, strength, and hope. This book passes on the experience, strength, and hope of real people who have ADD or ADHD. It is written at a level that most kids would understand.
Coping with Depression From Catch-22 to Hope.
Allen, J. 2006. American Psychiatric Publishing, DC
Excellent survey of the latest ideas and theories about depression. The book contains up-to-date research with over 500 literature citations throughout the text. In contrast to some experts, the author believes that mood changes are not just due to a single neurotransmitter (such as serotonin). Rather the increase in synaptice levels of neurochemical levels leads to a cascade of changes in the neurons.
Cognitive therapy was pointed out to be an effective, proven method of dealing with depression. This therapy involves identifying automatic negative thoughts, challenging them, examining the evidence for the thoughts, and brainstorming for other alternatives.
Among the best strategies for getting yourself out of a bad mood is to exercise. Regular aerobic exercise at 70% maximum heart rate seems best.
Manic episodes in polar depression can be brought on by sleep schedule disruption. Also, positive life events like a promotion or new romance can trigger mania. This notion goes along with my struggles with polar. The times I've experienced a mania phase have been times of major achievemnet.
If you want the lastest ideas about depression, this is the book for you.
Spark your Dream by Candelaria and Herman Zapp ISBN:978-987-23134-1-8
Spark your Dream by Candelaria and Herman Zapp is the true story of two young people who traveled from Arrgentina to Alaska in a very old car. Along the way they encountered many problems, but with the help of hundreds of people in many countries they finished their journey and had a child along the way. Good hearted people gave them food, places to stay, and helped them repair their car. Reading this excdllent book will restore your faith in people's willingness to share. Depressed people often do not have must trust in their fellows. This book will help one get a more positive view of the world. They concluded that the hardest part of this multi-year trek was getting started. That's how most projects seem to be. If you want something, but keep putting it off you might experience depression because you are not being true to yourself. Reading the book made me think that perhaps if more of us chased our dreams we would need less pills for depression and less illegal drugs to boast our happiness. Their story would make a great movie. Depression often brings feelings of being hopeless with no choice but more and more misery. Going after your dreams will help you become in control of your life. Read this book to build up your hope.
Healing the Shame that Binds You.
by J. Bradshaw 1988. Health Communications, Deerfield Beach, Florida
John Bradshaw's book is full of references to various philosphies and methods of treating psychological problems. He expalins how many of our difficulties relate to how we were made to feel unworthy of love. I especially enjoyed how he described the work of Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck. Thinking that we should be perfect or that we know what someone is thinking can lead us into depression. John Bradshaw goes from quoting famous people to mentioning the simple praises that are heard in 12-step meetings. So people who attend 12-step meetings are likely to get a lot from this book.
Surviving Ben's Suicide.
Shields, C. Comfort. 2008. iUniverse, Bloomington, IN
Comfort Shields shares her painful feelings connected with her boyfriend's death in Surviving Ben's Suicide. The book does not give general information and statistics about suicide or depression. Rather, it is a compilation of memores pondered over with the hope of gaining understanding. Much of the book details pleasent memories of a college romance, which most of us can relate to. At first, Ben seemed so wonderful, however, hints of a dark side became apparent after Comfort looked at events from the perspective of years. As is typical when someone close to us commits suicide, the author wrestles with heavy questions: Why did it happen? Could I have prevented the act? What made me be attracted to such a person? Is there something wrong with me? Comfort recalls and sometimes agonizes over conversations, interactions, and other observations from the past. Writing this memoir enabled the author to grow past the experience. In the end, she concludes that she will never know the real answers to her questions, but that she has to just move on with life. The book is well written; once one begins reading it, one can't put it down. The book can be particulary useful to several groups of people. Of course all people who have been through a similar experience will realize that they are not alone with their questions and preoocupations. But another group who might benefit greatly are those who have mood swings--those with clinical depression or bipolar disorder. Often these people contemplate suicide, but fail to realize how deeply their death will affect others. This book shows that a person is affected for a long time when a friend takes his/her own life. Maybe by reading this book, people will think twice about the option of suicide. Suicide is common, but it is not easily understood. Ben was treated by a number of doctors and with a variety of medications. Our medical profession was unable to save Comfort's boyfriend. In the end, Comfort discovered that we can not always solve life's mysteries. At times, we just have to let go and move on. It is painful, but remains the only alternative. Epictetus once said, "It is not things that disturb people but their judgements about things." The author with her searching and speculating has found some good in the awful event of Ben's suicide. In the end, she wrote that she came out with more strength and tenderness. At times Comfort seemed to blame herself, but on the other hand, just maybe, Ben's time with Comfort may have been the the best time of his life. We want to think that we can say magic words to save someone from depression, but maybe no such words exist. Maybe some depressions can not be helped. If the doctors with their arsenal of powerful drugs could not help Ben, what makes a person think she can do better. But we still try. Thank God we still try.
Depression for Dummies
by L. Smith and C. Elliott, 2003.Wiley Publishing. Hoboken, NJ
The authors, two clinical psychologists, have done an excellent job in describing many methods of fighting depression. Unlike some books, the emphesis is on alternative therapies and talking treatments like cognitive therapy, rather than just finding the right combination of pills. However, the various medications for depression are listed, classified, and explained. Ideas used by 12-step programs like acceptance, gratitude, and helping others are noted. Many studies have proved that exercise is useful for treating depression. This book devotes an entire chapter to starting an exercise program. Much of the book deals with wrestling with the thinking distortions common in depressed folk. Depressed people tend to search for bad news and the negative side of things. They fail to notice the positive or argue it away. They jump to major conclusions about the future and what people are thinking. Winning over the power of a low mood often requires one to methodically sort through one's beliefs. This is the best book for getting an comprehensive view of the many ways of conquering depression. Every person suffering from low moods should read this book before accepting that pills are their only option.
Before Prozac by E. Shorter.
2009. Oxford University Press, NY NY
In Before Prozac the author covers the history of antidepressant medication in a very detailed manner. To support his ideas, there are 58 pages of notes and references in the back of the book. He supplies many reliable references concerning the poor performance of Prozac. Prozac is popular because of the amount of marketing, not for its ability to lift depression. Other drugs developed in the 1950's were far better. In 6 of 8 studies presented to the FDA, Prozac failed conviningly to beat the placebo. Lilly, the company marketing Prozac, failed to even notice that the drug produces sexual dysfunction. Later they grudgingly acknowledged sexual problems occured in under 1% of patients. Eventually they acknowledged the rate was 30%, but doctors prescribing Prozac say the true number is 80-90%. So, in summary, the author shows that Prozac is not very effective for depression, and its use will take away the joy of sex. Much of the book is tedious, but the last few chapters are interesting and revealing. Contrary to commercials, the book quotes experts who state that we do not really understand how antidepressants work. The brain is just not very simple. If you want to find out the facts about the drug industry, read this book. Your eyes will be opened.
The authors discoveries about the FDA are shocking to say the least. Today, the FDA does not want new drugs tested against old ones, only against placebos. As a result new drug formulations are often not as good as the old, but they are far more expensive. At one point the FDA got rid of thousands of drugs that many doctors believed worked.
Voluntary Madness by Norah Vincent 2008. Viking, NY, NY
The author posing as someone needing hospitalization was admitted to three different facilities for the insane. Her description of the people, places, and her reactions are very insightful. One hospital mostly dealt with people at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder; the staff was overburdened and indifferent. Putting the patients on strong medication was the only treatment provided. Another was a peaceful private clinic. The third offered alternative treatments that seemed to be able to really help those who wanted help. Although the book does not set out to bash the widespread use of pills as many books do, the author does report on drugs formed the backbone of treatment in some of the facilities. She shunned drugs for herself. Her opinion of the nearly life-long use of medication by the mentally ill was summarized with "I just didn't want to be dependent for the rest of my life on a drug whose effects neither I nor the professionals could understand or predict, and whose glowing reputation had been based almost entirely on the meticulous propaganda of the companies that were profiting hugely from its sale." Reading Norah Vincent's observations of the public hospital, I alternated beween rage and pity. The patients were treated in an almost inhuman fashion. They had little hope of having any sort of life. Most of them had been in an out of such places many times and would probably be in and out of those places for much of their lives. They were given heavy doses of pills that caused awful side effects. Yet, the author saw beyond the poor behavior of the institution. She said, "...developing relationships with people who are not only disturbed but quite often uncooperative, manipulative, and willfully irresponsible is a job that people with an overabudance of fellow feeling often find too unrewarding, infuriating, and exhausting to perform." At the hospital she found the patients confused and disoriented, but not dangerous. She described communicating with her fellow patients: "When I spoke to them, I wasn't speaking to someone who processed information in socially common or easily navigable ways. It was different, and often it was harder, more off-putting, and even unpleasant." The other two facilities she lived in offered much more in the way of help, but the patients did not all do well. When she saw that excellent programs did not always give excellent results she drew some insightful conclusions. "... a person's condition has less to do with his recovery than his personality, his willingness to change." ".. the number of people in any group who were willing to take responsibility for thieir own lives and behavior is always small. " "the vast majority of people don't want to participate in their own recovery. They are unwilling to try.." "...are often lazy, stubbornly self-indulgent, passive, and irresponsible. Twelve-step groups say as much. A major tradition in all such groups is that the requirement for membership is a desire to change (stop drinking, stop using drugs, stop gambling, etc.). Forcing someone to go to rehab or to meetings does not often work. I was impressed with how the author compared physical diseases like diabetes to mental illness like depression. Although a person does not cuase his own diabetes, often he does things that greatly aggravate it. He eats too many sweet foods, does not exercise, and picks up a lot of weight. Research for many, many years has proven that exercise helps depression, but very few depressed individuals will even try any exercise. I recommend the book for everyone with an interest in mental illness. It should be read by every professional who has the power to send someone to a hospital. Perhaps the book's greatest benefit is in describing how one really feels when locked up in a mental health facility. As one who was once locked away, I know that many people just do not understand the hell one experiences during and after being on a locked ward.
Last updated June 2009