Reddit reviews The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Depression: A Step-by-step Program (Workbook)

This book has helped me some. It's got a lot of stuff about depressive thinking and how to overcome it - you know, things like devaluing yourself. It's a little bit on the pricey side, but well worth it I think. Worth a try, at least, maybe?

A quick few thoughts.

You seem to at least now to be able to have an objective view about the situation, to me that is very positive!

Does your school provide counseling? I would assume they did and if they do they could probably point you forward in your area. Maybe you could frame your conversation with your mom in such a fashion that it doesn't alarm her too much? A white lie about school stress perhaps.

There are a few out of office things you can do that have proven results. Exercise and meditation come to mind, its all a big interacting contraption.

Keep talking to us about it, I do hope you find at least some therapy option. There are some workbooks available, and perhaps a communiy center has some options.

Maybe this will help. Its been good for some of the people I work with.

http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Behavioral-Workbook-Depression-Step-/dp/1572244739/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1335153598&sr=8-6

Of course! :)

For a general overview, you can visit UMichigan's website, or any of the brief overviews listed here (of course, you can also visit /r/depression). Wikipedia also has a nice overview.

I personally don't really like memoirs on depression, but there have been many written, and people seem to like them. Two of the most famous are written by William Styron (Darkness Visible) and Andrew Solomon (Noonday Demon). I tried to read these books, but they don't really appeal to me. I thought I should mention them, though, because many people love them, finding comfort in their writing.

CBT approaches to depression can be found in this book or perhaps this book.

For an attempt at providing a direct picture of what depression is, see this work.

Psychologists are also considering reclassifying melancholia as separate from depression (melancholia being a recurrent/long-term depression, often (near-)catatonic). For an in-depth analysis of melancholia, see this work.

Individual humans (and, arguably, other species) have been suffering from depression for millenia. Depression, likewise, has been studied for centuries upon centuries, within different cultures, under many different names. There are, thus, many different approaches to understanding and coping with depression. Even today, within a single culture, you will find many differing definitions and approaches to depression. The best approach to depression is whatever is the best for you. For some individuals, mindfullness is a helpful approach. For others, exercise. For others, love. For others, medication. For others, a "project", or set of goals. For others, therapy (of which, there are many different approaches). For other still, a combination of one or more of these approaches. And, finally, for some, depression can be overcome simply (or rather, difficultly) through the passage of time and the gathering of experience.

I can tell you that I've read quite a bit on depression over the years, and there are many good books on it, but I still feel that it can only truly be understood by those who have suffered from it. Even so, each individual's experience with depression is unique, and so not all depressed persons see things in the same way. Thus, if you're reading someone's thoughts on depression, and their view rubs you the wrong way, don't let it get to you. They have their own view (as this article points out, even psychologists cannot agree on a single view of "what depression is"). You yourself are entitled to your own view and your own coping mechanisms. Having said that, it can never hurt to read the works of others, to talk with them, and to listen to what they have to say.

To be fair, your life savings and college fund won't do you any good if you kill yourself. There are always other options to pay for college, and there are always things that can be worked out.

When I was going through a rough time, I went to the local crisis center. They set me up with a psychiatrist and therapist who I could visit for free for at least a few weeks, and then I could apply for aid to pay for future visits.

You say you NEED medication. Are you sure about that? A lot of people who are told they need medication show improvement with cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps teach them to think and react differently to how they're feeling and what is going on in their lives. Have you looked into anything like that? There are books in the library you could check out, like this one http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Behavioral-Workbook-Depression-Step/dp/1572244739 which could help you in the meantime. Medication can help, but so does taking responsibility for your feelings and thoughts and making an effort to try to control and change them into more positive, constructive feelings and thoughts.

Do you have any means of self-expression? Do you draw, write, paint, crochet, sing, play an instrument, or anything like that? Trying to channel some of these terrible feelings into something creative and interesting can also help you to feel better, and many of these things do not cost much, if anything, to do.

Hey, you're very welcome. Regarding the cognitive therapy, it really is a powerful tool and doesn't need to cost a fortune. A simple start would be a book like this: http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Behavioral-Workbook-Depression-Step/dp/1572244739/ref=cm_lmf_tit_11/189-4476553-3960830.

I kind of view drugs as a bit of a band-aid solution for depressive illness, whereas cognitive therapy addresses root causes of the illness and teaches you to deal with them and find permanent solutions. Engaging with my condition rather than masking it with chemicals really helped me to understand the root causes. That and EXERCISE! Really working hard on fitness made the biggest change to my life. A good diet and daily exercise coupled with open communication with my loved ones has really woken me up to how much control I can have over my moods if I truly want it. The best advice I was given was don't allow yourself to be a victim of your own mind.

As far as the bipolar diagnosis, there's plenty on the net to read, not to mention psychiatrists that are more than willing to give you a diagnosis for a price. But beware - having a label applied to your condition isn't always a positive thing. Don't ever forget that you've survived up until this point without a diagnosis.

I found an antidepressant that worked for me (I had to try a few, figuring out what drug will work for a particular person is a bit of a guessing game). That helped me regain some perspective on life and remember what it feels like not to be depressed and hopeless all the time.

Then I started changing some habits. I exercised more (both weightlifting and cardio) and found that it improved my mood even more than my health. I ate better, fewer refined sugars, more vegetables, etc. I worked to incorporate things I really enjoy into my normal routine. I like to read, so I made sure I took the time to do it even when busy with other things. My mood is better when I'm with friends, so I made more of an effort to get out and be social. I watched less TV, which tends to dampen my mood.

A lot of people are depressed for a reason. Even if a big part of the problem is how you respond to certain kinds of pressures and disappointments, you can make things easier on yourself by looking for things in your life that make you depressed. Is your job demoralizing? Look for ways to make it better or try to find a new one. Are you in a relationship that's giving you more stress than happiness? Maybe you should address some of the things that make you unhappy with your SI, or get out of the relationship altogether. Big changes can be stressful, which can make some people depressed, but they can also be empowering and remove unhealthy elements from your life. It takes some self-knowledge and serious thought to know which is which, but it's worth it.

After making the lifestyle changes, I started to think about my mental habits. I learned through research that cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective form of "talking cure." I'm more comfortable working things out by myself, so I bought self-help workbooks based on that method (e.g.).

I started researching the science behind neuroplacticity, or the degree to which your brain can physically adapt to habits of thought, and learned that what seemed to be hardwired can actually be changed through effort and practice. That was empowering, and motivated me to change the way I think about things.

I read books like Flow and The Chemistry of Joy, in order to understand better what being happy looks like in practice.

I used the antidepressants as a crutch to help stabilize me while I got my life together, and to keep me from falling into the crippling despondency that goes with my depression. After I had built some healthier habits, both mental and behavioral, I decided to get off them to see if I could sustain myself without them. Remember that getting off of most antidepressants can bring on extremely painful withdrawal if done too quickly. Taper down slowly with the help of your doctor. Remember also that there's some evidence that after going off of a drug, it can be less effective when you go back on, so focus on improving your mental outlook and habits for a while before jumping off your meds. I still have bad days, but I'm better equipped to cope with them now, and I don't get caught in depressive cycles the way I used to.

Finally, remember that just like everyone responds differently to different medications, everyone will take different things out of the books I mention and the techniques that worked for me. Look around and see what appeals to you. The important thing to remember is that you can change your mental health with practice, and it's not as hard as it seems when you're depressed.

I wish you the best of luck.