Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

Introduction: Tired of Feeling So Bad for So LongI. Mind, Body, and Emotion1. "Oh, No, Here I Go Again": Why Unhappiness Won't Let Go2. The Healing Power of Awareness: Making a Shift to FreedomII. Moment by Moment3. Cultivating Mindfulness: A First Taste4. The Breath: Gateway to Awareness5. A Different Kind of Knowing: Sidestepping the Ruminative MindIII. Transforming Unhappiness6. Reconnecting with Our Feelings--Those We Like, Those We Don’t Like, and Those We Don’t Know We Have7. Befriending our Feelings8. Seeing Thoughts as Creations of the Mind9. Mindfulness in Everyday Life: Taking a Breathing SpaceIV. Reclaiming Your Life10. From Being Unhappy to Being Fully Alive11. The Mindfulness Program and Your Life: Bringing It All Together*Resources and Further Reading*Audio CD: Guided Meditation Practices for The Mindful Way through Depression (Narrated by Jon Kabat-Zinn)1. Introduction (3:01)2. Body Scan (29:02)3. Mindful Standing Yoga (10:58)4. Mindfulness of the Breath (10:38)5. Mindfulness of the Breath and Body (9:24)6. Mindfulness of Sounds and Thoughts (10:34)7. The Breathing Space (3:48)

\ Reviewer: Christopher J. Graver, PhD, ABPP-CN(Madigan Healthcare System)\ Description: Depression is a common psychological disease with many options for treatment, including psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Nevertheless, many patients never seek professional treatment. In the growing trend of bibliotherapy, this book provides a self-treatment resource for individuals who suffer from depression or dysthymia.\ Purpose: The primary aim of this book is provide a self-help resource for depression sufferers. It does so with an eye towards mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), combining traditional CBT concepts with mindfulness and meditation.\ Audience: Persons who have symptoms of depression, dysthymia, or a sense of an unfulfilled life and who are looking for a self-help avenue for treatment are the intended readers. There is no particular expertise or esoteric knowledge required to fully comprehend this book. The authors are outstanding researchers and pioneers in mindfulness-based treatment.\ Features: This book takes a narrative approach rather than a lecturing approach. The authors convey the sense of a conversation with the reader and impart an understanding of the difficulties faced in depression. The book progresses from an introduction to mindfulness through exercises designed to facilitate awareness of the therapeutic concepts. Vignettes help readers associate with the problems and techniques that are introduced. Small shaded boxes in the margins highlight important concepts and a CD included with the book provides guided meditations. While there are recognizable components of CBT in the book, much of it is focused on changing the readers' attitudes and ways of interpreting the world around them. It would have been nice to see more of the traditional CBT techniques to at least provide a foundation before leaping into mindfulness.\ Assessment: This is a helpful book for readers interested in mindfulness and meditation approaches to treating depression. The CBT underpinnings are well founded, but there are not a lot of concrete examples or step-by-step methods as in traditional CBT. For readers who prefer a more structured approach to treatment, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy , Burns (HarperCollins, 1999), may be easier to follow. Nevertheless, this can be a good resource for individuals wishing to embark on a self-therapy voyage.\ \ \ \ \ Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic"An invaluable resource for patients who suffer with depression. In addition to psychotherapy, psychopharmacology and CBT, it provides another resource to patients and another way of looking at their struggle, a way of trying to understand what's happening and a way to learn a technique of self-help; a way of attempting to break through a cycle of chronic unhappiness. The book is accompanied by a CD with a series of guided meditations, making it a unique and useful package for the clinician to use in a comprehensive treatment program....A book of this sort is invaluable in that it provides a series of take-home exercises for the novice and provides a step-by-step guide to patients or clinicians interested in effective noninvasive therapeutic techniques."--Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic\ \ \ New Directions"Williams and his international team of authors provide insight into the healing power of so-called 'awareness' through which people can escape the wearisome ruminations of the obsessed mind, befriend alien feelings, and come more alive in themselves. The book is accompanied by a CD with meditations that can help the listener enter the present moment, own more fully their physical context, and stand back from the flow of their thinking and feeling....A practical volume that bears the authority both of contemporary psychology and the age old spiritual practice of meditation."--New Directions\ \ \ \ \ From the Publisher"Using mindfulness training to prevent and treat depression is a novel strategy in the West, though it is a traditional application of Eastern meditation practice. Whether you struggle with depression or simply want to understand your mind and emotions better, you will find this book accessible and useful. Depression is epidemic in our society, and I would love to see this sensible treatment approach gain ground." –Andrew Weil, MD, author of 8 Weeks to Optimum Health and Healthy Aging "A revolutionary treatment approach. For depression sufferers, this is a truly useful guide to achieving emotional balance. For mental health professionals, it should be mandatory reading. I recommend this book and companion CD most highly." –Daniel Goleman, PhD, author of Emotional Intelligence "An invaluable resource not only for those who suffer from depression, but for anyone familiar with the downward spiral of negative thinking and self-doubt. The authors of this book explore the reasons for depression and give us guidance and support, along with useful tools to find a way through it." --Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness "If I could select one group of individuals for people to really pay attention to when grappling with chronic unhappiness, I could not think of a better group than these authors. Not only are they consummate scientists, but they are each personally immersed in the moment-to-moment mindfulness that they teach. This book brings together the practices of both science and insight meditation in an effective fashion that is understandable to the ordinary person--no esoteric practice or mental health background is necessary. Read it and see for yourself!" –Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, University of Washington –\ \ \ \ \ Drug and Alcohol Review"The book is well written and easy to read....People who are prone to depression, dysthymia, or general unhappiness will find this a helpful new way to reframe their thinking about their issues, and practitioners may also find it a useful basis for counseling."--Drug and Alcohol Review\ \ \ \ \ New Directions"Williams and his international team of authors provide insight into the healing power of so-called ''awareness'' through which people can escape the wearisome ruminations of the obsessed mind, befriend alien feelings, and come more alive in themselves. The book is accompanied by a CD with meditations that can help the listener enter the present moment, own more fully their physical context, and stand back from the flow of their thinking and feeling....A practical volume that bears the authority both of contemporary psychology and the age old spiritual practice of meditation."--New Directions\ \ \ \ \ \ Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic"An invaluable resource for patients who suffer with depression. In addition to psychotherapy, psychopharmacology and CBT, it provides another resource to patients and another way of looking at their struggle, a way of trying to understand what''s happening and a way to learn a technique of self-help; a way of attempting to break through a cycle of chronic unhappiness. The book is accompanied by a CD with a series of guided meditations, making it a unique and useful package for the clinician to use in a comprehensive treatment program....A book of this sort is invaluable in that it provides a series of take-home exercises for the novice and provides a step-by-step guide to patients or clinicians interested in effective noninvasive therapeutic techniques."--Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic\ \ \ \ \ \ New Directions"Williams and his international team of authors provide insight into the healing power of so-called 'awareness' through which people can escape the wearisome ruminations of the obsessed mind, befriend alien feelings, and come more alive in themselves. The book is accompanied by a CD with meditations that can help the listener enter the present moment, own more fully their physical context, and stand back from the flow of their thinking and feeling....A practical volume that bears the authority both of contemporary psychology and the age old spiritual practice of meditation."--New Directions\ \ \ \ \ \ Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic"An invaluable resource for patients who suffer with depression. In addition to psychotherapy, psychopharmacology and CBT, it provides another resource to patients and another way of looking at their struggle, a way of trying to understand what's happening and a way to learn a technique of self-help; a way of attempting to break through a cycle of chronic unhappiness. The book is accompanied by a CD with a series of guided meditations, making it a unique and useful package for the clinician to use in a comprehensive treatment program....A book of this sort is invaluable in that it provides a series of take-home exercises for the novice and provides a step-by-step guide to patients or clinicians interested in effective noninvasive therapeutic techniques."--Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic\ \ \