Coping With Depression: From Catch-22 to Hope

This is a great book especially for anyone dealing with depression. I have read the book and met the author. He is an amazing man and writes so that anyone can understand what depression looks like. There is alot of information in this book and its definately a must read.

Dr. Allen has written an excellent book on the realities of living with depression. His compassion and understanding come from years of working with patients with severe, difficult to treat episodes of mental illnesses. I was fortunate to have been able to receive education and treatment from Dr. Allen at the Menninger Clinic in Houston,Texas. With help from Dr. Allen and the rest of the staff, I have been able to better cope with my depression and anxiety than ever before. I have suffered from depression and anxiety for over 20 years, and this book helps to bring me back to stability every time and to again restore hope. It is as if I have been able to bring home one of the most valuable portions of my treatment home to return to again and again as I need the help. Those of you who are not familiar with the Menninger Clinic should be aware that it is one of the top hospitals in the world for the treatment of difficult to treat mental illnesses. This is also an excellent book for sufferers to share with family and friend who are open to learning more about the realities of living with the illness. This is not a quick read but it is worth the time it takes to read and absorb it. Although he does not sugar-coat the experience of the illness, he walks us through it and back out again to find hope. People who have suffered from trauma may also want to read "Coping With Trauma" by Dr. Allen.

This book is an 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.

People who are depressed often have impaired concentration and attention spans. People who are living with or caring for depressed people often have no real clue what the difference is between "ordinary depression" and "clinical depression" and how many kinds of clinical depression there are, etc. This book is written with all these factors in mind. I recommend you read it slowly from beginning to end but if you need to just go to the chapter that addresses what you are experiencing or need to understand the chapters stand alone as well and are broken up into Boldly Headed segments to easily find and re-find the parts of the book one might need to read and re-read over and over to really absorb all the various parts that make up this complex, widely suffered yet misunderstood disease. Most of all, Dr. Allen's compassion and wisdom for his patients and for trying to write a book that is truly accessible is what separates this book from most others. There is nothing gimicky about this book. He makes no claims to "quick fixes" or "magical remedies". But he is highly qualified both professionally and personally to guide the reader to a better understanding and even hope. I recommend this and "The Noonday Demon" by Andrew Solomon as the two best books to buy on depression if you can only get two.