A Book to Help You Cope with Depression
Jun 6th, 2008 by zania
The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness
by J. Mark G. Williams, John D. Teasdale, Zindel V. Segal and Jon Kabat-Zinn
If you look at my Pages on Depression and the Anxiety Page you will see that I refer to the technique of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), often used to help people suffering from Depression and Anxiety Disorders.
CBT therapy is used more and more as the main therapy to help those suffering from depression. In the UK in particular, most mental health professionals will tend to recommend this form of therapy first (usually in combination with antidepressants), only suggesting therapies like Psychodynamic Therapy when the patient is able to deal with any repercussions of their depression which the latter can bring to the surface.
CBT simply explained is when the therapist and patient work together on a ‘plan of action’. The therapist will talk with the patient at length, to discover some of the things which the patient feels are holding them back in coping with their depression and then together they will set out a time table of how to overcome these, with specific tasks being planned. While undertaking these tasks, the patient will ask themselves questions about their emotions and reactions to what is happening and try to find positive thoughts to overcome these.
CBT in itself can be powerful when there is a rapport between analyst (counsellor) and patient, but on its own it can sometimes reach a point where ‘negative thoughts’ are not so easily overcome and the treatment may fail, either because the patient gives up, or finds the constant battle against these thoughts too distressing to contemplate.
This is where the concept of ‘Mindfulness‘ can help, as described in the book, The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness.
The authors set out, in clear and concise terms, exercises for meditating and breathing practices following the techniques of Buddhist Mindfulness Practice.
My depression is mainly chronic, rather than severe, so I am able to cope with mindfulness without it having a ‘downward’ effect. However, when that depression does become severe and accompanied by episodes of anxiety, I sometimes find meditation itself can make me feel worse rather than better, so I was interested in the ‘moving meditation practice’ described in the book, as inertia when meditating is, for me, a trigger for anxiety.
To be truthful, at this present time (knock on wood) I am not severely depressed and have no wish to be so, therefore whether the moving meditation practice would work at this time I cannot say, but I would reckon it is certainly worth a try in coping with severe depression and anxiety.
The emphasis of The Mindful Way through Depression is to try and live in the moment instead of always feeling bad about the past or worrying about the future, and I would certainly go along with that concept! And anything which points a way to us being able to do this is a plus in my estimation.
Overall, I found The Mindful Way through Depression an interesting read; clearly set out and easy to understand. I have studied the techniques described in this book before, but found it useful in that they are all in the one place and very accessible. So I would definitely recommend this book for anyone suffering from Dysthymia (chronic depression) and Anxiety and perhaps for someone suffering from Major Depression also (especially when discussed with their therapist).
Oh yes, and the current version has a free CD with it too which helps you practice the mindfulness exercises. Definitely a plus from me 
