Overcoming Depression For Dummies®
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
A Note to Our Depressed Readers
Conventions Used in This Book
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organised
Part I: Discovering Depression and Designing Defences
Part II: Seeing Things More Clearly: Cognitive Therapy
Part III: Actively Combating Depression: Behaviour Therapy
Part IV: Adjusting to Changing Relationships
Part V: Full-Bodied Assault: Biological Therapies to Fight the Physical Foe
Part VI: Life After Depression
Part VII: The Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Discovering Depression and Designing Defences
Chapter 1: Understanding and Overcoming Depression
Understanding Your Level of Well-Being
Feeling Blue, or Depressed?
The Many Faces of Depression
Young and depressed
Grandparents: Grumpy or depressed?
Men don’t do depression, or do they?
Women and depression
Depression and diversity
Getting to the Root of Depression
Calculating the Costs of Depression
Adding up the costs of depression
Personal costs of depression
Detailing depression’s physical toll
Feeling Good Again
Cognitive therapy
Overcoming depression
Re-establishing relationships
Finding biological solutions
Feeling Great
Seeing the Sense in Sadness
Chapter 2: Detecting Depression
Recognising the Damage of Depression
Dwelling on dark thoughts
Dragging your feet: Depressed behaviour
Struggling with relationships
Feeling foul: The physical
signs of depression
Examining the Six Types of Depression
Major depressive disorder: Can’t
even get out of bed
Dysthymic disorder: Chronic,
low-level depression
Adjustment disorder with depressed
mood: Reactive depression
Bipolar disorder: Ups and downs
Seasonal affective disorder:
Dark depression
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder and postnatal depression: Horrible hormones?
Linking Drugs, Diseases, and Depression
Drugs with depressive side effects
Depression-inducing illnesses
Knowing Where Grief Ends
and Depression Begins
Monitoring Mood
Chapter 3: Breaking Barriers to Change
Untying the Knots: Revealing Reasons for Avoidance
Facing the fear of change
Identifying change-blocking beliefs
Exposing myths: therapy and self-help
Breaking Free from Self-Limitations
Avoiding pitfalls
Suspending judgement
Going slow
Taking two steps forward, and one back
Transforming visions of
failure into success
Chapter 4: Finding Help for Depression
Exploring the Self-Help Option
Deciding whether self-help is for you
Reviewing the resources
Pursuing Psychological Therapy
Uncovering what works: The effective
psychological therapies
Discovering who’s who in
psychological therapy
Finding the right therapist for you
Having rapport with your therapist
Consulting a Professional
about Antidepressants
Prescribing professionals
Professionals who don’t prescribe
Part II: Seeing Things More Clearly: Cognitive Therapy
Chapter 5: Uncovering Underlying
Thought Processes
Thinking about Cognitive Therapy
Monitoring Thoughts and Feelings,
and Relating Them to Life Events
Feeling comfortably numb
Exposing underlying thoughts
Designing your Thought Catcher
Unearthing Distortions in Thinking
Following misleading misperceptions
Making misjudgements
Assigning blame to the wrong source
Getting enslaved by emotions
and fooled by feelings
Chapter 6: Dispersing the Dark Clouds
of Depressive Thinking
Taking Your Thoughts to Task
Introducing the restructuring process
Catching negative thoughts
Putting the thought on trial
Coming up with constructive
alternative thoughts
Evaluating your alternative thoughts
Following a model example
Using a Thought-Repair Toolkit
Making it someone else’s problem
Having time on your side
Testing out your thoughts
Revising your black and white thinking
Facing the worst
Chapter 7: Discovering the Distorting Perceptions Behind Depression
Looking Closely at How
You See the World
Introducing the problematic life-lenses
Understanding the origins of life-lenses
Seeing the world through
cracked life-lenses
Uncovering Your View
Challenging Life Perspectives
Finding self-forgiveness
Separating then from now
Carrying out a cost/benefit analysis
Seeing Clearly: Replacing
the Distorting Lenses
Looking through contrasting lenses
Trying a new look
Taking direct actions
Writing a letter to the source
Chapter 8: Amending Your Memory
Making Sense of Memory
Depressing Disruptions
Forgiving Forgetfulness
Assisting Your Ailing Memory
Putting pen to paper
Developing routines
Smelling (and touching
and seeing) the roses
Remembering names
Biting off no more than you can chew
Decreasing multitasking
Following through
Letting it go and reviving recall
Part III: Actively Combating Depression: Behaviour Therapy
Chapter 9: Don’t take it Lying Down!
Acting on Action-Blocking Thoughts
I just can’t be bothered . . .
Just a few minutes more . . .
Why try, when I’m just going to fail . . .
A lazy person – that’s me!
One Step at a Time: Recording Activity
Conquering ‘Can’t’ Thoughts
Thinking through your thoughts
Testing out behavioural experiments
Checking Out Your Negative Predictions
Giving Yourself Credit
Chapter 10: Exercising to Lift Depression
Introducing Endorphins Into Your Life
Ungluing Yourself from the Sofa
Easing Into Exercise
Weighing Up Your Exercise Options
Lifting depression’s heavy weight
Working your heart and lungs
Relaxing and strengthening with yoga
Chapter 11: Rediscovering Healthy Pleasures
Taking Fun Seriously
Identifying Activities You Enjoy
Vanquishing the Joy Destroyers
Getting to grips with guilt
Tackling self-fulfilling prophecies
Chapter 12: Handling Life’s Headaches
Devising Life’s Problem-Solving
Game Plan – CRICKET
Identifying the Central Core (C)
Running Through the Routes (R)
Letting go
Thinking visually
Permitting playfulness
Listing all your options
Investigating Outcomes (I)
Committing to a Choice (C)
Being your own best friend
Choosing sides
Don’t Try to Kid Yourself (K)
Easing Your Emotions (E)
Holding the dress rehearsal
Practising self-talk
Testing Out Your Solution:
The Test Match (T)
Part IV: Adjusting to Changing Relationships
Chapter 13: Working Through Loss,
Grief, and Mourning
Losing What’s Important to You
Dealing with death
Changing with the times
Breaking up is hard to do
Working Through Grief
Seeing the wide angle view
of relationships
Rolling through roles
Chapter 14: Revitalising Relationships
Looking at the Depression–Rejection Vicious Circle
Exaggerating the negative
Monochrome or technicolour?
Seeing what you’re feeling
Cancelling out constructive criticism
Pursuing Positives
Giving compliments
Adding a nice touch
Planning pleasurable times together
Including something enjoyable every day
Defeating Defensiveness
Checking it out
Not taking things personally
Clarifying Communication
Taking ownership
Making the message palatable
Defusing situations versus being defensive
Putting it all into practice
Part V: Full-Bodied Assault: Biological Therapies to Fight the Physical Foe
Chapter 15: Maximising Medication Benefits
Selecting the Best Weapons
to Fight Depression
Exploring the Medication Option
Awarding drugs the thumbs up
Giving medication the thumbs down
Seeing What Suits: Working with Your Doctor to Find the Correct Medication
Understanding How Antidepressants Work: Revising Biology
Exploring Medication
Selecting SSRIs
Getting more for your money
Taking tricyclics
Understanding MAO inhibitors
Looking Beyond Antidepressants
Getting extra help for severe depression
And there’s more!
Chapter 16: Help and Hope: Exploring Complementary Therapies
for Depression
Sampling Supplements and Herbs
St John’s wort
SAM-e
Tryptophan and 5 HTP
Omega-3 fatty acids
Multivitamins
Hyped-up herbs?
Food for Thought
Lighting Up the Darkness: Light Therapy
Treating Severe Depression
Electrifying results
Stimulating nerves
Magnetising depression
Searching Further
Air ionisation
Massage
Relaxation
Part VI: Life After Depression
Chapter 17: Reducing the Risk of Relapse
Facing Up to the Potential of Relapse
Reaching your verdict: Relapse
versus low mood
Getting the low-down on relapse rates
Rating your risk
Equipping Yourself to Prevent Relapse
Sustaining success
Monitoring the signs
Preparing a Prevention Plan
Achieving wellbeing: More than simply defeating depression
Reining in Relapse When It Recurs
Chapter 18: Overcoming Depression
with Mindfulness
If You Don’t Mind Your Mind,
It Doesn’t Matter
Seeing that thoughts are
just thoughts, not facts
Knowing that resistance is futile
Yesterday and tomorrow:
Living any time but now
Imperfect Past Makes Future Tense!
Living Mindfully
Acquiring acceptance
Connecting with experience:
Life’s no spectator sport
Chapter 19: Heading for Happiness through Positive Psychology
Searching for Happiness
Making the case for being happy
Chasing rainbows : Looking for happiness in all the wrong places
Getting Started on the
Road to Happiness
Appreciating the value of gratitude
Helping others
Getting in the groove: Feeling the flow
Focusing on your strengths
Rejecting the quick fix
Letting go and forgiving
Finding meaning and purpose
Part VII: The Part of Tens
Chapter 20: Ten Ways of Improving Your Mood
Having a Little of What You Fancy
Being Nice to Others
Getting Moving: Exercising
to Raise Your Spirits
Singing Your Own Special Song
Reuniting: Calling to Reconnect
Letting Music Move You
Washing Those Blues Away
Getting a Pet
Taking Time Out
Mellowing Your Mood with Mindfulness
Chapter 21: Ten Ways of Helping a Child
with Depression
Finding Fun
Setting Boundaries
Giving Feedback
Climbing Every Mountain
Reviewing Responsibilities
Talking and Listening
Recognising Depression
Looking Beneath the Surface
Accessing Assistance
Loving Unconditionally
Chapter 22: Ten Ways of Helping a Friend
or Partner with Depression
Recognising Depression
Recommending Help
Just Listening
Taking Care of Yourself
Biting Back Criticism
No Offence: Appreciating
That It’s Not Personal
Practising Patience
Showing That You Care
Providing Encouragement
and Staying Hopeful
Enabling Exercise
Appendix: Resources for You
Overcoming Depression For Dummies®
by Elaine Iljon Foreman, MSc, AFPBSs, Charles H. Elliott, PhD, and Laura L. Smith, PhD
Foreword by Professor Mark Williams
Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford
Overcoming Depression For Dummies®
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