Product Description

Revolutionary in its simplicity and accessible to all, this bestselling book offers commonsense methods that allow you to let go of depression and tap into natural joy. In this indispensable handbook, Richard Carlson demonstrates how we can change everything in our lives -- earn more money, meet new friends, get a new job -- yet still feel dissatisfied. Happiness, he says, is not 'out there' but within, a state of mind that is independent of circumstance: 'If you begin to see that your thoughts are not the real thing -- they're just thoughts and as thoughts they can't hurt you -- your entire life will begin to change today.' Carlson's step-by-step guide explains: * How your thoughts determine how you feel. * Why thinking about problems only makes them worse. * That thoughts come and go -- you are free to choose at any moment which to hold on to and which to let go. * Straightforward methods for conquering depression. * How to dismiss negative thoughts and discover inner contentment. * How to overcome lifelong pessimism and start really living.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6543 in Books
• Published on: 1997-12-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
'This is the book I give to all my depressed friends; they start to look better from around page 3!' JULIAN CLARY

From the Publisher
Carlson is the acclaimed author of the international bestseller Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.

About the Author
Richard Carlson PhD is a stress consultant in private practice and the best-selling author of numerous books, including Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and Slowing Down to the Speed of Life. He is also the co-author of Handbook for the Soul.

Customer Reviews

Read this book and keep re-reading it
Dr Carlson has written many self-help books aimed at helping us to find the stable state of happiness that naturally exists within us all. He has now written this book specifically for those of us who suffer from depression. The book contains practical truths that are so obvious that most of us miss them or at least bypass them in the rush of our everyday lives. If you are suffering from depression this book will help immensely. Richard Carlson will show you how your state of depression is as much perpetuated by your own thinking as it is by any chemical imbalance that may or may not exist. I have read this book at the same time as receiving treatment with an SSRI anti-depressant (Cipralex). While I am unsure if the SSRI has benefited me at all after 6 weeks, I am certain that this book has changed my outlook completely after two weeks and that it continues to do so more and more with each re-reading. If I allow myself to slip back into my old ways of thinking, the severity of my depression rapidly returns. The good news is that it just as rapidly alleviates when I get back on track with my thinking. Another reviewer has said that the book is repetitious and simple to read and yet that Dr Carlson's approach is hard work to put into practice. I both agree and disagree with this view. The book is simple to read and may seem repetitious. However, if you are one of Dr Carlson's target audience of sufferers from depression you should read this book and keep on re-reading it. You will find that on each re-reading something will leap out at you with greater meaning than it did before. I have highlighted many sentences so that I can rapidly re-read them, and have noted down the keywords on the title page. This way I can pull myself back on track quickly. I also agree that the approach takes some work to put into practice but I think the previous reviewer misses the point that there is nothing as hard work as being in a depressed state. The hard work, by the way, is only in terms of changing your habitual modes of thinking, it does not involve making lists and analysing things as do many cognitive (i.e. thinking) approaches such as that found in Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David Burns. I have found Dr Burns's book to be of some use also, but only in so far as it enabled me to identify particular types of cognitive distortion that help perpetuate depressive illness. This enables me to more accurately recognise when I should dismiss my thoughts, as Dr Carlson recommends in his approach. If you are depressed, low, angry, resentful, dissatisfied, unfulfilled, stressed, hurried, fearful or just not happy most of the time then read this book and keep re-reading it. I only wish this book had been available when I was aged twenty rather than forty.

the ONLY self help book you will ever need
I have suffered depression in all forms from recurring bouts of the blues to severe clinical depression. I have read every book ever published on the subject. I recently came across this one and I was blown away by its simplicity and efficacy.It cuts through so much psychobabble rubbish and junks the myth of so much useless thereapy which involves going over and over old problems.
This guy is a genius and he writes so well.
I bless the day I happened upon this book .

Keep close, as security, until finished+depression over
Up until about 2 years ago (when i bought this book), my life was controlled by depression. No-one seemed to be my friend, and talking to people made things even worse. Even if i got over the depression, there would still be no reason to be happy. I was doubtful anyone could help me. The truth is, I didn't need a reason to be happy or content or whatever, because as I began to understand what was making me miserable, EVERYTHING started to get at least a bit better. I only needed to read the first 3/4 of the book to know that i will never, ever be depressed again.
Reading each page was a beautiful experience, as everything Carlson says makes a difference to your life. It was like I could feel myself getting better!
If you trust the writing, this book will enable you to control your thoughts exactly as you please, and, if you are chronically depressed it is probably the best book in the field.