Product Description

If you suffer from depression you are far from alone. Depression is very common, affecting over 300 million people around the world. Written by Professor Paul Gilbert, internationally recognised for his work on depression, this highly acclaimed self-help book has been of benefit to thousands of people including sufferers, their friends and families, and those working I the medical profession. This fully revised third edition has been extensively updated and rewritten to reflect over ten years of new research on understanding and treating depression, particularly the importance of developing compassionate ways of thinking, behaving and feeling. It contains helpful case studies and new, easy-to-follow, step-by-step suggestions and exercises to help you understand your depression and lift your mood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5531 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

The Sunday Times
'Highly recommended.'

About the Author
Professor Paul Gilbert is the author of Overcoming Depression: Talks With Your Therapist; The Compassionate Mind and Compassion. Previously Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby and Head of Speciality, Adult Mental Health, for the Southern Derbyshire Mental Health Trust, he is currently based at the Mental Health Research Unit, Kingsway Hospital, Derby.

Customer Reviews

The best book on depression I've come across
This book helped to completely change my understanding of depression and psychology in general. The biological/evolutionary and social explanation Mr. Gilbert offers for depression is something I have encountered nowhere else, yet is so basic and elemental and makes complete sense. This book clarified and simplified what was for me a dark, scary, overwhelming mystery, and helped me to finally see depression for what it is. I understand now that I'm not randomly and unfortunately afflicted with a strange disease that I'm powerless to affect, but rather all people have the potential to enter a depressed state, and similarly all people, including me, have the potential to live in a state of vitality/normality (whatever the opposite of depression is). It's helped me to see what conditions provoke depression's onset - and importantly, why - and which help heal and restore oneself. What a stroke of luck to have come across this helpful book and this wonderful author.

mrsrochester
I only wish I had read this book when I was twenty, when I was first told to expect to have recurrent episodes of severe depression for the rest of my life, rather than now, at fifty-five. Since my diagnosis I've been reading everything I can get my hands on, and trying everything. Lots of things have been helpful, some haven't, but this beats the lot. It's all here: why people can get depressed, in terms of the evolution of the species, the development of the individual and his or her situation; and, in very concrete practical and sensible terms, what you can do about it. It pulled together a lot of what I'd found out from other sources. Obviously, it's different strokes for different folks, but for me this was a real find.

My thoughts!
I have found this book so helpfull - if only I had found out about it sooner. For the last few years I have had bouts of depression and refused to follow the traditional lines of treatment as I felt that this wasn't for me, but with the support of a cognative behavioural therapist and Paul Gilbert's book and some medication my life has been at it's best for the past 6 years, and at the age of 23 I feel i can now start to enjoy my life and cope with some of those day to day factors in life which used to make me feel like it was impossible to carry on, I have read and re-read this book and continually trying more of the skills and techniques. This book also makes you feel like your not alone, which initially was a huge factor for me, my partner has also read this book and it has enabled him to understand in a meaningfull way some of the difficulties I have had to face.