Product Description

A feast of ideas, practical suggestions and background information on how you can improve your mood instantly, and get on with living your life. These step by step suggestions are diverse, enjoyable, and not tied down to any one discipline. Start a new life today!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123211 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 104 pages

From the Inside Flap
A feast of ideas, practical suggestions and background information on how you can improve your mood instantly, and get on with living your life. These step by step solutions are diverse, and not tied down to any one discipline. Start a new life today!

About the Author
Paul Vincent is the author of the hugely successful novel, 'Free'.

Excerpted from 50 Things You Can Do Today to Beat Depression by Paul Vincent. Copyright © 2005. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This book is designed to be short and to the point. As the title suggests, it contains fifty ways you can beat depression today. It also contains far more. In fact, it is my belief that if you give this book an honest hour of your time, you can and will cure your depression for good. All you have to say is, ‘What the hell, I’ll give it a chance,’ and follow the instructions as you go along.

You will need:
• An hour on your own.
• A pen.
• About fifteen pieces of blank paper.
• A clean empty litter bin (a cardboard box will do).
• A clock or watch.
• A mirror that is big enough to see your whole face.
• The TV definitely off, but perhaps a CD player or iPod to hand, but turned off at this stage.
• No alcohol. This is not going to work if you’re plastered.

Oh and here’s a warning:
If you are allergic to nuts, don’t eat nuts.

What do I mean? I cannot possibly know all about your life and your health, so when you follow any advice it is your responsibility to do so sensibly.

Finally, before we get stuck in: ‘depression’ is an overused word which has come to encompass countless problems and symptoms ranging from everything from anxiety to insomnia. Accordingly, I will use the word quite loosely throughout or often I will just say ‘illness’ and let’s assume it is usually shorthand for ‘the problems we are facing’ whatever those may be.

Here goes…

Depression is the single most prevalent illness in Western society. Why is this?

Among other reasons, it’s because depression drains people of energy. It drains people of energy, self confidence and hope. In other words, the illness itself robs you of the very qualities you would need to cure it.

Think about it. An illness that by its very nature stops you from curing it. It stops you from believing it can be cured; it stops you having the strength to cure it; often it stops people from even having strong desires, so it stops you even desiring to cure it.

How clever is that?

It is genius.

If you were an evil scientist trying to mess with people’s minds, you would be hard pressed to think up something cleverer than depression. It’s such a successful illness that the cost in the UK alone of the medication, counselling, lost work and ancillary illnesses is thought to be over £3 billion a year. Severe depression is thought to affect up to 10% of the population at any one time, and over a lifetime, most people will have suffered from it at some stage. And yet despite this extraordinary cost and the number of people fighting it every day, there seems to be no end in sight. Now that is a successful illness.

I will make no apology for stressing this concept again and again. Depression is so successful because it robs you of the means and desire to cure it. Oh okay. It almost robs you: after all you’ve taken the trouble to buy this book, haven’t you? It hasn’t won the battle just yet.

So, what can we do?

Firstly let’s get the concept fixed firmly in our heads that the brain is an organ like any other body organ. It can need rest, it can get damaged, it can be strong, and it can get an illness. In this instance, your brain has managed to get itself an illness and this illness is inflicting on you some of the following:
• Tiredness.
• Lack of confidence.
• Dankness.
• Inability to sleep.
• A need to sleep too much.
• A need to eat too much or too little.
• Lack of energy.
• ‘Hyper’ patches.
• Despondency.
• Selfishness.
• Introspection.
• Drinking.
• Gambling.
• Not able to get out enough.
• Not able to enjoy life.
• A need to spend too much money.
• Inability to concentrate.
• Inability to be a good friend.

…and that list is probably just scraping the surface.

So this is the first key concept I want to press home:
Your brain has an illness and it is inflicting symptoms on you. Like any organ or muscle in the body, it will respond to exercise, medications, good nutrition and generally being treated well.

Note that there is nothing contentious or revolutionary about this concept. I’m not trying to be contentious or revolutionary: I simply want to explain how we can become happy for the rest of our lives. To recap therefore:

Depression is a work of genius. It robs you of the very energy and hope that you need to cure it.

Your brain has an illness and it is inflicting symptoms on you. Like any organ or muscle in the body, it will respond to exercise, medications, good nutrition and generally being treated well.

So…

Customer Reviews

This Should Be Available On Prescription
It would be impossible to praise this book too highly, it is a gem. There are a large number of instant mental exercises that break the spell of depression and make your mood better straight away and there are even more life-saving ideas about how to proceed from there. Ever heard of the phrase 'This is a lifesaver'? In all probability this book is literally a lifesaver; there will be some people in the trough of despair who will look back on this book as the first day of the rest of their lives. But it is just as applicable to those of us 'milder cases' who slip in and out of depression, in my case since my father and sister died in quick succession.
It's not a dogmatic book. It gives offers lots of different solutions from all sorts of different disciplines and it is a very human, at times funny book. I'd say you could read it in about one evening.
It should be available in doctor's surgeries on prescription.

A great investment of £5.99
Being a sufferer of depression I have bought a few similar books. So many of the messages struck a chord with me and many of the suggestions are simple and easy to follow. Whether it's long term goals, exercise or something simple like saying out loud positive words like 'sensational' or 'happiness' I found so much of use in this book. I've tried to follow some of the suggestions and I certainly feel better for it.

Sent shivers down my spine
This book is of the self-help genre and gives several practical can-do ideas to try to overcome depression.

I am not particularly struck by the exercises involved, but I will say that this is the only book ever that has informed me about this shocking truth:

Depression is such a terrible illness that it robs you of your ability to fight it. In effect it is self-perpetuating. As the author notes, it would be the pinnacle's work of an evil scientist's career trying to create such a horrific illness.

There are also extremely relevant points the author notes. In the case of nutrition, he does not feel that eating / drinking properly will particularly help depression, but especially drinking too much alcohol will make things much worse. And he quite rightly declared that one night's hangover can trigger a whole week of depression.

I think the book is a tad pricey for the volume, but then it's all about quality not quantity. Overall however this book has really made me rethink how I work life and to deal with this dreadful illness, and I thoroughly recommend it.