Posts Tagged ‘ Books ’

Undoing Depression

February 7, 2012
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What Therapy Doesn't Teach You and Medication Can't Give You

As Richard O’Connor states, you won’t find many people with his experience, both personal and professional. He witnessed his mother’s depression, who ended her life when he was still a child. Understandably, he went on to suffer from depression as well. He chose a mental health profession, allowing him to treat and see many other depressives. In short, he really knows what he is talking about, and it shows in this brilliant and compassionate book. Undoing depression will help you in many ways: Understanding what depression is, and what its countless consequences are: What I particularly like is the comprehensiveness...

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How to be present in your life

January 22, 2012
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Frontal zen balace

I’m currently reading Finding Your Way in a Wild New World, the latest book from Martha Beck. The author explains how most of us are litterally trapped in our head. We tell endless stories about ourselves, others, and the world, in the privacy of our own mind. Sometimes, these stories are not even true. We are very far from reality, stuck in a dream (or a nightmare). Sometimes, we are closer to the truth, but while we are busy obsessing about how awful a particular incident was (or how unfair, or whatever), we don’t even see the amazing event...

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Families and how to survive them

January 13, 2012
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200px-Familiesandhowto

This book has been a favorite of mine for more than a decade. So much so that when I realized I had lost it, I bought it again. It now resides safely in my kindle, this time immune to a future move. Families and how to survive them has been written in a dialogue form between a shrink (Robin Skynner), and an actor (John Cleese, yes the Monthy Python one). It’s mainly about, well, families. From how – and why – people fall in love, to how love relationships work – or not -, and what happens when the children...

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The New Codependency – Melody Beattie

January 8, 2012
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I have always been a fan of Melody Beattie’s work, and I have benefited enormously from it  since the old days of Codependent No More. I don’t understand why I bought the book in the first place; it seemed to be tackling the issues of people who were involved with addicts. God knows I had issues of my own, but not this one: I have never fallen in love with someone addicted. I  nevertheless recognized myself in the description of the  Codependent. There were so many similarities: not being able to take care of myself, obsessing about other people, taking care of everyone’s needs...

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Good self help books do help

January 6, 2012
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Pretty early, I realized I was not feeling well. Something was wrong with me, but I had no clue what it was. I had this fantasy that things would sort themselves out (and by things, I mean me), when I would have a good partner, a good job, friends, some money, and interesting adventures. I worded hard to obtain all these things, and being the obstinate person that I am, I did. Problem was: I was not feeling any better. In fact, I remember feeling  life was being painful and difficult, even though everything was ok from the outside. ...

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Depression…or life is a bitch and then you die

January 4, 2012
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Pretending

Depression is not a pleasant, trendy topic you save for cocktail parties. It is a very real problem for lots of people nevertheless. It definitely has been a serious problem for me. The formal criteria (taken from the DSM IV) for major depression include a depressed mood or a loss of interest in ordinary activities for at least two weeks, accompanied by at least four of the following symptoms: Significant weight loss or gain Insomnia or hypersomnia Activity levels slow down or increase Fatigue or loss of energy Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt Diminished ability to think, concentrate...

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