Customer Reviews
My crutch - By: P. Redman, 11 Apr 2008 
I was lent this book by my CPN not long after I was first diagnosed with quite severe depression in August 2007 & it soon became something of a crutch for me - I had to order a copy for myself so her other patients could benefit from her copy. I agree that, initallly at least, it probably wouldn't work on its own but in conjunction with therapy and/or medication it is a great book. It was good to read & think 'I know that feeling' - it made me feel like there was still some fine thread linking me to the world people around me inhabit.
In a strange way it helps that Paul Gilbert is a clinical psychologist who has himself suffered with depression; it means he writes in both a practical & informative style. The book is medical without being hard to follow & helpful without being pink fluffy cloudy.
overcoming depression - By: Emily Danks, 28 Mar 2008 Having had a 12 month bout of depression & ending up on medication, I was advised to read this book. It offers a fascinating insight into how our thoughts & feelings can be misinterpreted & gives methods into dealing with negativity which often leads to depression. The book does require some commitment but once you start to feel better & start to understand your thought processes, you want to continue reading & learn more. I want to work through the whole series!
Excellent book - By: Emma, 22 Nov 2007 I have fought against depression for the past 10 years & read many books on the subject. In my opinion, this is by far the best. It is very clearly set out & easy to follow. I have reread it myself several times & recommended it to friends suffering from depression. Well worth the money.
Not finished it yet but - By: jay, 11 Oct 2007 
I quite like it. One line has actuallly made a world of difference to me when it said that often someone who is depressed is actuallly defeated. Like someone putting a light on in my head that was, but that is alll I have got out of it so far. I think you need to read this when you aren't depressed to help you when you are.
But what really causes depression ? - By: L. Davidson, 20 May 2007 
As a sufferer from this illness, I must admit that I found "Overcoming Depression" to be of limited benefit to myself. It provides a detailed analysis of the many possible causes of depression which is informative enough, but not exactly revelatory, & it also proposes a number of possible solutions to the problem which are based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This entails primarily the analysis of the depressed person's thought patterns & the book encourages the development of alternatives to those "negative" ways of thinking. Generallly this means "thinking positive", avoiding over-generalisations about oneself ,challlenging "alll or nothing" modes of thought & avoiding self-bullying.The reader is encouraged to be compassionate to oneself & think of the good things in life rather than dwell on the bad things & avoid getting locked into a downward spiral of self loathing & despair. The book also advocates the writing down of ones negative thoughts & feelings in order to challlenge them with more positive ones. The message in the book is not exactly earth shattering & I am sure that most depressed people are always trying to look on the bright side of life & count their blessings.It's just that this most likely will not be enough to shift the depression although undoubtedly it should help. I thought that this book was over-long , excessively verbose, repetitive at times & I didn't like the author's adherence to the discredited "theory of evolution" & his repeated comparison of depressives' behaviour to that of wild animals. I found this book to be of limited use & it didn't reallly convince me of the benefits of CBT.
