PDA

View Full Version : Books for mild depression, low self esteem



Merski
6-18-11, 7:25am
Can anyone recommend any titles for me that helped them? Want to try this route before therapy and/or medication. I am not religious. Thanks!:(

leslieann
6-18-11, 7:38am
The Mindful Way Through Depression includes a CD of mindfulness activities aimed at this issue.http://www.wisdom-books.com/ProductDetail.asp?PID=17383 Another approach would be the cognitive behavioural one; you could try Feeling Good, by David Burns. And there are a lot of workbooks out there; some are more user-friendly than others. I like a lot of the work of Matthew McKay (in terms of workbooks). His books have useful activities and can be taken in small bits.

Using a journal to write and draw about your feelings is often helpful; noticing that thoughts and feelings arise and then go away, and also noticing that you don't have to believe what you think. Make sure you are getting good nutrition, sufficient sleep and exercise, and make use of your social support. And see if you can moderate your responses to stress in your life, either by modifying circumstances, or giving yourself plenty of time to notice what's going on inside of you. These things have been helpful to me, especially the one about taking time to really notice what I am thinking or feeling, without assigning it to some outside "cause" (otherwise known as blaming!). Those can be good steps to take before seeking professional help.

I am sure that others will have lots of good ideas and I hope you find something helpful.

Leslie

cdttmm
6-18-11, 8:33am
I have been in a graduate program studying positive psychology for the past year. These are some of the books that we read during the program and I highly recommend them. They have some great strategies that I found easy to implement. Like you, I am not religious. I appreciated that the strategies offered in these books were supported by scientific research as opposed to anecdotal evidence.

Positivity, by Barbara Fredrickson
The How of Happiness, by Sonya Lyubomirsky
Authentic Happiness, by Martin Seligman

puglogic
6-18-11, 8:59am
I am not religious in the traditional sense either. I got a lot out of "Feeling Good" by David Burns for its step-by-step way of looking at things. It's all a very personal thing, but it helped me. I keep a journal too, and it helps to understand why I'm feeling what I'm feeling.

It also helped greatly to get at WHY I was depressed, and got reading material related to it, for example Barbara Sher's old classic Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want was and is a precious how-to for solving my feelings of not having experienced the things in life I really wanted to; Women and the Blues by Jennifer James helped with situation-specific things.

My self-esteem issues are deeply rooted in being a child of alcoholics, and I was also allowing my issues to be exacerbated by staying in damaging situations in my life (like being in a relationship that wasn't good for me). So topic-specific stuff helped me too.

Merski
6-18-11, 9:23am
Alchoholism was part of my upbringing as well, pug, and my mom was afraid to leave my dad because she had no job skills etc.. I am in a truly wonderful marriage with no alchoholism. My husband has a healthy self esteem and ego (yes folks, there actually are people that are this way) and wants to support me emotionally though he doesn't really understand my issues. I wonder if any others approaching retirement also go through what I'm going through...

You are all so kind. Thank you.

leslieann
6-18-11, 9:30am
Alcoholism in parents often leaves children unsupported, or at least feeling unsupported. I got a lot out of working the 12 steps through an Adult Children of Alcoholics group back in the 1990s'. I don't think that the ACOA thing is popular right now but that doesn't mean that folks are not affected, just that other issues are trendy. There are some books from the 1990's too that were helpful to me; I think Claudia Black was one of the authors. Of course people are individuals and alcoholic families are certainly not all alike, but the feeling of having to raise yourself, and sometimes to relate to parents as the adult when one is just a child, is pretty commonly related to not being able to know your own feelings, which is what depression can feel like, especially in its milder forms.

ApatheticNoMore
6-18-11, 1:12pm
Wow, this is about retirement? You don't have to retire you know (unless you are being forced out due to age discrimination >:( - the b*st*rds). There is nothing wrong with continuing to work if it's what you really want (any simple living or mainstream culture propaganda otherwise notwithstanding!!).

I like a book called "Compassion and Self Hate" by Theodore Rubin for self-esteem (it's for if you "pick on" yourself, it's about being compassionate with yourself instead, simple enough in theory, it's a good book on the subject).

Depression is a hard one, I've read books on the subject from evolutionary psychology to those that argue what depressed people really need is close honest relationships. But none of those books ever cured my depression!! It's almost time and chance that did. Depression gets pretty deeply stuck in the mind and is hard to get out of. Do make sure you eat a good diet, get exercise and sunshine. What do you want out of life that you aren't getting now?

JaneV2.0
6-18-11, 1:48pm
This looks promising, though I admit I haven't yet read it:
Walking Your Blues Away: How to Heal the Mind and Create Emotional Well-Being

I felt nothing but relief as I approached my retirement, which was entirely voluntary.

reader99
6-18-11, 2:54pm
I was hugely helped as a young adult by "I'm ok, You're ok". It's very old now, but still sound.

Merski
6-19-11, 7:55am
Talk about serendipity! Drove by a free pile yesterday and got 3 new books on self esteem, the Highly sensitive Person and how to disagree without being disagreeable!

ejchase
6-20-11, 1:29am
Somebody just recommended to me a book called Happy for No Reason. They raved about it and said it helped them with their mild depression.

Polliwog
6-20-11, 2:37am
I enjoyed "The Portable Therapist."

Merski
6-20-11, 6:44am
Thanks again to you all for your support and recommendations. I think I have plenty of stuff to look for at the library.

puglogic
6-20-11, 12:14pm
Talk about serendipity! Drove by a free pile yesterday and got 3 new books on self esteem, the Highly sensitive Person and how to disagree without being disagreeable!

One of those "nothing happens by accident" moments ;)
Good luck, Merski

chord_ata
6-23-11, 5:57pm
More support for David Burns and Martin Seligman (any title of his, "Learned Optimism", "What You Can Change and What You Can't").
Also "Undoing Depression" works very well for me.

redfox
6-23-11, 7:22pm
I'm tempted to say - book a ticket to a lovely vacation spot for a week!

Maxamillion
6-23-11, 7:44pm
I found Happy For No Reason to be helpful too.