Overcoming Depression

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Important help in overcoming depression - Rated
I took "Overcoming Depression" by Windy Dryden and Sarah Opie with me on holiday last year. A curious choice of holiday book you may think, however as I am someone who has experienced depression on and off for several years I do find myself more and more drifting towards books that offer me help in 'overcoming' the depressed moods I experience.

This book begins with an excellent overview of the different sorts of depression that people go through, and an explanation that the book offers a psychological approach to tackling depression known as Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). The seven people whose case studies feature in the book are then introduced. This approach of having 'real' peoples' stories threaded throughout the structure of the book was the key feature that made the book so effective for me to work through and engage with the theory that the authors describe. The structure of the book is very clearly laid out from the beginning and each chapter ends with a summary that clarifies not only what the authors have described in the chapter just read, but also how this ties in with the next chapter in the book. There is a wonderful clarity to the way the information is presented in this book, I'm not sure whether this is due to some sort of structure inherent in the theory of REBT or whether this is due to the particular combination of writing skills of Sarah Opie and Windy Dryen, but it certainly made this a very accessible book for me to read.

Accessibility is one thing, and an important thing for me as I am notorious in my family for 'giving up' on books after only a couple of chapters (however I enthusiastically completed "Overcoming Depression" by the end of my 2 week holiday) but perhaps the most important factor to consider in a book of this type is how helpful the information in it actually is.
I can sincerely say that I have found the psychological theory and the practical applications described in this particular book as having proved extremely helpful to myself. The use of the seven case studies means that Sarah Opie and Windy Dryden have spread their net wide and chances are the general reader wanting help with overcoming depression will see aspects of one or more of these seven characters that they can identify with.
A helpful and important book.

Thanks! - Rated
A straightforward, eminently sensible guide, this book talks in a down-to-earth, practical way to those of us who have experienced, or are experiencing, the pain of depression. Nicely structured and with lots of relevant, very real case-studies, Sarah Opie and Windy Dryden offer a series of wise, compassionate, hopeful strategies to overcome depression, showing us how to connect and use our thoughts, our feelings and our behaviour in the difficult climb up the steep, slippery slope back to mental health.