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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
This was surely helpful but also I think comes without any respect to the importance of relationships (any type) and community interaction
informative
medium-paced
A good mass market self help book with CBT techniques. Some of the info on pharmacology is a little outdated but mostly still very good content.
Tl;dr: DNF. Finding a more contemporary and, ideally, shorter book would probably be better. This is very outdated and just doesn't at all feel helpful to me.
Not tl;dr:
I understand that pretty much all non-fiction books are required by law to have a masturabatory introduction section, but this one was just...more of a nuisance than others I've read in the past. It was clearly written for people who have major doubts about the science behind psychology, and he really tried to shove it in your face that this stuff is legit. Seeing as how I already know this stuff works, him essentially bragging about his system left me feeling more skeptical than anything. :/
Much of the language is a bit outdated and rather...um...judgmental? I don't think he's correct when he says the way depressed people think is outright wrong, that the way we view the world is somehow skewed and delusional. I think it's more that the way we process information is done so in a way that results in a negative outcome for us, not that it's inherently wrong.
The fact that he didn't present any nuance with thoughts and the control/logic that comes with that, was upsetting. There was, to my memory, no acknowledgement that these thoughts are not your fault, are automatic, and not controllable in the moment. The only thing he ever mentioned was how those thoughts were illogical and wrong. And to me that felt unfair. :/
And wow, is this book just full of fluff. There's so much repeated information, just worded slightly differently. At times he talks to us like we don't know what 1+1 is, and other times it seems like his intended audience are people with more severe cases of depression? I find myself skimming a LOT just to get to any content, and even then, any content that can apply to me. It's frustrating. This book could've been half the length.
Going along with the "outdatedness" of it, using it as a reference nowadays in general might not be the best. From what I recall from the book, the only "revised" part about the revised edition was the newly added introduction. Supposedly the rest of the text is the same. And something published in the 1980s with 30+ year old information is, without a doubt, going to have at least /some/ stuff wrong. We've come a long way in that time, both in psychology and medical science. So the fact that nothing was really updated since then feels...wrong?
The fact that I've been trying to pick this back up and read even a sentence says plenty about how useful this book is for me. I made it into chapter five, just a couple pages over 100. Out of an almost 700 page book, I just can't see me finishing it. If anything, I'll skim or skip around to the various exercises and test them out. But otherwise, it's more exhausting to try to keep going, depressing even, ironically enough.
And as a last note: a friend of mine who's been in therapy for a long while now, quite educated on the topic, gave this book a look-see, and told me to trash and burn it. Soo... xD
Not tl;dr:
I understand that pretty much all non-fiction books are required by law to have a masturabatory introduction section, but this one was just...more of a nuisance than others I've read in the past. It was clearly written for people who have major doubts about the science behind psychology, and he really tried to shove it in your face that this stuff is legit. Seeing as how I already know this stuff works, him essentially bragging about his system left me feeling more skeptical than anything. :/
Much of the language is a bit outdated and rather...um...judgmental? I don't think he's correct when he says the way depressed people think is outright wrong, that the way we view the world is somehow skewed and delusional. I think it's more that the way we process information is done so in a way that results in a negative outcome for us, not that it's inherently wrong.
The fact that he didn't present any nuance with thoughts and the control/logic that comes with that, was upsetting. There was, to my memory, no acknowledgement that these thoughts are not your fault, are automatic, and not controllable in the moment. The only thing he ever mentioned was how those thoughts were illogical and wrong. And to me that felt unfair. :/
And wow, is this book just full of fluff. There's so much repeated information, just worded slightly differently. At times he talks to us like we don't know what 1+1 is, and other times it seems like his intended audience are people with more severe cases of depression? I find myself skimming a LOT just to get to any content, and even then, any content that can apply to me. It's frustrating. This book could've been half the length.
Going along with the "outdatedness" of it, using it as a reference nowadays in general might not be the best. From what I recall from the book, the only "revised" part about the revised edition was the newly added introduction. Supposedly the rest of the text is the same. And something published in the 1980s with 30+ year old information is, without a doubt, going to have at least /some/ stuff wrong. We've come a long way in that time, both in psychology and medical science. So the fact that nothing was really updated since then feels...wrong?
The fact that I've been trying to pick this back up and read even a sentence says plenty about how useful this book is for me. I made it into chapter five, just a couple pages over 100. Out of an almost 700 page book, I just can't see me finishing it. If anything, I'll skim or skip around to the various exercises and test them out. But otherwise, it's more exhausting to try to keep going, depressing even, ironically enough.
And as a last note: a friend of mine who's been in therapy for a long while now, quite educated on the topic, gave this book a look-see, and told me to trash and burn it. Soo... xD
I found this an extraordinarily helpful book. It has made a lot of things clearer. I don't agree with everything it says (some of the examples rubbed me the wrong way) but I would recommend it to anyone dealing with depression. The idea that your thoughts--about yourself, the world, and other people--create your emotions is a very powerful one. This book is going to take me a while to process.
Unfortunately couldn't finish it, I just couldn't get myself to pick it up compared to other books.
My therapist suggested this book and it was a pleasant surprise at how enjoyable it was. Most books such as these make me roll my eyes because it always feels like they’re trying to put people in neat boxes. This one is very forgiving of everyone’s unique circumstances and well written. I’m looking forward to receiving this style of therapy treatment soon. I’m a goal oriented person and this doctor gives you worksheets and activities that suit people like me.
Solid intro to CBT techniques, though I did find some of the philosophy to be overstated and unhelpful. For example, he repeatedly asserts that "all emotions ever are caused by conscious thoughts", which just seems patently false IMHO. That said, the exercises and insights are helpful.