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serru's review against another edition
4.0
Julie Fast offers effective strategies to be productive when you're depressed. Her writing is clear and concise and I like the fact that she doesn't spend much time discussing why you're depressed-- I find that knowing the cause of depression doesn't really decrease the depression (sometimes it even makes it worse), but getting something done makes me feel better immediately. A lot of the things in this book will be hard for a depressed person to hear (or read), but I found it extremely helpful. Her strategies are quite simple and a lot less tedious to do than the lengthy writing exercises in [b:Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy|46674|Feeling Good The New Mood Therapy|David D. Burns|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255630070s/46674.jpg|1892311]; I was able to use my time directly on whatever work I needed to get done instead of doing extra writing exercises to convince myself to work. However, as with all books on depression, this book won't be very useful unless the depressed person him- or herself is open-minded and willing to try out some of the strategies. The main point of all these books is that you must take action in order to feel better quickly. This book won't be helpful at all if the person himself cannot muster up the (sometimes small, sometimes big) effort.
weelilbit's review against another edition
3.0
Probably great for someone. Not for me, but helpful reminders.
disabledreamer's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
such a well written book. perfect for those living with depression,as well as those around them to better help and understand them. a must read.
queerandweird's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
More self-help than I was hoping for, seeing the Psy.D as a co-author was misleading, they only answer basic questions that were probably emailed in bulk and replied to a short paragraph at a time. Julie Fast is the primary author, I can tell she's been living with Depression a long time and it is good to hear how more people cope with major depression, though based on her other books it seems she is Bipolar, not unipolar like me, and it's good she differentiates between different types of depression. I dig learning more coping strategies and reading how someone else has managed their symptoms, it's all fairly basic and is have liked more research, but I'm also a psych major and can handle the grit of research. I did enjoy how compartmentalized this book was, it felt accessible to read with depression.
Wouldn't buy it, but would recommend to fellow depressed folks, especially those who want more focused solutions rather than scientific explanations
Wouldn't buy it, but would recommend to fellow depressed folks, especially those who want more focused solutions rather than scientific explanations
rankkaapina's review
2.0
I'm not sure if my rating has any value, I just realized I'm facing a different kind of issue. I feel like I'm mostly over the depression part, I just have a hard time getting things done. It's like my brain learned the depression habit and now I don't know how to change the habit anymore. I do know how to plan, I know how to break up my tasks, I just have a problem with getting started on things.
Anyway, what I do like about the book is, that it gives concrete advice. Things you can do. I felt like this was the problem at some point, that you sort of knew that you should do something, but you didn't know what it was, so that's a plus. What I don't like is, that it assumes everyone has family around. When you live abroad and you've lived in the place only about 2 years and you don't speak the language very well, for example asking for help gets complicated. I have colleagues and friends who are happy to help, but I already have to ask for a lot of help just because of language stuff. And it's hard to push those relationships even more. It would be very different if my family was around or friends I've known for 20 years.
So, I'm a bit disappointed on the level of the advice. It applies in a certain kind of situation, but I feel this is so not written for me.
Anyway, what I do like about the book is, that it gives concrete advice. Things you can do. I felt like this was the problem at some point, that you sort of knew that you should do something, but you didn't know what it was, so that's a plus. What I don't like is, that it assumes everyone has family around. When you live abroad and you've lived in the place only about 2 years and you don't speak the language very well, for example asking for help gets complicated. I have colleagues and friends who are happy to help, but I already have to ask for a lot of help just because of language stuff. And it's hard to push those relationships even more. It would be very different if my family was around or friends I've known for 20 years.
So, I'm a bit disappointed on the level of the advice. It applies in a certain kind of situation, but I feel this is so not written for me.
missriki's review
3.0
This book is written by Julie A. Fast, an author who has struggled with depression most of her life. She teams up with licensed physician John, D. Preston to deliver a book of 50 ideas for getting tasks completed when you are bogged down by the symptoms of depression. My regular readers know that I am diagnosed bipolar and have had my share of difficulties struggling with depression, and this book came at a time when I was starting to feel a little down and seeing the lack of productivity that comes with those moods.
I identified with Fast in many of her personal anecdotes, especially in Chapter Four where she discusses the inability to make even the simplest decisions when feeling down. “Never negotiate with depression,” she wisely advises, since it will always win. Each idea for getting out of your slump and into action is backed with a personal story from the author, as well as professional input from Dr. Preston. Most of the ideas are very helpful and gave me insight into how to fight my own monster of inactivity, although some would admittedly be difficult to implement if you are feeling too far down in the dumps.
I especially enjoyed the ideas for keeping a structured schedule and the chapter devoted to school since those are two things that affect me on a daily basis, but there are ideas in this book for people from all backgrounds and in all situations. Fast speaks in a no-nonsense tone and each chapter has easy exercises to get you started. I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with having the blues and finds themselves unproductive. You can get things done while depressed, and this handy book shows you how.
I identified with Fast in many of her personal anecdotes, especially in Chapter Four where she discusses the inability to make even the simplest decisions when feeling down. “Never negotiate with depression,” she wisely advises, since it will always win. Each idea for getting out of your slump and into action is backed with a personal story from the author, as well as professional input from Dr. Preston. Most of the ideas are very helpful and gave me insight into how to fight my own monster of inactivity, although some would admittedly be difficult to implement if you are feeling too far down in the dumps.
I especially enjoyed the ideas for keeping a structured schedule and the chapter devoted to school since those are two things that affect me on a daily basis, but there are ideas in this book for people from all backgrounds and in all situations. Fast speaks in a no-nonsense tone and each chapter has easy exercises to get you started. I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with having the blues and finds themselves unproductive. You can get things done while depressed, and this handy book shows you how.
s_books's review
3.0
A good book with a number of strategies that can actually help you with depression IF you actually do them. These strategies are accompanied by stories from both the author and others as well as a sort of short-answer doctor-reasoning for why that strategy would work on depression; this may not be for some people but each of those things has a clear header on it so you can just skip to the next strategy if you want.