Depression - Highly Recommended Reading
There are many books patients with depression find helpful during their recovery and healing. The list below will provide you with resources you can review whether looking to find more information about depression, for ways to reduce the stress in your life, or ways to live a happy life with depression.
The Joy Diet - Martha Beck
This book, recommended by Oprah's book club, offers healthy tips for individuals that want to improve their life, physically and emotionally by recapturing the joy they once had. The author hopes to teach people how to "navigate" the waters of life by learning life tools that help one articulate, relax, communicate and negotiate life's changes.
Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield and Mark Victor
Chicken Soup for the Soul comes in many varieties, but the original book is wonderful for people interested in reading inspiring quotes or those looking for the motivation to succeed and overcome depression.
Here are some other "Chicken Soup" varieties to check out:
- Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
- Chicken Soup for the Family
- A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul (as women are more prone to depression).
- Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work
- Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul
Check out as many or as few as you like, and inspire your life in new and exciting ways.
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and Updated - David R. Burns
This book is tailored for people suffering from depression or anxiety. A bestseller, this book encourages people to participate in cognitive-behavioral therapy and learn to attract good feelings in their life through deeds and actions.
Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness - David Karp
The author of this book concentrates on the feelings of sadness and disconnection that often accompany depression and related illnesses. The author contemplates his own struggles with depression and provides intimate stories of others that suffer from clinical depression. This book is a bird-eye view into the life of depressed patients.
An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness - Kay Redfield Jamison
Kay Jamison looks at bipolar disorder from the eyes of a therapist coping with the disease. Many suggest this is the best book available on bipolar disorder, because it shares with readers the intimate details of the life of a person suffering from bipolar disorder. The book is helpful for patients, friends and family members interested in learning more about bipolar disease and its effects on the human mind and emotions.
Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament - Kay Jamison
Another excellent book by Kay Jamison, Touched with Fire suggests those that are artists and creative souls are more likely than others to identify with genius but also the disease that is manic depression. This book is designed for artists, psychologists and other professionals interested in looking at whether suffering is inevitable for people that want to be creative.
The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness - J. Mark Williams, et al.
This book teaches people suffering from depression and related mental health disorders to rediscover their inner joy and happiness. The approach is holistic in nature, appealing to those interested in addressing their moods in a natural and well-rounded way.
Please contact us with your ideas and reviews of other books about depression and related mental health disorders.