Taming the Black Dog: How to Beat Depression - a Practical Manual for Sufferers, Their Relatives and Their Colleagues [Paperback]

This book is not heavy. It is written by a fellow sufferer rather than an academic, and it comes across in a very sympathetic manner that I found easy to relate to.

The book takes you through mental exercises, motivation, exercise, meditation and mentoring. It didn't have all the answers for me, but reading it gave me a big lift when I needed one.

What stops it getting 5 stars? A whole chapter on alcoholism, from which the author suffers. The rest of the book is applicable to any depressive, but I suspect the differences between drink, drugs, gambling, comfort eating etc are sufficient to warrant a change to this chapter.

If you are suffering from depression, have suffered from depression or know someone suffering from depression, then I recommend this book for you.

Winston Churchill called his depression "the black dog", and this book can really help if you feel that you are overwhelmed by the black dog - or a whole pack of them! Remember that depression is not a personal weakness or failing, rather a debilitating condition that can strike when our systems are overstressed, overtired and overworked - anyone can be a sufferer at any time in their life.

After I received this book I read it in one night as it was so easy to read and full of uplifting ideas. Immediately it offered hope and practical steps to help me move forward at a difficult time in my life. Patrick Ellverton is a fellow sufferer and his book offers practical, light-hearted advice in an very readable and non-technical style. He doesn't offer any advice about medication, however, although there are many other texts about this if you want more info.

If you are suffering from depression I would recommend this book in conjunction with "Overcoming Depression" by Paul Gilbert, which contains a self-help CBT approach* (please see below for more detail) and goes into more practical detail and exercises. Both these books were recommended to me by a therapist from the Priory and I hope these will help you too. Together these books can help you gain insight into problem areas such as perfectionism, shame, anger, and aggression, and how these areas can become exacerbated by depression.

My only extra comment would be that if you are currently suffering from depression, please do not just buy this book, but do consult a professional as well. Particularly if you are feeling suicidal, or know someone who feels this way, talking or reading alone will perhaps not be fast enough to save you or them. Sometimes the combination of therapy and medication is needed to help sufferers tame their black dog quickly and get back on the track to happiness and health.

I am buying this book as a gift for others close to me who have or are suffering from depression as I think it could well be a life saver for them as well. My partner also read this book and I believe it gave him insight and understanding into something he really didn't comprehend beforehand.

I wish you all the best if you are trying to overcome depression - please hang in there, for yourself and all the people who care about you!

* Cognitive behavioral therapy (as opposed to "talk therapy") is internationally established as a key method for overcoming conditions such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and eating disorders and used to treat emotional disorders by changing negative thought-patterns.

That our thoughts can have a major impact on our emotions is the underlying principle behind this form of therapy. For example, a person who goes through life thinking "I am unlovable," or "I'll never achieve anything," will find constant evidence to support his or her beliefs.

CBT offers a systematic program of treatment by which people can monitor their thoughts, learn to recognize negative patterns, and challenge them, using step-by-step suggestions, case examples, thought-monitoring sheets, and practical ideas for gaining control over depression and other debilitating conditions. CBT offers a course of action for sufferers to change the way they think about themselves and their problems.

This book was recommended to me by a psychiatric nurse. It is fantastic, full of bite size chunks to easily digest and loads of practical activities to take part in.
It suggests some basic changes in one's outlook to life and the activities suggested are a foundation to make change happen. I can't praise this book enough, I have to admit I was sceptical but I was proven wrong.
The book arrived in a matter of 48hours from Amazon so I was able to get straight on with it.