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"An extraordinary blend of real scholarship, an experimental scientist's best judgement, and down-to-earth self help advice." George E Valliant, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Product Description
If you believe that dieting down to your "ideal" weight will prolong your life; that reliving childhood trauma can undo adult personality problems; that alcoholics have addictive personalities, or that psychoanalysis helps cure anxiety, then get ready for a shock. In the climate of self-improvement that has reigned for the last twenty years, misinformation about treatments for everything from alcohol abuse to sexual dysfunction has flourished. Those of us trying to change these conditions are often frustrated by failure, mixed success, or success followed by a relapse. But have you ever asked yourself: can my condition really be changed? And if so, am I going about it in the most effective way? Grounding his conclusions in the most recent and most authoritative scientific studies, Seligman pinpoints the techniques and therapies that work best for each condition, explains why they work, and discusses how you can use them to change your life. Inside, you'll discover: the four natural healing factors for recovering from alcoholism; the vital difference between overeating and being overweight, and why dieters always gain back the pounds they "lost"; the four therapies that work for depression, and how you can "dispute" your way to optimistic thinking; the pros and cons of anger, and the steps to take to understand it and much more!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found this to be an excellent book. I feel I understand the human condition better for having read it. Many of the chapters focus on a single difficultly, e.g. Anxiety, Phobias, Depression, Anger, Weight, Alcohol. Seligman describes what is known about each, and considers the outcomes of various treatments based on scientific studies which he references (without this intruding on the main text's readability). He is honest about it when he goes beyond the evidence and ventures his own opinion. As an example of the kind of question he considers: In treating alcoholism, should the goal be total abstinence, or controlled moderate drinking?
It's best to point out this is not a book about Positive Psychology, as that is what Seligman is probably best known for. And yet probably very relevant to Positive Psychology all the same - not much point in studying human strengths without some sort of primer on human weaknesses.
I found the book very readable, comprehensive and enjoyable (for some reason I struggled with "Authentic Happiness" by the same author).
Just in the chapter on dieting I would have liked more detail, or suggestions for further reading at the popular science level of this book (as I've already said, there are plenty unobtrusive references to original research). It's still a great chapter though, and in my view this stuff about dieting can't be repeated enough in our weight-obsessed culture:
- You can lose weight in a month or two on almost any diet.
- Most people gain almost all their weight back in four to five years, with perhaps 10 percent remaining thin (there are about a dozen well-executed long-term studies involving thousands of dieters, and all of them show basically the same dismal result).
It's best to point out this is not a book about Positive Psychology, as that is what Seligman is probably best known for. And yet probably very relevant to Positive Psychology all the same - not much point in studying human strengths without some sort of primer on human weaknesses.
I found the book very readable, comprehensive and enjoyable (for some reason I struggled with "Authentic Happiness" by the same author).
Just in the chapter on dieting I would have liked more detail, or suggestions for further reading at the popular science level of this book (as I've already said, there are plenty unobtrusive references to original research). It's still a great chapter though, and in my view this stuff about dieting can't be repeated enough in our weight-obsessed culture:
- You can lose weight in a month or two on almost any diet.
- Most people gain almost all their weight back in four to five years, with perhaps 10 percent remaining thin (there are about a dozen well-executed long-term studies involving thousands of dieters, and all of them show basically the same dismal result).
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you are looking how to solve problems properly and with results then this book is for you. It is not easy to read but then that's why I like it because it is trying to make a comprehensive resume of myriads of methods and that is not going to be an easy task. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it for its depth, wide range and smooth flow of logical thought. It just gathers all the possible mental disorders and gives evidence on rated methods to cope with them. It was sincere pleasure to read it. I have read many books on positive thinking; this one is the first to make real positive changes in my life. Brilliant!
I seriously cannot understand anyone who would give it a low rating. My conclusion for those would be ' they have not read it properly, or jealous, or else and etc.
I seriously cannot understand anyone who would give it a low rating. My conclusion for those would be ' they have not read it properly, or jealous, or else and etc.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In my opinion this is the one book that every therapist/counsellor should have read and digested. If you know, for instance, that (unmodified) psychoanalysis is not gonna help in cases of depression both clients and practitioners are better off. To know what quirk in the human psyche can be changed efficiently, what takes a huge effort and what can't be changed at all surely has to be the basis of all mental health professions. Otherwise we operate in a world of empty promises, half-baked truths and money-spinning lies.
Ditch the DSM and stick to the knowledge and common sense espoused in Seligman's book and you can't go too wrong. Anything else either smacks of profiteering or ideology (like the medical model of human nature ... "nothing but a bio-robot in need of chemical correction").
Ditch the DSM and stick to the knowledge and common sense espoused in Seligman's book and you can't go too wrong. Anything else either smacks of profiteering or ideology (like the medical model of human nature ... "nothing but a bio-robot in need of chemical correction").
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The answer to many questions about therapy and self improvement
This is a remarkable book because Martin Seligman manages to bring scientific research to life and write in a meaningful way to a mainstream audience. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Mark
Wisdom to Know the Difference
Psychologist Martin Seligman acknowledges that psychology sends us two contradictory messages about change. Read more
Published 12 months ago by John M. Ford
Just goes to show ...
That when it comes to emotional and psychological problems that both psychiatry and psychology are nothing but hot air and theories with no actual relief or hope of "cure" for the... Read more
Published on 12 April 2008 by A. F. Hardman
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