It may be difficult for those suffering from depression to add a little work into their day; simply getting out of bed can seem like plenty of work. But if you are newly diagnosed or experiencing moderate problems with depression or bipolar disorder, The Depression Workbook might be a literal lifesaver.

The first section is especially useful to new patients just learning to navigate the signs, treatments, and vocabulary of depression. Clearly written overviews of specific symptoms are coupled with space for you to write in your own thoughts on treatment, prognosis, and your ultimate goals. Checklists and daily planners help to identify both areas of difficulty and positive experiences; later in the book, you'll find charts for tracking medications, diet, and doctor visits.

A full section is devoted to the establishment and maintenance of a support group. Ideas range from open discussions with family members to seeking out volunteer work, and it's this section that may be the trickiest for the depressed to work through. Finding the strength to make new friends may seem impossible at first, but author Mary Ellen Copeland spreads plenty of warmth, encouragement, and personal experience among her directives. --Jill Lightner


Book Description
This bestselling workbook provides interactive exercises that help readers take responsibility for their own wellness and teach essential coping skills, such as tracking and controlling moods, building a support system, increasing self-confidence and self-esteem, avoiding conditions that can exacerbate mood swings, and using relaxation, diet, and exercise to stabilize moods.A major feature of the second edition is a new chapter that details a step-by-step process to help readers develop their own plan for managing symptoms and staying well. The second edition also contains an updated list of resources, including an extensive list of helpful web resources, as well as expanded material on specific treatment strategies and updated resources for mental health professionals.


Book Info
(New Harbinger Publications) Consumer workbook presents latest research-based self-help strategies to relieve depression and address other mental health issues. Includes new information on managing symptoms. Previous edition: c1994. Softcover.


About the Author
Mary Ellen Copeland, M.S., is a distinguished teacher and lecturer from Brattleboro, Vermont.

ANNOTATION

"...offers a step-by-step guide for using charts to track and control moods, finding appropriate mental health professionals, building a support system, increasing self- confidence, and using relaxation, diet and exercise."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From the best-selling author, Mary Ellen Copeland, comes the Second Edition of the Depression Workbook. Learn and practice the latest research-based self-help strategies to relieve depression and address other mental health issues.

A new chapter guides readers through developing your own plan for managing symptoms and staying well. This process, known as the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), was developed by a group of people who experience depression, or manic depression and/or have other mental health concerns and who now report that this plan helped them relieve their symptoms and improve the quality of their lives.