The 10 Best-Ever Depression Management Techniques: Understanding How Your Brain Makes You Depressed and What You Can Do to Change It

by Margaret Wehrenberg Psy.D.

Overview

A strategy-filled handbook to understand, manage, and conquer your depression, modeled after its best-selling counterpart on anxiety.

Why is depression one of the most pervasive of all mental health complaints? What makes the lethargy, mental rumination, loss of concentration, unassuageable negativity, and feelings of inadequacy so stubbornly resistant to treatment and so hard to shake off? What can you do to alleviate your symptoms and move in the direction of full recovery?

In order to answer these questions, Margaret Wehrenberg explains, you must first understand your brain. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience research presented in a reader-friendly way, Wehrenberg skillfully describes what happens in the brain of a depression sufferer and what specific techniques can be used to alter brain activity and control its range of disabling symptoms. Containing practical, take-charge tips from a seasoned clinician, this book presents the ten most effective strategies for moving from lethargy into action, taking charge of your brain, and breaking free from depression to find hope and happiness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393706291
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/14/2011
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	312
Sales rank:	500,137
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Margaret Wehrenberg, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist in private practice, a popular public speaker, and international anxiety coach. She is the author of numerous books, including The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques. She lives in Naperville, IL.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: What You Can Do About Your Depressed Brain 1

1 How Your Brain Makes You Depressed 10

2 Managing the Depressed Brain With Medication 35

3 Technique #1: Identify Triggers, Plan New Responses 47

4 Technique #2: Start Where You Already Are 73

5 Technique #3: Cool Down Burnout 86

6 Technique #4: Mobilize Your Energy 116

7 Technique #5: End Isolation 138

8 Technique #6: Balance Your Life 159

9 Technique #7: Prevent Destructive Behavior 181

10 Technique #8: Broaden Your Perspective 202

11 Technique #9: Increase Flexibility 224

12 Technique #10: Learn to Live Fully 247

Appendices 261

Recommended Reading & Resources 275

References 283

Index 289

Editorial Reviews

"[A] thoughtful book that provides immediate help for people suffering from depression. I highly recommend it."

Daniel G. Amen

"Wehrenberg helps the reader remove self-blame for their condition and get on with the necessary changes they need to implement in order to feel better…[W]ould be useful to both patients and therapists. An uplifting, life-changing read."

WellBeing Magazine (AU)

"C]hock full of options, techniques, and information to assist a depressed person in understanding every aspect of their disorder. . . . Wehrenberg has successfully linked the world of prescription medications with the world of behavioral psychotherapy so that both are affirmed and everyone is more informed. The more I read of this book, the more I liked it and found it useful, because it stretches the usual ways of thinking to include, rather than exclude, helpful options."

The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Newsletter

"In steps that are both clear and scaled for easily attainable victories, Wehrenberg extends a hand to those without the recourse of clinical therapy."

Booklist

"A well-researched book with clearly-written brain science for the non-scientist. Its life-changing, self-motivating techniques, many of which can be practiced outside the treatment room, will benefit anyone who suffers from depression and everyone who treats them. The appendix of practices alone is worth the price!"

Amy Weintraub

Using the "ten best ever" outline featured in her previous works on anxiety and stress, clinical psychologist Wehrenberg offers suggestions for managing depression that are easy to understand and implement. Describing brain functions using research from neuroscience, she explains how medication and cognitive therapy change the way the brain controls depression. Wehrenberg identifies three types of depression, shows how to recognize triggering thoughts and events, and gives strategies for managing and controlling symptoms. Acknowledging that there is no standard formula for controlling depression, she urges readers to try techniques and indicates when professional intervention may be needed. Guidelines are given for checking destructive behavior, managing stress (especially stress associated with technology), reframing negative thoughts, and ending isolation. Emphasis throughout is on developing a positive worldview. Work sheets and resources are included in appendixes. VERDICT Wehrenberg offers excellent step-by-step suggestions for people suffering from depression who want to make changes in their lives.—Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA

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