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Mindfulness: An Eight-...
Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World
(purchase includes audio CD narrated by Jon Kabat-Zinn)
also by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Mindful Way through Depression draws on the collective wisdom of four internationally renowned cognitive therapy and mindfulness experts, including bestselling author Jon Kabat-Zinn, to help you break the mental habits that can lead to despair. This authoritative, easy-to-use self-help program...more
also by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Mindful Way through Depression draws on the collective wisdom of four internationally renowned cognitive therapy and mindfulness experts, including bestselling author Jon Kabat-Zinn, to help you break the mental habits that can lead to despair. This authoritative, easy-to-use self-help program...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published June 1st 2007)
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Jan 24, 2011
Jillian
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Jillian by:
my therapist
Shelves:
nonfiction
With a heavy heart I returned this book to the library today (and requested it again!). I might need to buy it, it has so many aspects that can be returned to again and again.
My therapist recommended this book because it presents some mindful ways to deal with pain. It's much more than that though. It's effectively a roadmap for getting out of depression which I think could actually work.
It beings by explaining why we can't "think" ourselves out of depression, and trying to do so just exacerbate...more
My therapist recommended this book because it presents some mindful ways to deal with pain. It's much more than that though. It's effectively a roadmap for getting out of depression which I think could actually work.
It beings by explaining why we can't "think" ourselves out of depression, and trying to do so just exacerbate...more
*Being more, doing less*
Contrary to popular belief, all the analysis and problem-solving in the world can not break us free from unhappiness. The core of this book teaches how "another mode of mind altogether is required when it comes to dealing with unhappiness....being mode is the antidote to the problems that the doing mode of mind creates."
Although it may at first seem counter-intuitive, the most effective way to deal with unpleasant thoughts, emotions, and feelings is to work with---and no...more
Contrary to popular belief, all the analysis and problem-solving in the world can not break us free from unhappiness. The core of this book teaches how "another mode of mind altogether is required when it comes to dealing with unhappiness....being mode is the antidote to the problems that the doing mode of mind creates."
Although it may at first seem counter-intuitive, the most effective way to deal with unpleasant thoughts, emotions, and feelings is to work with---and no...more
This book presents an 8 week cognitive therapy based meditation course, including a CD of meditations to follow. I have borrowed the book, and don't feel I can keep it for 8 weeks, so I have not tried to work through the course, I just read through the book. I would think it quite a committment to do the course. You are asked to do the meditations once or twice a day for 6 out of 7 days. The mediations take about 30 minutes. Having struggled to fit in a 10 minute meditation the last two days I t...more
Forget evidence-based medicine. Let's meditate against depression. I confess I am utterly biased against all types of meditation techniques and only read this book since it was work-related. I say "read" but I skimmed through two thirds and abandoned it because it was simply too painful to read such repetitive drivel and then listen to it on the accompanying CD as well.
I admit I am not a member of any of the target audiences for this book - I'm not depressed, nor anxious, nor do I read self-hel...more
I admit I am not a member of any of the target audiences for this book - I'm not depressed, nor anxious, nor do I read self-hel...more
I am finding this book very helpful. I picked it up after listening to a series of podcasts called The New Psychology of depression produced by Mark Williams available from Oxford University or from iTunes for free.
Apparently there is a positive correlation between the patient's interest in a treatment and it's likelihood of success so you're best off having a listen to the podcast in which Mark Williams explains the various treatments developed to cope with depression, their relative strengths...more
Apparently there is a positive correlation between the patient's interest in a treatment and it's likelihood of success so you're best off having a listen to the podcast in which Mark Williams explains the various treatments developed to cope with depression, their relative strengths...more
The basic premise is that we (the depressed) try to use critical thinking to solve our sadness, but we end up just brooding. Rumination doesn't work--we can't problem-solve our way out of sadness. The other way to respond is to cultivate mindfulness.
"Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, to things as they are [...] It means that we suspend judgment for a time, set aside our immediate goals for the future, and take in...more
"Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally, to things as they are [...] It means that we suspend judgment for a time, set aside our immediate goals for the future, and take in...more
I have spent years working with people who have some pretty terrible pasts to recover from, and I'm always looking for new approaches to help me help them.
There are as many books for 'self-help' as there are people with problems, and many of them are (insert your own rude word here!). I read them and imagine the reaction of my clients, who are in the middle of their own storms, to the platitudes and empty promises within.
I was delighted and surprised then to discover this book. As a strong belie...more
There are as many books for 'self-help' as there are people with problems, and many of them are (insert your own rude word here!). I read them and imagine the reaction of my clients, who are in the middle of their own storms, to the platitudes and empty promises within.
I was delighted and surprised then to discover this book. As a strong belie...more
I found this book truly revealing and, in a way, life changing. Even though I was already familiar with concept of mindfulness meditation, I clearly needed to read this book to connect all the dots.
As authors explain at the beginning, the first part of the book contains description of thought processes and patterns that result in people being trapped in negative self-talk and low mood. I read it in sheer amazement over how accurate it is. Seeing it written in plain English allowed me to be much...more
As authors explain at the beginning, the first part of the book contains description of thought processes and patterns that result in people being trapped in negative self-talk and low mood. I read it in sheer amazement over how accurate it is. Seeing it written in plain English allowed me to be much...more
This book is a bit dry and hard to get into at times, but it was certainly helpful for me. The authors explain the what happens in the mind and how our best-intentioned attempts to reason or cheerlead our way out of a bad mood can actually contribute to our spiraling farther into it. The book includes a CD and several mindfulness exercises, which are designed to be used in different combinations to develop a long-term and personalized mindfulness practice. The book contains a number of vignettes...more
The point of mindfulness as presented is to short-circuit the cerebral rumination which tend to lead to and reinforce depression and to find in daily activities the joy of being truly present in the present.
A great set of activities and procedures to introduce mindfulness into your life, with particular application to people who have recurring bouts of depression. I've read other books on mindfulness and depression (separately and together) and this is the one book I've found that explains why d...more
A great set of activities and procedures to introduce mindfulness into your life, with particular application to people who have recurring bouts of depression. I've read other books on mindfulness and depression (separately and together) and this is the one book I've found that explains why d...more
This is a really great book. I learned things about depression I'd never heard before (and I've done a lot of reading on it). It presents meditation and mindfulness in a really intriguing yet accessible way. Case in point -- the random thoughts that will suddenly seize us, apparently unbidden, and cause us anxiety, worry, whatever. The authors talk about the fact that so many factors contribute to our inner dialogue (physiological, emotional, environmental, etc.) that a thought that pops in your...more
Feb 02, 2009
Heather
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
meditators, those suffering with anxiety, depression or chronic illness
Recommended to Heather by:
Amazon
Shelves:
nonfiction
I decided to read this after reading " Wherever you go, There you are" by John Kabat-Zinn who is one of the coauthors of this book. I wanted a more in depth discussion of using mindfulness techniques with depression, anxiety, rumination and chronic pain. I found what I was looking for. I discovered several useful techniques to enhance my mindfulness practice and to especially help with those specific areas. I don't think mindfulness practice is a cure-all but I think that it is a very useful too...more
First let me state that I believe the most effective treatment for my loved one is medication coupled with group and individual therapy, with that disclaimer out of the way I chose this book to read because I also believe in mindfulness. No doubt there are those who will use the techniques outlined in the book sans medication and therapy, however for my loved one that is not an option, but The Mindful Way Through Depression offers my loved one yet another tool toward healing and not suffering fr...more
I have read quite a few books like this, but this is the best of them, and the only one I finished because I wanted to rather than because it felt like I "should." I downloaded the practices and I am still doing this, which for me, is a miracle...
Considering that this book was a collaborative effort, the prose is very unified. The authors make a very strong case for meditation as a way to help counter some of the most debilitating effects of depression. It does not posit meditation as a cure for anything. I do wish the authors made a stronger argument against attempting to use thinking (or rationality) as a way to combat depression. The authors of this book argue (somewhat simplistically) that rumination tends to lead depressives back in...more
I'm a big fan of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his research into the effects of mindfulness on stress reduction. This book provides an excellent look at how mindfulness can help address the negative thought patterns that tend to spiral out of control and lead to long-term states of unhappiness. Also, the audio tracks of guided meditation on the accompanying CD are very good. I tend to be very wary of guided audio anything because I'm fairly sensitive to the sound of the narrating voice--it will be difficul...more
Jan 30, 2011
Cindy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
meditation-yoga,
nonfiction
My the Mind/Body counselor recommended by my PT recommended this book "Replace the word depression with any other problem" (ie chronic pain). Meditation is more of a prophylactic for depression rather than something that can be used during a depression so the title is a bit misleading. Anyway, it's a bit on the dry side, but a decent gathering of meditation techniques expunged of all Buddhism. I admire the effort to make available this information to those who are scared off by the religion in w...more
Jan 14, 2010
Cindywho
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
meditation-yoga
My the Mind/Body counselor recommended by my PT recommended this book "Replace the word depression with any other problem" (ie chronic pain). Meditation is more of a prophylactic for depression rather than something that can be used during a depression so the title is a bit misleading. Anyway, it's a bit on the dry side, but a decent gathering of meditation techniques expunged of all Buddhism. I admire the effort to make available this information to those who are scared off by the religion in w...more
The book's title may be a little misleading. It should say "The Mindful Way through Negative Thinking". It's well written and gives guidance not just about negative thoughts and depression, but a perspective that our thoughts and feelings are not 'bad', it's how we react to, think about, and or over analyze them that gets us into trouble. The book then provides methods for becoming aware of what is going on in the present moment for exactly what is happening, not merely what we are imagining is...more
Dec 25, 2012
Tawnya
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
favorites
I highly recommend this book to anyone who suffers from any kind of depression. It is written by a man who used mindfulness training to help chronic pain patients at the University of Massachusetts and published his successful results. If you aren't interested in the religious aspects of mindfulness this book is good because it only covers the process from a practical viewpoint - leaves out the buddhist dogma. I've found it to be extremely helpful. The book comes with a cd of guided exercises wh...more
Dec 22, 2012
Headsink headsink
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
psychology,
meditation
Before picking this up, check out the page on depression symptoms. If you got all those symptoms maybe you need this type of mindful meditation. If you want to learn meditation for the sake of experimenting, don't pick up this book.
Especially if one day you had a love one died, dumped by your girlfriend then got kick out of school while you end up broke, and a long duration of ganja, codeine n pills made it worse, I guess you may want to try this. Just reading this book will never give you insta...more
Especially if one day you had a love one died, dumped by your girlfriend then got kick out of school while you end up broke, and a long duration of ganja, codeine n pills made it worse, I guess you may want to try this. Just reading this book will never give you insta...more
This book gives a unique thought to fight with great epidemic of new era, depression. Although, I work with the people suffering from light or chronic depression, I practice many alternative or mind science therapies to bring them out of depression. When I first read this book, I amazed how psychiatrists are suggesting the mindful way to control depression, instead of medication. I really appreciate this attitude. The practical approach of the book, makes it more effective and more popular for t...more
This book was assigned reading for an eight week mindfulness class I took. The class and this book were my first foray into mindfulness and formal meditation practice.
The Mindful Way Through Depression has an academic feel, but explains mindfulness, formal meditation practice, and their benefits very well. They include patient experiences that were very useful to me. I could relate to these folks as I went through the program and they provided some coping methods.
Although I read this book as par...more
The Mindful Way Through Depression has an academic feel, but explains mindfulness, formal meditation practice, and their benefits very well. They include patient experiences that were very useful to me. I could relate to these folks as I went through the program and they provided some coping methods.
Although I read this book as par...more
A fun read about mindfulness and the role in can play in depression. I have become a "fan" of mindfulness and found this user-friendly, self-help text to be good. I haven't implemented the strategies as well as I want, there is a CD that comes with the book which provides guided meditations. If you are interested in implemented mindfulness strategies in your life then this book will assist you in that journey. If you want a more in-depth look at the theory of mindfulness then you may want to loo...more
The Mindful Way Through Depression is a well explained self help book for guiding yourself through depression using mindfulness practices and meditation. The exercises given in the book are easy to follow, although the practices themselves may be somewhat difficult. There are a lot of examples of people in given situations and their experience with mindfulness.
I gave this book four stars mainly because the examples given tended to become very repetitive. I think that because I may have a more ac...more
I gave this book four stars mainly because the examples given tended to become very repetitive. I think that because I may have a more ac...more
Jul 03, 2009
Sophie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who is interested in mindfulness as a mental health program.
This book isn't exactly a quick read, but it does a great job of explaining the way in which negative thinking patterns make (and keep) people depressed, and how to overcome them. Do you ever find yourself feeling bad about feeling bad? This book explains that such an approach just creates more suffering, and it's better to accept the first bad feeling without piling more bad feelings on top of it.
For the record, I do believe in medication and therapy (and use both), but I also find mindfulness...more
For the record, I do believe in medication and therapy (and use both), but I also find mindfulness...more
I found the book helpful with some practical things to do to control unhealthy thinking. The approach was not Christian, but meditation techniques (which I did not practice). I found value in the book's approach to making observations without criticism and just basic mental training. Since the mind is constantly traveling and trying to find memories that echo our current emotional state,
the authors remind the reader that they are just memories. They are like propaganda and don't have to be real....more
the authors remind the reader that they are just memories. They are like propaganda and don't have to be real....more
Wordy, & about much more than depression, but very helpful.
Realising the ways in which the brain & body react to stress & unpleasant feelings, why they do that & how to tune into those signals in order to ward off major chain-reactions like acute stress and depression - pretty priceless.
NB, if the whole book seems too daunting, start at Chapter 11 which offers the structure of an 8 week program, instead of trying to swallow the thing whole.
Realising the ways in which the brain & body react to stress & unpleasant feelings, why they do that & how to tune into those signals in order to ward off major chain-reactions like acute stress and depression - pretty priceless.
NB, if the whole book seems too daunting, start at Chapter 11 which offers the structure of an 8 week program, instead of trying to swallow the thing whole.
Combining psychological methods with mindfulness training, this book provides an easy and sensible approach to drug-free depression therapy. An exploration of the psychology behind depression is accompanied by several calming and meditative awareness practices which encourage the reader to follow mindfulness. The book outlines an 8-week program for integration of the methods into daily life and concludes with information about additional resources. Also included is an audio CD of Guided Meditati...more
I had a friend recommend this book to me for all the interesting information on meditation. It is so amazing. I've started using some of the techniques described here. It showed how unaware I am of most of my thoughts, and how I can be better controlled in my own thoughts, words and actions. Highly recommend. I'm not depressed, but all of the key principles could be applied to any aspect of anyone's life.
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“Get out of our heads and learn to experience the world directly, experientially, without the relentless commentary of our thoughts. We might just open ourselves up to the limitless possibilities for happiness that life has to offer us .”
—
6 people liked it
“Start living right here, in each present moment. When we stop dwelling on the past or worrying about the fu ture , we 're open to rich sources of information we 've been missing out on-information that can keep us out of the downward spiral and poised for a richer life.”
—
4 people liked it
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May 30, 2012 01:23pm