"The 10-Step Depression Relief Workbook: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approach"-A review and Discussion

About the Book and Authors:

Sarah Fader is a personal friend of mine, the founder of Stigma Fighters (an important mental health website) and woman who intimately knows depression, anxiety and living life with mental illnesses. It is thanks to her that I got the pleasure of pre-reading this fabulous workbook. 
Please visit some of Sarah's Sites:
The Podcast
Stigma Fighters
​Her Website
Twitter

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SIMON A. REGO, PsyD is a board certified cognitive behavioral psychologist with over 20 years of experience. He is the Chief Psychologist, Director of Psychology Training, and Director of the CBT Training Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is also an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Simon lives in New York.

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A Review by Yours Truly:

As a woman whose entire life has been a series of up and down mood swings, I wish I had this book in my life much earlier. As most of you who've read my work know, I suffer from Bipolar mood swings and Bipolar depression, but I also had severe PPD with my first and second children, resulting in suicidal thoughts and self-harming actions (cutting and alcoholism).

In my deepest times of despair, I was not cognoscente enough to get the help I needed. I searched sites for relief, and got only definitions, which didn't really help. I wrote my first novel, Monochrome, during one of those time periods. Writing about my PPD was a bit of a relief, but it was also a trigger. I didn't know what to do with the feelings and thoughts I was having, and was too embarrassed to reach out. I got the feelings down, and it helped other people feel understood, but I didn't know what to do with them once they were out.

If any of this sounds familiar to you or if you are having trouble feeling "right" and "well," this Relief Workbook might just save your sanity. This book provides important definitions, sure, but it also gives the reader step-by-step activities to engage in to start dealing with the feelings/thoughts that plague depressed people. It gives the reader the tools to take positive steps in re-configuring negative thought cycles and bad habits, giving the person who suffers some power to deal with the depression plaguing them. Not feeling helpless is a huge boost for the depressed person, and this book is an enormous help in that way--it actively engages concrete positive solutions

The even cooler thing (for someone with bad insurance and little money to treat her illness) is that the depressed reader can manage the steps in this book with the help of a great friend or family member or, if they are honest with themselves,  by themselves.

I  could not put this nuanced guide down, and found the journaling and reflecting to be invaluable in helping me be honest with myself and understanding patterns of feeling, acting and thinking that can be changed for the better. This is a book that can be used throughout life, through the downs that may return, to gain focus and perspective. It's a five star, in my opinion. 

I was given the book for review, but immediately pre-ordered my copy after reading it. I want to utilize the assistance the book offers by having it on my lap, with pen in front of me. Well done, Rego and Fader. 
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The Importance of Self-Help

To those of you out there who are feeling hopeless--I understand your pain and your thoughts. But, please never feel like there is no hope. If you don't try this book, try anything else to get your life back because your life IS important, no matter what your depression tells you. Be a fighter. Fight for the life you have now, and the better life you can have with work. Much love and peace to you all.

​If you're suffering from thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255.