Breaking the Patterns of Depression [Hardcover]

Michael Yapko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1996

You don't have to live with depression.

Everyone faces bad times and difficult situations. Why doesn't everyone get depressed? Are there specific skills that you can develop that will protect you from depression and even prevent future episodes? The answer is yes. You can break the patterns of depression with the new perspectives and skills contained here.

Dr. Yapko contradicts the widely held belief that depression is a disease best treated with medication or extensive psychotherapy. Successful and reliable treatments for depression have been developed, and they provide a legitimate basis for claiming that the majority of depression sufferers can be helped. In Breaking the Patterns of Depression, Dr. Yapko brings both twenty years of experience as a clinician and the most effective treatment methods--previously published only in professional circles--directly to the depression sufferer.

Depression is complex. The path to recovery can be created by learning to think realistically about depression and how it affects you and why, and by actively honing the skills to change the thoughts, feelings, and behavior that adversely affect you. This book isn't "emotional popcorn." It's a serious guide to becoming and remaining depression-free.

Have you ever felt so depressed that you had trouble concentrating on your job, talking with your family, even getting out of bed? Twenty to thirty million Americans suffer from some form of diagnosable depression, and their ranks are growing. Psychologist Michael D. Yapko explains that in order to find relief, more than the current episode of depression must be examined. In Breaking the Patterns of Depression, he presents skills that will help you understand and ultimately avert depression's recurring cycles. Focusing on future prevention as well as initial treatment, the book includes over one hundred activities to help you learn the skills necessary for becoming and remaining depression-free.

Breaking the Patterns of Depression begins by translating the clinical literature on psychotherapy and antidepressant medication into language you can use to enhance your understanding of depression and to personalize your cure. Using a conversational, anecdotal approach, Dr. Yapko encourages you to take an active and experiential approach to helping yourself. Special activity sections entitled "Learn by Doing" and "Shifting Perspectives" help you to develop the skills necessary to manage difficult experiences. In this way, you will learn how to solve problems effectively, anticipate the likely consequences of your actions, think and act in a direct and goal-oriented fashion, balance different areas of your life, and use self-knowledge to stay out of hurtful situations.

Realistic and enormously helpful, Breaking the Patterns of Depressionallows you to recognize your triggers for depression and, best of all, to clarify what you can do about them. With this knowledge in hand, you can control your depression rather than having your depression control you.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The rate of depression has increased by nearly tenfold in those born in the years following World War II, making it the most common psychological problem in America. Depression expert Yapko presents a book that will help put depression in perspective and equip sufferers with the skills and knowledge to heal themselves of this modern plague. The first part of the book is devoted to discussing the clinical literature on psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. Here, the causes of depression, its diagnosis, and its treatment are explained in language easily understood by the lay reader. The second part is devoted to explaining the patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that signal depression. Yapko effectively uses case histories as well as more than 100 exercises to assist the reader in building the skills needed to manage depression. While there are many other titles on depression management, this book is a break from the widely held view that depression is mainly a biochemically based disease treatable with medication. It should serve to complement such books as Colette Dowling's You Mean I Don't Have To Feel This Way? (LJ 1/92) or Sandra Salman's Depression: Questions You Have...Answers You Need (LJ 2/1/95), which focus more on using drugs as a treatment for depression. An excellent book; recommended for all collections.?Dana L. Brumbelow, Auburn P.L., Ala.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"If depression has you in its grip, if your spirits need lifting, if tomorrow holds no promise of a better day, don't waste another minute: there's an antidote to feeling lousy and it's this book, Breaking the Patterns of Depression. Michael Yapko will help you unravel the mystery of depression and, more important, he will show you what you can do today to feel better immediately."
--Michele Weiner Davis, author of Change Your Life and Everyone in it and Divorce Busting

"Dr. Yapko has brought this book to all of us who battle the enemy of joy and peace--depression. And it is a wonderful guide. In it, he will teach you, as he has taught me, how to understand depression and how to defeat it. He will teach you how to look at yourself, the world, and the future in a new way. He will teach you that you can have a peaceful and meaningful life, and he will teach you how to do that."
--Dr. Lynn D. Johnson, Ph.D., director of the Brief Therapy Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, and author of Psychotherapy in the Age of Accountability

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (December 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038548044X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385480444
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #144,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael D. Yapko, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist residing in Fallbrook, California. He is internationally recognized for his work in clinical hypnosis and outcome-focused psychotherapy, routinely teaching to professional audiences all over the world. He has been invited to present his innovative ideas and methods to colleagues in over 30 countries across six continents, and all over the United States.

Dr. Yapko has had a special interest which spans more than three decades in the intricacies of brief therapy, the clinical applications of hypnosis, and treating the disorder of major depression. He is the author of ten books and editor of three others, as well as numerous book chapters, and articles on the subjects of the brief therapy of depression and the use of clinical hypnosis in strategic psychotherapies.

Dr. Yapko is a member of the American Psychological Association, a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a member of the International Society of Hypnosis, and a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He is a recipient of The Pierre Janet Award of Clinical Excellence, a lifetime achievement award from the International Society of Hypnosis, and The Milton H. Erickson Award of Scientific Excellence for Writing in Hypnosis from the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. He is also a recipient of The Milton H. Erickson Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Psychotherapy.

On the personal side, Dr. Yapko is happily married to his wife, Diane, a pediatric speech-language pathologist. Together, they enjoy hiking in the Great Outdoors in their spare time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Depression Resource (that is changing my life), August 22, 2001

By 

Just-a-girl "abc-survivors.net" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking the Patterns of Depression (Paperback)

[Please read the whole review before buying the book.] While in the process of jumping through healthcare hoops to get into a therapy program, I asked my psychiatrist if there were any books or workbooks that I could start on my own. He said he knew of none, that what I really needed was therapy. Well, I'm still waiting to get into a program, but this book has been amazing! I will go into therapy prepared. I know what my problems are, and I know what I need to do to improve the way I think and feel. I am doing much of it on my own, with the help of dozens of exercises in this book.

This resource is so educational and EMPOWERING. It describes all sorts of distortions in thinking and feeling. The exercises help you make connections between how you think and why you are depressed. What I love about Dr. Yapko is that he is never condescending, and he never accuses the depressed person of causing their own problems. He does claim that depression is learned, but never blames or intimidates. Rather, he shows that there is hope in learning new patterns.

I have been in therapy before, and it involved rehashing feelings and experiences from my past. Dr. Yapko shows that what is more important to focus on is our process of thinking and handling events. Rehashing old experiences can just feed our depressive patterns. This explains why my last round of therapy didn't help me cope with my present problems!

This book has filled me with hope. There is a lot of information to learn, and many new patterns to develop. But all of that gives me hope for a better future. One of the exercises in particular has really opened my eyes to why I am currently in a depression. Knowing our vulnerabilities can explain when we fall into a depression, and can also help us prevent future episodes! I can't say it enough - buy this book for yourself or for someone you love.

FINAL NOTE: Medicine often has value and can help a person achieve a level of stability so that they can tackle the exercises and changes in this book. A severely depressed person should seek professional help and find a medication before starting this book. It could be very overwhelming for someone who is in complete despair.

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sutures for bleeding minds, August 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking the Patterns of Depression (Paperback)

My third bout with major depression in four years and I was a burned out house. I saw this book in a used bookstore and, being a good compulsive, decided to read yet another title on the topic. So, so glad I did.

I had done endless ruminating about "why" this cycle was occurring, endless dissection of my "inner life" and the like and though I had snagged many insights into my experience, I was still just a very depressed person with insights--I had no ability to link my discoveries with clear, new, hopeful actions. Like many people, I believed that constant introspection would eventually pay off, but after years of going through this painful loop I had lost any energy I'd begun with and had come to know that "understanding" does not automatically mean the thing that's understood is therefore changed.

Yapko will make demands on you with this book, but he is never harsh, flippant or vague. No new-age verbiage, childhood revisitation or typical shrink-speak. His demands are those of clear, solution-oriented actions. And honestly, he's a good guide. For those who feel like they've "tried it all" but are still caught on the spike of their own mind, try this book. I think you could get better. Good Luck.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy it for the exercises, August 1, 2004

By 

C. Farrell (California, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Breaking the Patterns of Depression (Paperback)

A mind-opening look into the vicious thought patterns depressed people suffer from, this book has been more helpful to me than years of therapy *and* a degree in psychology. (Although I'm not giving up the meds just yet). I'm amazed by how clearly Yapko explains the cognitive distortions we have. The case histories he describes are priceless.

On the "negative" side, Yapko can be just a bit condescending at times; it's clear he thinks his way is the only way. And although he mentions other theories of depression, he favors the "nurture" theory of ineffective learned thought patterns, claiming that only a small percentage of depression is biochemical in nature. (Maybe next lifetime he'll be a woman and get to experience menopause. ;)

Yapko also has an unfortunate habit of calling depressed people "depressives," which is the kind of labeling we could do without.

The most serious criticism I have is that his "Learn by Doing" exercises are sometimes impractical, if not downright silly. For example, to learn about perceived control, Yapko writes, "spend a few days asking [a partner] for permission to do everything, such as 'Can I go to the bathroom?'". (Can you imagine how much your spouse would enjoy that after the third day?) Other exercises tell you to "interview at least a dozen people" or "sometime when you feel playful, experiment with trying to motivate people to do impossible things" like flying. What depressed person feels playful? Many of these exercises would be highly embarrassing, and certainly not within the realm of a depressed person's capabilities--especially those of us who are "older" and have physical disabilities. However, I do plan to complete the written exercises.

Having outlined these minor drawbacks, I have to say it's an excellent book--after all these years, I finally have hope about rising from the ashes of depression.