Climbing Out of Depression: A Practical Guide to Real and Immediate Help [Mass Market Paperback]

Sue Atkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2009

A warm, simple, and practical guide to real and immediate help for those lost in the darkness of depression?written by someone who has experienced it and found a way out.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 17 million Americans suffer from depression. For many of these millions, climbing back out of the pit of gloom seems almost impossible. Depression often leaves its victims feeling paralyzed, numb, and alone. Climbing Out of Depression is a guide for everyone who is looking for practical help.

Unlike clinical books that approach depression from a theoretical, academic viewpoint, what makes this book distinctive is the fact that the author herself has suffered from depression for many years. Atkinson does not write as an expert, or as a depression counselor, but as someone who knows the feelings from close personal experience. Climbing Out of Depression is a handbook to offer immediate help for the mind, the body, and?with the author?s gentle spiritual touch?also the soul. Topics covered in Climbing Out of Depression include the causes of depression; how to take action when life becomes too difficult; dealing with negativity; overcoming fear, worry, and panic; understanding anger; coping with loss; and much more.

Climbing Out of Depression is a tried-and-true tested book that incorporates strategies, tips, and success stories, many of the author herself. Written in easily grasped sections designed to be read for the limited concentration spans that often accompany depression, Atkinson leads the reader through the ?why? of depression and then offers ?how-to? suggestions based on firsthand proven techniques. Reading this book is similar to having a conversation with a compassionate friend, one who has ?been there? and knows what to say and how to help.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is wise stuff, with resonance that lingers on long after it is over, none more than the hope it offers, born of experience.' Ann Pilling, The Door 'Should be required reading for pastoral carers of anyone suffering from serious bouts of depression.' Western Evening Herald --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

SUE ATKINSON is a writer, teacher, mother and former depression-sufferer. She is the author of Building Self-Esteem and Pathways Through Depression and also of several succesful books on teaching mathematics at primary level. Her husband is a Church of England bishop near Norwich. They have four grown-up children. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (January 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585426857
• ISBN-13: 978-1585426850
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,774,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars like having a guardian angel guide you to happiness....., January 18, 2003

By 

Nadia555 (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climbing Out of Depression: A Practical Guide for Sufferers (Lion Body & Soul) (Paperback)

A brilliant, informative book that is divided into small chapters, charts and activities. It is very reader-friendly, and can be used as a reference book rather than a read-back-to-front novel....
Sue Atkinson isn't a psychotherapist or doctor, but a regular person like you or me, who has experienced depression first hand and has lived to tell the tale and offer practical advice to sufferers. I found the activities particularly helpful, because they encourage soul-searching and self-understanding. Sue Atkinson encourages us to tune into our feelings, rather than masking them. She believes that hardships, both situational and emotional, should be brought to the fore and dealt with. She does not write in a condescending tone; and she is a highly literate author, especially considering this is her debut book.
My only problem with this book is the abundant references to Christianity, as the author of this book is a devout Christian. She means well, by telling us that religion was her savior and ray of light in the pit of darkness.....but I would find that most discouraging if I was Atheist or Agnostic. She preaches, ever-so-subtley, that Jesus saved her soul, and this comes across as blind faith rather than an intellectual realization, and is most inconsistant with the other messages in the book.
If you can look past her religious references, you will be rewarded with a very practical guide to recovery from depression. It is delivered with understanding, empathy, and hope. I recommend this book for any and all sufferers of depression, guilt, anxiety, and phobia, as well as those seeking to be informed about such conditions.

3.0 out of 5 stars Like talking with a well-meaning friend, but not too helpful, May 1, 2010

By 

Fairly Feisty (PNW) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climbing Out of Depression: A Practical Guide to Real and Immediate Help (Paperback)

The book seemed about 3 times longer than it needed to be. What I got from it was that a lot of what I feel is normal for people with depression and I'm not the only one with these feelings. That was comforting, but it doesn't really get into why and how a person gets there without doing these odd activities. The activities don't seem like they would be helpful unless you had a professional working with you on them. I'm a do-it-yourselfer and like to take on activities on my own, and I found these confusing.
I would say you can read the first chapter and see if this book is going to be helpful to you. I read the whole thing waiting for something to kick in and it didn't really happen to any notable degree. If you don't feel like you relate to her, you don't need to read the entire book. You'll know if it's going to work for you pretty quickly.
I'm now reading Undoing Depression and getting a lot more out of it. A lot of reviews for that book gave it lower ratings for being out-of-date, but my version is 2010 and I've already gotten so much out of the first 70 pages that I'm very encouraged that it will make a difference for me. The author speaks from the expertise of his PhD, and being a depression sufferer himself who lost his mother to suicide at 15.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST DEPRESSION BOOK EVER, June 16, 2004

By 

Emma Hawes (Oxfordshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Climbing Out of Depression: A Practical Guide for Sufferers (Lion Body & Soul) (Paperback)

This book is incredible. Having had depression since I was six years old, I thought I would never be free of it. When I first read this book, I cried because I'd never before come across anyone who knew how it felt. It was like the author was inside my head.
The advice and practical solutions are fantastic and really work. Now I am able to catch my depression before I get suicidal, which is brilliant.
I keep it by my bed and read it whenever I am feeling I am slipping.
If you have depression you must get this book. It could save your life.