Customer Reviews

The Depression Book: Depression as an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth

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Depression is emptiness, exhaustion, and meaninglessness (p. 129). Zen teacher, Cheri Huber's 150-page book is not "an explanation of nor a cure for depression;" it is about facing depression with compassion. "The perspective of this book is that there is nothing more important than compassion," Huber writes, "everything else springs from that" (p. 143).

Depression offers us an opportunity for spiritual growth. "Like everything else in life," Huber writes, "depression is an ally, a gift. It has something to teach us" (p. 98). "Depression brings me back to myself in a way much of life does not," she writes. "It gets my attention. It says, 'Stop! Pay attention!'"(p. 69). Depression allows us to see the cause of our suffering, to see who we are, to embrace ourself in compassion, and to let go and end the suffering (p. 1). Instead of "numbing ourselves to depression with food, drugs, alcohol, sex, talking" (p. 63), Huber recommends that we get to know our emotions; rest, eat well, and exercise regularly; and take up an awareness practice that enables us to let go of false beliefs and assumptions about how we and the world should be (p. 146).

I arrived at this book through a friend who encouraged me to read Cheri Huber. Since this is the second Huber book I've read this week, I guess I'm hooked on Huber. Her book is equal parts Zen, inspiration, and self-help, and printed in a handwritten format, "to slow the reader down so that awareness can touch the heart as well as the head." It is engaging and insightful. Huber teaches us that, depressed or not, "your life reflects your attitude of mind; your attitude of mind does not reflect your life" (p. 96). I recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing themself better, or following their heart. I also recommend Pema Chodron's book, WHEN THINGS FALL APART (1997) for those readers interested in this genre.

G. Merritt

This is a book on using depression as fodder for your spiritual practice. It is handwritten, with cute illustrations, and the style is conversational and down-to-earth. It is not mainly about how to get less depressed but, rather, about how to suffer less and have more compassion for yourself in the midst of depression, and in the midst of all states of being. While you're very depressed, this book may just scare you and/or piss you off (that was my reaction when I first flipped through it in a bookstore), but I highly recommend it for when you're on the upswing.

Cheri Huber is a Zen teacher, and her approach may especially appeal to folks who practice Zen or a similar form of meditation, but I don't think the words "Zen" or "Buddhism" appear anywhere in the text. The last few pages give instructions in a simple form of meditation involving attention to the breathing.

I also recommend John & Andrea Nelson's "Sacred Sorrows," a collection of essays on a wide variety of approaches to depression, including ways of healing depression and also ways of embracing depression and finding meaning in it. And if you're interested in Zen, you might want to take a look at Philip Martin's "The Zen Path through Depression," which mixes together insights about using Zen to alleviate depression and using Zen to suffer less in the midst of depression.

This is one of those books that, after you read it, you're glad you ordered it - and glad you read it (instead of putting in that "I'll get to it later" pile)...


"The Depression Book" offers a "new" way for those who suffer from depression to deal with it - I placed the word "new" in quotes because, apparently, the approach offered is one that has been practiced in certain spiritual groups (namely Zen Buddhism) for a very long time.

This approach may seem a bit radical at first, but it makes a lot of sense. The idea is that the depression we feel is based on something else - something underneath the feelings of depression. It's also based on the idea that we tend to beat ourselves up for being depressed - we are not nearly as compassionate to ourselves as we would be to our loved ones... And this "beating up" process leads us to stay in a place of depression far longer than we have to.

One of the ideas that I found especially helpful is that it's okay to be depressed. We have been told, and have come to believe, that depression is somehow "wrong", and we judge ourselves harshly for allowing ourselves to have that experience - yet many times we learn the most about ourselves during times of pain - and depression can be one of those times.

As in Cheri's other books, it all boils down to compassion - the best thing we can do for ourselves is to love ourselves as we love other's - to be just as compassionate to ourselves, as we would be to a friend or family member that was depressed.

There are many great ideas on how we can look at depression differently, as well as what we can do when we are in the midst of it.

Overall, this is an excellent book for anyone who suffers from depression (whether it's frequent or not), as well as those who have loved ones who tend to have this experience. It's easy to read, and filled with a wealth of wisdom - and you can't beat the price!

I came across this book in a New Age store, and when I went back to get another copy for a friend, they were already out of it. As a resource for dealing with depression, this book is unique and invaluable. Instead of feeling like there is something wrong with you or you should just "snap out of it," this book encourages the reader to acccept the feelings of depression and helplessness and then move beyond it. This book is creative and fun; reading it will make you start to feel better, or at least not feel bad about feeling depressed.

I will admit, this is the second book by this author that I've read, and I am not a fan at all of the "handwritten" type in the book. While the author's reasoning is sound, it does make you slow down and absorb the text, it's also distracting enough that the books are difficult reading. However, the information in this book (and the other one I read) was interesting enough that I am inclined to overlook the production issue.

That said, this book is not for novices. If you suffer from depression and know enough to know that you'd like to make changes to overcome your depression, then this book offers some food for thought. It doesn't really tell you anything that you probably don't already know on some level, or at least it didn't for me. But it presented the information in such a way that it created an aha!moment. It made me think, and I believe helped me to look at my situation in a new way.

I'd like to see more substance. This feels like a conversation, but one that doesn't really delve into anything too seriously. It just meanders along, offering questions you can ask yourself, ways of looking at things and changing your outlook without providing any meat and bones of the "HOW" to do these things. That's the failing of the book, I'm afraid. If you want to have a conversation with yourself and the author, then this book works. And yes, it does provide help and invites you to take a new look at things. The tools it provides are subtle, and I'm afraid, probably beyond the reach of the average reader.

This book changed the way I think about depression. I had been trying to stop being depressed by trying to force myself to do what was expected of me. This book helped me to understand that I was depressed for a reason, and that by learning about myself through my depression I allowed that reason to come to the surface.

Cheri does use examples that relate better with less severe depression (such as renting a movie and making a cake) but the meat of what she is saying is applicable for severe depression as well as the blues. Allow yourself to be what you are (without beating yourself up for it) and observe yourself as you're being.

While obviously this book (and no book) can be a substitue for professional treatment for depression, the information can be helpful for anyone who suffers from this disease, you just may have to come up with your own examples of what you need to do for yourself when you're depressed.

I was very frustrated by my depression. Hated that I went through it and could not find any helpful sources to manage it when it struck. This book gave me an arsenal of very practical things I could do and helped me to see that fighting against it was the least helpful. That was hard to get my mind around at first but once I grasped it - incredible!

I see various reviews that don't like that it is hand written with doodles and other pictures, I found it especially appealing as I am an artist. I believe that if you are looking for a 'fix' the book won't 'fix' you any more than any other type of mental cognitive approach. If you find yourself in that boat, I strongly recommend seeing a psychiatrist and seeing if an anti-depressant will help. Read in conjunction with medical supervision and an anti-depressant might create enough space to really get in touch with yourself and allow the healing to begin.

This book is exceptional for people who are tired of depression and willing to take a serious look at themselves and his/her own mind. Once I stopped cognitively fighting depression, that is having depression parties and celebrating the feelings as an excuse to watch movies and just be with the feelings, they passed. I've been depression free for many many years, now I just feel pain and let it come up and just be with it in a companssionate environment.

That said: what works for one, doesn't work for all and Truth is a Pathless land.

-chris

I work in the mental health field and therefore see depression all too frequently. This book is a fabulous resource that I lend to my patients, but have also enjoyed it on a more personal level. Everyone goes through ups and downs in life, and Huber does a good job of normalizing depression, while communicating that sometimes it's *okay* to be in a rut. Rather than looking for a fast and temporary solution (i.e., medication), she directs people toward developing insight into why they feel the way that they do and allowing themselves to feel it. A fantastic book that I highly recommend!

Of all the people who say "I am depressed," there are some experiencing a clinical condition that is very serious, beyond the control of willpower, and can in fact spiral downward into life-threatening complications. A change of attitude and a little meditation is not a panacea for a neurological disorder or psychological disorders induced by chemical processes. Others who refer to "depression" refer to a generalized category of soul-numbing patterns of thought that suppress feelings and flatten one's inspiration, and it may feel out of control to one who has given up. For the latter, Zen teacher Cheri Huber offers some suggestions for reframing one's experience of despair, fear, resistance, melancholy, existential fatigue - and turning it into a creative basis for awakening.

The direction of the book is constructive and positive, and emphasizes on simple, practical meditation as the basis for untying those knots which are tied by none other than ourselves. It is an important contribution to our attitudes about depression and encapsulates core Buddhist teaching with hardly a mention of the Buddha or Buddhism. It is also fun to read, often hilarious, sensible - and unsparing. One of the basic and essential works of this important modern guide.