Customer Reviews

How to Win Over Depression

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In short, this book is not the answer for everyone. I wish it was. The premise in this book is that everyone has difficulties, and that depression is basically choosing to have self-pity about one's difficulties. I agree that a depressed person (like myself) is often self-consumed. But while depression can definitely be caused or contributed to by self-pity, there are other causes.

Depression can be very complex and can stem from truly *damaged* emotional and mental processes. If a person has been in a difficult situation for years, especially formative years, they may have picked up many wounds and harmful mental processes along the way. It can take years of counseling to learn to think and feel in a healthy way. In other words, a wound is a wound. Being wounded is not a sin. Wounds need *medicine*, and the more severe the wound, the more medicine it may need. The medicine for depression can be spiritual counseling, psychological counseling, medication, or a combination.

We cannot fix a damaged arm by confessing that the damage is a sin. We cannot fix wounded mental processes, crippled self-image by focusing more on our sinfulness. If you know that you're a sinner and you have a growing relationship with God, and you still deal with wounds and depression, I suggest trying a book by Henry Cloud. He is realistic in helping people deal with past wounds, experience fully God's love and acceptance, and move on.

When I picked this book up at a library, I figured it would be like all the other unhelpful books on depression I had read. However, the book was amazing! This book literally changed my life! I had been suffering from depression for 6 years and tried therapy, hypnosis, anti-depressants and had a struggling relationship with the Lord. I knew that the only way I was going to beat the disease was through God, but I didn't know how. I felt that I would be depressed for the rest of my life. The book opened my eyes to that fact that my self-pity was a sin and the root of my depression. The book showed me how to beat the depression by giving me details on how to change my thinking. I have been relatively depression free since reading this book. Try reading this book, it might change your life too!

This particular book helped me get out of a recent deep depression. In particular, it helped to focus on how my anger and self-pity kept the cycle of depression going. It also showed me that I was focusing on the circumstances of my life, keeping myself trapped by what other people might or might not do.

This book also showed me that while healing might be needed in some areas of my life, I didn't have to wait until that healing was done to get rid of my depression. I highly recommend this book to anyone (but especially Christians) who are struggling with depression or those who have a loved one in that situation.

LaHaye starts out by describing his "experience" with depression. He describes a period of basically self-pity when he had disappointed expectations about the purchase of some property. That is VERY different than what a lot of people experience.

Considering that most mental health professionals describe depression as anger turned inward, saying that someone's depression is due to self-pity is like putting gasoline on a fire.

I had a doctor suggest that I check out resources on depression when I started becoming ill pretty regularly after a prolonged period of stress. Her suggestion was that I may have developed a chemical depression, and I should try a mild anti-depressant to get my body back to where it should be. Well, I figured I'd try a Christian book on depression because I thought I should learn to take care of my body better so I wouldn't end up wearing myself out.

I started reading this book, and went from just being a little tired to completely upset. Before this book, I felt as though my life was going pretty great. Afterwards, I felt horrible because I was inflicting all this on myself and others around me.

After a discussion with someone with actual training in dealing with depression, I realized I just needed to throw this book in the trash.

Ironically, I was a listener of Christian talk radio, and there was a series on depression from the New Life Live guys. Many of the things that LaHaye suggested were completely discounted. Funny, if I recall, LaHaye has no background education in psychology, which I think would be wise before making some of the blanket assertions he made. Also considering that we know there is a genetic component to depression as basically certain people's bodies don't make enough seratonin to be like "normal" people, some people will have much more difficulty being "normal" due to a physical issue.

Sure, this book may be good for someone truly masking anger at others in a passive agressive way as depression. In that case, the person thinks they are depressed because of how mistreated they are...being a victim. That's completely different than real depression, and it's physical results.

I'd find a book by a trained psychologist, and skip this one.

Admittedly, I didn't get through this book. What stopped me was the chapter on the "facts" about antidepressants. LaHaye obviously has a bias against medication, but I would respect him more if he would just admit it rather than dragging out every remotely possible side effect of medications that are not commonly used today. The end of the chapter, discussing Prozac, suggests that it's a new and experimental drug that will likely be as harmful as he claims the ones before it were. Well, Prozac was not exactly new in 1996, at the time of the last revision of this book. In fact, doctors were finding it, along with newer medications, to be safer and just as effective in treating depression. I suspect that LaHaye didn't want to ruin his scary story, but a book that claims to be the truth about depression should at least get its facts straight. Whether to use medication or not in treating depression is a personal choice of every Christian affected, but misinformation about antidepressant medication only complicates the issue. The selective revision of this chapter comes periously close to lying.

I agree with review of Jill Wysong. I read this book in the 80s, and I saw myself. I am convinced that nearly all depression is anger turned inward (=self pity), and we need to accept God's plan for us in order to turn ourselves around permanently. Twenty years of continual low-grade depression evaporated, and I have had no major relapses since then.

I hand this book out like candy, and admittedly, few people "let it in." Yes, circumstances can be nasty, but the response to them is IN YOU, and you become the cause of your own misery. Can you face it? If you think you can look at yourself honestly, give this book a chance. I do know at least one other person besides myself who also completely turned their life around because of this book. Thank you, thank you, thank you God!

PS: There is complaint in these reviews about the author's views about anti-depressive drugs. To be honest, I am not a seeker of medication and never considered it as an option. I don't know how up to date the most recent printing is, and frankly, I thought he gave too much space to it. In the end, I honestly and personally don't think medication is the real, lasting answer. Consider this book if you know this in your soul.

How to Win Over Depression
I found the Book Cover was misleading. My doctor recommended this book to
me, however after the few first chapters (which I found informative), the
overtones of "You must redeem yourself to Jesus in order to win over the
depression", was offensive. Not everyone has the same Christian beliefs.
If you are a devout Christian, then this book may be for you. It isn't for me. Thank you.

"It is not uncommon for suicide to be the final attempt to rid oneself of the awful tyranny of depression." ~ pg. 21

If you have tried secular therapy for depression and it hasn't worked there is hope. Tim LaHaye offers a biblical approach that is very healing. Do you experience insomnia, lethargy, loss of appetite, loss of sex drive, anxiety, anger, fear, irritability, hostility, boredom, suicidal thoughts, hopelessness, weepiness or self-pity? Then you may be really depressed!

Tim LaHaye claims that by using his formula you will never be depressed again. The only incurable person is one who refuses to see that mental attitude is part of the problem.

What struck me as absolutely true is that many times depression is brought on by anger. Tim LaHaye believes anger is a sin and I also believe that to be true. Normally I'm offended by something, become angry and the next thing I know I'm feeling sorry for myself and I go through a period of depression, which can last for two weeks. Before reading this book I had not really connected all the dots. But after reading "How to Win Over Depression" I became very aware of what my problem might be. The author puts it this way:

Insult or Injury + Anger x Self-pity = Depression.

"Anger is the sin that besets more Christians and probably causes more spiritual defeat than any other sin." ~ pg. 97

This makes a lot of sense. While there are mental components of depression Tim LaHaye also believes you could be experiencing an improperly functioning thyroid gland. He doesn't really talk about very many medical treatments besides a short section on drug therapy and electrotherapy. This book was originally written in the 70s and was updated in the 90s. There are now much more effective treatments for depression so this book might benefit from another update.

Some of the most interesting parts of the book include:

How each decade of life influences your susceptibility to depression
Postpartum Depression
Physical fitness and depression
The Results of the Christ-Controlled Life
The difference between Discouragement, Despondency and Despair
Six Things that Influence Your Subconscious Mind
How depression is handled by the Four Basic Temperaments
Depression and Music
How to help children avoid depression
How to help a friend or family member who is depressed

"The human mind is so constructed that if we protract bitterness and hatred toward someone, these negative emotions will ultimately destroy us." ~ pg. 214

To be honest, I think this book will mostly benefit depressed Christians who are either sinning or have developed negative thinking patterns. Tim LaHaye goes to the heart of the matter and discusses the importance of victorious Christian living.

While a belief in God can surely help I think there are many times when medication is truly needed so you can get back to the right mindset and think clearly. If you are depressed and want a spiritual solution then I urge you to buy this book and to experience freedom from despair. As someone wise once said: "Understanding the problem is half the battle."

~The Rebecca Review

The book is clearly written for those who do not have a clinical background. It analyzes the sources of depression and offers practical solutions to live free from depression. The spiritual view is priceless.

I am glad the people who gave this book a 5-star review were helped by this book. That was NOT my experience when I was given this book about 35 years ago, and I was (and am) a Christian.

The book did talk about self-pity not being helpful, which was good.

I found LaHaye's rigid divisions of personality disturbing.

I found his moralisms about mood depressing.

I found his analyses of the problems and the solutions discouraging, depressing, rigid, and shallowly inadequate.

There is a lot of information out there now about people having depression from unmet emotional needs, from various forms of abuse, from bad teachings in church, from going through grief and trials (the natural grieving process), etc.

I am glad there is finally more reliable information about depression.

When someone near you has depression, please be very careful to not further hurt a hurting person with a quick analysis of what the problem is and what the real cure is. The biggest gifts you can give a person with depression are the gift of your ongoing love and support and the gift of your ongoing presence.

There are also issues of plagiarism, unidentified remakes of previous books by Tim LaHaye in other works, and questions of scientific and spiritual validity of his four-temperaments system:
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While I don't think that personality tests and psychology necessarily equal involvement with error and the occult. I do think that these four temperaments and characteristics, as LaHaye describes them in his book, come from questionable, at best, roots.