If you go to Amazon.com and search for “depression,” you’ll be presented with more than 50,700 choices in the book category alone (as of late August). For someone looking to learn more about the disease, that number in itself can be a bit, well, depressing.
We asked a handful of mental health professionals to help trim that number down to a more manageable amount by recommending some of their favorite books about depression. Some are in the self-help category, others are memoirs or nonfiction journalism, still others are fiction. The selections deal with children and adults. Each gives a unique perspective into the disorder that these experts feel may be helpful and informative to someone with depression, a friend or relative looking to help someone else or anyone just trying to gain better understanding into this difficult and troubling disease.
Here’s a look at the books mental health professionals recommend, with some background on the work and how it might help with depression.
“Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy,” by Dr. David Burns. “I want books to provide people with information and perspective, but also that help them with things to do,” says Michael D. Yapko, a clinical psychologist, lecturer and author on depression. “The key to overcoming depression is action. These books provide realistic things to do. ‘Feeling Good’ has been the No. 1 best-selling self-help book of all time, going on 6 million copies, and there is a reason for that. It is a great, simple explanation of cognitive behavioral therapy.”
[Read: A Look at Depression Around the World.]
“Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think” (2nd edition), by Dennis Greenberger and Christine Padesky. “[Padesky] is the top person in cognitive behavioral therapy now, and has taken over as the spokesperson for the field,” Yapko says. “This book offers very practical applications of CBT principles.” CBT is the best-studied therapy and offers constructive steps toward changing thought patterns that contribute to depression.
“He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and His Daughter’s Quest to Know Him,” by Mimi Baird with Eve Claxton. “This is an historical account of a bipolar individual in the 1930s and 1940s and his care in the health care system in this era,” says Dr. Melvin McInnis, professor of psychiatry and associate director of the University of Michigan Depression Center. “It documents the journey of the daughter, Mimi Baird, in her discovery of her father’s life, illness and accomplishments as a physician doing research into bipolar disorder.”
“Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness,” by Pete Earley. “This is a great book on [Earley’s] work looking into the judicial system and the treatment of the mentally ill,” McInniss says. “Pete’s son was arrested for breaking and entering in a local suburb — this prompted this research and book. Pete spent around 18 months or so in [Miami-Dade] County, following the work of a judge and the work of the system in management of folks with mental illness that are in the jails. Very impressive that he was able to be so close to the system for so long.”
“Depression, the Mood Disease,” by Dr. Francis Mondimore. “The books of Francis Mondimore, a professor at Johns Hopkins, are all very good,” McInniss says. Mondimore has written several books on bipolar disorder and depression. “They are great, matter-of-fact and practical discussions of mood disorders and very useful for the newly diagnosed and their families.”
[Read: How Do I Know If I Have Depression?]
“Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression,” by Nell Casey. “My favorite depression book, a series of short stories that portray depression,” McInniss says. Sometimes, fiction can portray and explain depression more clearly than it is possible with nonfiction, and fiction fans may prefer this to more journalistic endeavors.
“The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression,” by Andrew Solomon. “This is the most accurate and vivid description of depression that I have ever read,” says Dr. Srijan Sen, professor of depression and neurosciences in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan. “People who struggle with depression often report that depression ‘feels’ qualitatively different than sadness, that somehow you can tell when a medication stops working, and that in a suicidal state, everything can seem hopeless even if your life seems fine to someone looking at you from the outside. Because of his own experience and his facility with words and analogy, Andrew Solomon is able to articulate how those experiences feel in such a way that they are understandable to those who have not suffered through the experiences themselves.”
“The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression,” by Dr. Lisa Machoian. “This is a good book for individuals interested in shedding more light on the teenage girl’s experience of depression,” says Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, assistant professor of psychology and director of the Peer Relations Lab at the University of Maine. “It is educational but also instructive, giving good tips for how to help teen girls in particular prevent and combat depressive symptoms. It’s based in scientific research but written for a lay audience. Likely good for parents, educators or other concerned caregivers.”
[See: Am I Just Sad — or Actually Depressed?]
“The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness,” by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal and Jon Kabat-Zinn. “I love this book,” Schwartz-Mette says. “I think it represents a simple, accessible and gentle approach to dealing with depression. In a world where we tell people — including ourselves — just to ‘snap out of it’ and where we want a quick fix, this book describes a mindfulness-based approach to coping with depressive thinking that can, over time, help to prevent future struggles with depression. I’d recommend this to individuals who might be drawn to Eastern philosophy and who may be dealing with lower-grade, chronic depressive symptoms. This book is really aimed for adults dealing with their own depression.”
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Mental Health Experts Recommend Their Favorite Depression Books originally appeared on usnews.com
