From Angela Patmore who’s been labelled as a “heartless bitch” by at least one commentator, a very DIY approach to coping with depression and despair. No drugs, no therapy, no days off sick, this is heal-thyself time and very sane it all sounds. A particularly useful feature is having a panel of ten sufferers who, throughout the self-help section of the book, comment on the tasks they’ve been set; their progress sets a great example to the reader. A well structured manual, full of good sense; firstly giving you insights into depression and then setting out a programme to get out of that pit of despair – as the title says “it will change your life”.
Challenging Depression and Despair : A Medication-free, Self-help Programme That Will Change Your Life Synopsis
This book is offered as a lifeline to people at the bottom of the bottomless pit of depression. It will explain the research and the thinking behind the 'tough love' approach, much of which may be new to you because it flies in the face of current trends. With positive, common sense strategies, this book enables you to regain emotional control, showing that it is possible to combat depression without resorting to drugs or costly and often ineffective therapy. The first part of the book offers fresh insights into depression and into how it can be overcome. The second offers practical advice, culminating in a series of challenges that will enable you to change your entire attitude to emotional health and achieve a more positive and hopeful outlook on life. To be of any real use to someone in despair, a self-help programme must provide, step by step, a practical stairway out of hell. This is that stairway.
Angela Patmore is a former Guardian columnist on sports psychology and a regular
contributor to press and television features on stress. She served on Sir John
Stevens' Metropolitan Police Stress Experts' Advisory Group and her expose, The
Truth About Stress, was shortlisted for the 2007 MIND Book of the Year Award.
Her previous books include Sportsmen Under Stress (a 1986 Times Sports Book of
the Year) and Marje: The Guilt and the Gingerbread. From 2003 to 2006, Angela
Patmore worked as a life skills trainer within the Employment Service, using a
mental skills programme that provides the basis for this book. The results speak
for themselves: despite many of the trainees having serious social and mental
health issues, during her tenure the company had not only the best outcomes
record in the region, but a better record than all of the other training
providers combined.
