Depression is a choice : winning the battle without drugs

Title:

Depression is a choice : winning the battle without drugs

Author:

Curtiss, A. B.

ISBN:

9780786866298

Publication Information:

New York : Hyperion, 2001.

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Suggested Age	Status
Book	Searching... Cabell County Public Library	616.8527 C	Adult	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Milton Public Library	616.8527 C	Adult	Searching... Unknown

While recognizing that in its most extreme forms depression is best treated through pharmaceutical and psychoanalytical intervention, Curtiss argues convincingly that most people can control the syndrome without the use of drugs and without the burden of endless therapy. To illustrate this, she draws from her own experiences with depression, anecdotes from her practice, and a wealth of information about the history of the treatment of depression. This helpful book encourages those people to take responsibility for their symptoms, and gives them the steps they need to fight and win the battle against depression.

Author Notes

A.B. Curtiss is a licensed family therapist and boardcertified cognitive behavioral therapist whose writing on depression and other topics has appeared in The San Diego Union-Tribune, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe. She has published numerous books, including the critically acclaimed Time of the Wild. She lives in Escondido, California

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In overwritten, overlong text, Curtiss (Time of the Wild), a cognitive behavioral therapist, author of children's books and contributing writer to the New York Times, etc., explains how to overcome depression without drugs. The suggestions herein stem chiefly from her personal experience: her periods of deep depression, followed by manic incidents that led her, for example, to launch poorly conceived business ventures that lost money. She also, somewhat capriciously, left her husband and children for a year to live in an ashram. She explains how she freed herself from years of ups and downs by following her own program of "directed thinking." According to Curtiss, as soon as one becomes aware of depressed or manic feelings, one must "as an act of will, replace the accidental, unchosen thoughts that have caused the problem with new, positive, neutral or commonsense thoughts or actions." Even in cases resulting from chemical imbalances in the brain, contends Curtiss, it's simply a question of learning how to employ the mind. She feels strongly that prescription drugs coupled with "psychologized thinking" (i.e. the Freudian premise that "the mind and the self... are one and the same") will only mask, not help with depression. Curtiss also emphasizes the importance of traditional family values versus the current pursuit of individual happiness. However one feels about Curtiss's ideas, "directed thought" comes off as a murky offshoot of standard therapy; wading through the author's convoluted thought processes may cause rather than cure depression. Radio interviews. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus Review

The take-home message of this rambling, repetitive, and highly personal saga of self-discovery: just say no to depression. Curtiss, a long-time sufferer of manic depression who spent years in therapy before deciding to become a cognitive behavioral therapist, concedes that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, but contends that will-power, not chemicals, is the way to cope with it. Depression, she asserts, lies in the lower-brain primal mind; to make it go away, simply use the upper-brain higher mind, which does not contain depression. Drawing at length from her own life experiences, but also using anecdotes from her practice, she describes how to use the higher mind to gain control over reaction to depression. She calls the process of choosing specific thoughts to switch the focus of attention from lower-brain mind to upper-brain mind "Directed Thinking," and like many self-help gurus, she advocates the use of positive self-talks. For quick help, though, in those moments when depression strikes, she recommends having some simple mind tricks on hand. For her, reciting the neutral words "green frog" or singing the lyrics to "Mairzy Doats," are effective techniques for keeping the feeling of depression from gaining her attention. As she puts it: "Thoughts cause the chemistry of depression and thoughts can uncause it." A bit of a scold, Curtiss complains that our psychologized society excuses character weakness as mental illness, and she asserts that failure to use mental faculties to manage depression comes from either ignorance or irresponsibility. Admirers of Laura Schlessinger-and Curtiss is one-may welcome her moralistic approach; the rest of us are more likely to view it as simplistic.

Booklist Review

Although never diagnosed with depression, since childhood Curtiss has suffered depression-like problems, which she describes in detail. She also explains why she refused drugs. The most engaging aspects of her long book are her accounts of her experiences and of the growth in awareness that led her to "Directed Thinking," the major goal of which is to control not depression but one's reaction to depression; not to find fault (a culpable condition) but to find a remedy consisting of mental processes to employ as soon as the first twinges of depression appear. Developing such processes is a choice, hence the title of Curtiss' hortatory book, which probably will rouse discussion among caregivers, patients, and drug companies. The Mayo Clinic book points out that although the actual causes of depression are not known, several major risk factors for it are. Serotonin and other chemicals can create imbalances in the brain that can lead to depression, drugs can do much for treating depression, and a careful combination of drugs and talk therapy can do even more. Brain-imaging studies have recently brought many new facts to bear on understanding depression, and treatments in the research pipeline may improve outcomes considerably. The Mayo Clinic book also suggests some self-help strategies and argues the value of certain alternative approaches, especially acupuncture. William Beatty

Library Journal Review

A number of recent self-help titles enable sufferers to try cognitive behavioral techniques, including Joseph Luciani's Self-Coaching: How To Heal Anxiety and Depression (LJ 4/15/01). Kaplan and Turkington's Making the Antidepressant Decision is a new edition of their Making the Prozac Decision (Lowell House, 1994). The name change accurately reflects the work's coverage of all current antidepressant medications as well as indications for taking them and their side effects. While most of this edition isn't new, a few very important additions make it worth the low price, including a discussion of the newest Prozac-like drug, Celexa, and a chapter on St. John's Wort. Recommended for public libraries. Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

1 Journey to a Choice	p. 1
2 The Myth of Easy	p. 21
3 All in the Family	p. 40
4 The Depression Conspiracy	p. 65
5 Rescue From the Cult of Depression	p. 85
6 Manic Panic	p. 115
7 The Narrow Moment of Choice	p. 141
8 And This Is Your Brain on Blame	p. 167
9 Depression: The Smoke and Mirrors of the Mind	p. 186
10 Fear Is a Kind of Intelligence	p. 205
11 An Excuse Is Not a Ticket to Anything	p. 224
12 Depression Junkies	p. 240
13 The Law of Ought	p. 259
14 The Mind Is a Given; the Self Must Be Asserted	p. 286
15 And This Is Your Brain on Mania	p. 309
16 The Great Culture Dump	p. 333
17 Victims of Happiness	p. 363
18 Dancing Naked in the Mind Field	p. 376
19 Working Hard at Keeping Sane	p. 397
20 The Virtues of Depression	p. 415
Endnotes	p. 441
Index	p. 469

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