Beating the Blues: A Self-help Approach to Overcoming Depression

Depression has been described as the common cold of the psyche. At any time, one in five adults is feeling down; one in ten shows more significant signs of depression.

Consider the following questions: Are you fed up with your life? Have you stopped enjoying things that used to give you pleasure? Do you wake up in the morning and wonder how you will get through the day? Do you dwell on feelings of failure and hopelessness? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you might be suffering from depression.

Beating the Blues introduces a step-by-step programme for overcoming depression, enabling you to break the lethargy circuit and conquer feelings of hopelessness, persistent bouts of jealousy, loneliness and the suicidal impulse.

Susan Tanner and Jillian Ball offer strategies for shedding "faulty thinking habits". Using questionnaires, self-tests and case studies from their own work they demonstrate that you can control what you think and therefore how you feel. There is a special chapter for families, "How to live with someone who is depressed", and advice on seeking professional help.

With compassion and candour, Beating the Blues reveals how we can all turn our moods around and use them to change our lives for the better.