Good Books For Dealing With Depression - Any Suggestions

[Mermaid16]

Thank you for your advice Pulisa. I will follow it. I do feel that my life is consumed by anxiety and depression. I think that is why This didn't happen during our family holiday, because I was busy with the kids and distracted. I enjoy crossword puzzles. My partner is very supportive which helps a lot. When I just want to lay on the bed, he encourages me to get up and do something constructive, even if it is just sitting outside and admiring nature. I actually did download the audio book that you suggested, but think I will leave it for a few weeks. My psychiatrist has booked me in for an 'acceptance and commitment theory course every Friday. So we will see how that goes. Thank you for your advice, I really do appreciate it.

---------- Post added at 18:32 ---------- Previous post was at 18:30 ----------

I hope you feel better,

Thanks Beth xx

[pulisa]

ACT is a good option. My daughter has completed a 16 week course on it-she is on the autistic spectrum.

I do know that you can very easily get bogged down by anxiety/depression matters and personally I think you should do some things for yourself which are as far removed from mental health issues as possible. I have to admit that I read purely for pleasure and wouldn't choose to read tomes on depression/anxiety/autism/eating disorders (I have one)- I get enough of that in "real life". Books are my escape!! xx

[Mermaid16]

Yes, I am guilty of making anxiety my life. It wasn't until I read your advice that I thought about how much time I spend thinking about it. I do have a book that I started while I was on holiday, so might go back to that and finish it off. I also love reading, usually true crime type books, but not when I'm in this frame of mind. You are a lovely supportive lady. I have changed psychiatrist recently and when I saw her today, she wants me to increase my medication. I can't help but feel that this is part of the problem. I take 100mg Sertraline in the morning (she wants me to start decreasing this and 1mg clonazepam). Then at night I'm on 2.5mg Olanzapine, 100mg Nortriptyline (she wants me to increase to 125), 15 mg Mirtazapine and 1mg of clonazepam). I have decided to reduce the Sertraline slowly (as it is now I'm struggling, so don't want to make it worse) and keep the nortriptyline as is. I feel I'm on way too much medication and I'm still not getting any better. So first step is to get off the Sertraline. Sorry for rambling on, but it helps to put things in perspective.

Did you daughter find ACT beneficial? I did the CBT course in hospital, but didn't really find it that helpful. So I'm hoping this will help out more. I worry a lot about things that 'might' happen.

Fingers crossed. I know that medication can only do so much and the rest is up to me. Xx

[pulisa]

My daughter had a specialised course of ACT tailored to her high functioning autism but I think with therapy in general you take from it what you can and disregard the rest. It was certainly more helpful than CBT for her-the therapist acknowledged that CBT has its limitations and was definitely not suited to her needs.

If you don't find that you are improving with your current meds regime then I'd definitely voice your concerns to your psychiatrist. You need to feel in control of your mental health. I hope that going back to work will be a positive thing for you and will distance you from psychiatrists and hospital. I'm sure it won't be easy at first but hopefully you'll get a morale boost from doing your work again and gaining in confidence.

[bdale1234]

Yes, I am guilty of making anxiety my life. It wasn't until I read your advice that I thought about how much time I spend thinking about it. I do have a book that I started while I was on holiday, so might go back to that and finish it off. I also love reading, usually true crime type books, but not when I'm in this frame of mind. You are a lovely supportive lady. I have changed psychiatrist recently and when I saw her today, she wants me to increase my medication. I can't help but feel that this is part of the problem. I take 100mg Sertraline in the morning (she wants me to start decreasing this and 1mg clonazepam). Then at night I'm on 2.5mg Olanzapine, 100mg Nortriptyline (she wants me to increase to 125), 15 mg Mirtazapine and 1mg of clonazepam). I have decided to reduce the Sertraline slowly (as it is now I'm struggling, so don't want to make it worse) and keep the nortriptyline as is. I feel I'm on way too much medication and I'm still not getting any better. So first step is to get off the Sertraline. Sorry for rambling on, but it helps to put things in perspective.

Did you daughter find ACT beneficial? I did the CBT course in hospital, but didn't really find it that helpful. So I'm hoping this will help out more. I worry a lot about things that 'might' happen.

Fingers crossed. I know that medication can only do so much and the rest is up to me. Xx

I think you are doing awesome. You are a special lady.