Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think First Edition

A great book - lives up to its title. I've read half a dozen or more books on battling depression and anxiety. I must confess I've not completed the book but I'm very intrigued. This is the freshest approach to the topic I've seen thus far. I believe it will help a lot of people as long as they do the exercises and perhaps with the mentoring of a licensed counselor.This book tells the stories of actual people and their journey through their broken states. There's 5 or 6 people that all have differing and unique backgrounds that shows how their lives were damaged and how they address their emotional triggers and recovery.The authors take us step-by-step in understanding these patients' conditions; their altered perspectives, their thought processes, and the reasons behind their personal views and triggers. And with these case studies the reader is taught how thoughts, moods, environment, events influence each other and ultimately drive specific feelings. This is how the authors teach us "Mind over Mood". Cognitive therapy is a powerful and useful method but I suspect many patients give up because it takes a lot more effort than pharm-therapy. The reader/patient must take full ownership of the process and then not quit.I don't recommend this book for a novice reader or a person who just wants a couple of quick fixes to feel better. This book addresses real pain and real problems. I do recommend this book, however, for people who have tried other books and counseling and only felt educated; not healed. I believe this book can bring broken people real and lasting healing.

As a clinical social worker and marriage and family therapist, I have been using "Mind Over Mood" with my clients for close to a decade. It is an essential part of therapy for a certain portion of my patient population who respond best to a cognitive behavioral approach.I have found no other resource that comes close to this in its efficacy, clarity, and outcome. The basic premise is very simple - - our physical reactions, thoughts, moods, behaviors and environment are all connected. The workbook starts with helping clients to understand their problems. They are then taught to identify the underlying thoughts and moods that contribute to these perceived problems. They are shown how some of their thoughts and feelings are automatic but that there are alternatives and options for change.Utilizing what is called a "Thought Record", clients are able to record and analyze situations or events that create anxiety or depression. Then, along with their therapist, they can examine triggers and ways to develop more balanced thoughts which end up improving their mood.I highly recommend this book for any therapists who practice cognitive behavioral therapy. I took a course with Christine Padesky, one of the authors and that was very helpful. However, Clinician's Guide to Mind Over Mood is very helpful and should be sufficient for any seasoned therapist.

I'm not all the way through. This book was recommended by my counselor. I was definitely skeptical, but I am a very interactive/visual learner, but I love paper/books versus online/simulated learning. So far the activities in the book have kept my attention, and I have found them very useful. In fact, starting with the first one, they've really forced me to sit back and think/dig - they are not just "fill in the blank, pass go and collect $200", you have to take the time and really want to find the answers. The worksheets are at the end of the chapters, for the most part, and relate very closely with the examples that are given, which I feel are very relatable scenarios, which have helped me look back and try to compare my experiences in an effort to complete the tasks so that the overall exercise is useful to me. In addition, I've been able to take the book in to counseling sessions and work on things with my counselor, which has been a great tool as well.

When I started seeing my therapist she reccomended I use this book to help me understand how to better apply the things we talk about to everyday occurrences, and it really did help. With these examples, and fill in workbook self situation reflections, I was really able to understand better what I needed to do to have a different outlook, and change my bitterness and depression I had been dealing with for so long. I was way motivated to fly through this book, and I did in the first handful of chapters, but as it got a little more complex halfway through I started to step away from it. If that happens to you please please go through it with your therapist (if you are committed to changing / getting help). After explaining my boredom with the following chapters she helped me understand them verbally and in a different way so I would keep motivated. This book is great, and even better as long as you have a good therapist to help you along the way.