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11 Ways on How the Most Comprehensive Book on Depression is Changing the Concept of Self-Help

You probably have heard or read a few self-help books on depression. Here's a new book The Complete Guide to Self-Management of Depression, which to date is the most comprehensive self-help book on depression, and will change how depression is treated in the future. What makes this book different from others is highlighted by the following features unique to this book:

1. Depression is a complex illness, which presents in a myriad of ways and almost 60-70% people treated with antidepressants fail to achieve a symptom-free state when first treated with these medications. The treatment of depression cannot be pigeon-holed into one or two kinds of treatment modalities. This book offers the reader a broad menu of options for self-management of depression above and beyond medications.

2. Self-management is increasingly becoming the standard of care in people with long-standing medical conditions. Self-management puts one in the driver's seat with regards to making choices regarding one's health. People with diabetes, heart disease, emphysema, asthma, and other long-standing medical conditions have successfully used self-management to live a healthy life. However, treatment of depression has lagged behind in incorporating the concept of self-management with most popular self-help books on depression focusing mostly on cognitive-behavioral approaches. This book serves to fill this void.

3. This book broadens the narrow perspective of self-help beyond the traditional treatment of symptoms to self-management of depression. Self-management, besides a focus on treating symptoms, also addresses life style changes, social relationships, communication, problem-solving, and also includes elements of wellness and recovery.

4. This book also presents evidence-based approaches for complementary and alternative treatments of depression, including herbs, dietary supplements, exercise, mindfulness, and light therapy.

5. Treatments that work for anxiety, substance use, and grief, which may commonly co-occur with depression, are discussed in separate chapters in the book.

6. The book discusses the role of internet-based treatments for depression, what to look for in these treatments and also the treatments that are more likely to work.

7. Treatment-resistant depression and chronic depression, rarely discussed in self-help books, are discussed in separate chapters.

8. The book elaborates on recognition and treatment of cognitive symptoms (memory problems, poor concentration, etc.) as research now suggests that these symptoms influence functional outcomes in depression.

9. The book highlights the concept of measurement-based care, which emphasizes the role of periodic monitoring of symptoms using self-assessment tools to make treatment-related decisions.

10. While the highlight of this book is to make the reader aware of the proven strategies that work for depression based on research, where applicable, caveats or situations when a particular strategy may not work, are also discussed. This approach differs from the traditional self-help books on depression that sometimes tend to convey the "one-size-fits-all" paradigm.

11. In contrast to the traditional paternalistic model of healthcare, consumer-defined wellness and recovery are now becoming the norm for healthcare delivery in mental health settings. In line with the modern practice of behavioral medicine, this book highlights the role of wellness and recovery in self-management of depression.

Self-Management is a key component in the treatment of longstanding medical and psychiatric conditions. Learn more about this book and how to self-manage depression at The Complete Guide to Self-Management of Depression. 

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