Rating: 
Summary: It's not a contest! Read both.
Review: Cognitive therapy is an effective method of treatment, one that is so structured that it can be studied because therapists who provide it correctly all do it the same way. Basically its premise is that depression occurs from our distortions in thinking and by changing these distortions, we can cure our depression. So if changing your thinking patterns relieves your depression, cognitive therapy is right for you. Dr. O'Connor explains this and goes on to recommend Feeling Good as a good resource . Undoing Depression also explains the other ways depression can occur and gives many ways to attack this vicious disease. As I understand it, many mental health professionals believe that feelings and emotions come first and they lead to the distortions in thinking. But whichever comes first I have found both books by O'Connor (his new Active Treatment of Depression and Undoing Depression) and also the Feeling Good series by Burns to be helpful. When I contacted Dr. O'Connor's pages for advice for family members, he also recommended When Someone You Love Is Depressed.
Rating: 
Summary: POSITIVE ATTITUDE, BUT NOTHING NEW!
Review: Having studied psychology and being a counsellor, I agree with the much of what the author has written. His logic and thoughtful insight are obviously born from his credentials, research and experience, which contributes to the positive side of the book. However, the downside of the book is simply that this "new" theory is, in fact, not new. The author's philosophy that un-doing depression by replacing depressive patterns of thinking and behaving with a more effective set of skills, is sound, practical advice. However, his theory of taking responsibility for your own actions, acknowledging your feelings, and sharing what is troubling you by improving your communication skills has been promoted by many health care and holistic professionals for several years now. It is a theory I, personally, have taught in stress management classes for years. The words may vary, but the same message can be found in many existing self-help books, inspirational books, stress management books and text books. Severe or chronic depression requires professional therapy and often medication, but holistic methods are certainly useful in certain cases. I gave the book a three star rating for its sound content, but the book also lost two stars in the rating because the message was extremely repetitious of many other books. There was simply nothing new here to grab the reader's attention.
Rating:
Summary: happy happy joy joy
Review: I'm too depressed to write any more.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughts and Actions That Can Overcome Depression
Review: The author is quick the point out (and he is correct) that this book will not improve or cure depression by itself. You need professional help for that. Instead, the purpose of this book (which it magnificently addresses) is to describe what the depressed person and the depressed person's family and friends need to be doing to provide the maximum likelihood of overcoming depression. That's a reasonable promise and premise for a book on this important subject, and you can begin to overcome your ignorance (and the harm it can bring) by reading this book and acting on its advice. First, the bad news. Depression is increasing. Worse still, the younger someone is, the more likely that the person will experience depression sometime. Even worse, many people are undiagnosed, and suffer alone with their affliction. Second, the good news. Around 70 percent of all those suffering from depression will improve with either drug therapy or mental health treatments. Those who get both do even better. Third, more bad news. Depression tends to recur for many people. The voice addressing these issues is an expert one. He is a psychotherapist who runs a community health center. More importantly, he has suffered from depression himself. I doubt if you can get more direct access to what depression is all about than from Richard O'Connor. I admire his caring to share so much of his own pain with us, and respect him enormously for this gift he has given us all. Depression is currently under reevaluation. No single paradigm seems to capture all of its elements. Undoubtedly, an improved scientific model for it will emerge. There are signs that it can have roots in disturbed relations between Mother and child, family dysfunction, possibly genetic disorders of brain chemistry (like using up seratonin too rapidly), other traumas, and poor thinking habits. Who knows what else may turn up? Many people try to deal with this problem too much on their own. Families often put up with the depressed person's behavior, not knowing what else to do. Others reject the depressed person, which will usually make the situation worse. O'Connor lays out common sense guidelines that should make a diference: for depressed people, for those who care about them, and for those who treat them. The author sees depression as a disease and as a social problem, "an illness to be treated professionally and a failure of adaptation that we must overcome through self-determinination." He outlines important principles for the depressed person: (1) Feel your feelings (depression is the suppression of feelings -- acknowledging those feelings often causes depression to improve). (2) Realize that nothing comes out of the blue (your depressed state has a root cause that you should look for in an event or situation). (3) Challenge your depressed thinking by questioning your assumptions, especially ones that center on meaningless perfectionism. (4) Establish priorities so that your energies go into what will be on what's most important to you. (5) Communicate as directly as possible to everyone around you. Depressed people are often poor communicators who don't get their emotional needs served. With better communication, they can experience a more supportive emotional environment. (6) Take care of your self. Learn to enjoy yourself. (7) Take and expect the right responsibility for yourself -- for your own actions. Depressed people often feel guilty about things that they have no responsibility for (like the death of a parent or the divorce of their parents). (8) Look for heroes. These role models can empower you to see the way to improve, especially if they were also depressed like Lincoln. (9) Be generous. Helping others puts your own situation into perspective. (10) Cultivate intimacy. This means letting down your defenses so people can see you as you are, and accept you for that. Depressed people often feel disgusted with their true selves, and hide that self from everyone. (11) Practice detachment. Depressed people are often overly critical and pessimistic. Seeing things in the proper perspective can heal a lot of inappropriate pain. (12) Get help when you need it. This may be the most important piece of advice since so many people do not. The book is filled with personal examples and case studies of people the author has treated, which help make the points easier to understand. I was astonished to realize that there is no self-help network like there is for alcoholics and those with other mental and behavioral problems. The author shares some experiences with having established such groups that can be a prototype for creating such a network in the future. I think that is an important priority for improving the mental health of our society from what this book shares. Mental health professionals will find good advice for overcoming the parochialism of whatever discipline they originally trained in, to create links to the other treatments the depressed patients need. Those who provide therapy discussions will benefit from the author's own assessments of how therapies helped or did not help him. The therapist as caring adult is emphasized above the particular technique used. I was fascinated by how often this book pointed out problems related to stalls that most people have such as poor communications, procrastination, misconception, disbelief, tradition, independence, purposelessness, wishful thinking, and avoidance of the unattractive. The depressed person seems to have more of these at the same time than the people I work with. Yet both groups have in common that they have not yet learned the stallbusting techniques that can improve or overcome these stalls. To some extent, the lack of understanding of how to focus our minds is one of the causes of depression in our society. So here is another reason to learn the questions and focus that can enormously improve personal and organizational effectiveness. I rate this book a 2,000 percent solution stallbuster, and hope that you will read it and apply its lessons. Whether you are depressed or not, we all will encounter depressed people and this book can make us more helpful to them. Since reading this book, I have been greatly helped by it in understanding the depressed people I know. Following the advice here, they have made progress in moving away from depression. I am very grateful for having obtained this valuable knowledge. Help everyone to walk, look, and feel on the bright side!
Rating:
Summary: for anyone, this book is amazing!!
Review: I can't say enough good things about this book. I was diagnosed 10 years ago with depression and recently have gotten worse, this book literally fell into my hands at the bookstore I work at. It was a wonderful gift from God, I bought the book that day, and I'm sooo glad.
This book is great for anyone, those suffering from depression, those loved ones have depression, and any mental health professionals. I wish I could buy a bunch of this book and hand it out to people. It's given me more hope than I can explain for my my recovery. I know it's going to take a lot more work than just reading this book, but Dr. O'Connor helps you realize that in this book.
Please, if you are suffering from depression, pick up this book, Dr. O'Connors' insight is amazing, he's been there himself and seems to write about so many feelings I've thought and felt. He knows where we've been and he's helping me get where I want to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Inaccurate about drug treatment
Review: Has inaccurate information about medications. Says that lithium is a near miracle for bipolar disorder, when in fact it works for only 70% percent of people, for instance. (He even says this in another paragraph). Be forewarned. He says similar things about unipolar depression. It is a book about non-medical approaches to treatment, but I hope someone who knows little about drug treatment will take it accurate. It's not just information about meds that came on the market after the publication date, too. Please don't take it at face value.
Rating:
Summary: O'Connor Excellent on Depression and Negativity
Review: The reading public seems to have become well aware that Richard O'Connor's book "Undoing Depression" is a truly excellent and very helpful approach to understanding and dealing with that powerful negative force -- depression. I want to add a related point, which concerns O'Connor's other book, "Active Treatment of Depression." Although that book is aimed at therapists, I would recommend it also as a follow-up for any reader who appreciated "Undoing Depression." Reading his 2 books in sequence is a doubly helpful process. As psychologists become more aware of how depression is usually embedded in a broader pattern of negativity -- worry, anxiety, pessimism -- readers can benefit from those broader, related insights. For example, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking by Julie Norem updates traditional cognitive therapy with new understanding of 'constructive pessimism' as a cognitive-emotional experience. And, as other reviewers have pointed out, the cognitive therapy classic Feeling Good is still useful today. So don't miss O'Connor's 2 books, and related titles may help with the broader psychological context.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!!
Review: This book was exceptionally helpful in treating my depression. I definitely plan to keep it to refer back to on a regular basis. I HIGHLY recommend this book!!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best help you can find
Review: I could hardly believe how much hope reading Undoing Depression has brought into my life. Every time I spend some time with the book I come away with something helpful. An internet search led me to the web site of the same name, then I purchased the book. Dr. O'Connor knows what he is talking about...he is both a psychotherapist and a sufferer of depression, plus he has a beautiful way of explaining things, a way you can get through even when you are feeling very overwhelmed. Thank you, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with others.
Rating:
Summary: Undoing the Doing
Review: In the book "Undoing Depression", Dr. Richard O'Conner has given people a light, a ray of hope, and an in-depth understanding to a condition from which many Americans suffer. The one thing that strikes you the minute you open the book it Dr. O'Conner's straight forward, honest way of writing that both envelops and comforts you at the same time. He uses the pronoun "we" quite a bit, building up the idea of a community of people with you who suffer with you. Depression can be such an isolating illness; the fact that there are millions of others who share the same thoughts, feelings, and moods is a blessing. Each chapter has gems of wisdom that I found myself reading and re-reading constantly, trying to learn and understand his ideas. In these are the source of great knowledge, all designed to propel you forward in understanding what's occuring inside of you and more importantly, how to break that cycle and move forward. He directly address emotions, relationships, the self, and other concepts in easy to read chapters. He is honest but also fair minded, both of which I appreciated. I have encountered other books on depression, but this one is practical, user friendly, and full of "can use" information. Anyone suffering from the dibilitating effects of depression can rest assured that there is hope, and combined with treatment options available to everyone today, can find the place where the clouds are really behind you.
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