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Rating: 
Summary: Anti-whining strategy for fighting depression
Review: For some reason, perhaps because many intellectuals suffer from and write about it, depression has become a trendy psychological affliction among people who by objective criteria have little to complain about.Julian L. Simon suffered from depression for many years, yet he was able to defeat it through an eclectic approach incorporating ideas from his Jewish cultural background, cognitive therapy, existential therapy, Eastern philosophy and other sources. It's refreshing to find someone who emphasizes that depression derives from an unhealthy form of self-absorption that needs to be disputed vigorously. Stop making comparisons between your actual life and some hypothetical "ideal" life; recognize that you have an obligation to provide an emotionally healthy environment for the people you love; cultivate the values that conflict with your depression. In general, take action against your depression instead of selfishly wallowing in it. Although Simon mentions his economics research only in passing in _Good Mood_, I also recommend reading his books about the positive trends in the environment, population and general material well-being to provide some cognitive support for a better attitude towards the human prospect.
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Summary: chapter 12
Review: lofas
Rating:
Summary: chapter 12
Review: The book Good Mood represents an excellent scholarly but readable description of a successful therapy that helped Julian Simon in his struggle to relieve his own depression of 13 years. The Amazon description omits mention of the book's accompanying software, the program Overcoming Depression, developed by MAIW. This program is based on advances in cognitive science and artificial intelligence.
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Summary: Comprehensive
Review: The premise of Simon's theory is that depression is due to our tendency to compare ourselves to others, how we used to be, what we hope to be, etc. It sounds simplistic, but the book is actually very comprehensive. Rather than making generalizations about all depressed people, he details many different methods and combinations of methods so that you can choose the ones that will work for you.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive
Review: The premise of Simon's theory is that depression is due to our tendency to compare ourselves to others, how we used to be, what we hope to be, etc. It sounds simplistic, but the book is actually very comprehensive. Rather than making generalizations about all depressed people, he details many different methods and combinations of methods so that you can choose the ones that will work for you.
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Summary: Practical techniques for curing your own depression.
Review: This is an excellent overview of the practical insights of cognitive science. And Simon adds a genuinely original contribution to the field: The idea that all our depressing thoughts spring from our universal tendency to compare ourselves or our circumstances to someone or something else. If the comparison is good, we feel good; if it is bad, we feel bad. Of course, if you look at your own life in an overly negative or pessimistic way, your comparison may turn out worse than it really is, making you feel bad unnecessarily. And if you decide you're helpless to improve your state, that will make you depressed. From the simple idea of comparison, all the different modes of cognitive science are clarified and fit into the larger picture. Simon normally writes on economics. He wrote this book because of his own personal struggle with depression.
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Summary: Old Ways For Dealing with Depression, Time-Tested and True
Review: While I generally agreed with Julian Simon on new methods for dealing with depression, I found his explanations to be rather time-consuming and complex.
However, it is a better alternative than the pharmaceutical companies' idea for treating depression which is, namely, prescribing anti-depressant medication, such as Prozac or Lithium. Have you ever *seen* the prices of those pills?!?!? Right through the roof.
Personally, I have found the old methods for coping with depression far more realiable, and -- most importantly -- economical. Lately, in order to deal with the mind-numbing boredom of everyday life and the soul-crushing daily defeat of the workplace, I have instead turned to the old, reliable Irish depression therapy that has been passed down my family for countless generations.
Unlike Simon's complicated concepts, the Irish method relies upon the traditional medicinal therapeutic qualities of alcohol. Unlike flavorless synthetic drugs pushed on the populace by big drug companies, sufferers of depression can mask their sorrows whilst engaging in epicurean pursuits. So chase those blues away while teasing your palate with some of the world's greatest brews and distilled spirits.
Of course, for the uninitiated, the best place to start is with that old Irish stalwart, a frosty pint of Guinness Draught Ale. Close your eyes: Concentrate on your sad and sorry life. Now take a gulp. Feel yourself being released from the throes of melancholy with each successive sip. Now, breathe slowly. Feel your body becoming warm and toasty, your mind slowly releasing its troubles.
Unlike psychiatrists, who charge upwards of $100,- per hour, there's a friendly and engaging guy behind the counter who'll listen to all your troubles for free. Now, engage him with stories about your jerk boss and how he hasn't given you a raise in years. Let it all hang out about your filandering wife and her lousy cooking. Your son the juvenile delinquent and your daughter the floozie, tell him all about them, too. What? He's walking away now, avoiding you? A couple of George Washington portraits left on the counter work better than night crawlers on a starving catfish, and it's a LOT cheaper than Herr Doktor Sigmund Weisenheimer figetting with his Van Dyke beard and staring out the window at the pidgeons while ignoring YOU! Hey, I'm okay, and you're okay too! Just make sure you can walk home on two feet or get the hack driver to give you a lift up the stoop to your house.
By now, all your troubles have gloriously swum downstream that whiskey river and all is right with the world. Life is good!
This method has worked quite splendidly for me. It's much cheaper than psychoanalysis or costly psychtropic capsules. To take advantage of the full effect of Irish therapy, make sure to down a pint first thing out of the sack every morning. So that you "don't sweat the small stuff at work," keep a half-pint flask of the small stuff in the back of your desk drawer at the ready for when your boss flies off the handle in a sudden tirade, or your corpse clmibing coworkers decide to use you as a foothold.
Personally, I find that Canadian Club or Tullamore Dew are just what the doctor ordered.
Cheers!
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