The Depression Book: Depression As an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth

Rating:
Summary: Facing depression.
Review: Depression is emptiness, exhaustion, and meaninglessness (p. 129). Zen teacher, Cheri Huber's 150-page book is not "an explanation of nor a cure for depression;" it is about facing depression with compassion. "The perspective of this book is that there is nothing more important than compassion," Huber writes, "everything else springs from that" (p. 143).

Depression offers us an opportunity for spiritual growth. "Like everything else in life," Huber writes, "depression is an ally, a gift. It has something to teach us" (p. 98). "Depression brings me back to myself in a way much of life does not," she writes. "It gets my attention. It says, 'Stop! Pay attention!'"(p. 69). Depression allows us to see the cause of our suffering, to see who we are, to embrace ourself in compassion, and to let go and end the suffering (p. 1). Instead of "numbing ourselves to depression with food, drugs, alcohol, sex, talking" (p. 63), Huber recommends that we get to know our emotions; rest, eat well, and exercise regularly; and take up an awareness practice that enables us to let go of false beliefs and assumptions about how we and the world should be (p. 146).

I arrived at this book through a friend who encouraged me to read Cheri Huber. Since this is the second Huber book I've read this week, I guess I'm hooked on Huber. Her book is equal parts Zen, inspiration, and self-help, and printed in a handwritten format, "to slow the reader down so that awareness can touch the heart as well as the head." It is engaging and insightful. Huber teaches us that, depressed or not, "your life reflects your attitude of mind; your attitude of mind does not reflect your life" (p. 96). I recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing themself better, or following their heart. I also recommend Pema Chodron's book, WHEN THINGS FALL APART (1997) for those readers interested in this genre.

G. Merritt

Rating:
Summary: Facing depression.
Review: Depression is emptiness, exhaustion, and meaninglessness (p. 129). Zen teacher, Cheri Huber's 150-page book is not "an explanation of nor a cure for depression;" it is about facing depression with compassion. "The perspective of this book is that there is nothing more important than compassion," Huber writes, "everything else springs from that" (p. 143).

Depression offers us an opportunity for spiritual growth. "Like everything else in life," Huber writes, "depression is an ally, a gift. It has something to teach us" (p. 98). "Depression brings me back to myself in a way much of life does not," she writes. "It gets my attention. It says, 'Stop! Pay attention!'"(p. 69). Depression allows us to see the cause of our suffering, to see who we are, to embrace ourself in compassion, and to let go and end the suffering (p. 1). Instead of "numbing ourselves to depression with food, drugs, alcohol, sex, talking" (p. 63), Huber recommends that we get to know our emotions; rest, eat well, and exercise regularly; and take up an awareness practice that enables us to let go of false beliefs and assumptions about how we and the world should be (p. 146).

I arrived at this book through a friend who encouraged me to read Cheri Huber. Since this is the second Huber book I've read this week, I guess I'm hooked on Huber. Her book is equal parts Zen, inspiration, and self-help, and printed in a handwritten format, "to slow the reader down so that awareness can touch the heart as well as the head." It is engaging and insightful. Huber teaches us that, depressed or not, "your life reflects your attitude of mind; your attitude of mind does not reflect your life" (p. 96). I recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing themself better, or following their heart. I also recommend Pema Chodron's book, WHEN THINGS FALL APART (1997) for those readers interested in this genre.

G. Merritt

Rating:
Summary: Keep It Close By
Review: I came across this book in a New Age store, and when I went back to get another copy for a friend, they were already out of it. As a resource for dealing with depression, this book is unique and invaluable. Instead of feeling like there is something wrong with you or you should just "snap out of it," this book encourages the reader to acccept the feelings of depression and helplessness and then move beyond it. This book is creative and fun; reading it will make you start to feel better, or at least not feel bad about feeling depressed.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly practical & helpful book!!
Review: I was very frustrated by my depression. Hated that I went through it and could not find any helpful sources to manage it when it struck. This book gave me an arsenal of very practical things I could do and helped me to see that fighting against it was the least helpful. That was hard to get my mind around at first but once I grasped it - incredible!

Rating:
Summary: Not very helpful
Review: In a society that promotes the "quick fix" of a pill for nearly everything, "The Depression Book", offers a refreshing alternative for anyone who wants to live his or her life fully.

Written in easy to read/understand language, this book can be read in just one or two sittings. The book's layout, written by hand with hand drawings, allows the reader to feel as though they are listening to a friend share great wisdom. Cheri Huber promotes deep looking into the depression, no need to run, hide, or create a story around it, just see it as depression.

As a student working on my Masters in psych, I am so pleased to see a book that is well written on such a difficult subject. Go back and click the order button on this one, you won't be sorry!

Rating:
Summary: An Attitude Adjustment Offered By A Sensible Guide
Review: Of all the people who say "I am depressed," there are some experiencing a clinical condition that is very serious, beyond the control of willpower, and can in fact spiral downward into life-threatening complications. A change of attitude and a little meditation is not a panacea for a neurological disorder or psychological disorders induced by chemical processes. Others who refer to "depression" refer to a generalized category of soul-numbing patterns of thought that suppress feelings and flatten one's inspiration, and it may feel out of control to one who has given up. For the latter, Zen teacher Cheri Huber offers some suggestions for reframing one's experience of despair, fear, resistance, melancholy, existential fatigue - and turning it into a creative basis for awakening.

The direction of the book is constructive and positive, and emphasizes on simple, practical meditation as the basis for untying those knots which are tied by none other than ourselves. It is an important contribution to our attitudes about depression and encapsulates core Buddhist teaching with hardly a mention of the Buddha or Buddhism. It is also fun to read, often hilarious, sensible - and unsparing. One of the basic and essential works of this important modern guide.

Rating:
Summary: On depression & spiritual practice
Review: This is a book on using depression as fodder for your spiritual practice. It is handwritten, with cute illustrations, and the style is conversational and down-to-earth. It is not mainly about how to get less depressed but, rather, about how to suffer less and have more compassion for yourself in the midst of depression, and in the midst of all states of being. While you're very depressed, this book may just scare you and/or piss you off (that was my reaction when I first flipped through it in a bookstore), but I highly recommend it for when you're on the upswing.

Cheri Huber is a Zen teacher, and her approach may especially appeal to folks who practice Zen or a similar form of meditation, but I don't think the words "Zen" or "Buddhism" appear anywhere in the text. The last few pages give instructions in a simple form of meditation involving attention to the breathing.

(Also recommended: John & Andrea Nelson's "Sacred Sorrows," a collection of essays on a wide variety of approaches to depression, including ways of healing depression and also ways of embracing depression and finding meaning in it.)

Rating:
Summary: Regardless of your religious orientation...
Review: This is one of the best books on depression and anxiety I've read. The first time I picked it up, I blew through the book. Over the past couple years, I've perioidically picked it up and gotten more out of it each time.

It's written in a straight-forward, easy-to-read manner. For me, it hit the nail on the head.