I was really drawn to this book from the title being 'growing from depression' rather than 'defeating' or 'overcoming' depression. It takes a growth-based perspective. It can be quite heavy at times at there is a lot of philosophical writing but it is informative nonetheless and is a much-recommended book for anyone with depression, those who have a loved one with depression or professionals working with people who have depression.

As someone with depression, i enjoyed this book a lot. I learned so much, that i didn't know. This is a good book for just resourse purpose.

This book was a great support in a time of need and I have already recommended it to some of my friends who are experiencing similar issues.

📱E-Book Review📱

Growing From Depression
Dr Neel Burton

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this little book which was full of everything you could possibly need or want to know about depression.

It's more than just a self-help book and can be used over time to dip in and out of depending on your mood or need.

I found the philosophy chapters really interesting. These covered general everyday used anecdotes and plans as well as those from the originals like Socrates and Plato. Even if you don't suffer or know anyone with depression, these make for fascinating reading.

There were sections on general information for those wanting to understand depression - reasons, causes, symptoms and signs to look out for which I thought was great for those with loved ones suffering as it helps them to understand more about it and allow better ways of helping them.

There were chapters for those who are suffering themselves, which could be accessed when needed or when you feel up to seeking help or advice.
The chapters are fairly short so don't take much of your time to just grab a snippet, even on days when focussing might be hard.
These self help sections were really well written as they gave a small explanation of the symptom/issue and then gave bullet points to help you. Making it really easy to remind yourself of the steps to overcome the feelings.

Definitely a book I will now buy as I think it has so much in it to take in and lots to keep checking in on too - a great one to just grab out to remind ourselves of some of the concepts to keep us going.

I really enjoyed the chapter on self-esteem, and I will make sure to put these seventeen tips into practical application. I felt the chapter that covered insults seemed quite ableist in the sense that it seemed not to take into account neurodiverse perspectives such as autism. For example, I definitely use mimicry of expressions and I think my stare can come across as forced, and my smile can seem forced, but it's because I'm trying so hard to pay attention to what someone is saying, and trying to show them that I care. Equally, sometimes I struggle to make eye contact and I am listening hard and care a lot, but I need to look away to concentrate. So, I think it's unfair to consider any of these behaviours insulting, because it really depends more on what the person's intentions are. You could be socially aware but acting mean, if that makes sense? Whereas i might come across a ssocially awkwar,d but I'm really genuniely trying my best. So I did find that upsetting.

3.5 ⭐️

Dr Neel Burton is a psychiatrist and philosopher out of Oxford, England, and has written a number of books about mental wellness.

Growing From Depression is broken into two parts. Part one explains everything you need to know about depression and part two teaches you coping techniques. Some of these learning modules are: correcting thinking errors, managing stress and anxiety, building self-esteem, cultivating gratitude and building healthy relationships. One module even had a recipe for chicken soup!

The title of this book is about growing from depression- not defeating or recovering from- to emphasize the transformative process you can choose to take instead, to learn to flourish.

For me, this book was too dependent of the philosophy side of things, the abstract, and I much prefer more concrete coping techniques and really benefit more from writing. But I am sure this book will help people.

Thanks to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Dr Neel Burton for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I started out enjoying this book, but it went downhill the more I read. I think the biggest problem is that it’s too broad. The book attempts to cover every aspect of life that is remotely related to depression, but it doesn’t delve deeply enough into any of the concepts to provide truly useful information. I believe that it would be more successful if it took an in-depth look at only a few subjects, instead of trying to cover everything.

I was bored by a lot of the philosophy; I don’t think that a book about healing from depression should focus so strongly on philosophical issues. Most depressed people wouldn’t care about philosophy and wouldn’t find it helpful.

I also took issue with the ending of the book, which states that the author believes that most people who are diagnosed with depression are really just going through an existential crisis. As someone who has battled major depressive disorder for my entire life, it made me feel that he didn’t understand my struggle at all and was even somewhat dismissive of my experience.

Some people who are new to learning about depression might find this book useful, but those are us who are more familiar with the topic won’t discover any new information.

I got this copy from Netgalley. Thank you for the chance! This book is very light and easy to read, like a handbook about depression for survivors and caregivers.

It has much helpful information on how to correct the thinking errors in depression, how to manage stress and anxiety, how to cope with psychotic symptoms, how to fight suicidal ideation, and provides a holistic treatment for depression (medication, proper sleep, good music, good friends, and nutrition intake).

As a person who has lived with depression, I found this book validating my sufferings, but in some parts I didn't like the author's tone, which seems patronizing. But I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a guidebook on depression.

This book is on a topic that is incredibly important and something I feel very passionately about so I was intrigued to read.
This book was very informative, and covers a lot of topics. However, I was concerned that there was some language that felt very derogatory. I found that quite difficult to read.
There was some great quotes in this book that felt very up-lifting.
Also, I have recently read the 'School of Life' book on mental illness, and I found a LOT of similarities between the two - it could have been the same book at times.

Overall I found this book interesting and informative, but it didn't feel too different from some other books I have read on the topic.

I really enjoyed this book and found it helpful. The encouragement to skip certain chapters if you have trouble focusing due to depression was brilliant and unique.

The final 2 chapters were especially useful, with practical tips written in short paragraphs so the information is easy to digest