The Black Lady’s Visit: The Best Depression Books

1. Deep Waters by James Hollis

What is the meaning of my depression? What does my anger say? What am I really mourning as I mourn the loss? The philosopher and Jungian analyst James Hollis analyzes deep emotional experiences and comes to the conclusion that it is in them that the human soul is formed and strengthened. After all, in this way we are faced not only with the hardships of life, but also with its dignity, the deepest meaning.

Our task is to “experience” these states without suppressing them and without projecting the pain associated with them onto others. Such inner work is a prerequisite not only for healing, but also for the onset of maturity.

Cogito Center, 2010.

2. “Black sun. Depression and melancholy by Yulia Kristeva

Julia Kristeva, French psychoanalyst, philosopher, linguist, reflects on melancholy. About that bottomless sadness and pain that swallow us whole, forcing us to lose the taste for any action, for life itself. “Where does this black sun of melancholy and depression rise from?” the author asks. Mental trauma – love or professional failure, grief that happened to loved ones – all this often turns out to be just a trigger for inner despair, which in the very depths of the psyche feeds on the unexperienced and unconscious loss of a beloved object, which is most often the omnipotent mother of our early childhood. .

Melancholia is the most severe form of depression, an experience comparable to the depths of hell. But only with the awareness of loss, which reveals to each of us the real presence of death in our lives, we are born and develop as individuals.

Cogito Center, 2010.

3. “To reach out to life. An Existential Analysis of Depression by Alfried Lenglet

Depression is the most common mental disorder. It is familiar to about 30% of adult men and women. And young children don’t get depressed. Although they can grieve and be sad. Why is that? Because they have a “good relationship” with life itself, according to existential psychotherapist Alfried Lenglet. Depression occurs when a person is unable to experience the value of life. Lenglet contrasts the frozen state of depression with sadness, which is an active experience. Sadness helps move depression off the dead center and overcome it. Collected under one cover are three articles on different aspects of psychotherapy for depression.

Genesis, 2010.

4. “Antistress. How to beat stress, anxiety and depression without drugs and psychoanalysis “David Servan-Schreiber

The outstanding neuroscientist and psychiatrist David Servan-Schreiber admitted that the arsenal of dealing with stress and depression is not limited to pills and a psychoanalyst’s couch. And if some method of treatment gives a result, but cannot be explained by science, then this is a reason to study it again and again, and not to dismiss it as superstition.

Actually, this is exactly what is happening: the methods that Servan-Schreiber has used in his practice since the early 1990s are finding more and more solid scientific evidence. Heart rate optimization, eye movement desensitization, biological rhythm synchronization, acupuncture, proper nutrition, regular exercise, and “affective communication” techniques—these seven methods described in the book will allow you to connect with the emotional brain without drugs and psychotherapy.

Ripol Classic, 2012.

5. Depression Is Contagious by Michael Yapko

American psychotherapist Michael Yapko sees the main cause of depression in disturbed social ties. Selfishness, self-absorption, aggressive rejection of others – all these features, typical of modern society, lead to depression, and they must be abandoned if we do not want to become members of a large depressed community. Those who have met with betrayal or resentment, deceived in their expectations, move away from others. This behavior seems natural. But “some people who suffer from depression are so self-confident that they are proud of their illness and consider it noble.” In this case, it is difficult to expect a quick recovery.

For the prevention and treatment of depression, the author offers ways that you probably heard about: improve sleep, stop scrolling sad thoughts in your head, give up magical thinking, change those beliefs that prevent us from living, show tolerance and goodwill. And in each case, the author not only gives advice, but also answers the question “How exactly to do this?”

Peter, 2013

6. “Tales of reversible death. Depression as a healing force” Simone Matzliach-Hanokh

Having lost a child, the Israeli writer Simona Matzliach-Hanokh tried to overcome this loss, to erase this loss from her life, but as a result she met with severe depression. Her recovery only began when she stopped deceiving herself and realized the importance of the grieving process.

Gradually, she began to recall fairy tales and myths, which depict the ancient female experience of those heroines who, like herself, survived a temporary death and returned from non-existence in a new capacity. Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty… It was they who helped the author to look at depression as a process with important healing potential.

Cogito Center, 2014.

7. “Teenage Depression: Why Many Children Experience This Condition and What Parents Can Do to Prevent It from Ending in Tragedy” by Douglas Riley

“I’m the worst”, “I’m good for nothing” “I can’t live without this person”, “I think I’m going crazy” … – the author, an American clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, “translated” those inner experiences for us , which the child himself is not able to convey clearly and convincingly in words and therefore communicates them with his behavior, changes in activity, deterioration in health, refusal to communicate and close relationships. Douglas Riley tells how the child’s psyche is damaged, and most importantly, he offers proven ways to solve this acute problem.

Rama Publishing, 2014