Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think

I’m using this book for therapy and it really helps. I love the book, it helps me regulate my moods

I was advised to try out the first edition of this book when I was at the very beginning of my journey through depression/anxiety (when I was 13). For some reason (Stubborn? Overwhelmed?) I did not purchase the book. At a recent counseling session, I was once again recommended this book, and this time I got it. Now, at the age of 25, I've FINALLY learned that counseling sessions and medication are both essential for me, but it won't get me where I want to be unless and until I work on myself outside of sessions. That is what this book has become for me. A study tool; I almost look at it as a textbook - homework I need to do. And it's homework I actually enjoy. With this illness, it is often easy to believe that I am "different" and that no one understands or has felt these "crazy" things I think and feel. This book gives examples that are so similar to events/feelings/thoughts I've been through that it shocked me. I don't feel as alone. There are people like me who struggle to continue life, let alone enjoy it. Anyway, the bottom line is, this book is helping me through the ups and downs. I find the process of reading through examples and explanations and then filling out a worksheet about my own experience has been extremely helpful and cathartic. It definitely helps me to look at each feeling in an unbiased and analytical way that is so helpful for me. I would recommend this to anyone who with depression or anxiety. Whether you know a lot about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or are just now hearing of it, I really think this book can be of help. And when your depression is bad enough that sometimes you feel your life may be in danger, what is there to lose. If there is any chance that something can help, like this book, grab it and try. All we can do is keep on keeping on. Positive vibes to anyone reading this!

Great book

This is solid help. I fell in love with cognitive behavioral therapy a few years ago. After a year of slogging through with a wonderful therapist, realizing I needed a shift in perspective, I had new tools. It's amazing how much everyone compares him or herself to others. The expectations we have of ourselves and others cause real pain. This book does a concrete job of helping you sort out your thoughts. And helping you understand how those thoughts lead to feelings and behaviors. When you realize it is your thoughts that are triggering feelings, irrational fears, and your often harmful actions, you can work on stopping the thought. If one uses this book right, day by day, he or she can learn to stop the thought in progress before it spirals. I've read a lot of cognitive behavioral materials over the years. But I'd probably recommend this one most highly. Four stars not five, because it's long, and requires a lot of investment of mental energy which most depressed and anxious people don't have. But committing to 30 minutes a day until you're done; writing down your fears, worries, angers, concerns....could be real help. Especially if you're anti-therapist. Which you shouldn't be. A therapist saved my brain. I highly recommend them.

I refer to this as a 'workbook’. It’s 10X more effective if you are willing to put in time read it thoroughly & do exercises. I bought it in 2020 and it's been collecting dust ever since. After a week of an hour a day with it I'm realizing it's not going to be a quick fix but a tenured structured path. I am ok with this. This is what I am after. I like it a lot and see how it'll help with substantial foundational changes as long as I stick with it. I downloaded a mood tracking doc, the Acceptance worksheet, and the Forgiving Myself worksheet and am finding solid value in them. Like anything else, If you work it, it’ll work. I’m really glad I picked it back up. Sidenote - cannot seem to find document download 15.2 - if you have it please let me know how to get it.

I've had this book for awhile now, and I recently completed it. It hasn't solved my problems, but it's definitely helped. That's why I'm going back and re-working my way through it, to keep practicing. It takes practice, time, and a lot of self-reflection to get benefit from the skills in this book. There are a lot of worksheets to do, which is helpful. Instead of simply reading about something, you can practice the skills immediately. As you go, there are mood inventories to score and track your moods to see your progress. The key issues the book addresses are depression, anxiety, anger, guilt, and shame, but I think this book could be helpful for many people, even if they don't think they're struggling with these issues. I'm grateful that this book was recommended to me, and I'd recommend it to others as well.

Comprehensive. Not difficult. Use the book w a CBT therapist.

I had the original 1st edition of this book and finally got around to working through it. I bought a used copy however, so some of the worksheets had been written on, which is I wanted clean worksheets for my study. Had they been clean I could have made copied to work of them. So, I ordered the new edition. I'm irritated (mood) because the new edition is excessive - WORDY - with around an additional 100 pages at least added. As a writer, speaker and former trainer, the one thing I know, is that people do not like to read. To fall in love w/your words is insensitive to the audience and students timing and learning experience. Not only did these authors bloviate on their patient examples' issues, but they also left out a most important teaching...and I'm only on page 15, (although I've scanned the book). In the first edition on page 4, the authors (taught first by explaining that Figure 1.1 (BTW, there is no 1.1 in the 2nd edition, although the same figure is used in the 2nd edition but labeled 2.1. Couldn't find a 1.1 figure in the new edition.) Instead, they ask questions in the new ed. in contrast to explain/teach first before asking questions for the reader to contemplate. People need to learn what to look for when reflecting, hence you teach first before you ask questions. In the first edition, "thought" is explained in paratheses as "beliefs, image, memories" - which is crucial for you to know and understand prior to reflection. If you are not familiar with "thinking" processes, you'd not know to include that in your evaluation of your thinking. Nor will you understand that "beliefs" are crucial to change to get at "moods". Additional paragraphs are given to the problems of their patient examples. Unnecessary and the chances of readers finishing working through this workbook has, I'd wager, dropped significantly. I have 5 books waiting for me to read. This was an area that I was working on for myself personally. So, my irritation is more at myself than the authors that I just spent $19.00 + for a belabored copy with excessive additions to the first edition, when actually all I wanted was clean worksheets to work off. It would be NICE if we could online and get a FREE pdf with extra worksheets to use w/either edition. Of course, now I can use my printer but even in this new edition the appendix does not have extra copies of the "Situation - Rating Moods" worksheets for fast recording in the future. Later you can reflect using the more in-depth worksheets. I shared all of this to say, if you can "new" first edition of this book, and copy the worksheets before you write in the book, I think you'll be much better off. Time consideration is so important today and writers need to work on the skill of brevity. Less is more for people today.

This step by step, practical approach is one of the most comprehensive books for CBT that I have come across yet. Very readable with great examples and plenty of worksheets to do your own thought and behaviour exercises. Very happy with the purchase

This book is a supplement for CBT practitioners and helping guide for those who would like to know how their thoughts and relevant actions brings significant changes in their life. The book has explanation of concepts such as automatic thoughts, core beliefs, gratitude, goal setting to name a few and packed with numerous worksheets which complements the concepts explained. It can be a reference book for students of psychology and psychiatry.

Mind Over Mood is such an amazing book for people who fight against depression, anxiety or strong moods as well... The approach is very pedagogic, clear, easy to read with a lot of exercices to practice. The book never guilts you for anything, on the contrary, it helps you to feel better and better, wheter you want to feel better about yourself or about the situations you are currently facing. The greatest is that you can download all the exercices for free on the website, so that you can do them again and again. I would advice anyone to read it. ANYONE!

I loved this book, because it it very practical.

It is a well-structured workbook based on CBT principles, with a comprehensive step-by-step guide to overcoming common barriers to personal growth. For my taste, some sections may be a bit verbose with repeated exercises (but one can skip them). The large format allows for easy completion of worksheets directly in the book. It would have been nice if the book included references (research papers or books on which the theory and the worksheets are based on) for further exploration. Overall, it's an essential resource for those committed to applying CBT techniques to enhance their mental well-being.