Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression Paperback – Illustrated, May 26, 2009

Congrat. to the author. While the book may argue a bit too strongly against drugs to "cure' depression, this only minutely offsets the bs written in most books by shrinks who dispense SSRIs and so on like candy.I was given SSRIs a long time ago when they were fairly new to the market. Paxil to be precise. The word was that these wonder drugs had a rifle approach, limited side effects (i.e., one being you couldn't kill yourself with them), and were easy to get off. Then, with each successive year, the truth came out. Sexual side effects, sleep side effects, sweating, tremors, feeling a bit like a zombie, and so on. Not to mention possible suicidal ideations for both young and old!Then, there is withdrawal. "Oh, sorry, I guess there are severe withdrawal symptoms. Try tapering." "Brain zaps, that's normal." "SSRI syndrome" --- that can happen.These are extremely strong drugs. Extremely. And they do not have a rifle approach. "Listening to Prozac" was bs written by someone who must have profited from dispensing these powerful pills.Oh, and sometimes they don't work. Or work only slightly better than a placebo or exercise.In my opinion, money hungry drug companies and cheap insurance companies love these drugs. Rather than really help someone through, say, intensive talk therapy with a highly skilled professional, insurance companies prefer the pills because they are much cheaper. Even if severely depressed, most insurance polices will only entitle someone to one hour a week, possibly with an MSW who specializes in marriage counseling. It's pathetic. Enough gripping.This book is really needed. Paxil and so on are not meant to be taken permanently, yet many people are given permanent prescriptions. Moreover, they often stop working after a while. Prescribing more and more pills, at best, attacks the symptoms of depression, not the causes.But they are one arrow in the quiver and may be useful for some severely depressed people, especially on a short term basis (less than a year). That's my opinion. As well as that of many others who give up on the pills despite still being depressed. And resign themselves to a life of depression and misery becuase "the pills" don't work. This book may provide some help and perspective.My advice --- do your own research, listen to your body as well as your doctor and don't only rely on a pill doc. Also, go to a talk doc. These pills should be closer to a last resort rather than a first line of defense. Finally, don't over rely on these pills and plan on getting off of them if your depression lifts of its own accord.

Most if not all of the things Dr. Gordon recommends are excellent strategies not only for people who are mildly or moderately depressed (conditions that I think probably shouldn't be referred to as depression at all to avoid confusion), but for everyone else, too.However, for those who are seriously and severely disabled by depression, but who still have just enough energy to read, I think you can get a more complete and balanced view of the situation with some additional or alternative material.A good start would be reading the following articles by fellow depressive Therese Borchard (on the web - find through a search engine)."Don't Get Stuck on "Unstuck": Depression Is Real, and Drugs Help Me""The Latest on Antidepressants: Be Careful Where You Get Your Facts"Then, especially if you've read "Unstuck," I think you'll have truly balanced and thorough basis to make a recovery plan for yourself if you read (or listen to as an audio book) "Against Depression" by Peter Kramer.A final caveat about Dr. Gordon's book: Several elements of his recommendations contain an underlying - sometimes subtle, sometimes not so much - suggestion that depression is fundamentally a character flaw, or something that can be eliminated simply through alterations in a defective worldview, etc.It's true that everyone needs to take as much responsibility as possible for their own lives. Needless to say it's also true that a symptom of depression is negative and unhealthy thinking. But for people who have major depression it's not helpful to frame the problem in ways that might lead to even more self-recrimination. In fact, I think that can make the problem and the consequences far worse.If you have serious depression, especially in repeat episodes, there is considerable science pointing toward a probability that you have a biological injury, not just a "weakness."So here's an analogy: If you have a bullet in your foot, it really doesn't matter whether you shot yourself or whether someone else shot you, or whether someone handed you the gun and encouraged you to do it, etc. The injury is the same, and you need to get serious help before you bleed to death. And if you have serious depression, get serious help before your life ticks away in confusion and despair.So the Gordon book may be helpful, or not, depending on you, your history, and your current situation.

An open letter to Dr. Gordon:I'm severely depressed. I bought your book, as after reading the reviews it seemed to offer alternatives and hope. I'm in the middle of reading your introduction. So far, I'm impressed with your evaluation of drug therapies and in complete agreement. Also, yes exercise seems to help. But when you get into nutrition, herbs, supplements, god, acupuncture, etc. all of which I consider untested, unstudied voodoo, you lost me.You are confirming my view that all depression "therapies" including yours are just smoke and mirrors calculated to sell something, a drug or a book or time with a therapist (the last therapist I had continually answered the phone during session. The one before that wanted give me a magic wand, as in "What would you do if I gave you a magic wand!?" I'll tell you what I'll do with it.Here's my analysis of depression: let people make a decent living for their hard work, end the current situation where criminals and psychopaths are the most rewarded winners in our culture, curtail the winner take all system of capitalism and watch depression disappear.I think you're just another charlatan. I hope you choke on the royalties I paid for your book. Now, I think, with all this confirmation that the world is a crap pile I'll have the courage to kill myself. Nice try!

This could have been drastically shorter. Far too many words and too repetitive. There are better books available which make similar points but more clearly and concisely.If you're just starting out on your journey of discovery in trying to help resolve your depression you could do a lot worse than the first book recommended to me (actually on the NHS recommended reading list for people going through talking therapies) - "Overcoming Depression" by Paul Gilbert. Then take it from there.......There is good stuff and bad stuff out there. Keep an open mind and remember that self-help books are a bit like therapists - they won't all be a good fit for you.

Good present 📦

Really challenges one's previous ideas about the process of change and how thoughts can become static.

Good solid advice, gets you thinking cannot help change everyone life in some small or large way. Buy it!:-)

this is an amazing book by a lovely man.