CBT for Dummies, 23 Dec 2008
At first glance a lot of the information in this book seems like common sense but, as the authors explain, it is quite rare for us to act in these ways. We tend to act in ways that are harmful to ourselves and our relationships and this book goes some way to showing you how to break out of these past moulds and create new ways of behaving. It follows the basic 'dummies' format, with various icons, cartoons, clear headings and 'part of tens' at the back, so if you know the format you will know what to expect. This book introduces CBT, helps you spot errors in your thinking, helps you define problems and goals, focuses on a few specific problems (like OCD, anger and low self esteem), helps you move on from past events and overcome obstacles, looks at ways to maintain your progress and to find a CBT professional, as well as way more besides. This also has an appendix with useful contacts and another of various CBT forms that you can use. Overall this is very comprehensive and I think that if you take the time to utilise the information explained to you and stick with it, this should offer up some real results. It is worth noting that even if you have no major issues that seem to be crippling your actions or outlook, this book still has much to offer to help you live more meaningfully and make small changes to get that little bit more out of life. A clear, informative read.

BRAIN POWER, 14 Dec 2008
Wow!
This book has gotta be good 'cos all 15 people who reviewed it before me gave it 5 stars.
Now THATS the power of positive thinking!!
Its better than anti-depressants too.
And no. I am not having any issues with middle aged cynicism.
It really is a good book.
Only use sparingly on angsty(?), moody teenagers, though lol.


THIS BOOK IS A LIFE SAVER, 23 Nov 2008
I've only read a couple of chapters so far and I'm already full of positive thinking and belief in myself and my ability to recover from post natal depression. The descriptions of depressive behaviour are so accurate, I feel the authors really understand what I've been going through. I feel as though the book was written with me in mind sometimes! The advice given is a lot of common sense and its achievable. I feel anyone whose struggled to find someone to understand their condition will be uplifted just by reading this book. I feel as though finally somebody out there really understands what's been going on in my head and so is very well qualified to help me recover. This book is a lifesaver, if I'd found it sooner I would have been much further on in my recovery. Everybody out there should read this book as it would be beneficial to anyone, with or without depression.

Literally Saved my life!!, 03 Nov 2008
Before i purchased this book i was suffering from the most horrendous anxiety attacks and what i now know as depression.I was going to see a councilor to help me work through my problems but i found this no help.I was utterly desperate and then my GP recommended this book.By this time i was so bad i could barely leave the house.I was feeling so low taking my life seemed the only option then i discovered this book and it has literally saved my life.I am more positive i think more rationally and have a much more positive outlook on life.Please please if your feeling as desperate as i did just give this book a go what do you have to lose 10 pounds?Let this book help you on a new and more positive journey through your new and better life!

very practical, 22 Mar 2008
I'm no expert on cbt or any type of psychology and I'm always slightly wary. CBT, however, was recommended to me by a psychologist to assist me to help my client group - troubled young people. I love the 'for Dummies' series as they are really easy to read but provide you with quite a broad knowledge for a layman. There is a wealth of sound practical advice in this book for everybody and I can't believe how much I'm learning about myself and my incorrect thinking and its effects. This book requires a lot of concentration (although the style of writing is easy) and effort to think the material through and also to complete the exercises but it really is life-changing. I don't know if it works really well for serious mental health problems but it is certainly working for me and I will most definitely be presenting the practices to the young people I work with.

CBT for Dummies, 23 Dec 2008
At first glance a lot of the information in this book seems like common sense but, as the authors explain, it is quite rare for us to act in these ways. We tend to act in ways that are harmful to ourselves and our relationships and this book goes some way to showing you how to break out of these past moulds and create new ways of behaving. It follows the basic 'dummies' format, with various icons, cartoons, clear headings and 'part of tens' at the back, so if you know the format you will know what to expect. This book introduces CBT, helps you spot errors in your thinking, helps you define problems and goals, focuses on a few specific problems (like OCD, anger and low self esteem), helps you move on from past events and overcome obstacles, looks at ways to maintain your progress and to find a CBT professional, as well as way more besides. This also has an appendix with useful contacts and another of various CBT forms that you can use. Overall this is very comprehensive and I think that if you take the time to utilise the information explained to you and stick with it, this should offer up some real results. It is worth noting that even if you have no major issues that seem to be crippling your actions or outlook, this book still has much to offer to help you live more meaningfully and make small changes to get that little bit more out of life. A clear, informative read.

BRAIN POWER, 14 Dec 2008
Wow!
This book has gotta be good 'cos all 15 people who reviewed it before me gave it 5 stars.
Now THATS the power of positive thinking!!
Its better than anti-depressants too.
And no. I am not having any issues with middle aged cynicism.
It really is a good book.
Only use sparingly on angsty(?), moody teenagers, though lol.


THIS BOOK IS A LIFE SAVER, 23 Nov 2008
I've only read a couple of chapters so far and I'm already full of positive thinking and belief in myself and my ability to recover from post natal depression. The descriptions of depressive behaviour are so accurate, I feel the authors really understand what I've been going through. I feel as though the book was written with me in mind sometimes! The advice given is a lot of common sense and its achievable. I feel anyone whose struggled to find someone to understand their condition will be uplifted just by reading this book. I feel as though finally somebody out there really understands what's been going on in my head and so is very well qualified to help me recover. This book is a lifesaver, if I'd found it sooner I would have been much further on in my recovery. Everybody out there should read this book as it would be beneficial to anyone, with or without depression.

Literally Saved my life!!, 03 Nov 2008
Before i purchased this book i was suffering from the most horrendous anxiety attacks and what i now know as depression.I was going to see a councilor to help me work through my problems but i found this no help.I was utterly desperate and then my GP recommended this book.By this time i was so bad i could barely leave the house.I was feeling so low taking my life seemed the only option then i discovered this book and it has literally saved my life.I am more positive i think more rationally and have a much more positive outlook on life.Please please if your feeling as desperate as i did just give this book a go what do you have to lose 10 pounds?Let this book help you on a new and more positive journey through your new and better life!

very practical, 22 Mar 2008
I'm no expert on cbt or any type of psychology and I'm always slightly wary. CBT, however, was recommended to me by a psychologist to assist me to help my client group - troubled young people. I love the 'for Dummies' series as they are really easy to read but provide you with quite a broad knowledge for a layman. There is a wealth of sound practical advice in this book for everybody and I can't believe how much I'm learning about myself and my incorrect thinking and its effects. This book requires a lot of concentration (although the style of writing is easy) and effort to think the material through and also to complete the exercises but it really is life-changing. I don't know if it works really well for serious mental health problems but it is certainly working for me and I will most definitely be presenting the practices to the young people I work with.

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy treats emotional disorders by changing negative patterns of thought. It is now internationally established as a key method of helping overcome longstanding conditions such as panic attacks, depression, anxiety, gambling addictions and some eating disorders.

The first thing that is attractive about this book is the total lack of "technicalese"; this, coupled with its logical construction makes it not only interesting but also easily accessible to the lay reader.

To begin with, a guest author explains the history, meaning and relevance of cognitive therapy. This is followed by Melanie Fennell focusing on "Low Self Esteem" as an introduction to the main body of the book. The reader is then asked to participate in a self-assessment exercise. Having proven to have low self esteem, the reader is shown not only the impact self-esteem can have on their lives, but also many of the resultant issues--physical, emotional and social.

"Having cleared the ground", the author proceeds to explain the importance of and means to identifying triggers to bouts of low self-esteem. This can be as a long-established predilection or as the result of learned behaviour. Once this is achieved, Fennell goes on to advise ploys to overcome these triggers.

There follows a reinforcement to overcoming the triggers by the use of a Daily Action Diary (DAD), where the reader plans their daily routine. Once these "tasks" have been accomplished, they can be ticked off, proving not only self worth by achievement but also acting as a self-distracter.

The book concludes by offering suggestions for "Putting Life Together" and "Planning for the Future". This is done by the use of simple graticules as an easy way of spotting self- critical thoughts and a "Precaution Record Sheet"

This is a very useful book that achieves its stated aims of explaining the nature of low self esteem and self- destructive thinking, providing a complete self-help programme and monitoring sheets and basing its advice on clinically proven techniques of cognitive therapy. -- Peter Kidd, trained Community Psychiatric Nurse

CBT for Dummies, 23 Dec 2008
At first glance a lot of the information in this book seems like common sense but, as the authors explain, it is quite rare for us to act in these ways. We tend to act in ways that are harmful to ourselves and our relationships and this book goes some way to showing you how to break out of these past moulds and create new ways of behaving. It follows the basic 'dummies' format, with various icons, cartoons, clear headings and 'part of tens' at the back, so if you know the format you will know what to expect. This book introduces CBT, helps you spot errors in your thinking, helps you define problems and goals, focuses on a few specific problems (like OCD, anger and low self esteem), helps you move on from past events and overcome obstacles, looks at ways to maintain your progress and to find a CBT professional, as well as way more besides. This also has an appendix with useful contacts and another of various CBT forms that you can use. Overall this is very comprehensive and I think that if you take the time to utilise the information explained to you and stick with it, this should offer up some real results. It is worth noting that even if you have no major issues that seem to be crippling your actions or outlook, this book still has much to offer to help you live more meaningfully and make small changes to get that little bit more out of life. A clear, informative read.

BRAIN POWER, 14 Dec 2008
Wow!
This book has gotta be good 'cos all 15 people who reviewed it before me gave it 5 stars.
Now THATS the power of positive thinking!!
Its better than anti-depressants too.
And no. I am not having any issues with middle aged cynicism.
It really is a good book.
Only use sparingly on angsty(?), moody teenagers, though lol.


THIS BOOK IS A LIFE SAVER, 23 Nov 2008
I've only read a couple of chapters so far and I'm already full of positive thinking and belief in myself and my ability to recover from post natal depression. The descriptions of depressive behaviour are so accurate, I feel the authors really understand what I've been going through. I feel as though the book was written with me in mind sometimes! The advice given is a lot of common sense and its achievable. I feel anyone whose struggled to find someone to understand their condition will be uplifted just by reading this book. I feel as though finally somebody out there really understands what's been going on in my head and so is very well qualified to help me recover. This book is a lifesaver, if I'd found it sooner I would have been much further on in my recovery. Everybody out there should read this book as it would be beneficial to anyone, with or without depression.

Literally Saved my life!!, 03 Nov 2008
Before i purchased this book i was suffering from the most horrendous anxiety attacks and what i now know as depression.I was going to see a councilor to help me work through my problems but i found this no help.I was utterly desperate and then my GP recommended this book.By this time i was so bad i could barely leave the house.I was feeling so low taking my life seemed the only option then i discovered this book and it has literally saved my life.I am more positive i think more rationally and have a much more positive outlook on life.Please please if your feeling as desperate as i did just give this book a go what do you have to lose 10 pounds?Let this book help you on a new and more positive journey through your new and better life!

very practical, 22 Mar 2008
I'm no expert on cbt or any type of psychology and I'm always slightly wary. CBT, however, was recommended to me by a psychologist to assist me to help my client group - troubled young people. I love the 'for Dummies' series as they are really easy to read but provide you with quite a broad knowledge for a layman. There is a wealth of sound practical advice in this book for everybody and I can't believe how much I'm learning about myself and my incorrect thinking and its effects. This book requires a lot of concentration (although the style of writing is easy) and effort to think the material through and also to complete the exercises but it really is life-changing. I don't know if it works really well for serious mental health problems but it is certainly working for me and I will most definitely be presenting the practices to the young people I work with.

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Best book I've ever bought! , 12 Dec 2008
I bought this book at the aiport whilst making a business trip that I was absolutely dreading, essentially because my self-esteem was so low. This book did change my life, or rather it enabled me to change my life for myself. It is essentially about taking control of your own life and your own thoughts and feelings, and facing situations you have previously avoided.

It is incredibly well-written, and though it is clearly structured and designed to be worked through one chapter at a time, you can still open it at any page and discover some excellent advice. What I love about the book is the friendly, comforting tone in which it is written. The author is full of compassion, and this is important as you learn to have compassion for yourself (instead of putting yourself down), to understand why you may have developed certain unhelpful thought patterns, and to begin to undo all this.

Though it is a cliche, I can honestly say this book changed my life. I wore my copy out and bought a second one. I love books, and have hundreds, but if I had to get rid of them all and keep only one, it would have to be this one.

The theory is sound, but the practice is more challenging , 05 Dec 2008
As with most self-help books the theory is very convincing, but it's altogether another thing putting what has been learnt into practice. I must admit that I had problems completing all the exercises -- ANY of the exercises, actually -- because part of my low self-esteem lies with my writing! It may seem trivial to anybody reading this review, but I have a pathological shame and disgust with my handwriting. It has affected my education and employment, so I can assure you that it is anything but trivial to me. That's my excuse, anyway.

But, like many other readers of this guide, I suspect, I convinced myself that I didn't need to do any of the exercises because I 'got' the lesson that they were intended to illustrate. I also felt that many of the worked examples and case histories that were used as examples perfectly described me, so I just read them rather than writing out my own. So in that sense I am probably just a bit of a slacker. (I only read this book because it was recommended to me.) The downside to all this slacking is that as the book progresses the reader is constantly referred back and reminded that "you already know how to do this" because the author assumes the exercises have been completed. I felt bad about myself.

However, there are some genuinely profound insights that I found tucked away in this book's pages. I found some little nuggets that really spoke to me, little throwaway lines that could easily have been overlooked. One such example is under the heading "Checking out anxious predictions" (p. 79). It reminds us that our goal is simply to "enjoy our experiences". I thought that phrase is so subtle, so glib even, yet so naïve, true and endearing. It condenses life down into its most simple form. Good or bad, there's something to be gained out of everything that happens to us, every situation we find ourselves in.

Another aspect of this book that has deeply affected me and stuck in my mind was this piece of advice, posed as a question (p. 99): how would you treat a friend or relative who was suffering from low self-esteem? Would you be as hard on them as you are on yourself? Would you agree with them? The answer is: of course not! I thought that this simple thought experiment -- if indeed that is the right word? -- provides a genuine and much-needed change of perspective on the situation that someone suffering from low self-esteem finds him- or herself in. I've seen this example used in other books, too.

On the other hand there are some bizarre pieces of encouragement offered in this book. Particularly in the chapter devoted to 'bigging up' oneself when we are asked to feel good about ourselves because we have "mastered" the use of a telephone (p. 128)!!! Yes, that really was a pat-on-the-back moment for me. Not. There are a few good things I can list about myself after reading this book, but using a telephone isn't one of them. I don't think I've ever felt satisfied by dialling a number correctly and managing not to hold the handset upside down.

I also like the way that another similar book, MIND OVER MOOD by Christine Padesky, was referenced on a number of occasions. On at least four separate occasions Fennell mentioned or quoted Padesky. The two books complement each other well, though MOOD tackles depression specifically, and it was nice to know that I was building on things I'd already learnt. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be used to tackle many emotional disorders, but it was nice to see it applied specifically to low self-esteem.

Overall, this is an interesting book and if I could overcome the distress of committing my thoughts to paper I'm sure I would have learnt a lot more from it. As it is, it DID make me feel better about myself and offered me a valuable insight into my thoughts and emotions.


Maybe helpful for some..., 25 Oct 2008
I read the mixed reviews with interest, and personally agreed with the lower rated reviews, but do get the impression the book could really be helpful for some. I am a strong believer in CBT, but I think self-esteem has more 'touchy-feely' aspects that these CBT techniques, and this book could definitely do with some! In classical CBT style the book deals with acting and thinking (and therefore feeling) in ways that 'demonstrably' improve your self-esteem. The theory being when you see results you feel better about yourself creating a positive cycle. This is positive and sound advice, but what this book really lacked for me that some other reviewers also picked up on is some good old humanistic positive regard; repeated discussion about how each of us is unique and wonderful, and deserves to value ourselves, without thinking all of our actions are necessarily the best. Okay, so following the advice of achieving something and telling yourself so repeatedly will help, but sometimes what we need is to feed ourselves some positive genuine messages, irrespective of our actions. It seems a lot of us suffering deeply from lack of self esteem were never fed positive messages when we were young, and never learnt how to create a positive basis of this for ourselves, I don't think this book is going to help create this atmosphere of unconditional regard very easily. A discussion about how far-off what society appears to value also wouldn't go amiss (I agree it really didn't address common self-esteem issues such as weight or looks or suchlike in an engaging warm way). Plus - if you read any of the good CBT self-help books on depression you would have gotten all these techniques anyway, and perhaps in better format and easier-to-use way.


A really helpful, life changing book, 07 Aug 2008
This book is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which basically sets out to help you become aware of where you are thinking unrealistically (or just plain wrongly), and to replace these thoughts with helpful and more realistic ones.

I was really scared for a fair while that this book wouldn't help me, but actually it has, and loads. By about half-way through, I was daring to believe people actually loved me, I was approaching groups of people and joining in with the conversation, and being open about who I am - and starting to enjoy doing so, and not assuming everyone disliked me.

However, you need to know that this book is sometimes difficult to read, and to change will be hard. This is not a book that you "read". This is a book where you read a section, then you have to do the exercise - sometimes daily, for a couple of weeks - more like a "workbook". If you read this book cover-to-cover, it will have little discernable effect on your life. However, if you put the time in, you will notice real changes fairly soon.

I have to confess by being really confused and a little upset for some of the people who gave this very negative reviews - it doesn't advocate simplistically thinking "positively" in the face of all the evidence. To the contrary, it helps you set up experiements to discover what the truth actually is, and what you can do about it, and helps you examine the evidence from your experiments in a more rational way.

Finally, you can only do this if you *want* to change - yes, this book is aobut changing quite fundamental thoughts you may have about yourself, which you may have clung to for years like a safety blanket and not want to believe actually aren't true. And it will be hard! However, for me it's been really worthwhile. Good luck!!

Really helpful book, 09 May 2008
I have really enjoyed reading this book. Having suffered with several anxiety disorders over the years I decided to look at the cause rather than the symptoms. I have read many self help books but this is the only one that has had a significant effect. I think maybe some readers have missed the point of the book, it is really about accepting yourself, flaws and all, but also trying to focus on the positive rather than negative, obviously this isn't an easy task but this book sets you on the right track. Personally to me self esteem is all about acceptance, it's not about doing things perfectly, or looking a certain way, or even relying on other people to boost it - that's why I'm a bit confused over some of the other reviews. There are lots of different tasks to follow to help you understand your thinking patterns etc., and the author does explain at length the reason for undertaking each one. All in all I would say this is a really useful book if you suffer with self esteem issues. My only complaint would be that although she gives us several examples of people with low self esteem at the beginning, she does seem to focus on the same person throughout the majority of the book. It would have been nice to see different examples throughout.

CBT for Dummies, 23 Dec 2008
At first glance a lot of the information in this book seems like common sense but, as the authors explain, it is quite rare for us to act in these ways. We tend to act in ways that are harmful to ourselves and our relationships and this book goes some way to showing you how to break out of these past moulds and create new ways of behaving. It follows the basic 'dummies' format, with various icons, cartoons, clear headings and 'part of tens' at the back, so if you know the format you will know what to expect. This book introduces CBT, helps you spot errors in your thinking, helps you define problems and goals, focuses on a few specific problems (like OCD, anger and low self esteem), helps you move on from past events and overcome obstacles, looks at ways to maintain your progress and to find a CBT professional, as well as way more besides. This also has an appendix with useful contacts and another of various CBT forms that you can use. Overall this is very comprehensive and I think that if you take the time to utilise the information explained to you and stick with it, this should offer up some real results. It is worth noting that even if you have no major issues that seem to be crippling your actions or outlook, this book still has much to offer to help you live more meaningfully and make small changes to get that little bit more out of life. A clear, informative read.

BRAIN POWER, 14 Dec 2008
Wow!
This book has gotta be good 'cos all 15 people who reviewed it before me gave it 5 stars.
Now THATS the power of positive thinking!!
Its better than anti-depressants too.
And no. I am not having any issues with middle aged cynicism.
It really is a good book.
Only use sparingly on angsty(?), moody teenagers, though lol.


THIS BOOK IS A LIFE SAVER, 23 Nov 2008
I've only read a couple of chapters so far and I'm already full of positive thinking and belief in myself and my ability to recover from post natal depression. The descriptions of depressive behaviour are so accurate, I feel the authors really understand what I've been going through. I feel as though the book was written with me in mind sometimes! The advice given is a lot of common sense and its achievable. I feel anyone whose struggled to find someone to understand their condition will be uplifted just by reading this book. I feel as though finally somebody out there really understands what's been going on in my head and so is very well qualified to help me recover. This book is a lifesaver, if I'd found it sooner I would have been much further on in my recovery. Everybody out there should read this book as it would be beneficial to anyone, with or without depression.

Literally Saved my life!!, 03 Nov 2008
Before i purchased this book i was suffering from the most horrendous anxiety attacks and what i now know as depression.I was going to see a councilor to help me work through my problems but i found this no help.I was utterly desperate and then my GP recommended this book.By this time i was so bad i could barely leave the house.I was feeling so low taking my life seemed the only option then i discovered this book and it has literally saved my life.I am more positive i think more rationally and have a much more positive outlook on life.Please please if your feeling as desperate as i did just give this book a go what do you have to lose 10 pounds?Let this book help you on a new and more positive journey through your new and better life!

very practical, 22 Mar 2008
I'm no expert on cbt or any type of psychology and I'm always slightly wary. CBT, however, was recommended to me by a psychologist to assist me to help my client group - troubled young people. I love the 'for Dummies' series as they are really easy to read but provide you with quite a broad knowledge for a layman. There is a wealth of sound practical advice in this book for everybody and I can't believe how much I'm learning about myself and my incorrect thinking and its effects. This book requires a lot of concentration (although the style of writing is easy) and effort to think the material through and also to complete the exercises but it really is life-changing. I don't know if it works really well for serious mental health problems but it is certainly working for me and I will most definitely be presenting the practices to the young people I work with.

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Best book I've ever bought! , 12 Dec 2008
I bought this book at the aiport whilst making a business trip that I was absolutely dreading, essentially because my self-esteem was so low. This book did change my life, or rather it enabled me to change my life for myself. It is essentially about taking control of your own life and your own thoughts and feelings, and facing situations you have previously avoided.

It is incredibly well-written, and though it is clearly structured and designed to be worked through one chapter at a time, you can still open it at any page and discover some excellent advice. What I love about the book is the friendly, comforting tone in which it is written. The author is full of compassion, and this is important as you learn to have compassion for yourself (instead of putting yourself down), to understand why you may have developed certain unhelpful thought patterns, and to begin to undo all this.

Though it is a cliche, I can honestly say this book changed my life. I wore my copy out and bought a second one. I love books, and have hundreds, but if I had to get rid of them all and keep only one, it would have to be this one.

The theory is sound, but the practice is more challenging , 05 Dec 2008
As with most self-help books the theory is very convincing, but it's altogether another thing putting what has been learnt into practice. I must admit that I had problems completing all the exercises -- ANY of the exercises, actually -- because part of my low self-esteem lies with my writing! It may seem trivial to anybody reading this review, but I have a pathological shame and disgust with my handwriting. It has affected my education and employment, so I can assure you that it is anything but trivial to me. That's my excuse, anyway.

But, like many other readers of this guide, I suspect, I convinced myself that I didn't need to do any of the exercises because I 'got' the lesson that they were intended to illustrate. I also felt that many of the worked examples and case histories that were used as examples perfectly described me, so I just read them rather than writing out my own. So in that sense I am probably just a bit of a slacker. (I only read this book because it was recommended to me.) The downside to all this slacking is that as the book progresses the reader is constantly referred back and reminded that "you already know how to do this" because the author assumes the exercises have been completed. I felt bad about myself.

However, there are some genuinely profound insights that I found tucked away in this book's pages. I found some little nuggets that really spoke to me, little throwaway lines that could easily have been overlooked. One such example is under the heading "Checking out anxious predictions" (p. 79). It reminds us that our goal is simply to "enjoy our experiences". I thought that phrase is so subtle, so glib even, yet so naïve, true and endearing. It condenses life down into its most simple form. Good or bad, there's something to be gained out of everything that happens to us, every situation we find ourselves in.

Another aspect of this book that has deeply affected me and stuck in my mind was this piece of advice, posed as a question (p. 99): how would you treat a friend or relative who was suffering from low self-esteem? Would you be as hard on them as you are on yourself? Would you agree with them? The answer is: of course not! I thought that this simple thought experiment -- if indeed that is the right word? -- provides a genuine and much-needed change of perspective on the situation that someone suffering from low self-esteem finds him- or herself in. I've seen this example used in other books, too.

On the other hand there are some bizarre pieces of encouragement offered in this book. Particularly in the chapter devoted to 'bigging up' oneself when we are asked to feel good about ourselves because we have "mastered" the use of a telephone (p. 128)!!! Yes, that really was a pat-on-the-back moment for me. Not. There are a few good things I can list about myself after reading this book, but using a telephone isn't one of them. I don't think I've ever felt satisfied by dialling a number correctly and managing not to hold the handset upside down.

I also like the way that another similar book, MIND OVER MOOD by Christine Padesky, was referenced on a number of occasions. On at least four separate occasions Fennell mentioned or quoted Padesky. The two books complement each other well, though MOOD tackles depression specifically, and it was nice to know that I was building on things I'd already learnt. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be used to tackle many emotional disorders, but it was nice to see it applied specifically to low self-esteem.

Overall, this is an interesting book and if I could overcome the distress of committing my thoughts to paper I'm sure I would have learnt a lot more from it. As it is, it DID make me feel better about myself and offered me a valuable insight into my thoughts and emotions.


Maybe helpful for some..., 25 Oct 2008
I read the mixed reviews with interest, and personally agreed with the lower rated reviews, but do get the impression the book could really be helpful for some. I am a strong believer in CBT, but I think self-esteem has more 'touchy-feely' aspects that these CBT techniques, and this book could definitely do with some! In classical CBT style the book deals with acting and thinking (and therefore feeling) in ways that 'demonstrably' improve your self-esteem. The theory being when you see results you feel better about yourself creating a positive cycle. This is positive and sound advice, but what this book really lacked for me that some other reviewers also picked up on is some good old humanistic positive regard; repeated discussion about how each of us is unique and wonderful, and deserves to value ourselves, without thinking all of our actions are necessarily the best. Okay, so following the advice of achieving something and telling yourself so repeatedly will help, but sometimes what we need is to feed ourselves some positive genuine messages, irrespective of our actions. It seems a lot of us suffering deeply from lack of self esteem were never fed positive messages when we were young, and never learnt how to create a positive basis of this for ourselves, I don't think this book is going to help create this atmosphere of unconditional regard very easily. A discussion about how far-off what society appears to value also wouldn't go amiss (I agree it really didn't address common self-esteem issues such as weight or looks or suchlike in an engaging warm way). Plus - if you read any of the good CBT self-help books on depression you would have gotten all these techniques anyway, and perhaps in better format and easier-to-use way.


A really helpful, life changing book, 07 Aug 2008
This book is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which basically sets out to help you become aware of where you are thinking unrealistically (or just plain wrongly), and to replace these thoughts with helpful and more realistic ones.

I was really scared for a fair while that this book wouldn't help me, but actually it has, and loads. By about half-way through, I was daring to believe people actually loved me, I was approaching groups of people and joining in with the conversation, and being open about who I am - and starting to enjoy doing so, and not assuming everyone disliked me.

However, you need to know that this book is sometimes difficult to read, and to change will be hard. This is not a book that you "read". This is a book where you read a section, then you have to do the exercise - sometimes daily, for a couple of weeks - more like a "workbook". If you read this book cover-to-cover, it will have little discernable effect on your life. However, if you put the time in, you will notice real changes fairly soon.

I have to confess by being really confused and a little upset for some of the people who gave this very negative reviews - it doesn't advocate simplistically thinking "positively" in the face of all the evidence. To the contrary, it helps you set up experiements to discover what the truth actually is, and what you can do about it, and helps you examine the evidence from your experiments in a more rational way.

Finally, you can only do this if you *want* to change - yes, this book is aobut changing quite fundamental thoughts you may have about yourself, which you may have clung to for years like a safety blanket and not want to believe actually aren't true. And it will be hard! However, for me it's been really worthwhile. Good luck!!

Really helpful book, 09 May 2008
I have really enjoyed reading this book. Having suffered with several anxiety disorders over the years I decided to look at the cause rather than the symptoms. I have read many self help books but this is the only one that has had a significant effect. I think maybe some readers have missed the point of the book, it is really about accepting yourself, flaws and all, but also trying to focus on the positive rather than negative, obviously this isn't an easy task but this book sets you on the right track. Personally to me self esteem is all about acceptance, it's not about doing things perfectly, or looking a certain way, or even relying on other people to boost it - that's why I'm a bit confused over some of the other reviews. There are lots of different tasks to follow to help you understand your thinking patterns etc., and the author does explain at length the reason for undertaking each one. All in all I would say this is a really useful book if you suffer with self esteem issues. My only complaint would be that although she gives us several examples of people with low self esteem at the beginning, she does seem to focus on the same person throughout the majority of the book. It would have been nice to see different examples throughout.

Mind blowing, 05 Jan 2009
I got this book as a birthday present and my first thoughts were: am I going to understand any of this? Isn't it just going to take away from the joy of listening if I know the reasons why I respond in certain ways - like revealing how a magic trick is done?

The answers to these questions came fast. Yes, I could understand all of it. Having little to no knowledge of science or biology, a lifelong obsession with playing guitar but with little theoretical knowledge, I assumed large parts of this book would go straight over my head. Not true. I haven't read a non-fiction book that was such a page-turner and constantly revelatory in I don't know how long. Daniel Levitin's down-to-earth, chatty prose belies the wealth of information that he gives the reader, and every five minutes I was sitting back and saying 'Wow!'.
My other reservation, about the 'magic' being diminished, was also unjustified, and in fact I found this book reigniting curiosity in the music I like and causing me to reevaluate the music I don't - was it some bad experience in my youth that caused me to loathe jazz, or is it simply that I wasn't exposed to the right stuff at the right time and my brain never made those all important schemas when it was malleable enough?
Some of the passages I found inspired me to write music in different ways, and think about the music I write in different ways, and as a (direct?) result, I have just finished composing a piece of music which I think is the best I have ever done.

Most of the more negative reviews I have read about this book seem to come from a reader's own musical tastes not being reflected by the writer - his own tastes seem to be mostly 70's rock and 50's jazz. I think these people missed the point. I certainly didn't know a lot of the music he was talking about (but if you're that interested, Daniel has put up all of the specific pieces referenced in the book on his website), but the points he made could be attributed to any style of music, and he is simply using the genres he is most familiar with to give the greatest insight. If you're looking for a book on how West Coast hip hop from 1994-1996 affects your brain, I think you'll be looking for a while.

Having now finished the book, and despite a number of other books sitting in my 'to read' pile, I've started reading it again. It's just that good.

This Is Your Brain On Music, 20 Aug 2008
'This Is Your Brain On Music' looks at the neuroscience behind listening to and performing music. Although I've read many popular science books and am familiar with the style of writing, I found this to be quite a hard going book at first. The first couple of chapters look at the structure of music and are quite dry to plow though. If you know music theory this will cover familiar ground and if you don't I'm sorry to say that this is a laboured way of gaining that understanding. However after you get through these chapters this books really comes into it's own, with lots of fascinating experiments and facts it starts to pique your interest and you become more engrossed in the points being made. The chapter linking our auditory system to the cerebellum and the associated emotional linkages made for especially interesting reading. Overall this is a interesting read and if you can get past the first hundred pages you are in for some interesting ideas, presented in an engaging and informative way. 3 1/2 - 4 stars.

This is Your Brain Losing Consciousness, 16 Jun 2008
The first section of this book is a rough guide to the structure of music. If you know music, you won't need to read it. If you don't know music, I think it'll bore you. Then we get the brain stuff: here's a flat writer trying to be entertaining, dropping in references to Sting, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and other, er, contemporary artists. There are some dull arguments - eg how are we able to categorise music so easily when pop bands like the Carpenters use distorted guitars and rock groups, like the Rolling Stones, employ a string section. Who cares?

It's also interesting who he doesn't mention: nothing on Kraftwerk, Stockhausen, very little on techno, dance music, electronica, DJ culture, blip-hop; nothing much on Indian music, next to nothing from Africa. In short he concentrates on rock dinosaurs of the seventies: Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and, of course, Sting.

Some of the writing verges on the banal, such as this: "It is also important to distinguish celebrity from expertise. The factors that contribute to celebrity could be different from, maybe wholly unrelated to, those that contribute to expertise."

There is very little in this book that opens up new vistas, or shines a light on a dark and dusty corner of music - it's all pretty obvious stuff.

Towards the end of the book we get a quick run through arguments for the importance of music in mate selection. Here's just one: "Far more women want to sleep with rock stars and athletes than marry them." Aside from being asinine (do more women want to sleep with Britney Spears than marry her?) hasn't Levitin been arguing he's talking about music, and not celebrity?

I read a great many pop science books. This has to be one of the worst. Levitin makes a fascinating subject achingly dull. His writing is trite, long-winded, dreary, boring and fatuous. And every time he mentioned Sting I wanted to throw the book across the room. I kept at it hoping it would get better. It doesn't.

I hated this book. I hated it it because it took two weeks of my life away. Finally, to the blurbs: "Endlessly stimulating" writes Oliver Sacks - he should know better; "You'll never hear music in the same way again" says Classic FM magazine.

"Music seems to have a wilful, almost evasive quality, defying simple explanation, so that the more we find out, the more there is to know. Daniel Levitin's book is an eloquent and poetic exploration of this paradox." And guess which pretentious old rock arse gave Levitin's book this high praise?

With a song in our heads, 03 Dec 2007
When a rock musician, a sound engineer and a neuroscientist combine their talents to explain how we think about music, it promises to be interesting. When those three individuals are present in one man who also writes well, the result is compelling. With a strong scientific foundation - no little of that from his own work - from which to build, coupled with his production experience, Levitin has launched a new phase in the understanding of how the mind deals with the outside world. In the manner of colours we think we see, sounds are simply vibrations of air until our brain identifies and translates them for us. Without descending into arcane terms for either the brain or music, he skilfully guides us through the process of "music appreciation" - and why we do.

Musicians enter our lives more intimately than almost anybody else. They can inspire us, influence our lives in innumerable ways, and they are available at any time - virtually at our command. We welcome their presence even when we haven't consciously sought them out. Music is always a personal relationship, sometimes very intense, generating emotions perhaps hidden or suppressed. How can the movement of air molecules generate such reactions in us?

In answering that question, Levitin takes the reader on describes the path sound takes from its entry into the ear. Nerve impulses from sound have a number of paths open to them. Widely dispersed areas of the brain process the signals, further triggering a variety of reactions. Much new information about sounds and the brain's reaction to them has come to light in recent years. When the sound is music, the brain actually goes through mathematical calculations to register timbre, pitch and other musical elements. Familiar music activates responses in the brain's temporal lobes, working with the hippocampus to retrieve memories and formulate new, integrated ones. Areas in the brain, particularly the cerebellum, display increased activity when listening to music, far less so when hearing simple or incoherent noise. Recent studies also point out the influence of the cerebellum in emotional response, a find challenging long-held views of that part of the brain's role. Music's generation of feelings is non-specific - we don't necessarily associate it with those around us. When we do take neighbours into account, it generally enhances the feelings - so long as those folks aren't interrupting our listening.

Lest the reader think all this neuroscience is lofty, obscure and "soul destroying" analysis, take heart. Levitin introduces his book with a discussion of "what music can teach us about the brain, what the brain can teach us about music - and what both can teach us about ourselves". The range of music he uses as examples is clear indication of the breadth of his interests and research. At one point, he visits John Pierce, the founder of "psycho-acoustics" who sought the six tunes best exemplifying rock and roll. The choices are illustrative, but Pierce proved more interested in how sound was manipulated by the performers than in the songs. Although the limits of the research preclude detailed analysis of classical pieces, Levitin examines Bach's flute cantatas to explain how variations in sounds stimulate emotional reactions. Mahler's music brought innovation to the symphonic format in ways that made his compositions particularly effective in evoking listener response.

Providing a wealth of information, this book is a treasure. You needn't be a musician or a critic to gain from it. Any listener, and all of us are that irrespective of our "taste" in music, will be impressed by what is going on in our minds when hearing music we adore or which repels us. In fact, even "new" music which may not attract us on first hearing it, can become another trigger for positive emotional response. Read this book and listen to it again. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Music to my eyes..., 10 Nov 2007
A very interesting explanation on what makes music sooo attractive to the vast majority of us... the first two chapters are in my opinion, heavy to read (I had to go back several times to try and get the idea); actually, in this regard I found the first statements of the author a little bit contradictory, since as he somehow explains, science (technical facts) should be explained "easily"... well, it wasn't in my opinion for the most of the beginning. After that, the book gets much lighter, much friendlier and "simple" to understand.

The way -Daniel Levitin explains- how our brain rather than "concentrate" certain functions or types of information in particular parts of our brains (as it was thought), rather "distributes" them in several to be first accumulated and then processed between all of those (and others) I found new and fascinating. Also, the property that our brains have to adapt and learn new things (tricks!) is overwhelming too... (There's hope then!), contrary to the ancient believe that as we grow old, new knowledges are difficult to learn (assimilate). Then he explains how these and other characteristics add to make music sooo enjoyable... (it is possible to live without TV, but not without a radio!).

Good book. I'm glad I ordered it!

CBT for Dummies, 23 Dec 2008
At first glance a lot of the information in this book seems like common sense but, as the authors explain, it is quite rare for us to act in these ways. We tend to act in ways that are harmful to ourselves and our relationships and this book goes some way to showing you how to break out of these past moulds and create new ways of behaving. It follows the basic 'dummies' format, with various icons, cartoons, clear headings and 'part of tens' at the back, so if you know the format you will know what to expect. This book introduces CBT, helps you spot errors in your thinking, helps you define problems and goals, focuses on a few specific problems (like OCD, anger and low self esteem), helps you move on from past events and overcome obstacles, looks at ways to maintain your progress and to find a CBT professional, as well as way more besides. This also has an appendix with useful contacts and another of various CBT forms that you can use. Overall this is very comprehensive and I think that if you take the time to utilise the information explained to you and stick with it, this should offer up some real results. It is worth noting that even if you have no major issues that seem to be crippling your actions or outlook, this book still has much to offer to help you live more meaningfully and make small changes to get that little bit more out of life. A clear, informative read.

BRAIN POWER, 14 Dec 2008
Wow!
This book has gotta be good 'cos all 15 people who reviewed it before me gave it 5 stars.
Now THATS the power of positive thinking!!
Its better than anti-depressants too.
And no. I am not having any issues with middle aged cynicism.
It really is a good book.
Only use sparingly on angsty(?), moody teenagers, though lol.


THIS BOOK IS A LIFE SAVER, 23 Nov 2008
I've only read a couple of chapters so far and I'm already full of positive thinking and belief in myself and my ability to recover from post natal depression. The descriptions of depressive behaviour are so accurate, I feel the authors really understand what I've been going through. I feel as though the book was written with me in mind sometimes! The advice given is a lot of common sense and its achievable. I feel anyone whose struggled to find someone to understand their condition will be uplifted just by reading this book. I feel as though finally somebody out there really understands what's been going on in my head and so is very well qualified to help me recover. This book is a lifesaver, if I'd found it sooner I would have been much further on in my recovery. Everybody out there should read this book as it would be beneficial to anyone, with or without depression.

Literally Saved my life!!, 03 Nov 2008
Before i purchased this book i was suffering from the most horrendous anxiety attacks and what i now know as depression.I was going to see a councilor to help me work through my problems but i found this no help.I was utterly desperate and then my GP recommended this book.By this time i was so bad i could barely leave the house.I was feeling so low taking my life seemed the only option then i discovered this book and it has literally saved my life.I am more positive i think more rationally and have a much more positive outlook on life.Please please if your feeling as desperate as i did just give this book a go what do you have to lose 10 pounds?Let this book help you on a new and more positive journey through your new and better life!

very practical, 22 Mar 2008
I'm no expert on cbt or any type of psychology and I'm always slightly wary. CBT, however, was recommended to me by a psychologist to assist me to help my client group - troubled young people. I love the 'for Dummies' series as they are really easy to read but provide you with quite a broad knowledge for a layman. There is a wealth of sound practical advice in this book for everybody and I can't believe how much I'm learning about myself and my incorrect thinking and its effects. This book requires a lot of concentration (although the style of writing is easy) and effort to think the material through and also to complete the exercises but it really is life-changing. I don't know if it works really well for serious mental health problems but it is certainly working for me and I will most definitely be presenting the practices to the young people I work with.

interestingish, 21 Nov 2008
Written by two eminent clinical psychologists this book had potential written all over it.However the potential didn't ring true for me as I was left feeling a little perplexed at the books end.

The book itself is clearly written and divided into easily digestible chapters.However the main theme is recognising and changing disruptive thought patterns and the manner in which the authors aim to achieve this appears to me to be rather simplistic and even condescending.Do not buy this publication if you only intend to read through it as there are exercises to be completed in every chapter.Honestly you would have to go to a table factory to find more tables.Also we get to follow the progress of four case studies throughout,now here's the thing they all make a remarkable recovery so can we assume an unprecedented 100% success rate,I don't think so.There's nothing new in this book but if you don't try something you ll never know..........best of luck..

I'm in two minds about this , 26 Oct 2008
On the one hand, I didn't really discover anything new by reading this book. Unless this book is literally your first step to getting better, you will probably, on some level, already know everything that's within its pages. But lots of information by itself can be overwhelming and so it's easy to be discouraged about facing up to it. On the other hand, where this book is useful is in breaking down and tackling piece by piece your dysfunctional thinking.

I do also like the IDEA that this book gives you exercises to do so that you are no longer passive in your troubles, but you are active in getting to grips with them. In theory that's good, but in practice I have to admit to skipping over many of them. It's easy to persuade yourself that YOU don't need to do them because you can imagine what they're supposed to teach and you've learned that lesson already -- from another book, your therapist or just because it's so obvious anyway.

These exercises mostly involve filling in tables (like the Thought Record), lists and questionnaires. I particularly liked the Thought Record (which is the central idea and tool of the whole book) and I think I can see myself filling out many of these worksheets as the months go by even if I am not confident that they will produce any lasting benefit. However, doing many of these exercises in this book you do feel a little bit like a baby being spoon-fed. But then again you do probably secretly enjoy it too.

Lastly, it is comforting to be reminded that you are not alone in having psychological problems. So I liked the four or five case histories that the reader follows through the book and through the exercises. You could easily empathise with these people and I saw a little bit of myself in many of their thoughts and their experiences. And I'm also glad that in the epilogue we learn that they all got significantly better. But then again the authors would hardly have picked unresponsive cases to highlight.

very effective self help guide, 07 Jul 2008
This is an excellent book to make you realise how your feelings are determined by your thoughts, and how you can positively influence your mood by changing the way you think. Some self-help books don't deliver because they're too vague but this book is also very practical, with many useful exercises. It's no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about CBT and talking about it as an alternative to medication. I do not suffer from depression and was always a fairly happy person but this book has taught me how to be happier still. I would also recommended Eckhart Tolle's the Power of Now for a slightly different perspective and Steve Taylor's Making Time Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control It for an invesigation into time and how we can learn to expand time and learn to live in the present.


The old made new, 07 Mar 2008
I always recommend books on cognitive psychology as they represent the cutting edge of psychotherapy. I also always recommend FREE YOUR MIND by Anthony Stultz-he helps us to see the roots of CBT are from the Buddhist tradition and he presents a system that combines CBT in a Buddhist orientation.

Helpful Strategies, 04 Jul 2007
This book offers many helpful cognitive therapy strategies to overcome mental distortions that lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Cognitive therapy looks at changing thought patterns that contribute to negative feelings. Once you gain an understanding of your own distortions and how they contribute to your feeling down or anxious, you can then creative positive thoughts and feel better about yourself with the helpful cognitive therapy strategies offered in this book.

I highly recommend this book as a practical hands-on book on cognitive therapy. Also try "Feeling Good" by David Burns and for a novel about Logan's struggle with depression, check out "Nexus: A Neo Novel."


Best book I've ever bought! , 12 Dec 2008
I bought this book at the aiport whilst making a business trip that I was absolutely dreading, essentially because my self-esteem was so low. This book did change my life, or rather it enabled me to change my life for myself. It is essentially about taking control of your own life and your own thoughts and feelings, and facing situations you have previously avoided.

It is incredibly well-written, and though it is clearly structured and designed to be worked through one chapter at a time, you can still open it at any page and discover some excellent advice. What I love about the book is the friendly, comforting tone in which it is written. The author is full of compassion, and this is important as you learn to have compassion for yourself (instead of putting yourself down), to understand why you may have developed certain unhelpful thought patterns, and to begin to undo all this.

Though it is a cliche, I can honestly say this book changed my life. I wore my copy out and bought a second one. I love books, and have hundreds, but if I had to get rid of them all and keep only one, it would have to be this one.

The theory is sound, but the practice is more challenging , 05 Dec 2008
As with most self-help books the theory is very convincing, but it's altogether another thing putting what has been learnt into practice. I must admit that I had problems completing all the exercises -- ANY of the exercises, actually -- because part of my low self-esteem lies with my writing! It may seem trivial to anybody reading this review, but I have a pathological shame and disgust with my handwriting. It has affected my education and employment, so I can assure you that it is anything but trivial to me. That's my excuse, anyway.

But, like many other readers of this guide, I suspect, I convinced myself that I didn't need to do any of the exercises because I 'got' the lesson that they were intended to illustrate. I also felt that many of the worked examples and case histories that were used as examples perfectly described me, so I just read them rather than writing out my own. So in that sense I am probably just a bit of a slacker. (I only read this book because it was recommended to me.) The downside to all this slacking is that as the book progresses the reader is constantly referred back and reminded that "you already know how to do this" because the author assumes the exercises have been completed. I felt bad about myself.

However, there are some genuinely profound insights that I found tucked away in this book's pages. I found some little nuggets that really spoke to me, little throwaway lines that could easily have been overlooked. One such example is under the heading "Checking out anxious predictions" (p. 79). It reminds us that our goal is simply to "enjoy our experiences". I thought that phrase is so subtle, so glib even, yet so naïve, true and endearing. It condenses life down into its most simple form. Good or bad, there's something to be gained out of everything that happens to us, every situation we find ourselves in.

Another aspect of this book that has deeply affected me and stuck in my mind was this piece of advice, posed as a question (p. 99): how would you treat a friend or relative who was suffering from low self-esteem? Would you be as hard on them as you are on yourself? Would you agree with them? The answer is: of course not! I thought that this simple thought experiment -- if indeed that is the right word? -- provides a genuine and much-needed change of perspective on the situation that someone suffering from low self-esteem finds him- or herself in. I've seen this example used in other books, too.

On the other hand there are some bizarre pieces of encouragement offered in this book. Particularly in the chapter devoted to 'bigging up' oneself when we are asked to feel good about ourselves because we have "mastered" the use of a telephone (p. 128)!!! Yes, that really was a pat-on-the-back moment for me. Not. There are a few good things I can list about myself after reading this book, but using a telephone isn't one of them. I don't think I've ever felt satisfied by dialling a number correctly and managing not to hold the handset upside down.

I also like the way that another similar book, MIND OVER MOOD by Christine Padesky, was referenced on a number of occasions. On at least four separate occasions Fennell mentioned or quoted Padesky. The two books complement each other well, though MOOD tackles depression specifically, and it was nice to know that I was building on things I'd already learnt. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be used to tackle many emotional disorders, but it was nice to see it applied specifically to low self-esteem.

Overall, this is an interesting book and if I could overcome the distress of committing my thoughts to paper I'm sure I would have learnt a lot more from it. As it is, it DID make me feel better about myself and offered me a valuable insight into my thoughts and emotions.


Maybe helpful for some..., 25 Oct 2008
I read the mixed reviews with interest, and personally agreed with the lower rated reviews, but do get the impression the book could really be helpful for some. I am a strong believer in CBT, but I think self-esteem has more 'touchy-feely' aspects that these CBT techniques, and this book could definitely do with some! In classical CBT style the book deals with acting and thinking (and therefore feeling) in ways that 'demonstrably' improve your self-esteem. The theory being when you see results you feel better about yourself creating a positive cycle. This is positive and sound advice, but what this book really lacked for me that some other reviewers also picked up on is some good old humanistic positive regard; repeated discussion about how each of us is unique and wonderful, and deserves to value ourselves, without thinking all of our actions are necessarily the best. Okay, so following the advice of achieving something and telling yourself so repeatedly will help, but sometimes what we need is to feed ourselves some positive genuine messages, irrespective of our actions. It seems a lot of us suffering deeply from lack of self esteem were never fed positive messages when we were young, and never learnt how to create a positive basis of this for ourselves, I don't think this book is going to help create this atmosphere of unconditional regard very easily. A discussion about how far-off what society appears to value also wouldn't go amiss (I agree it really didn't address common self-esteem issues such as weight or looks or suchlike in an engaging warm way). Plus - if you read any of the good CBT self-help books on depression you would have gotten all these techniques anyway, and perhaps in better format and easier-to-use way.


A really helpful, life changing book, 07 Aug 2008
This book is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which basically sets out to help you become aware of where you are thinking unrealistically (or just plain wrongly), and to replace these thoughts with helpful and more realistic ones.

I was really scared for a fair while that this book wouldn't help me, but actually it has, and loads. By about half-way through, I was daring to believe people actually loved me, I was approaching groups of people and joining in with the conversation, and being open about who I am - and starting to enjoy doing so, and not assuming everyone disliked me.

However, you need to know that this book is sometimes difficult to read, and to change will be hard. This is not a book that you "read". This is a book where you read a section, then you have to do the exercise - sometimes daily, for a couple of weeks - more like a "workbook". If you read this book cover-to-cover, it will have little discernable effect on your life. However, if you put the time in, you will notice real changes fairly soon.

I have to confess by being really confused and a little upset for some of the people who gave this very negative reviews - it doesn't advocate simplistically thinking "positively" in the face of all the evidence. To the contrary, it helps you set up experiements to discover what the truth actually is, and what you can do about it, and helps you examine the evidence from your experiments in a more rational way.

Finally, you can only do this if you *want* to change - yes, this book is aobut changing quite fundamental thoughts you may have about yourself, which you may have clung to for years like a safety blanket and not want to believe actually aren't true. And it will be hard! However, for me it's been really worthwhile. Good luck!!

Really helpful book, 09 May 2008
I have really enjoyed reading this book. Having suffered with several anxiety disorders over the years I decided to look at the cause rather than the symptoms. I have read many self help books but this is the only one that has had a significant effect. I think maybe some readers have missed the point of the book, it is really about accepting yourself, flaws and all, but also trying to focus on the positive rather than negative, obviously this isn't an easy task but this book sets you on the right track. Personally to me self esteem is all about acceptance, it's not about doing things perfectly, or looking a certain way, or even relying on other people to boost it - that's why I'm a bit confused over some of the other reviews. There are lots of different tasks to follow to help you understand your thinking patterns etc., and the author does explain at length the reason for undertaking each one. All in all I would say this is a really useful book if you suffer with self esteem issues. My only complaint would be that although she gives us several examples of people with low self esteem at the beginning, she does seem to focus on the same person throughout the majority of the book. It would have been nice to see different examples throughout.

Mind blowing, 05 Jan 2009
I got this book as a birthday present and my first thoughts were: am I going to understand any of this? Isn't it just going to take away from the joy of listening if I know the reasons why I respond in certain ways - like revealing how a magic trick is done?

The answers to these questions came fast. Yes, I could understand all of it. Having little to no knowledge of science or biology, a lifelong obsession with playing guitar but with little theoretical knowledge, I assumed large parts of this book would go straight over my head. Not true. I haven't read a non-fiction book that was such a page-turner and constantly revelatory in I don't know how long. Daniel Levitin's down-to-earth, chatty prose belies the wealth of information that he gives the reader, and every five minutes I was sitting back and saying 'Wow!'.
My other reservation, about the 'magic' being diminished, was also unjustified, and in fact I found this book reigniting curiosity in the music I like and causing me to reevaluate the music I don't - was it some bad experience in my youth that caused me to loathe jazz, or is it simply that I wasn't exposed to the right stuff at the right time and my brain never made those all important schemas when it was malleable enough?
Some of the passages I found inspired me to write music in different ways, and think about the music I write in different ways, and as a (direct?) result, I have just finished composing a piece of music which I think is the best I have ever done.

Most of the more negative reviews I have read about this book seem to come from a reader's own musical tastes not being reflected by the writer - his own tastes seem to be mostly 70's rock and 50's jazz. I think these people missed the point. I certainly didn't know a lot of the music he was talking about (but if you're that interested, Daniel has put up all of the specific pieces referenced in the book on his website), but the points he made could be attributed to any style of music, and he is simply using the genres he is most familiar with to give the greatest insight. If you're looking for a book on how West Coast hip hop from 1994-1996 affects your brain, I think you'll be looking for a while.

Having now finished the book, and despite a number of other books sitting in my 'to read' pile, I've started reading it again. It's just that good.

This Is Your Brain On Music, 20 Aug 2008
'This Is Your Brain On Music' looks at the neuroscience behind listening to and performing music. Although I've read many popular science books and am familiar with the style of writing, I found this to be quite a hard going book at first. The first couple of chapters look at the structure of music and are quite dry to plow though. If you know music theory this will cover familiar ground and if you don't I'm sorry to say that this is a laboured way of gaining that understanding. However after you get through these chapters this books really comes into it's own, with lots of fascinating experiments and facts it starts to pique your interest and you become more engrossed in the points being made. The chapter linking our auditory system to the cerebellum and the associated emotional linkages made for especially interesting reading. Overall this is a interesting read and if you can get past the first hundred pages you are in for some interesting ideas, presented in an engaging and informative way. 3 1/2 - 4 stars.

This is Your Brain Losing Consciousness, 16 Jun 2008
The first section of this book is a rough guide to the structure of music. If you know music, you won't need to read it. If you don't know music, I think it'll bore you. Then we get the brain stuff: here's a flat writer trying to be entertaining, dropping in references to Sting, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and other, er, contemporary artists. There are some dull arguments - eg how are we able to categorise music so easily when pop bands like the Carpenters use distorted guitars and rock groups, like the Rolling Stones, employ a string section. Who cares?

It's also interesting who he doesn't mention: nothing on Kraftwerk, Stockhausen, very little on techno, dance music, electronica, DJ culture, blip-hop; nothing much on Indian music, next to nothing from Africa. In short he concentrates on rock dinosaurs of the seventies: Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and, of course, Sting.

Some of the writing verges on the banal, such as this: "It is also important to distinguish celebrity from expertise. The factors that contribute to celebrity could be different from, maybe wholly unrelated to, those that contribute to expertise."

There is very little in this book that opens up new vistas, or shines a light on a dark and dusty corner of music - it's all pretty obvious stuff.

Towards the end of the book we get a quick run through arguments for the importance of music in mate selection. Here's just one: "Far more women want to sleep with rock stars and athletes than marry them." Aside from being asinine (do more women want to sleep with Britney Spears than marry her?) hasn't Levitin been arguing he's talking about music, and not celebrity?

I read a great many pop science books. This has to be one of the worst. Levitin makes a fascinating subject achingly dull. His writing is trite, long-winded, dreary, boring and fatuous. And every time he mentioned Sting I wanted to throw the book across the room. I kept at it hoping it would get better. It doesn't.

I hated this book. I hated it it because it took two weeks of my life away. Finally, to the blurbs: "Endlessly stimulating" writes Oliver Sacks - he should know better; "You'll never hear music in the same way again" says Classic FM magazine.

"Music seems to have a wilful, almost evasive quality, defying simple explanation, so that the more we find out, the more there is to know. Daniel Levitin's book is an eloquent and poetic exploration of this paradox." And guess which pretentious old rock arse gave Levitin's book this high praise?

With a song in our heads, 03 Dec 2007
When a rock musician, a sound engineer and a neuroscientist combine their talents to explain how we think about music, it promises to be interesting. When those three individuals are present in one man who also writes well, the result is compelling. With a strong scientific foundation - no little of that from his own work - from which to build, coupled with his production experience, Levitin has launched a new phase in the understanding of how the mind deals with the outside world. In the manner of colours we think we see, sounds are simply vibrations of air until our brain identifies and translates them for us. Without descending into arcane terms for either the brain or music, he skilfully guides us through the process of "music appreciation" - and why we do.

Musicians enter our lives more intimately than almost anybody else. They can inspire us, influence our lives in innumerable ways, and they are available at any time - virtually at our command. We welcome their presence even when we haven't consciously sought them out. Music is always a personal relationship, sometimes very intense, generating emotions perhaps hidden or suppressed. How can the movement of air molecules generate such reactions in us?

In answering that question, Levitin takes the reader on describes the path sound takes from its entry into the ear. Nerve impulses from sound have a number of paths open to them. Widely dispersed areas of the brain process the signals, further triggering a variety of reactions. Much new information about sounds and the brain's reaction to them has come to light in recent years. When the sound is music, the brain actually goes through mathematical calculations to register timbre, pitch and other musical elements. Familiar music activates responses in the brain's temporal lobes, working with the hippocampus to retrieve memories and formulate new, integrated ones. Areas in the brain, particularly the cerebellum, display increased activity when listening to music, far less so when hearing simple or incoherent noise. Recent studies also point out the influence of the cerebellum in emotional response, a find challenging long-held views of that part of the brain's role. Music's generation of feelings is non-specific - we don't necessarily associate it with those around us. When we do take neighbours into account, it generally enhances the feelings - so long as those folks aren't interrupting our listening.

Lest the reader think all this neuroscience is lofty, obscure and "soul destroying" analysis, take heart. Levitin introduces his book with a discussion of "what music can teach us about the brain, what the brain can teach us about music - and what both can teach us about ourselves". The range of music he uses as examples is clear indication of the breadth of his interests and research. At one point, he visits John Pierce, the founder of "psycho-acoustics" who sought the six tunes best exemplifying rock and roll. The choices are illustrative, but Pierce proved more interested in how sound was manipulated by the performers than in the songs. Although the limits of the research preclude detailed analysis of classical pieces, Levitin examines Bach's flute cantatas to explain how variations in sounds stimulate emotional reactions. Mahler's music brought innovation to the symphonic format in ways that made his compositions particularly effective in evoking listener response.

Providing a wealth of information, this book is a treasure. You needn't be a musician or a critic to gain from it. Any listener, and all of us are that irrespective of our "taste" in music, will be impressed by what is going on in our minds when hearing music we adore or which repels us. In fact, even "new" music which may not attract us on first hearing it, can become another trigger for positive emotional response. Read this book and listen to it again. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Music to my eyes..., 10 Nov 2007
A very interesting explanation on what makes music sooo attractive to the vast majority of us... the first two chapters are in my opinion, heavy to read (I had to go back several times to try and get the idea); actually, in this regard I found the first statements of the author a little bit contradictory, since as he somehow explains, science (technical facts) should be explained "easily"... well, it wasn't in my opinion for the most of the beginning. After that, the book gets much lighter, much friendlier and "simple" to understand.

The way -Daniel Levitin explains- how our brain rather than "concentrate" certain functions or types of information in particular parts of our brains (as it was thought), rather "distributes" them in several to be first accumulated and then processed between all of those (and others) I found new and fascinating. Also, the property that our brains have to adapt and learn new things (tricks!) is overwhelming too... (There's hope then!), contrary to the ancient believe that as we grow old, new knowledges are difficult to learn (assimilate). Then he explains how these and other characteristics add to make music sooo enjoyable... (it is possible to live without TV, but not without a radio!).

Good book. I'm glad I ordered it!

brilliant book, 04 Sep 2008
a really easy to read but challenging and practical book. very concise and informative and also very user friendy. thoroughly recommended.

CBT for Dummies, 23 Dec 2008
At first glance a lot of the information in this book seems like common sense but, as the authors explain, it is quite rare for us to act in these ways. We tend to act in ways that are harmful to ourselves and our relationships and this book goes some way to showing you how to break out of these past moulds and create new ways of behaving. It follows the basic 'dummies' format, with various icons, cartoons, clear headings and 'part of tens' at the back, so if you know the format you will know what to expect. This book introduces CBT, helps you spot errors in your thinking, helps you define problems and goals, focuses on a few specific problems (like OCD, anger and low self esteem), helps you move on from past events and overcome obstacles, looks at ways to maintain your progress and to find a CBT professional, as well as way more besides. This also has an appendix with useful contacts and another of various CBT forms that you can use. Overall this is very comprehensive and I think that if you take the time to utilise the information explained to you and stick with it, this should offer up some real results. It is worth noting that even if you have no major issues that seem to be crippling your actions or outlook, this book still has much to offer to help you live more meaningfully and make small changes to get that little bit more out of life. A clear, informative read.

BRAIN POWER, 14 Dec 2008
Wow!
This book