The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress

I purchased this workbook after thoroughly reading 'The Mindful Way Through Depression.' That book gave me a deeper understanding of depression and why mindful meditation works. I referenced it throughout this workbook's 8-week course. I won't go into my story, but believe me, I had tried everything to overcome a dangerous 1.5 year situation-related depression. I completed the 8-week course 14 months ago, and continue with the practice daily. Due to my situation, I am committed to continuing for the rest of my life, because I know I have to. This program saved my life. . . . .literally. If you are suffering with depression, and are willing to commit to an 8-week program, PLEASE do this course. You have nothing to lose, and possibly, everything to gain. The course did not provide overnight, miraculous improvement for me, yet the subtle and positive changes were evident to me (and my husband!), and continue to this day. I understand that a meditation practice takes a lifetime to master, so that helps me remain realistic and patient with myself, and take things one day at a time. I still have a long way to go in my healing process, but my meditation practice is helping me get there, day by day. My heart goes out to all of you who struggle with depression and its disabling effects, and my hope is that this program will help you as much as it did me.

I decided to buy this book because I completed an 8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course and wanted to have some kind of tool/process to keep the momentum going that I had started with my class. So far, I'm 1 1/2 weeks into this book and I"m really pleased with it. It provides just a bit more structure than the course that I took, yet still follows the same format, essentially. The meditation CD is a wonderful adjunct to this product. The voice is very calming and soothing. I also appreciate the bit of theory that is provided in each chapter as to the rationale for each of the exercises. I would encourage anyone who would like to either start this process or to continue it to purchase this book.

I was a bit sceptical when I first read about this treatment on the BBC website a few months ago . At the time I had been on some light medication and it was having little to no effect on my anxiety attacks and state of mind in general . So I thought , what the heck . I'll give it a go . I'm 6 weeks into this course and I can't really put into words just how much it's helped me . My anxiety attacks have all but disappeared completely . I've had a few personally issues over the last month and I've been able to deal with them on my own . My general state of mind is much more positive than it was . I no longer dwell and worry about things in the past , or the future . I don't really understand how this course works , but to be honest at the end of the day it doesn't really mater . I would recommend this course for anyone who has any depression , panic or anxiety issues . Hopefully it'll work for you as it did for me .

This is a useful guide and companion to the original book (The Mindful Way Through Depression), however the recordings just aren't as good as Jon Kabat Zinn's and I find the lack of context for some of the excercises to be distracting. Personally I find the guidelines of the original to be more realistic and less rigid. In a way some of what's here seems like they took something that wasn't broken and tried to fix it (and sell it again), but if you find the original to be not specific enough in its prescriptions maybe this would serve you better.

I really like this book for teaching my classes, 5/5, I’d buy it again, overall great experience, I’m pleased with purchase. I’m slow to absorb materials— 1. Simplifies material 2. Great learning tools. 3. Clear images 4. I like annotations —summary at beginning of chapters, post it’s in text to highlight material and separate client dialogue. I like the bold text. 5. Good cost $$, affordable. I’d buy again for a gift. 6. Supportive for inner transformation

I bought this book after watching a video by the author on youtube. I have been practicing meditation intermittently for several years, and for this reason, I found some of the exercises to be a bit tedious. That being said, I think those with little previous exposure to mindfulness-based meditation will benefit greatly from this book and from the approach that it advocates: namely, the idea of distancing (rather disattaching) from the thoughts, emotions, etc. and being able to observe them and even feel them without being caught up in them. I think the 8-week aspect was a bit gimmicky, and perhaps sets people up with false hopes of a quick recovery, though an 8-week commitment is probably enough to at least gain a solid foundation in the basics of mindfulness.

I may return later to leave a full review when I am more available, but this book is transforming.

Do you have an hour a day to spend working on your mental health for six straight weeks? Than go to a certified CBT therapist and put in some work on yourself. This workbook requires way too much of your time to be worthwhile. If you are willing to spend the amount of time this book requires, then there are other things you can do that will give better results.