Managing Your Depression: Strategies to Help You Feel Better(A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book)

The indispensable guide to managing mood disorders—now completely revised and updated. In this updated edition of the classic guide to managing your depression, Dr. Susan J. Noonan provides comprehensive support for navigating the challenges of mood disorders with clarity, compassion, and evidence-based solutions. As a physician who has personal experience living with depression, Dr. Noonan offers practical tools and exercises to help individuals understand and manage their symptoms, build resilience, and foster recovery. This updated edition introduces the most recent cutting-edge topics, including evolving precision medicine, while addressing the impact of age, cultural factors, and co-occurring conditions on mental health. Expanded sections tackle key issues such as common challenges and obstacles, loneliness, women's mental health, and the role of technology in accessing care. This essential guide: • Provides clear explanations of mood disorders, their symptoms, and the biological, psychological, and environmental factors contributing to them. • Explains various mental health treatments, including therapy approaches and emerging techniques. • Emphasizes self-care strategies to maintain emotional health and stability: sleep, diet, physical exercise, routine and structure, and avoiding isolation • Offers practical exercises and strategies to foster resilience, identify warning signs, manage triggers, and prevent relapse. • Includes exercises to improve mindfulness, manage stress, and develop healthier thought patterns. • Guides readers on navigating the mental health system, finding the right provider, and being active participants in their care. Whether you are personally affected or supporting a loved one, this trusted work offers clear and practical advice with helpful exercises for addressing depression and feeling better.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of Tables, Boxes and Worksheets Acknowledgments Introduction Section 1: Mental Health and Mood Disorders 1. Determinants of Mental Health 2. Mood Disorders 3. Treatment resistant depression 4. Impact of Gender and Age on Mental Health 5. Impact of Other Medical conditions and COVID-19 on Mental Health 6. Cultural differences that may impact mental health 7. Depression does not define you: Finding Your Baseline 8. Impact of mood disorder on you 9. Common Challenges and Obstacles in Depression 10. Mood disorders and Addictions 11. Mental health crisis, self harm and suicide Section 2: TREATMENT 12. What is the goal of treatment 13. Finding professional help 14. Mental Health treatment options 15. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 16. Technology in mental health 17. Navigating the healthcare system Section 3: MANAGING YOUR MOOD DISORDER 18. Healthy Ways to Deal With Mood Disorders: Mental Health Basics 19. Managing Your Mood Disorder 20. Relapse Prevention 21. Strategies to Get You through the Tough Times 22. Dealing with Family and Friends 23. What does Recovery look like? 24. Pulling It All Together Appendix A1: Mood Disorder Statistics: About the numbers Appendix A2: Suicide and Self-harm Statistics: About the numbers Appendix B: Psychiatric Advance Directive Appendix C: USDA 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Appendix D: Sample Food Portion Sizes: What One Portion Looks Like Helpful Websites Books of Interest References Index

About the Author :
Susan J. Noonan, MD, MPH, is a physician, certified peer specialist, mental health and wellness coach, speaker and consultant to Massachusetts General Hospital and to The Engage Initiative. She is the author of Take Control of Your Depression: Strategies to Help You Feel Better Now and Helping Others with Depression: Words to Say, Things to Do, and Reconnecting After Isolation: Coping with Anxiety, Depression, Grief, PTSD, and More.

Review :
As a physician who has lived with depression, Susan J. Noonan brings a uniquely clear and empathic perspective to this informative, encouraging, and empowering book. Delivering remarkably rich and accessible insights and practical skills, Managing Your Depression is an invaluable road map for all those making their way through a difficult time. --Jonathan E. Alpert, MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center The book is well written and engages the reader in both medical knowledge and the personal account of the author as to what life is like living with depression. Each chapter is brimming with compassion and encourages the reader to consider how depression can impact on the ability to 'be yourself' and the need to appreciate self-worth. --Jennie Walker, Nottingham University Hospitals, Nursing Times