Rethinking Depression - by Eric Maisel (Paperback)

About the Book

In this provocative and path-breaking distillation of a career spent working with individuals seeking help with mood and motivation, Eric Maisel reveals the implications of one of the era's most dramatic cultural shifts. In recent decades, much of the unhappiness inherent in the human condition has been monetized into the disease of depression and related "disorders." Maisel persuasively critiques this sickness model and prescribes a potent new approach that updates the best ideas of modern psychology. The result is a revolutionary reimagining of life's difficulties and a liberating model of self-care that optimizes our innate human ability to create meaning and seize opportunity -- in any circumstance.

Book Synopsis

In this provocative and path-breaking distillation of a career spent working with individuals seeking help with mood and motivation, Eric Maisel reveals the implications of one of the era's most dramatic cultural shifts. In recent decades, much of the unhappiness inherent in the human condition has been monetized into the disease of depression and related "disorders." Maisel persuasively critiques this sickness model and prescribes a potent new approach that updates the best ideas of modern psychology. The result is a revolutionary reimagining of life's difficulties and a liberating model of self-care that optimizes our innate human ability to create meaning and seize opportunity -- in any circumstance.

Review Quotes

"Raises fundamental questions about the differences between depressive mental disorder and normal sadness...A valuable resource."
-- Allan V. Horwitz, author of Creating Mental Illness

"In this riveting deconstruction of the 'mental health industry, ' Eric Maisel provides essential tools to address human despair. Although it will provoke controversy, Rethinking Depression is one of the most perceptive and accessible guides to life fulfillment that I have ever read."
-- Kirk Schneider, PhD, coauthor of Existential-Humanistic Therapy and author of Awakening to Awe

"Rethinking Depression is an important and timely book that busts numerous myths about why people have the so-called mental illness of depression. Eric Maisel gives readers a path and a language that will help them shine a light on the dark side of unhappiness and move toward a meaningful, self-directed life."
-- Richard Bargdill, membership chair and executive board member, Society for Humanistic Psychology

"An uplifting and practical guide to life and how to live it better. Eric Maisel has made existential thinking accessible to all those who want to live in a more deliberate and engaged fashion."
-- Emmy van Deurzen, principal, New School of Psychotherapy and Counseling, London, and author of Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness

About the Author

Eric Maisel, PhD, the author of forty books, is widely regarded as America's foremost creativity coach. Eric is a columnist for "Professional Artist" magazine and a featured blogger for "Psychology Today" and the "Huffington Post." He reaches thousands through his website, workshops, and online courses. He is the founder of noimetic psychology, the new psychology of meaning, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.