It seems like every time I turn around I'm hearing about kids who at younger and younger ages are dealing with depression. I guess it's very common for kids going through puberty to experience depression and we're not very far from that stage at our house, yikes. A couple of my kids deal a little bit with anxiety and so I've always worried they might be more prone to depression later on in their lives. I'm so thrilled to have this book that basically just teaches me how to teach my kids cognitive therapy. Which for those of you who are unfamiliar with cognitive therapy, it's basically just a method of learning that our feelings are not just the result of our circumstances and actions, they are actually the result of our beliefs about those circumstances or actions. This makes perfect sense given that we have probably all seen two different people experience the exact same set of circumstances and yet feel totally different about that same experience. Anyway, basically, when we become aware/conscious of our beliefs and thoughts, we can then evaluate them and adjust them which then gives us power over how we feel rather than our circumstances dictating what mood we're in.
In the first part of the book the author lays out his belief (backed up by research and case studies) that we can immunize our children for depression. He talks about the fact that how optimistic a person is has a direct relationship with how likely that person is to be prone to depression. He and his colleagues adapted cognitive therapy methods proven to help people overcome depression into a program to teach to young kids the skills they need to be more optimistic and avoid depression and saw impressive results. The second part of the book is the actual program adapted for parents and teachers to teach to their own kids. Even if you think all that sounds like a bunch of hooey, it really is a fascinating, insightful book.
12 comments:
I think it sounds so interesting and helpful!
I would love to read that. Thanks for the recommendation.
that was Sara. I would also love for Treavor to read it:)
Sounded wonderful when you were telling me about it one the phone. This explains it even more. What a great tool to have in this day and age and with such smart, active and might I say, darling children!!
Tell David he did good! Congratulations, I can't wait to meet her. She'seems to fit in with the Bells!
Love you all!
OOps! Tell Davis I'm sorry. I quit proofreading when I quit work. Anyway I really, really do know his name. Don't know where the "d" came from???? Old habits probably.
Wow, sounds like a GREAT read! Thanks for the recommendation. I am go to go out and buy it and read this week! Have you started implementing any of the author suggestions with your kids? If so how is it going or is it too early to tell. I would be very interested to hear!
You are so on the ball. Getting an early start on the emotional ups an downs when your children are just beginning puberty is fantastic. I think so far, your kids are very optimistic, creative and cheerful. It sounds like a wonderful book for all to read. Thanks for the good tip.
I am ordering this book!! THANKS!! This is the only kind of reading I do...kind of a geek that way! :)
Steph
Andrea, I am so glad you liked it. It is a life changing book. I can't tell you how many times I have recommended this to parents. Another one that I just finished and highly recommended is "A Mind at a Time" by Mel Levine. I am going to send some stuff I use with kids to your mom, so ask her for it.
Ange, what a terrific explanation of cognitive therapy and how much choice we have over our moods and feelings. We choose so much more than we think we do about how to feel, how to be, how to be regarded, how we act on others. Keep us posted.
I started it a while back and loved it. Time to pick it back up. I got distracted with Twilight...
Sounds like a wonderful book. I will have to get that. Depression is a big concern for me with members of our family having major issues. I would like to prevent it as much as possible.
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