Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. Mental Health    3. Psychology    4. Social Psychology    5. Cultural studies    6. Physiological & neuro-psychology    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / Social Psychology   

Reviews (8)

Alarmist hysteria from a man who knows nothing about depression
Ronald Dworkin's book does a disservice to anyone who could be helped by antidepressants, or who is currently being helped by them. He raises an alarm over a problem that doesn't exist. In the first chapter of his book he refers to people who take antidepressants as "stupefied", which is an outrageous and reckless claim to make.On what basis can he make this claim?
Interesting Book
The book is very interesting with a lot of valid points but I believe the author goes too far in purporting that people who take antidepressants become some sort of happy zombies uninterested in making changes to better their lives. Being on antidepressants does not mean that all the ups and downs of life are flatlined, you can still feel unhappiness and be compelled to make changes for the better, in fact he himself gives an example of an unhappy engineer who wanted to be a musician but did not have the guts to make the career change in the face of his family and friends' disapproval. He only made the life change once he started taking antidepressants. I believe it is the little things, like traffic and day-to-day annoyances that are minimized with the use of antidepressants that is of course for people who are not seriously depressed, for those who are, antidepressants can be life savers.

You will love it or you will hate it.
I loved this book, "Artificial Happiness", because the author articulated in a well thought and researched fashion exactly what has not been discussed enough.Unhappiness is NOT a disease.Unhappiness, contrary to pharmaceutical advertisements and "doctors advice" is a natural and normal consequence of the "downs" in the "ups & downs" of life.It is the red light on the dashboards of our lives that prompts us to make constructive changes.Or it was.
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Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. Pharmacology (Specific Aspects)    3. Psychiatry - Psychopharmacology    4. Psychology    5. Social Psychology    6. Psychology & Psychiatry / Social Psychology   

Editorial Review

Using the same guided imagery techniques she teaches her clients, Belleruth Naparstek shows the reader how to train and use the sixth sense in the same manner one would use any of the other five senses in order to perceive things beyond normal cognition. Naparstek's guided imagery approach not only increases psychic sensitivity, but benefits one's emotional and physical well-being. The approach taken in Read more

Reviews (23)

This book is Fantastic
Not only does it give practical, down to earth explanations for things that never made sense before, but it also gives amazing scripts that you can record yourself to experience the same thing. I tried them, the scripts work! Her specific things you can do to cultivate and maintain Psi are also very practical and extremely helpful.
Incredible Insights, Brilliant Exposition,An Instant Classic
This is not just a how-to book, although it has a very complete and enjoyable how-to section(part 2).This is not just an insightful explanation of psychic phenomena, although the author gives useful concrete examples by practicing professionals(with contact information).This is not just an in-depth look at how and why psychic phenomena exist, although it is a surprisingly brilliant exposition of the relationship between personal experience and the nature of the universe as described by respected physicists.Finally, what this really is is a personal journal by a perceptive, articulate psychologist on a subject that many of us are hungry to know more about.What holds this book together is the complete honesty and transparency that the author brings to her subject, using her own personal and professional experiences.Bravo Belleruth! I learned so much, using your insights to interpret my own mysterious psychic experiences and pleased with your deceptively simple unification of personal and universal energies (p.110).A special book in my spare book collection. Please write more and soon.

I recommend Your Sixth Sense
This is an excellent road map if you are on the spiritual journey of finding your intuition.She gives great clues that let you know if you are succeeding.These are helpful because it lets you know that you are not sick, or loosing your mind.
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Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. General    3. Parapsychology    4. Philosophy    5. Psychic ability    6. Psychics    7. Psychology    8. Psychotherapy - General    9. Cognition & cognitive psychology    10. Mind, body, spirit: mysticism & self-awareness    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / Emotions   

Reviews (15)

The Psychotherapist Is Often in the Role of the Blind Leading the Half-Blind
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The doctor cries for help
The ravings of the mad have often been metamorphized as "cries for help." Ronald Laing's '67 opus Politics of Experience could be similarly cast as the doctor's cries for help, were one compelled to do so.
Portrayiing schizphrenic astuteness via complex and cyclical words.
Schizophrenics often--not always--have a sensitivity for the Unconscious and what might be going on the mind of the other as well as themselves,but fewof us ever get to "hear" it.In the very first three pages Laing gets into the mind and mind- reading ofinterpersonal relations of the schizophrenic ;eg" you can only experience the fact that I am experiencing your experience..."
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Subjects:  1. Alienation (Social psychology)    2. Conformity    3. Emotions    4. Experience    5. Human relations    6. Interpersonal Relations    7. Psychology    8. Social Psychology    9. Sociology    10. Sociology - General    11. Family & relationships    12. Psychology & Psychiatry / Emotions    13. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (6)

Eros transforms us
I read this book in graduate school in 1973 and then again 30 years later. When I was a young man I had not had enough experience with Eros to understand the book. I knew I wished to do great deeds but I did not know the source from which these thoughts emerged. Now, in the second reading, I recognize the forces of Eros in my past and present and recognize the need to integrate the daemonic or shadow to fully harness these forces.
A Different Line of Tack
I first read Rollo May's _Love and Will_ about 30 years ago and the wisdom of his writing has stayed with me since. May wrote before the time that "self help" became a heading on the shelves of a bookstore, in a time when analytical psychotherapy was still popular. Bearing that in mind, the reader will find that what May had to say then is all too true today. Whereas in the past love and will solved the problems of relationship to others, they have now become the problem. In our schizoid world real communication is rare. (The reader might think that May wrote after the advent of the personal computer.) a psychological must-read
Find out here why love and will are so psychologically intertwined....and why a dearth in one means a dearth of the other.In a culture in which deterministic explanations and excuse-making have largely replaced arecognition of personal responsibility and the power of the will, it's nowonder love itself is impoverished.May also offers alternatives to thisstate of affairs.An excellent book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cognitive Psychology    2. Emotions    3. Love    4. Metaphysics    5. Philosophy    6. Psychological aspects    7. Psychology    8. Sex (Psychology)    9. Will    10. Modern fiction    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / Cognitive Psychology   

Reviews (5)

Tapping just plain WORKS
I used this book to learn to build my self-esteem (yes, it does that too) and to try to get rid of a terrible memory that had become an obsession. I was doubtful at first but minutes after my tapping session (I read the book and then tapped for about 20 minutes), I felt completely better. The memory is still there but it doesn't bother me. I'm free! You don't even have to read the entire book to learn how to tap -- just read the first three chapters and then find the section that pertains to your problem.
The Tapping Cure
I used tapping as I was going through EMDR treatment for post-traumatic stress syndrome. The EMDR treatment was very effective but produced large amounts of pain energy that I had to manage in between sessions. Tapping was the only way I could manage this pain. After a tapping sequence, I would go from experiencing overwhelming pain to a feeling of serene peace and calm. As I tapped, the spots were frequently tender, like there was an energy block present. The tapping produced an endorphin- release kind of feeling that was very similar to a post-sex bodily state--completely relaxed. Think about it. These techniques are free. They don't use drugs. They draw on the body's own resources--are non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical. Use tapping as your first line of defense in healing. Tell your doctor about the experience. Hey, go crazy and start a revolution to wean America from the expensive pharmaceuticals that are going to bankrupt our medical system. I couldn't recommend this book more highly.

A great tool for stressful times
How could something so simple be so effective? I was skeptical at first, but the Tapping Cure is easy, it's fun, and it works! The book gives clear step-by-step instructions -- like having a personal coach.
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Subjects:  1. Acupressure    2. Acupressure & Acupuncture    3. Acupuncture points    4. Emotions    5. Mind and body therapies    6. Mood Disorders    7. Psychology    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Emotions   

Subjects:  1. Body, Mind & Spirit    2. Emotions    3. Healing - Energy (Chi Kung, Reiki, Polarity)    4. New Age    5. Personal Growth - General    6. Unabridged Audio - Self Help   

Reviews (16)

Finish the book before making comments...
I think this is a must read for anyone interest in positive psychology, politics, economics, or all three. Unfortunately, the first reviewer admits that she did not finish the book and most the applicable ideas come later on. It is a completely different view of how we should implement public policy. Yes, some of it is quite liberal, but why shouldn't we try to increase the happiness of all in society?
Policy maker's handbook
I think this book should be read by anyone who are involved in the making of public policies.The author stated that happiness of citizen should be the means and the end of our constitution. He has provided many evidences on why we are not happier when we are richer and what can we do about it.
Addresses One of the Most Important Problems in Economics
It seems as though there are two really significant problems in economics: one is how we reconcile the conflict between economic progress and ecological preservation and the other is how we can again link up economic progress and increases in welfare, in general levels of happiness.
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Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. Ethics & Moral Philosophy    3. Mental Health And Hygiene    4. Personal Growth - Happiness    5. Psychology    6. Self-Help    7. Sociology Of Mental Health    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Emotions   

Subjects:  1. Affect (Psychology)    2. Emotions    3. Interpersonal Relations    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy - General    6. Child & developmental psychology    7. Psychoanalysis & psychoanalytical theory    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Interpersonal Relations   

Editorial Review

Is it really the best medicine? Neurobiologist Robert R. Provine discovered that no scientist had ever looked into the weird, uncontrollable, and very human phenomenon of laughter, so he started off on his own. Read more

Reviews (10)

Worth a look, but.... 3.7 stars
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Interesting Insights into Studying and Exploring Laughter
A purely simple behaviour at a glimpse, laughter has largely been under-studied.Provine discusses how he learned how to study laughter, and provides simple facts about laughter that have gone largely unnoticed. Furthermore, he tackles the evolutionary links between bipedalism, speech and language through his studies on laughter.He takes a fascinating look into how laughter can serve as a powerful probe into social behaviours.Reading laughter will give you a whole new view of this instinctive behaviour, and it will begin to shed light on the psychological and biological importance of this ancient remnant.Laughter is an exceptionally entertaining book!It is not a complex read, but a must-read for the inquisitive-minded individual.

Disappointing
IMHO, this doesn�t yield any valuable conceptual insights into humor. Read more

Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. Laughter    3. Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology    4. Psychological aspects    5. Psychology    6. Research & Methodology    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Psychology & Psychiatry / Emotions   

Reviews (9)

Realization
This has been such a great book for me. It was such a big eye opener for me. I knew that my life as a child left me scarred, but without any physical signs of abuse I felt that maybe it was all in my head. It was hard to read and realize that the emotional abuse I have suffered still has a great impact on me today. I loved how they spoke of God and seeking Him in your road to recovery. This book is so well written and it's easy to understand. It has identified the different types of abuse and I can see the type I myself have suffered from. Even if you have never suffered emotional abuse I would still recommend this book.

Healing the Scars of Emotional Abuse
This book is an excellent resource to help a person recognize the difference between criticism and emotional & verbal abuse.Criticism is normally given IN LOVE, there is an enormous difference between criticism & abuse.This book will also help anyone who was previously in an abusive relationship to be able to recognize some of the common traits all emotional abusers and potential emotional abusers exhibit and steer clear of another abusive relationship.I even found instances in my own life where I was the one doing the controlling through emotional abuse & have been able to discontinue that behavior through self examination & prayer.Excellent book!

outstanding in this category!
I've been reading a lot of self-help books, but have rarely been so moved to recommend them to others.I found this one uncommonly wise, kind, and helpful and sensible--you come away Read more

Subjects:  1. Abuse - Psychological    2. Emotions    3. General    4. Healing    5. Health & Fitness    6. Psychological abuse    7. Psychology    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Emotions   

Features

• Abridged
• Audiobook

Reviews (3)

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful
I am primarily an aural learner.Listening to this book on CD was a delight.The last two cd's were phenomenal.I had read them but listening to them was like hearing them for the first time.
fascinating and practical
I've never written a review before; but when I saw that nobody else had commented on this audio book (the four cd set), I wanted to enter an emphatic endorsement of it.I have read many books on psychology, religion and emotions.This book integrates all of them.I was originally interested the influence of meditation on controlling stress and negative emotions.That information is here and it is very compelling.(Consequently, I have also ordered many meditation and guided imagery tapes as well).But there is so much more in this book... so much interesting information, it's hard to even know where to start.I will try to give a couple of examples. fascinating and practical
I've never written a review before; but when I saw that nobody else had commented on this audio book (the four cd set), I wanted to enter an emphatic endorsement of it.I have read many books on psychology, religion and emotions.This book integrates all of them.I was originally interested the influence of meditation on controlling stress and negative emotions.That information is here and it is very compelling.(Consequently, I have also ordered many meditation and guided imagery tapes as well).But there is so much more in this book... so much interesting information, it's hard to even know where to start.I will try to give a couple of examples.Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Buddhism - Tibetan    4. Emotions    5. Emotions and cognition    6. Meditation    7. Mental health    8. Religious aspects    9. Self-Help    10. Spiritual    11. Coping with personal problems    12. Popular psychology    13. Self-Help / Spiritual   

Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. Interpersonal relations    3. Personality    4. Psychology    5. Social Psychology    6. Social aspects    7. Social interaction    8. Sociology - General    9. Psychology & Psychiatry / Personality    10. Social, group or collective psychology   

Editorial Review

"Marriage doesn't just break down," observes Taylor, a distinguished ex-Read more

Reviews (21)

MEN DON'T USUALLY WRITE ABOUT PERSONAL STUFF....
I remember reding about this book when it was first published, but really had no interest in reading about yet another failed marriage.Too depressing.But then after reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and learning that this author is her current husband, my interest was piqued.I LOVED The Glass Castle and was very curious about John Taylor as her husband.So I bought, and read, this book.
Honest and Brutal look at one Marriage
After having read the book, then read some of the reviews, I was suprised at how outraged some people were at this story. This is probably the most realistic viewpoint about a relationship that I have read in a long time. Does that mean that every man cheats on his wife? No. Does that mean that every woman wants "maintennance" for the rest of her life? No. What it does mean is that sometimes people make mistakes (in this case, several of them), but they must go on. Granted, there were several times where I found myself angry at the author for his actions, but who am I to judge someone elses misfortunes, when we all have skeletons in our closet.

Is it autobiography? Or not?
While the author's writing style is compelling, this story's narrator is not totally credible. The reader may find themselves wondering, as I did, whether this book is truly autobiographical, or a fictionalized and air-brushed version of "One Marriage." Either way, what about the WIFE's side of the story?Numerous infidelities prove that the husband in this relationship certainly lacked committment. It sounds to me as if he didn't think seriously about his marriage until his lack of conviction contributed to its end. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Divorce    3. Divorced men    4. Emotions    5. Men's Studies - General    6. Psychology    7. Sociology    8. Sociology - Marriage & Family    9. Sociology Of Men    10. United States    11. Family & Relationships / Divorce    12. Marriage & relationships    13. Taylor, John   

Reviews (2)

Great
Fantastic work, great research...,great Subject, but need a follow up Book...to see how things are done now at DL...

Defines and highlights the effects of emotional labor.
Using the experiences of flight attendants, the author describes thestresses and effects of on-the-job "emotional labor".She alsodescribes how dehumanizing such labor can be in an atmosphere of genderinequality, socioeconomic inequality, and the increasing rationalization ofthe workplace in the corporate pursuit of profits.An excellent andinteresting read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Economic aspects    2. Emotions    3. Employee motivation    4. Psychological aspects    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Sociology - General    8. Women's Studies - General    9. Work    10. Occupational & industrial psychology    11. Physiological & neuro-psychology    12. Social Science / Sociology / General    13. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (1)

Small but Mighty
This little book provides a simple assessment an affordabletake away and practical suggestions of activities for improvement.I teach adults and this has been an invaluable tool on the topic of EQ.Certainly other resources and information must be utilized, but it is an amazing concentrated source of information. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Economics - General    5. Emotional intelligence    6. Emotions    7. Human Resources & Personnel Management   

Reviews (17)

Wow! I Love This Book!
What a wonderfully enriching book that gives us nine reasons why people are happy. Brought a wonderfully certain sense of clarity to an elusive dream for most but a core life principle for the lucky few. I would recommend this book to anyone but especially those who need a sunny book for a rainy day.

Interesting Insights into the "Elements" of Happiness
I am typically skeptical about books that claim they can teach people how to be happy, since the entire notion of "happiness" varies widely from person to person. After reading this book, however, I must admit that this if one of the better-- and more realistic-- efforts on this particular topic.
Absolutely amazing!
This book inspired, capitivated, and challenged me to grow. The wheel of happiness that Foster and Hicks illustrate is a method that works and has been integrated into my life. This book really can be life-changing if you have the patience and courage to take life by the hand and run with what it offers you. I have always been the type of person that plans everything out to the last detail, but recently I have just been going with the flow, but really having a say in what I want to do with every second of my life. I look at my intentions in doing things and hold my self accountable for my decisions. This book is well-written and should be required reading for anyone who wants to live life to the absolute fullest! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. General    3. Personal Growth - General    4. Personal Growth - Happiness    5. Psychology    6. Self-Help    7. Popular psychology    8. Self-Help / General   

Editorial Review

A psychologist's fine-tuned ear and a scholar's penchant for illuminating key ideas with precise literary citations enable Carol Gilligan to trace love's path in Read more

Reviews (10)

Worth Reading Anyway
Carol Gilligan has written a fascinating book.Using a multifaceted approach, she examines the origins of dissociative trauma -- that psychological split within ourselves where we can know and not know, feel but not feel -- and its path to the suppression of pleasure and authenticity.Gilligan argues that the foundational myths of Western society are virtually all based on trauma, societal control, and violence. The author takes her readers on a journey through memory, literature, psychological research, and ancedote to examine how we are societally trained to avoid experiencing genuine happiness.The book, though, ends where it begins."Patriarchy" sets up the trauma and maintains it, Gilligan argues at the book's outset.The writer, though, never tells us what she means by "patriarchy" and, in the end, it becomes an amorphous demon, meaningless except as a convenient all-encompassing scapegoat.Still, "The Birth of Pleasure" is worth reading for its intriguing questions and for what it might have been.

Useful and helpful despite its imperfections...
I picked this up in London and read it during the disintegration of my marriage.I must say parts of it challenged me, even though I am a feminist and very aware of gender theory and literary criticism.I disagree with the reviewer who said there is more to love than pleasure... more to life, yes, but the point of having a relationship with someone is to discover joy in and with each other, no?To take pleasure in and have pleasure with the other person?Gilligan makes this point eloquently.I found the book refreshingly sympathetic toward what happens to make lively little boys into uptight and uncommunicative men.The point is, despire patriarchy, I personally like men and want to find a way to have a real connection with them even in an imperfect world.Reading this book was transformative for me in that respect, even if I skipped through all of the later literary references.This book is popular psychiatry, not meant to rival big texts in gender theory, and so, in its genre, is very effective.In fact, it changed the lives of several friends of mine that live in a culture even more patriarchal than ours; it lent them courage to try to seek a different sort of relationship with men other than just a traditional one.I have also given this book as a gift to four people, one of them a man, who all found it useful, though not perfect.Having some room for imperfection, even in a book, is a useful thing, I think.I found the book very useful despite its flaws.

Re-learn What You Once Knew
This is an important book to read for those searching out a deeper understanding of themselves and the role society has played in the development of self-denial.Read more

Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. Gender Psychology    3. Interpersonal Relations    4. Intimacy (Psychology)    5. Love    6. Love & Romance    7. Man-woman relationship    8. Man-woman relationships    9. Movements - Psychoanalysis    10. Psychology    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Subjects:  1. Anxiety    2. Embarrassment    3. Emotions    4. Psychology    5. Unassigned Title    6. physiology    7. Behavioural theory (Behaviourism)    8. Cognition & cognitive psychology    9. Physiological & neuro-psychology   

Reviews (8)

A comprehensive and "user-friendly" survey and study of the diverse treatments
Expertly co-authored by Michael E. Thase (Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Director of the Mood Disorders Module at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine) and Susan S. Lang (an award winning Senior Science Writer at Cornell University), Beating The Blues: New Approaches To Overcoming Dysthymia And Chronic Mild Depression is an informative introduction to a variety of therapeutic treatments for the psychological condition of chronic depression. Informatively guiding readers through a comprehensive and "user-friendly" survey and study of the diverse treatments, Beating The Blues aptly addresses such issues as of when it becomes appropriate to seek help from a therapist, which therapies are most effective, safer antidepressants which are helpful for differing levels of depression, and the employment of alternative therapies, including stress management, meditation, relaxation, massage, acupuncture, physical exercise, supplements, and more. Thoroughly accessible for the non-specialist general reader, Beating The Blues is to be given high praise for its easy-to-follow guidance and is very strongly recommended for anyone struggling with their own depression and who are searching for the right treatment approach for their dysthymia or depression.
A Clear, Concise, and Friendly Book on Dysthymia and Mild Depression
I really like Thase and Lang's Beating the Blues. It gets to the point and clearly and simply answers lots of questions I've had. For example, what to look for in a therapist. It goes through the symptoms and shows how dysthymia, mild depression, and major depression differ from each other. It also addresses a few other similar conditions like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Once it gets to the "so what should you do about it" section of the book, it takes many approaches from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in terms of analyzing what you're thinking and how that affects your feelings. A basic assumption is that our thoughts generate our emotions, and we can tend to use somewhat distorted thought patterns that set up a feedback loop with feelings of tiredness, apathy, feelings of self-worth. It pulls a good deal of material from Feeling Good: A New Mood Therapby by David Burns, though I prefer t