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 use this workbook with my clients in my therapy practice. Many have found the information about thoughts not being facts to be transformative in their lives. The book culminates in an action plan to address recurrent depression. Mindfulness skills are developed throughout the eight week course.

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 truly a workbook with lots of space to record your thoughts and impressions right in the book. I have used this book by myself and in a small group. The directions are very clear for each exercise and the weekly activities are very manageable. I also like the fact that the guided exercises have written directions and are on the CD. The program has worked for both myself and the group I peer-facilitated. However, it's not the kind of program that you go through once and that's it. I've already done it twice and have learned more about myself the second time around. Plus, the idea is that you incorporate parts of the program into your life. The only reason I gave it four stars is that I feel that I benefited most from the program when I also read "Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression," (Second Edition.) Because the workbook is set up as a workbook there is not as much explanation of how and why this method works. After I read "Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression" I felt like I had a better grasp on the program. I recommend getting both books.

Great book, helpful, well laid out. It was delivered very quickly.

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.

This book has been very useful to me. I would highly recommend to anyone dealing with depression and searching for a way to help themselves return to a full and happy life. I had been doing meditation but the guided weeks presented here helped me go just a bit further and feel a lot better. I would strongly recommend the author's other book, The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness, to use in conjunction with the workbook. It goes into greater detail and helped me understand depression and my place even better.

A good introduction to one form of mindfulness that is accessible for a general audience. Only a moderate amount of the self-promotion that is a mark of many of these mindfulness efforts. The accompanying CD gives a flavor of how these exercises are intended to be carried out in terms of the 'tone'.

I have given this workbook to hundreds of people. It is a great resource for people who are taking a Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program, or who want to work through the program material on their own. I am a psychologist in Toronto and I teach MBCT at The Mindfulness Clinic. Before this book was publish I gave out a patient workbook that I had developed myself. After The Mindful Way Workbook was published I switched to it because it is simply excellent. The book introduces mindfulness techniques and explains how to use them. There is a CD in the book and people can also access guided mindfulness and meditation exercises by downloading them from a website listed in the back of the book. In order to fully benefit from mindfulness training some home practice during the week is required. This book sets out recommendations for home practice and gives the reader a place to keep track of what they do and what they experience and learn. At my Clinic we measure patient progress. Ratings from several hundred of our patients confirm that when they use this workbook as part of taking an MBCT course with us, 85% of them fully recover or significantly improve. I don't know of course how well patients could do if they were not using this workbook but my hunch is that the workbook really helps people learn and consolidate mindfulness skills.

This is a great workbook, I read the mindful way about 15 or so years ago and found it very helpful. I’ve had episodes of depression since my teens, and have recently gone through my third severe episode in my life. 15 years ago the original book helped me turn a corner in Recovery. In 2021 an had my worst episode and was down for a good 12 months in recovery - support, therapy, meds and lifestyle changes helped me and of course mindfulness in a big way! I used this book this time round, the structure and activities are just what i needed to keep a regular practice. I am well recovered and life is good again (i now work in mental health!) I practice formal meditation daily and mindfulness daily. I can now see how i ended up in a huge depression again, and this is key - you make changes and drop unhealthy habits for healthy ones to keep well, you don t go back to old habits once you feel well. Mindfulness via this book has given me the insights and peace I needed to get well - being older and wiser I now recognise this is going to be something I always do, and I’m happy for that as it brings me peace and serenity. The key being you have to actually do the work or ‘practice’ but it is wonderful.

Have read the book “The mindful way through depression” and now bought this. Covers the gist of the content of the book plus offers practical mindfulness meditation exercises.. the authors are world renowned in their field of expertise.. very well written, good paper quality and presentation

Very understandable, well explained, the book makes the concepts and ideas in "Mindful Way Through Depression" even more accessible. Especially the layout with its various different elements makes the workbook easy to read. The comments from participants in MBCT groups are probably one of the most helpful aspects, as they help to normalise your experience.

Fantastic book