Mysteries and Mindsets

Decoding Persistent Depression #1

by Roger Di Pietro

Decoding Persistent Depression is the first book in a series of four which investigates long-term depression.

This text is based on and expands previous work and explores a condition known by various aliases: dysthymia, persistent depressive disorder, neurotic depression, dysthymic depression, and chronic depression.

With playful, encouraging dialogue and examples, it comfortably exists between popular psychology and graduate-level textbooks. While not a step-by-step self-help manual, the presented information can assist in developing understanding for symptomatic persons, as well as educators, friends, family, and healthcare providers.

Clues along the way will help you eliminate distracting, contradictory, misleading, and countertherapeutic concepts. As you gather illuminating evidence, you’ll be better able to comprehend and resolve an intriguing – and seemingly impenetrable – mystery, with all the usual suspects (and perhaps a few surprises): How can depression arise and why might it persist?

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Medical, Mental Health, Ebooks, Contemporary

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 31, 2018

About the author

Dr. Roger Di Pietro, Psy.D. is clinical psychologist in private practice who has authored Early Recollections: Interpretative Method and Application (with Dr. Harold H. Mosak), The Depression Code: Deciphering the Purposes of Neurotic Depression, The Anxiety Code: Deciphering the Purposes of Neurotic Anxiety, the Decoding Persistent Depression book series, and Anger: Psychological Reasons Why It Rises and How to Reduce it.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway. I wasn't expecting a gripping narrative on depression, but I found it to be downright difficult to finish.

After reading this I certainly consider Di Pietro to be an expert on the matter of depression and many of the factors that contribute to it, but for me this book was a pretty painful read. He knows his stuff and has probably helped a lot of people, but I suspect not with this book.

Have you ever met anyone that couldn't just explain something in a straightforward way and instead insisted on using condescending analogies to describe everything because you couldn't possibly be capable of understanding otherwise? If not, you will know exactly what I'm talking about after reading this book. Analogies can be helpful, but an entire book filled with analogies is less so.

Aside from the overwhelming use of analogies to describe absolutely everything, my biggest complaint with this book is that it doesn't actually attempt to offer any helpful suggestions to address any of the issues described therein. I suppose that will be in the next book. Di Pietro spends the entire book describing a problem in what I found to be a condescending manner, and then doesn't even begin to discuss solutions. The last chapter is even titled "Cliffhanger."

If it weren't for my respect for the author's level of knowledge and experience in this field and the evidence of those in this book, I would give it one star. There is some valuable information here for those seeking a better understanding of depression and its causes, but I found it painful to discover. If I choose to read the next book in the series it will be after a lot of research and for the specific purpose of extracting information I already know is there. Without those criteria met I'm not interested.

[Pamela N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent alternative presented in a professional manner

I can well understand that some clinicians as well as depressed people will hate this book, or at least vehemently disagree with the content. After working with this population myself for nearly forty years, I find there is much to recommend this book. The author has completed extensive research, presented the material, argument and conclusion in a logical and coherent manner. In addition the content is organized in a sensible manner.
The author does not support what seems to be the current views of depression, but that does not invalidate the data. Many years ago I recall a 3rd year psychiatrist resident who was preparing who was preparing for private practice pontificating on the inefficiency of any therapy other than drugs. He intended to work with depressive and anorexics, and stayed he'd be effecting cures with medication alone. Needless to say, he left that line of thinking - and practice - within just a few years.
My own experience was in observing the same mindsets that the author has as used to decode to the depressive behavior.
The problem for many depressive seems to be their unwillingness to accept responsibility for faulty thinking, or unwillingness to examine their inner drives and motivations. This is interesting in an era of "mindfulness."
I've also observant increase in co-dependent relationships which promotes a problem continuing, as well as promoting helplessness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. Perhaps this is all relative to the prevalence of loneliness in this era, not at all helped by misinformation, memes, and fads promulgated by the Internet.
This book, while excellent, might have included an index, and appendices. The use of many analogies was clear and helpful.
I hope that people with persistent depression who may be inclined to reject this approach will reconsider. Perhaps ask themself, "Is it possible this could be right? Is it possible I might be wrong? Will it be so awful if I am wrong?"
I know I'll be using this book for my depressed clients.

[Barred Owl Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decoding Persistent Depression is the first book in a series which investigates long-term depression. This text is based on and expands previous work and explores a condition known by its various aliases: dysthymia, persistent depressive disorder, neurotic depression, dysthymic depression, and chronic depression. With playful, encouraging dialogue and examples, it comfortably exists between popular psychology and graduate-level books. While not a step-by-step self-help manual, the presented information can assist in developing understanding for symptomatic persons, as well as educators, friends, family, and healthcare providers. Clues along the way will help you eliminate distracting, contradictory, misleading, and countertherapeutic concepts. As you gather illuminating evidence, you'll be better able to comprehend and resolve an intriguing - and seemingly impenetrable - mystery, with all the usual suspects (and perhaps a few surprises): How can depression arise and why might it persist?

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, there is a lot of good information in the book, while I did not agree with all of it. It was still a good representation of depression and the mindsets involved, and there was clearly a lot of research done. However; to me it just felt like a dry textbook. It is obvious the author is very smart, but writing a book requires you to include the reader. To bring them into it, so that they want to read more. It reminded me of the case study and abstract material I read in college, and didn't really have any real answers to depression, other than it could be this, or this, or this. I guess I was just looking for some answers and not so much back and forth. The book is definitely not for a beginner, as it is very scientific in the wording. Not a bad book, just hard to get through as there was no "beef" to keep me hooked.

[Bria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
It's a pretty decent, thorough outline of a lot of the personality and psychology related to depression, starting from very basic first principles, so I didn't actually learn anything new, but I imagine it might be useful for someone who hasn't the slightest clue what's going on here. It took me a while to figure out if I appreciated or was annoyed by the format of asking leading questions before answering them, but I think I come down on the side of annoyed. It seems like he's trying to built up to revealing some important insight, but then the book ends and I guess we're supposed to go on to book two if we want to find out if he had anything new or interesting in mind or if it's just more of the same.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. Di Petro, a clinical psychologist talks about a range of topics that may contribute to clinical depression. A brief cause and effect explanation set the tone for what follows. Topics include the usual chemical imbalances, genetics, and environments. Topics that are more unusual include love lost, common sense, goal orientation, and socialization. While the book provides widespread examples of situations that may contribute to depression, this is not a self-help book, but rather a fact-finding mission. The information presented in interesting. In this case, a little knowledge could prevent readers from reaching out for help needed. Endnotes are provided.

[Sara Underwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the author did make several convincing arguments for his theory of depression, much of this book was devoted to claiming many current theories of depression are incorrect, and these were mostly well-reasoned opinions without a lot of factual data to back them up. In addition, the entire tone of the book was asking the reader leading questions to see if they were thinking the same conclusions, and after a while this just got very annoying to be constantly asked if I knew where the arguments were going - I’m not a mind reader.

Full disclosure - I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Derek Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book to have on hand to refer to. Dr. DiPietro writes so the every day layman can comprehend how to deal with various types of depression. I've learned that depression can occur to anyone in any profession in any stage of life. I will definitely add this very helpful book to my growing library as I have a brother who suffers from clinical and seasonal depression and I have a great-nephew who suffers from a brain injury. Thank you very much for choosing me to receive this book; I truly do appreciate it very much!!

[Hope · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had the dubious honor to win this book from a Goodreads Giveaway

Just don't bother. The writing is dry, pedantic, and slower than molasses in January. The book lacks a table of contents, so you can't readily skip to the end. If, as I did, you scroll to the last chapter anyway, it simply restates the theses of previous chapters, and suggests you might have already guessed the questions to be addressed in the next book.

With all these pages of text, the author couldn't be bothered to wrap up anything like a point, and I cannot be bothered to read any more from this author.

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a fan of this book.
I won it in a Goodreads Giveaway & am thankful for that as I didn't spend my money on this book.
It just takes too long to say anything helpful and, more importantly, it reads like it is just a chapter or excerpt of what should be the full or actual book.
I couldn't even bother finishing what was included in this book as it was too much slogging for too little benefit.
Frankly, my recommendation is: don't waste your time or your money.

[Pam Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and researched. I found the topics and examples well documented and easy to follow. I really felt that the information enhanced the knowledge I already had and gave food for thought to explore new subject matter. It does require a base knowledge to get the most out of the experience but there is plenty of take a way for a lesser experienced reader or student. A good read.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best book I have read on trying to understand chronic depression . It is well written and easy to understand. It is not really a self help book, but If you suffer from depression or some one you love does this book is a must read!
Would give more stars of possible

[Ives Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very insightful and informational read, but it could have been condensed into a 10-page booklet. And the attempts at the semi-conversational text and jokes just made this into an awkward read, like a professor trying to be funny no matter how obviously flat his students' laughter was.

[Erica Franco · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure who the intended audience of this book is. It certainly doesn't fit into the self-help genre that the mainstream public would be looking for. While the book put forth some interesting thoughts, I found it rather dry, repetitive, without clear structure, and eventually had to give up on reading it. As others have mentioned, the author's tone is rather irritating. He unrelentingly uses phrases like "Have you figured it out yet?" or "This is a hint", which makes it sound like he is the wise, all-knowing teacher and is imparting his vast knowledge on the slow student. I do think the book contains some useful information about the origins of depression, but the information could be condensed into a much shorter version. This book has way too many unnecessary analogies and examples. I also found it frustrating because after discussing what causes depression, I feel like the logical next step would be transitioning to how to treat depression. However, this book does not make the leap into the practical issue of how to manage and improve depression.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Won this book on GoodReads) Found this book interesting at times and other times hard to read. There were examples listed in the book but sometimes it seemed to be in overdrive of them. Overall an ok read leaving me with more questions. Maybe the next book will answer them.

[Mystery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to read your book. But then the author just goes through so many examples, parables, and metaphors that you're just not sure what the author was talking about. I'm so much more confused than I was when I started reading it. Quite a disappointment really.

[Alexander]

I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway and I don’t know exactly what I was expecting when I picked it up. I think it is a well written but I don’t think it was the book for me. It did a great job of talking to the lay person but I’m not sure it’s content was what I was looking for.

[BookHobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

[Dee Deschaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this in a giveaway. The author in my opinion doesn't know much about Depression other than what he has read or assumes Depressions is. It was a difficult read.

[Robin Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looks at depression with facts and some humor.

[Kendria Henson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but it seemed to have some unnecessary point towards the end and part of the solution is actually in a second book. so title is kind of misleading

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very dense for me, and incredibly hard to manage.
I think someone in this field would have an easier time with it.

[Cassaundra Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this on Goodreads First Reads. Very informative read.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won this book in a giveaway a while ago. A very, very tedious read. Being a scientist and being a writer are two different professions. While some can do both, this is just not it. I'm not sure what I gained from reading this book, hard to stay motivated to finish.

[Kasey]

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book as a giveaway recipient. I am excited to read it and will update my thoughts on this book soon... if I am lucking it will unlock a secret or two to add to my aresenal.

[Kristen Kelleher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this book really doesn’t decode anything, and instead almost talks about how most reasons for depression are not real and ridiculous and how people don’t try. Also the fact that there are grammatical errors such as saying loose instead of lose, makes this book LOSE most of its credibility.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book and si happy I received it for an honest review.
As a manic depressive myself,I'm learning more about how to handle episodes with grace and understanding.
I am learning a lot and can't wait to reread this book once again
This should be read by everyone.it just might help a loved one to understand what we go through.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly readable, great examples, and even playful. A great way to learn about persistant depression and even one self, if one does not suffer from this disease.