Reddit reviews The Expanded Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Manual: Practical DBT for Self-Help, and Individual & Group Treatment Settings

You sound EXACTLY like me. It's always hard to live like we do, and I'll give you some book recommendations, but I want to give you some pointers too that have basically kept me alive.

I saw so many therapists who did next to nothing for me. I ended up committing myself to a 100% voluntary psychiatric hospital. Everyone was basically in the same boat; we weren't crazy but we weren't healthy either. The treatment plan that they gave us was based on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which is I guess somewhat new. It's meant for borderline personality disorder, but as someone who has PTSD, general anxiety, and clinical depression, I would HIGHLY recommend any books or workbooks or videos you can find on it. I like it because it helps you treat yourself rather than making you dependent on therapists, etc. It's all about reshaping the way you think and the way you handle certain situations. It's the best thing I've ever found that helps (and I spent 15 years in near-useless therapy before that!)

I also found that reading people's memoirs and even some fiction books really helped as well because they reminded me that I wasn't alone. See, it's hard with mental health because it's not like any other "diseases" that you can see. I think we often feel alone because it's so hard to tell when somebody is like us since depression and anxiety aren't conditions that are readily visible to the human eye. It's a sneaky illness that creeps up on you like a parasite and getting it to go away is a process, but it's still possible.

Just think about any positive thing you can, and don't let yourself find cons to it. There may always be negative aspects to things, but there are almost always pros as well. No matter how you feel, there's always somebody out there who could use your help. If you're feeling really bad, try volunteer work. It helps me sometimes. Also try going outside your comfort zone with things. Give yourself a thrill and discover something new that you can enjoy. I know it's hard to get the motivation or energy to do anything like that when you're depressed, but you have to force yourself. (It's called "opposite to emotion action" in DBT. Life saver.)

Anyway, here are those book recommendations:

• The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook
  
• DBT Made Simple
  
• The Expanded DBT Skills Manual for Self Help
  
• The Buddha and the Borderline: A Story of Recovery
  
• It's Kind of a Funny Story
  
• Anything by David Sedaris. He seems to be able to take what would seem like shitty situations and make them sound funny. I think it's kind of inspirational.
  
  A personal favorite author of mine is Douglas Adams. I'd recommend the Salmon of Doubt. No particular reason, he's just funny and it's nice to get your mind off things sometimes.
  
  I hope you feel better. I really really do :-)
  Feel free to PM me with questions.
  
  

Thank you for the compliment. To my detriment or not, I've spent a long time trying help people as a layman. I have nine or ten fewer years of education than the person you're seeing so caveat emptor.

DBT workbook

Another workbook you can go over with your Doc

Relationship wise:

"I Hate You; Don't Leave Me"

and the follow up:

"Sometimes I Act Crazy"

This is a peek down the rabbit hole. There are many more resources available. Even as a poor college student, these books are affordable (especially when compared to the books you're used to buying).

The therapist, Amy Tibbits, who runs the clinic I visit, The Lilac Center, wrote a book to help folks learn the skills of DBT: You Untangled.

My personal therapist, Anna Saviano, co-wrote a second workbook with Amy to help heal the trauma they have lived: You Empowered.

Anna also has me practicing meditation and listening to binaural beats to supplement the EMDR she does with me in session.

I also read The Expanded Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Manual by Lane Pederson before I met Anna and I feel it has given me an excellent foundation to build upon.

DBT Skills Training Manual by Marsha Linehan is not a book I've read personally. However, Linehan is who originally developed DBT and the link says it comes with online access to the worksheets and handouts. That looks to me like another excellent potential resource "straight from the horses mouth" if you will.

I am willing to be a chat/support buddy and can share what I've learned and continue to learn from my sessions as it pertains to DBT.

Good luck. :)

Edit to add: A book suggested by Anna that took me nearly a year to read because it was difficult for me is Healing The Shame That Binds You by John Bradshaw.

Further edit: My husband reminded me that you may well be able to get the books by Linehan, Pederson and Bradshaw at your local library.

I bought as many books as I could on DBT and ACT not all at once only when I could afford it.

I started by reading http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Behavioral-Treatment-Borderline-Personality-Disorder/dp/0898621836/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408057792&sr=8-2&keywords=cognitive+behavioral+therapy+for+bpd

&

http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Individualized/dp/1462502326/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408057888&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=doing+dialectical+behavioural+therapy

to get a better understanding of BPD and DBT. and right now I am working with these workbooks:

http://www.amazon.com/Training-Treating-Borderline-Personality-Disorder/dp/0898620341/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408057792&sr=8-3&keywords=cognitive+behavioral+therapy+for+bpd

and


http://www.amazon.com/Expanded-Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Training/dp/1936128128/ref=pd_sim_b_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1H69WV6FGR18FCSQ5TSQ


and I have just ordered this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Skills-Workbook/dp/1572245131/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408057792&sr=8-1&keywords=cognitive+behavioral+therapy+for+bpd

the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy book I got is (I have yet to start this one):

http://www.amazon.com/Acceptance-Commitment-Therapy-Second-Practice/dp/1609189620/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408058093&sr=1-1&keywords=acceptance+and+commitment+therapy


I do what is on the workbooks and I also do further research on the skills online so I can understand it better and see what works and what doesn't for me and I test them out forcing myself to do exposure sessions ( or try to get used to using them in the moment they are needed or helpful) and I write down everything so I don't forget and kind of monitor myself and my progress.