The revolutionary book that has helped hundreds of thousands of readers find relief from chronic unhappiness is now in a revised and updated second edition. This authoritative, easy-to-use self-help program is grounded in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), a clinically proven approach. The expert authors explain why our usual attempts to “fix” sadness or “talk ourselves out of it” can actually worsen recurrent depression instead of relieving it. Through vivid stories and downloadable audio meditations encouragingly narrated by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the book shows how to break the mental habits that lead to despair—and recover a sense of joy, aliveness, and possibility. Revised throughout to be even more reader friendly, the second edition features fresh insights on coping with the challenges of our ever-changing world; the latest scientific data; and four additional audio tracks.

Mark Williams, DPhil, is Professor of Clinical Psychology Emeritus at the University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, where he was Founding Director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. He collaborated with John Teasdale and Zindel Segal in developing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to prevent relapse and recurrence in major depression; together, they coauthored Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition (for mental health professionals), as well as the self-help guides The Mindful Way Workbook and (with Jon Kabat-Zinn) The Mindful Way through Depression, Second Edition. Dr. Williams continues to train mindfulness teachers internationally.

John Teasdale, PhD, held a Special Scientific Appointment with the United Kingdom Medical Research Councils Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences. He collaborated with Mark Williams and Zindel Segal in developing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to prevent relapse and recurrence in major depression; together, they coauthored Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition (for mental health professionals), as well as the self-help guides The Mindful Way Workbook and (with Jon Kabat-Zinn) The Mindful Way through Depression, Second Edition. Since retiring, Dr. Teasdale has taught mindfulness and insight meditation internationally. He continues to seek a psychological understanding of the wider implications of mindfulness and meditation for enhancing our way of being, and is the author of What Happens in Mindfulness: Inner Awakening and Embodied Cognition.

Zindel Segal, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders at the University of Toronto-Scarborough. Dr. Segal has conducted influential research into the psychological processes that make certain people more vulnerable than others to developing depression and experiencing recurrent episodes. He actively advocates for the relevance of mindfulness-based clinical care in psychiatry and mental health. He collaborated with John Teasdale and Mark Williams in developing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to prevent relapse and recurrence in major depression; together, they coauthored Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition (for mental health professionals), as well as the self-help guides The Mindful Way Workbook and (with Jon Kabat-Zinn) The Mindful Way through Depression, Second Edition.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he founded the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society and the world-renowned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. Dr. Kabat-Zinn is the author of 15 books. His work and that of his colleagues around the world has contributed to the growing movement of mindfulness in mainstream society and in medicine, health care, psychology, and neuroscience. He teaches and conducts mindfulness retreats worldwide.

Introduction: Tired of Feeling So Bad for So Long

I. Mind, Body, and Emotion

1. “Oh No, Here I Go Again”: Why Unhappiness Won’t Let Go

2. The Healing Power of Awareness: Making a Shift to Freedom

II. Moment by Moment

3. Cultivating Mindfulness: A First Taste

4. The Breath: Gateway to Awareness

5. A Different Way of Knowing: Sidestepping the Ruminating Mind

III. Transforming Unhappiness

6. Reconnecting with Our Feelings—Those We Like, Those We Don’t Like, and Those We Don’t Know We Have

7. Befriending Our Feelings

8. Seeing Thoughts as Creations of the Mind

9. Mindfulness in Everyday Life: Taking a Breathing Space

IV. Reclaiming Your Life

10. Fully Alive: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness

11. Bringing It All Together: Weaving the Mindfulness Program into Your Life

Notes

Index