Hide & seek : how I laughed at depression, conquered my fears and found happiness : a neurotic's hilarious journey

Hilarious and refreshingly honest, this chronicle of a year-long journey of self-exploration and self-help offers solace and solidarity to the myriad sufferers of clinical depression and anxiety disorders. A far cry from the typical self-help manual, this wry and subversive account is leavened with a healthy dose of humble pie and a keen sense of the absurd. As the author navigates a series of self-help classes designed to raise her self-esteem, make her more assertive, help her find a man, lose weight, channel her creativity, and get her "energy centers" realigned, the reader will be moved and inspired by her pluck. Tackling important issues like familial dysfunction, letting go of blame and resentment, and battling negative thinking, this memoir shows it's possible to recover one's self worth without losing one's sense of humor. Front Cover ......Page 1 Copyright ......Page 5 Contents ......Page 8 1. The Master Plan......Page 10 2. Excuse Me for Living......Page 20 3. Confessions of a Victim......Page 44 4. Singled Out......Page 66 5. Cancel, Cancel Redux......Page 86 6. Weighty Issues......Page 110 7. Me, Myself and I......Page 133 8. Bouncing Back......Page 155 9. The Glass Half Full......Page 183 10. Up, Up and Away......Page 201 11. Ms. Happiness......Page 220 12. The New Plan......Page 230 About the Author......Page 236 Bibliography......Page 238 Organizations......Page 241 Web Sites......Page 244 Back Cover ......Page 258 Follows the author--a longtime sufferer of depression and anxiety--over the course of a year during which she was able to recover her self-worth without losing her sense of humor through a series of classes designed to help raise her self-esteem and cure everything that was wrong with her life Tackling important issues like familial dysfunction, letting go of blame and resentment, and battling negative thinking, Wendy Aron shows it's possible to recover one's self worth without losing one's sense of humor.