Depression is an agent of entropy, and can lead to personal, social, and financial ruin. Depression can be caused by physical factors, or just by habits of thought. Recently, there have been great advances in treatment of the physical factors that cause depression, especially in the use of new drug therapies such as Prozac. Other new antidepressants, such as Deprenyl and melatonin, have been shown to extend lifespan and improve mental performance. As Princeton psychologist Dr. David Burns points out in Feeling Good , cognitive therapy also represents a significant breakthrough in the treatment and prevention of mood disorders.
Cognitive therapy is a fast-acting technology of mood change.
Rigorous scientific research and critical scrutiny confirm its positive effect. The first principle is that your moods are created by your thoughts. Our habits of thought are often formed by accident, or taught to us by others while we are not wary enough to object to ideas that do not serve us. Cognitive therapy affirms our need to find out and review the thoughts that create our moods and actions. There are many other examples of recent advances which may be helpful in other common personal disorders.