Depression and the Body

The depressed person, says Dr. Alexander Lowen, is out of touch with reality – and especially with the reality of his or her own body. This inspiring, pioneering book explores the cultural and psychological forces that contribute to this condition and shows how we can overcome depression, first by reestablishing the connection to our physical selves and learning to recognize the physical manifestations of our emotions. Drawing on his vast experience with depressed patients, Dr. Lowen outlines a series of simple but remarkably effective exercises that help us reawaken to our own inherent energies, enable us to express our love and uniqueness, and recover our spirituality and faith in living.  

“[Dr. Lowen’s] book is both important and, for the serious lay reader, engrossing. He is an unusually lucid writer, unburdened by jargon, candidly personal.” – Publishers Weekly Depression and the BodyPreface

1. Why We Become Depressed
Depression and Unreality
The Pursuit of Illusion
The Inner-Directed Person

2. Grounding in Reality
Elation and Depression
Grounding the Individual
Some Bioenergetic Grounding Exercises

3. The Energy Dynamics of Depression
The Depressive Condition
The Supression of Feeling
Suicide and Negativity
The Lack of Energy

4. A Case of Depession
The Problem
The Treatment

Dr. Alexander Lowen is the creator of bioenergetics, which he has defined as "a therapeutic technique to help a person get back together with his body and to help him enjoy to the fullest degree possible the life of the body." Incorporating direct work on the body into the psychoanalytic process, Dr. Lowen practices psychiatry in New York and Connecticut and is the executive director of the Institute of Bioenergetic Analysis. He is married and lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife and son.