"Learned Hopefulness," by Dan Tomasulo, PhD

Genre: Nonfiction

Page Count: 150+

Published: 2020 (New Harbinger Publications)

Potential Triggers: Evolution mentions,

Mental Health Topics: Depression,

Learned Hopefulness is an interesting book, one that I came across while skimming through the psychology titles at a local bookstore and I thought: "Hmm, the psychology of hope? That sounds interesting." And I was right! It was! But let me explain why.

Written as a non-fiction psychology book, Learned Hopefulness delves into the psychology of not only depression but also briefly gives examples of how it can help other disorders, explaining how hope can be learned, rather than found. Tomasulo (2020) claims that "we aren't born without hope. We were born curious" (p. 20). And with this assumption made, he goes into how to learn how to be more hopeful despite your depression.

This book is actually one that I found myself taking notes on as I read through because the idea of being able to have hope despite such heavy depression was fascinating to me. And yes, there is the fact that depression tends to steal your ability to try new things, which does complicate the "learning hopefulness" bit, but all-in-all, the idea is entirely new to me—and maybe to some of you as well!

I loved reading this book and I found myself captured by the new ideas, new things that I could try, and the examples of people who had tried this and succeeded in changing their lives for the better. For anyone who wants to learn how to change their lives for the better, definitely check out this book!

Reference

Tomasulo, D. J. (2020). Learned Hopefulness: The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression. New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

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