Full Catastrophe Living: How to Cope with Stress, Pain and Illness Using Mindfulness Meditation

"I had high hopes for this book, having read the reviews. However, after struggling through the near-500 pages, I felt compelled to place my own review as a counter-balance.

This book could have been a third of the size if Jon Kabat-Zinn didn't wafle so much. As with his CD's, he likes to prattle on, constantly repeating the same points until your mind goes numb from sheer boredon.

He does make a few good suggestions - unfortunately they are lost in all of the waffle. I purchased this book because I thought it might help my insomnia - it did, but only because I got so bored reading it that I fell asleep!"
~ Written on 2008-05-19

"This is a really excellent book - unpretentious, practical, precise, lucid and realistic. There is no airy waffle or vague spiritual jargon. It gives very clear directions for several meditation techniques using breathing, scanning the body's sensations or simple yoga to cultivate your focus and awareness, and good advice on how to make room for meditation in your day. As said by others, while the title aims the book at those in pain or under stress, I think it is the most practical and useful manual on meditation and valuable to anyone."
~ Written on 2008-02-05

"Jon Kabat Zinn has successfully provided an antidote to the go getting, goal driven, materialistic and time pressured world that we all live in. A world that encourages us to judge ourselves and each other without an awareness of who we really are beneath the trappings of thought. We are a society out of touch with our inner being - the being of the present moment, not the construct of the past or future that haunts us all most of the time. JKZ noted with irony how we should be called 'human doings' rather than human beings. It is the being world that JKZ encourages us to cultivate. The sense of being in your body in this moment. Just noticing how you feel, what you are thinking and where you are without clinging or holding on to those thoughts and feelings. Its the holding on according to JKZ, the cognitive components such as labeling, judging, comparing etc that is the root of our suffering. Meditation practice is a chance to let go of these distracting and harmful thoughts but recognising that we are 'not' our thoughts.
This book would be of great value to those who are interested in developing a meditation practice. It is also useful to people who are looking for a complementary and holistic approach to physical and psychological difficulties. It takes practice, but suffering can sometimes be viewed as an opportunity to practice a deeper way of being. This can only be good.
I would also reccommend JKZ's Coming to our senses in order to provide a more scientific and philosophical foundation to the practice of mindfullness.
Take the challenge - it will change your life."
~ Written on 2008-02-03

"Ca two years ago suffered from burn out followed by depression. The book helped to see how simple my life could have been and would be now. Good description how a human body suffers from a constant stress (due to work, relationship and so on)and how we can reduce its impact on our life and health. Just one thing to remember is that the book is still a book. But you need to work a lot with youself despite whatever problem you have. This book gives only helpful guidelines how to "see" your problem and try to solve it. The rest depends only on you and your will to help youself! "
~ Written on 2008-01-26

"This book is a way of stopping the world for a short time to allow you to get your breath back. If you work hard at looking at the moments the book will indeed live up to it's promise. This book is for everyone in pain whether the pain is physical or emotional. It is for the people who feel there is nothing else left to try. Give it a go."
~ Written on 2002-03-16