| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-09-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 252 pages | | Height: | 6.0 in | | Width: | 8.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 15.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
Challenging the traditional paradigm of depression as a chemical imbalance that must be "cured" with powerful drugs, this surprising and heartening investigation offers holistic, natural methods for easing depression's more painful symptoms, while recognizing that depression is often a natural and healthy response to emotional turning points in our lives.
In The Wisdom of Depression: A Guide to Understanding and Curing Depression Using Natural Medicine, holistic physician Dr. Jonathan Zuess explains how the activation of symptoms such as insomnia, preoccupation with ones problems, soul-searching, and the desire to be alone are natural reactions to our harried lives. The initial stage of depression is designed to enhance our ability to focus inward and find solutions to difficult emotional challenges; in many ways our bodies and minds are forcing us to create a contemplative environment much like the vision quest of native cultures or the monastic quiet of a Western retreat. However, if this process goes on for too long, we can become "stuck," mired in an unproductive, even painful cycle. The gentle, alternative therapies in this informative and practical book help restart the healing work of depression, instead of simply cutting it short. As an example, the herb St. Johns wort enhances the dreaming cycle--an intensive problem-solving mode of consciousness--unlike prescription antidepressants. Other therapies covered include nutritional supplements, light therapy, music and play, meditation, and prayer. Dr. Zuess also discusses environmental toxins and drug side effects that mimic the symptoms of depression, as well as how to find a psychiatrist if the depression deepens to a clinical state and antidepressants become necessary. The Wisdom of Depression is the essential guide to the full array of treatments for depression.As a society, we have long misunderstood the process of depression. Depression is not just a chemical imbalance in the brain. It can be our bodies' response to the need to address imbalance in our whole lives and is in many ways about transformation. In fact, when viewed and treated within a holistic framework, the process of depression can become a powerful and potentially creative healing path.
Industry Reviews
Zuess, a practicing psychiatrist and author of The Natural Prozac Program: How To Use St. John's Wort, the Antidepressant Herb (Three Rivers, 1997), advocates a holistic approach to the treatment of depression, urging readers to choose the best of conventional and complementary therapies. Zuess differentiates between the common depressed response and the longer lasting major depressive disorder. Symptoms of a depressed response such as insomnia, restlessness, fatigue, and introspection are natural reactions to deep emotional and spiritual issues. Dream analysis, spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation, and creative expression in music, art, and writing can aid the process of resolution and transformation. When the depressive response turns into illness, Zuess recommends medical and psychological intervention. He gives guidance on choosing a therapist, discusses the use of antidepressant drugs and other therapies, and describes St. John's Wort as a natural antidepressant. Recommended for consumer health collections. Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA
Kakutani
To a topic about which so much has already been written, psychiatrist Zuess (The Natural Prozac Program) brings an astonishingly fresh view. His holistic approach recognizes depression as "a natural and healthy response" to "difficult emotional challenges," a "built-in healing mechanism." Unless this healing process is subverted in some way, its outcome, Zuess says, is "inner transformation," as sufferers "emerge from it stronger, healthier, and more in touch with their wise inner self." But Zuess admits that subversion is possible, and that the depressed response sometimes evolves into illness ("major depressive disorder") rather than being resolved. Only then does he advocate the powerful drugs (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.) most conventional psychiatrists offer as a first and often singular treatment. Instead, Zuess proposes use of the natural herb St. John's Wort. For all forms of mild to severe depression, he also suggests a program that includes a physical examination, exercise, sunlight, herbs, vitamins, nutrition, psychotherapy, play, dream analysis, and meditation and relaxation techniques. He also teaches an excellent step-by-step method for creative problem-solving. Offering a knowledgeable examination of the myriad treatments for the epidemic affliction of depression, Zuess's noteworthy book also delivers a brisk introduction to the holistic view of medicine in general. (Sept.)
Bukey
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