A Mind of Your Own: The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies to Reclaim Their Lives

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New York Times bestseller

International bestseller

Named one of the top health and wellness books for 2016 by MindBodyGreen

Depression is not a disease. It is a symptom.

Recent years have seen a shocking increase in antidepressant use the world over, with 1 in 4 women starting their day with medication. These drugs have steadily become the panacea for everything from grief, irritability, panic attacks, to insomnia, PMS, and stress.  But the truth is, what women really need can’t be found at a pharmacy.

According to Dr. Kelly Brogan, antidepressants not only overpromise and underdeliver, but their use may permanently disable the body’s self-healing potential. We need a new paradigm: The best way to heal the mind is to heal the whole body.

In this groundbreaking, science-based and holistic approach, Dr. Brogan shatters the mythology conventional medicine has built around the causes and treatment of depression. Based on her expert interpretation of published medical findings, combined with years of experience from her clinical practice, Dr. Brogan illuminates the true cause of depression: it is not simply a chemical imbalance, but a lifestyle crisis that demands a reset. It is a signal that the interconnected systems in the body are out of balance – from blood sugar, to gut health, to thyroid function– and inflammation is at the root.

A Mind of Your Own offers an achievable, step-by-step 30-day action plan—including powerful dietary interventions, targeted nutrient support, detoxification, sleep, and stress reframing techniques—women can use to heal their bodies, alleviate inflammation, and feel like themselves again without a single prescription.

Bold, brave, and revolutionary, A Mind of Your Own takes readers on a journey of self-empowerment for radical transformation that goes far beyond symptom relief.

Why do we accept depression as a disease—and how can women heal their bodies to reclaim their lives?

The Truth About Antidepressants: Learn why medications may worsen the problem and how the “chemical imbalance” theory remains unproven, from an MIT-trained, board-certified psychiatrist.Inflammation as the Real Culprit: Discover how depression is a symptom of a body in crisis, not a disease. Dr. Brogan reveals how inflammation—triggered by lifestyle and diet—is the true root cause.A Path to Whole-Body Wellness: Understand the critical link between mental health and physical systems, including blood sugar, gut health, and thyroid function, and learn how to bring them back into balance.A Prescription-Free Protocol: Follow an achievable 30-day plan featuring powerful dietary interventions, targeted nutrient support, and stress-reframing techniques to heal your body and reclaim your life.

From the Publisher

The Silent Tragedy in Health Care Today

By Kelly Brogan, M.D., Author of A Mind of Your Own.

A silent tragedy in the history of modern health care is happening right now in America, but no one is talking about it. We have been told a story of depression: that it is caused by a chemical imbalance and cured by a chemical fix—a prescription. More than 30 million of us take antidepressants, including one in seven women (one in four women in their forties and fifties). Millions more—maybe you—are tempted to try them to end chronic, unyielding distress, irritability, and feeling emotionally flat—trapped by an exhausting, unshakable inner agitation.

It is time to let go of this false narrative and take a fresh look at where science is leading us. Before you try an antidepressant, I implore you to read this book. And if you do currently take these drugs, then I have an important message for you, too. Let me give you a primer.

Believe it or not:

– In six decades, not a single study has proven that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

– The serotonin theory of depression is a myth that has been supported by the manipulation of data and an echo chamber of industry and media rhetoric.

– Depression is not a genetic disease. It is an epigenetic syndrome. In 2003, a study published in Science suggested that those with genetic variation in their serotonin transporter were three times more likely to be depressed. But six years later this idea was wiped out by a meta-analysis of 14,000 patients published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that denied such an association.

– Depression is often an inflammatory condition, a manifestation of irregularities in the body that can start far away from the brain and are not associated with the simplistic model of so-called ‘chemical imbalances’.

– Depression is an opportunity. It is a sign for us to stop and figure out what’s causing our imbalance.

The human body interacts in its environment with deep intelligence. Your body creates symptoms for a reason. We usually suppress these symptoms with medication, but that is like turning off the smoke alarm when you have a fire going on.

I get the allure of the quick fix cure via a drug. I used to believe in the magic pill. Then, after my residency and fellowship training, I took a sharp turn.

I have spent years voraciously researching to find better health solutions for women, hungry for the truth about what works and what doesn’t. In my research and work with patients—people just like you—I’ve been analyzing data and connecting the dots.

First we have to ask why you are feeling the way you are feeling, and the sources of your symptoms may surprise you. It may be your food, your gut, your thyroid, or even your go-to pain reliever. I continue to be amazed at the power of the body to heal, after decades of abuse by our lifestyles, within time frames as short as thirty days.

My goal is to:

– Help you change the beliefs we’ve all been fed by a system that is not really focused on wellness, but on symptom suppression—and profit.

– Help you discover your body’s innate ability to recalibrate, reset, and recharge so you can heal.

– Give you simple, highly practical steps in a comprehensive plan that activates your own healing power so you can start feel freer and healthier in thirty days or less.

Because you deserve to experience a mind of your own.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Wave
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 15, 2016
Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062405578
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062405579
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.18 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #116,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #89 in Depression (Books) #371 in Healing #2,826 in Personal Transformation Self-Help
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