The Upward Spiral (Second Edition)

Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time

De: Alex Korb PhD., Daniel J. Siegel M.D. - foreword

Narrado por: Alex Korb PhD., David de Vries

There isn’t “one big solution” to ease depression—instead there are several small, simple steps you can take to alter your brain activity and chemistry. This newly revised and updated 10th anniversary edition of The Upward Spiral offers actionable strategies to help you reshape your brain and build the life you want.

Depression can feel like a downward spiral, pulling you into a vortex of sadness, fatigue, and apathy. In The Upward Spiral, neuroscientist Alex Korb demystifies the intricate brain processes that cause depression and offers a practical and effective approach to getting better. Based on the latest research in neuroscience, this book provides dozens of straightforward tips you can do every day to rewire your brain and create an upward spiral towards a happier, healthier life.

If you suffer from depression, this book offers an engaging and informative look at the neuroscience behind our emotions, thoughts, and actions. This updated edition also includes new research on the impact of social media and smart phones on mental health.

Small steps in the right direction can have profound effects―giving you the power to become your best self as you literally reshape your brain, one small change at a time.

©2025 by Alex Korb. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Terrific science backed recommendations

I went into The Downward Spiral expecting one of those familiar self-help books that offers broad, generic advice, socialize more, stay active, change your mindset, without really explaining why any of it works. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. While the book does touch on those themes, it grounds them firmly in science, drawing on brain chemistry, neuroscience, and well-designed psychological studies to explain how and why we slip into downward emotional patterns, and, more importantly, how we can interrupt them.

What stood out most was the way complex research is translated into something genuinely understandable and practical, without feeling clinical or cold. The explanations around brain chemistry and feedback loops made the experience feel validating rather than preachy, as if the book was saying, this isn’t a personal failure, this is how the brain can get stuck.

The audiobook experience elevated it even further. The reader’s voice is calm, empathetic, and deeply reassuring, more like listening to a thoughtful counselor or trusted friend than being lectured. There’s a sense of being understood, which makes it easier to absorb the material and reflect honestly on your own patterns.

Overall, this is a rare self-help book that combines compassion with credible science. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants not just encouragement, but real understanding and evidence based tools for breaking out of emotional and mental ruts.