Healing Anxiety and Depression

By: Daniel G. Amen M.D., Lisa C. Routh M.D.

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

For the 38 million Americans who suffer from anxiety and/or depression (and for those who treat them), Dr. Daniel G. Amen has liberating news. Using a sophisticated brain-imaging technology called SPECT (single photon emissions computed tomography), Amen and his colleagues have discovered that these all-too-common disorders are, in large part, the result of measurable brain dysfunction, of physical neurological conditions that clinicians can actually see. And what they can see, they can treat more effectively than ever before.

This groundbreaking work describes the seven distinct types of anxiety and depression revealed by The Amen Clinics' signature brain-imaging studies; offers diagnotic tools and guidelines to determine the specific type affecting each individual (even where SPECT imaging technology is not available); and provides a comprehensive program for treating each type. Treatment includes medication, diet, supplements, exercise, and social and therapeutic support.

Based on powerful new science derived from more than 17,000 SPECT scans, Healing Anxiety and Depression is a lucid and pratical guide to conquering these potentially devastating disorders.

©2003 Daniel G. Amen and Lisa C. Routh (P)2003 Highbridge Company

Informative

A very interesting breakdown of the various types and degrees of anxiety and depression. Gives the reader a better understanding and appreciation for what each is and how each is treated differently and why.

Similar to his other works, but still pretty good

“Healing Anxiety and Depression” is my fourth Dr. Amen book. I just love his platform and the work he’s done in the mental health space. Though this book is similar to most of his other works, it’s also different in that it introduces a new framework for looking at and diagnosing anxiety / depression.

Specifically, Amen introduces seven different flavors of the afflictions, starting with “pure anxiety” (dubbed “one”), and ending with “unfocused anxiety and depression” (called “seven”). What I liked most about this framework is that it shows that mental illness is a spectrum; not all of us have the same symptoms or experience it in the same fashion.

This framework that Amen provides helps readers make better sense of their own flavor of anxiety / depression and discover specific strategies and supplements for dealing with it.

The reason I give the book four stars instead of five is that it goes pretty deep into each of the seven categorizations. Thus, while reading, you get kind of torn between wanting to skip to sections that are more relevant to you, specifically, and not wanting to miss any good information on mental health in general.

That said, there are many helpful tidbits and strategies scattered throughout the book that will help almost anyone dealing with anxiety / depression. The specific things that'll resonate with each reader will vary, but they'll also most certainly be there for the taking, in the end.

Definitely give this one a read if you’re looking for some of those tidbits yourself.

-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head: A Toolkit for Living with and Overcoming Anxiety”

Valuable Information For Anyone

I can see why some of the negative reviewers are disappointed with the reference format of this book. I don't share that view though.

I recently started suffering from panic attacks that were so severe I was unable to work or even go to a restaurant. I had no prior history of this and it was terrifying.

This book has been part of the discovery process for me and the information has helped my understanding of different conditions increase greatly.

If you already know all about anxiety and depression, this may not be for you, but I enjoyed the information so much that I also bought a hard copy so I could review specific areas.

I will concede that audio may not be the best format for this book, but if it didn't exist on Audible I never would have checked it out. I'm terrible at reading non fiction so the audio format worked out great.

That said, this is mostly an informational (reference) book, not a guide for self healing. There are many tips given for dealing with symptoms, but it's not the main focus of the book.

For those searching specifically for help with anxiety, I recommend "Hope and Help for Your Nerves" by Dr. Claire Weekes.

very generic, no new solutions!

dont waste your time or money. you can learn more on youtube! nueroplacticity basics for a newbie at best

This audio might trigger a depressive episode.

I sometimes get gloomy and I read a lot of self help books primarily dealing with cognitive psychology such as "Feeling Good" by Dr. Burns.

I knew this book would take a biological approach upon reading the description and I decided I wanted to hear arguments for the physical explanations of depression. The audio book has a good rating and the paperback book has perfect reviews on Amazon.com , hence, I decided to purchase this book.

I am disappointed. I cannot finish it. Every time I listen it makes me depressed. The content is so dry and uninspiring.

The first 4.5 hours are just about the seven types of depression, their biological causes etc... The content is highly scientific and sounds like a psychology text book. The words Basil Ganglia / Limbic system / Caudal Nucleus are repeated so often (over 200 times) that it makes you cringe when you hear them.

What makes it so frustrating is that it just doesn't work on Audio. This information should serve as a reference in a book format. There is no need to hear (or read this entire book), just the parts that apply to you, unless you are a psychiatrist, etc...

When I listened to this book it made me feel like a victim. I started thinking thoughts such as "Oh my god, what if there is something very biologically wrong with me? What if I can't be cured?" Because after all anti-depressants are not perfect and they just don't work for some people. I also believe, we are still in the baby stages of psychiatry and we don't really know that much about the brain.

This information might be great in book format so you can look up things that you want to know, but to listen to all this negative information has a tendency to put one in a depressed mind set which is probably the opposite intention of the author.

A commercial for SPECT

After reading several positive reviews about this book, I was very disappointed when I actually listened to it myself.. The book was written by scientists/doctors for fellow scientists/doctors, and explores each type of disorder in intricate detail with primary focus on the author?s work with Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) brain scans.

The book does not provide you with any practical non drug related self help tools but rather refers the listener to the need for undertaking a SPECT scan then take drugs to remedy the situation.

I felt frustrated listening to it because I have not had a SPECT brain scan, and I felt I needed to rush out and hand over my money to have one done, so in that sense how the book was relevant to me. In that sense the book felt like a ongoing mononitious commercial for SPECT.

Technical Book for visually impaired.

If listening to someone read a dictionary to you is what you are looking for, this is it. Its better as a reference book, not an audio book -unless you are vision impaired and cannot read a technical book.

This is a good TECHNICAL BOOK about different types of anxiety/depression. Perhaps its good to know to find the best treatment, esspecially for severe cases as it covers in depth the different types of anxiety and depression, causes, etc. But it is not a treatment or self help book. In fact, it is quite depressing in itself. It is VERY DRY and reads technical data, and case studies.

Disappointing

I should have read the reader's reviews before purchasing this book. It contains tons of technical information which doesn't do much good for someone who actually suffers from depression. It is more like a text book rather than a "self-help" guide.

The answers not here!

I made the mistake of not reading the reviews before I wasted my money here. I borderline anxiety and depression on a regular basis because I work in a very trying work enviroment. The information in this title have every potential of sending you over the edge. The book is so depressing that you had beter be strong enough to not have a panic attack when you start hearing all the bad things about anxiety. Quite simply this is not Wayne Dyer type material, more like a college level book report. Walk away!!!