The Upward Spiral

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

By: Alex Korb PhD.

Narrated by: David deVries

Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Depression can feel like a downward spiral, pulling you down into a vortex of sadness, fatigue, and apathy. Based in the latest research in neuroscience, this audiobook offers dozens of little things you can do every day to rewire your brain and create an upward spiral toward a happier, healthier life.

Depression doesn't happen all at once. It starts gradually and builds momentum over time. If you go through a difficult experience, you may stop taking care of yourself. You may stop exercising and eating healthy, which will end up making you feel even worse as time goes on. You are caught in a downward spiral, but you may feel too tired, too overwhelmed, and too scared to try to pull yourself back up. The good news is that just one small step can be a step in the right direction.

In The Upward Spiral, neuroscientist Alex Korb demystifies the neurological processes in the brain that cause depression and offers effective ways to get better--one little step at a time. In the book, you'll discover that there isn't "one big solution" that will solve your depression. Instead, there are dozens of small, practical things you can do to alleviate your symptoms and start healing. Some are as simple as relaxing certain muscles to reduce feelings of anxiety while others involve making small efforts toward more positive social interactions. Small steps in the right direction can have profound effects--giving you the power literally to "reshape" your brain.

Like most people, you probably didn't wake up one day and find yourself completely depressed. Instead, it probably happened over time, as a series of reactions to difficult situations and negative thinking. But if you are ready to reverse the trajectory of your depression and find lasting happiness, this audiobook will show you how.

©2015 Alex Korb (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Practical & Positive

This is a fascinating look at the neuroscience of the brain and depression. It is very accessible and offers small, easy changes that can be implemented to alter the way you feel. I particularly liked the reasoning and science presented to back up and explain the changes the author suggests. This makes these new behaviors understandable and action oriented. Whether you are suffering from depression or just feeling stuck and not as happy and positive as you have in the past--this book and theory offers a way forward. I found the book to be supportive, simple, and engaging.

My only suggestion is that if the science bogs you down--fast forward past those parts and focus on the changes suggested. You can always go back and listen to the science later. It is a quick listen and helpful if you hear it more than once. Also, to me, the narrator starts out speaking overly fast--this improves as the book progresses. Overall, a positive and informative book that is worth the time and filled with sensible advice.

Over 20 years depressed

I have struggled with depression on and off for over 20 years. I am also a healthcare worker who loves learning about the body and this book doesn't disappoint! I learned so much about my brain and why I think and feel the way I do. It also gave me a better understanding of my symptoms and how to recognize when I begin to spiral. Reading this book has given me a sense of control over my depression which has helped me feel so much better along with psychotherapy and medication. I have truly created an upward spiral for myself because of this book. I highly recommend it to anyone with depression or anyone wanting to learn about depression and anxiety.

The Science Behind Stress Management

Anyone who has suffered from depression, anxiety, etc has heard that it helps to "stay positive," smile at someone, help someone else, think of things you are grateful for. This book explains the science behind why those techniques and more really are not just platitudes. They really work if you apply them. Many of us have known that horrible moment when you realize that you are I'm a downward spiral and you feel helpless to pull yourself out of it. This book can help.
The narration was right for the material and the material was presented succinctly.

Good overview.

Lots of good information but nothing new or ground breaking. It's one of those books that reinforces ideas that you may already know and that can be helpful.

The author uses numerous neurological terms and brain area functions. There are terms and certain brain areas that he
repeatedly references that becomes (to me) distracting. Overall this is a bite size, easy to understand book if you ignore the jargon.

I found a Great Courses dvd program at my library titled understanding the brain by Jeanette Norden . It is an amazing wealth of information about the brain in an understandable format.

Helpful and simple

The methodologies mentioned in the book are very straightforward and useful. The new concept here to me is “spiral”. Many people can have some down time at certain point of life. If you let this continue, some may develop into different stages of depression. You either do nothing and let everything slip into “downward spiral”, or do something and start to trigger a series of positive effects, or “upward spiral”. After listening to the book, the first thing I plan to do is to add some workout routines with group settings.

This book is more about non-surgical and non-medical ways to treat depression. It does mention about medicines and claim that if you cannot benefit from one medicine, you may well benefit from the other. However, it doesn’t describe any side effects from those medicines, and I would suggest sticking to the non-medical ways recommended by this book.

Weird tone and organization

First off let me start by saying that I did get a few tips out of this book that were applicable to my depression. With that out of the way, this book had a lot of repetition, was organized in a confusing manner and didn't always produce the best advice. A lot of things said earlier in the book were then contradiced later. The tone was pretty bad in my honest opinion. It oscillated between overly complicated medical jargon to overly simple methods of actually helping your depression. Still worth a read, but doesn't get my recommendation if you don't already own it.

Excellent blend of theoretical explanation and practical suggestions!

Alex Korb offers very practical ideas for small steps that people can take, to have a profound effect on their mood and wellbeing, along with all the neuroscientific background to explain how these small steps lead to such great change. An excellent book, highly recommended!

Information Overload and Uninspiring

Would you try another book from Alex Korb and/or David deVries?

No

Would you ever listen to anything by Alex Korb again?

Never say never, but this is not the book for me, maybe it's because I don't have depression; but after listening to this book, I felt a bit depressed.

What aspect of David deVries’s performance would you have changed?

I felt like the audiobook was playing at 1.5x speed when in fact it was normal speed. Maybe it was the way the book was written.

Was The Upward Spiral worth the listening time?

No. I feel like this audiobook is a bit "dated". After listening to profound works from Brene Brown and Kelly McGonigal, I had expected "Upward Spiral" to be similarly inspiring, given that the title seemed to set-out to do just that. However, what I got was something like a 101 to dealing with depression.

Any additional comments?

As a "normal" person who is occasionally depressed, but does not suffer from chronic depression, I find it hard to conceive of spending time listening to this book if I "AM" depressed. I think this book could have benefited from a more modest title, i.e. "Introduction to Neuroscience of Depression".

Buyers beware, this is a book on the introduction on the neurosciences of depression; if you are looking for something nuanced, inspiring or ground breaking, I recommend that you check out something else.

Best Depression Book I Have Read.

What did you love best about The Upward Spiral?

The well thought out explanations and specific behavioral recommendations. Very, very useful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator. Mercy but he is clear and has an interesting rhythm. Very upbeat. An excellent choice for this material.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are no scenes per se. I did like the discussion about the brain, its various components. Very clear and interesting.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me appreciate crystal clear explanations of sometimes abstruse material.

Any additional comments?

If you suffer from depression you Must listen and read this book.

Great book

Quite a help though sometimes tend to trivialize hard matters. Well spoken and in good pace for listeners seeking out soul pain release.