What is so impressive about this book is that it tells you not just the old tropes about sleep hygiene and exercise and blah, blah, Omega 3s, blah… but it gives you a step by step plan for exactly what you should do and how to put it into action, complete with a troubleshooting section at the end. I realized that I actually wasn’t doing a lot of things correctly, and, by explaining exactly what has worked for him and his patients, the author allows you to understand how to implement a lot of these habits in your life in a way that might actually help your depression. I didn’t know a lot of things about how lightboxes worked or what sort of Omega 3 supplement I should buy. Advice I had gotten in the past was so vague, that I couldn’t implement the habits correctly. For instance, many people will say you should buy “quality supplements” or buy a lightbox from a “brand you trust”, or whatever, but if you don’t know what constitutes a quality supplement or the right sort of lightbox, then it’s impossible to choose among the alternatives. This book bravely names names! It says this brand works, look for a fish oil supplement that says this on it, and here is the reason why. That was very helpful for me!

I also like that everything is broken down into simple steps, so if motivation is your problem, there are a lot of ideas about how to get started with a couple easy things first. I don’t have much of a problem motivating myself to exercise, but I think that section in particular would be very helpful for someone who does have issues, since it gives lots of different ideas for what to do, and it take surprisingly little exercise, according to this book, to have some antidepressent effects. But there is always room for improvement as well, and some exercise is better than others. That’s why I really liked the part in the end about taking your exercise to the next level. This has inspired me to start running everyday, and I’m glad I did!

A quick aside- I didn’t know that there were different kinds of Omega 3 supplements, and since I’m a vegetarian, I thought flaxseed oil was sufficient. The author addresses this issue in a really compelling way. Although it is possible to find vegetarian supplements that would meet the criteria for depression, they are just now being developed and are expensive. Simple flaxseed oil is a different kind of Omega 3 that has not been shown in studies to have an effect on depression. Since medical treatment is not optional, I realize that I actually need to make an exception in this case and just buy fish oil instead. I was taking obscene amounts of flaxseed oil in the past, wondering why it never seemed to help me. Maybe that is the reason!

One problem that some people might have with this book is that it does presuppose a basic ability to get out of bed most mornings. If you are in the throes of a deep depression, you will probably not be able to institute most of these practices into your life (but hey, no harm in trying! Right?). It was very easy for me because my depression was already well controlled by my medication, and my main reason for reading the book was to eventually work my way off of the meds. I know when I’ve been at my worst, survival itself is pretty impossible, just eating and showering are huge burdens, so starting this program would have been difficult. I agree with the author on most points regarding the effectiveness of antidepressants in studies, but it shouldn’t be underemphasized that people with very serious depression, not moderate depression, generally stand out in most studies as not being subject to as much of a placebo effect. That is to say, there is a category of people for which meds are indispensible. If that applies to you, seek professional assistance until you get back on your feet, and then you can use all of the advice in this book to prevent a recurrence. But for anyone else, even people who have never had depression, the advice in this book will help you prevent a whole array of health problems, since it is generally encouraging you to live a healthier lifestyle and it is strongly promoting well-being, as opposed to just being symptom free. So it’s not just about keeping you alive; it’s about enjoying life.

I think, for me, the hardest advice to follow will be the chapters on rumination and socializing. I wish the author would write a whole book on rumination, actually, since I just don’t know what else I’m supposed to think about! What would be a good thing to think about? What do normal people think about? But this book does a very good job of explaining how to improve these issues. Again, what I like about it is it breaks it down into small steps, and it tells you exactly what you could do, how to get yourself to be more social, where to look for social contacts, what to do when you catch yourself ruminating, etc.

So, that’s all a long way of saying, I’m really glad I read this book. I think this is somewhat of a breakthrough in how we look at mental illness, and it’s just great to be treated like an adult who, if given good information, is willing and capable of taking control of my life and my illness. I was put on meds when I was still in high school, so my whole adult life, I’ve always felt like I was reliant on doctors to alleviate my pain with pills. Maybe I was so desperate to feel better, that the mere alleviation of symptoms took up all of my focus. And unfortunately, I became very addicted to these pills long before I had even reached the age of consent. I realize now that there were so many other options than just medication, and I wish someone like this author had come around back then. For me, it’s not only about being depression free or anxiety free… it’s also about leading a qualitatively good life, about feeling fulfilled and maybe even happy, about having people for whom I matter, and about kinda making the world a better place. And that’s the thing that a doctor has never been able to help me do! I think the answer might lie in this book, and I’m really thankful to the author for writing it!