7 Steps To Overcoming Anxiety and Depression [Paperback]

Gary Null (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

For the millions of Americans suffering from depression and anxiety, the natural and non-toxic healing modalities offered in this book are a must. The reader will learn a specific 7-step program for detoxifying the brain and which herbs, botanicals, and therapies assist in rebalancing brain chemistry so that moods and emotions become normalized. Gary Null will discuss the latest information on the following substances that effect one's emotions: Ginkgo Biloba, Kava Kava, Hops, Passion Flower, Valerion Root, Skull Cap and St. John's Wort.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: I Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743458818
• ISBN-13: 978-0743458818
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,483,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Does Not Deliver, April 26, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 7 Steps To Overcoming Anxiety and Depression (Paperback)

I assumed I'd open this book and find at least seven chapters describing the steps to overcome depression and anxiety using Null's trademark holistic methodology. Instead, there are 8 pages in the introduction discussing the 7 steps, and then we don't read about them again -- ever. There's a chapter of "mood altering" vegetarian recipes. Some of them sound tasty, but how they're going to alter my mood I'm not quite certain. There's a a chapter of "positive affirmations." For instance, no. 308: "How many people end up wasting a lot of their time trying to go through life achieving things to prove that they're okay?" Where I come from, that's not an affirmation, it's a question, worded in the negative. Then there's a chapter called "88 ways to supercharge your immune system" which is a list of nutrition research abstracts. Gary is a prodigious reader and has done his homework for us on this, but it's not organized in a way that's particularly useful. This should have been Gary's job.

On the plus side, there are several chapters at the beginning of the book which are well written and thoughtful -- although they have nothing to do with the title of the book! Gary has some important things to say regarding giving psychotropic drugs and electro-convulsive therapy to school-age children and the elderly, discusses drug side effects and the problem with our current definition of mental illness. This part of the book is well-written and edited, and it gives me the impression that perhaps Null had a contractual obligation to release a book, or wanted to release those first few chapters, so he threw them together with a bunch of semi-related, half-finished material and gave it a title he thought might sell.

I'm thinking maybe Gary dictated the rest of the book or scribbled it out in a hurry, and the typist didn't have a very good command of the English language. There are so many typographical, vocabulary and grammatical errors that it appears as if, with the exception of the first few chapters mentioned above, the book was not edited or proofed at all. For instance: "Women will commensurate with Oprah, Montell, and Dr. Phil, their favorite soap operas and weepy movie..." (p. xiii). Gary, I think you mean "commiserate." On p. 102 we read: "Candace B. Pert, Ph.D., is mostly known for her discovery of endorphins..." That's wrong. Dr. Pert discovered the opiate receptor, which made the discovery of endorphins possible. In the Protocol for Depression on pgs. 114-15, I found two typos plus the following, which I've reproduced letter for letter: "B-complex, 100 (???? Mg or mcg), once a day." Apparently the typist was either reading Gary's handwriting or listening to his dictation, and because he neglected to indicate whether he was talking about milligrams or micrograms, the typist inserted "????" to indicate the need for clarification. Nobody picked up on those question marks before the book went to press and, hence, we have a useless vitamin protocol. This strikes me as rather counter-productive, given that the aim of the book is to help me overcome anxiety and depression through natural means.

If you're interested in a well-reasoned, political analysis of the flaws in our mental health policies, you might appreciate the first few chapters. If you're looking for vegetarian recipes, there are many good cookbooks on the market. And if you're looking for seven steps to overcoming depression and anxiety that you can follow with confidence, keep looking, because this book does not deliver.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT GARY'S USUAL HELPFUL FARE, March 28, 2005

By 

D. J. Mielz (ILLINOIS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 7 Steps To Overcoming Anxiety and Depression (Paperback)

I expected a lot more from this book. It's title proffered so much insight, but in reality it falls very short on help. It's more a tirade on the pharmacuetical industry than a self-help book. It proves confusing for those readers looking for guidance. I'm not sure that the investment of time required to read it is worth enough. It can be a difficult read. Other titles by Gary Null are wonderful. The typos were surprising as well.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Try 1001 Steps, April 2, 2004

By 

RokyErickson (Austin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 7 Steps To Overcoming Anxiety and Depression (Paperback)

This book might better be titled: "How To Be Healthy, In General". There isn't much here specifically addressing mental health. Null goes off on all sort of unrelated tangents. There are extensive lists of what vitamins and nutrients to take, based on various studies. The lists are mind boggling and very repetitive. Null does not attempt to make this information cohesive or narrowed down to the 7 steps promised in the title. There are many typos in this book as well. I do not recommend it.