The Instinct to Heal: Curing Depression, Anxiety and Stress Without Drugs and Without Talk Therapy (Paperback)

by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber M.D. Ph.D. (Author) "Every life is unique . . . and every life is difficult..." (more)
Key Phrases: heart rate coherence, heart coherence, cardiac coherence, United States, New York, Love Lab (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Written with grace and elegance, this book might well become the most important mental health landmark of this generation."-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ph.D., author of Flow, Creativity, and The Evolving Self

"A brilliant, absorbing synthesis of science, experience, and thought . . . essential reading for all those who want to understand the frontiers of mind-body health."-Michael Lerner, Ph.D., author of Choices in Healing

"This refreshing alternative is sound. Highly recommended."-Library Journal
"A fascinating account of unorthodox approaches to treating the emotional brain and mind."-Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D., author of The Emotional Brain

Product Description
Millions of Americans try drugs or talk therapy to relieve depression and anxiety, but recent scientific studies prove certain alternative treatments can work as well or better-often bringing on a cure.

In this extraordinary international bestseller, award-winning psychiatrist and neuroscientist David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D., presents seven natural approaches, each with proven results, that together form a treatment plan that builds on the body's relationship to the brain, yielding faster, more dramatic, and permanent changes. People who want to leave suffering behind now can live joyful, happy lives.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (December 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594861587
• ISBN-13: 978-1594861581
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,854 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #40 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Aging > Depression
  #44 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Anxiety Disorders
  #65 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Stress Management

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, April 13, 2005

By	Ruth Edlund "dark goddess of replevin" (King County, Washington:) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This paperback appears to contain exactly the same text as the hardbound version of the same book with a very different cover color scheme. (I thought the paperback version might be updated, but it appears not to be.)

The recommendations in this book really intrigued me, although some of them (e.g, EMDR) are likely to be controversial. I did some research on the author and he checks out. His credentials are real. I did some research also into his sources by checking with a physician who has a holistic bent. They check out too. He is drawing on known authorities in the areas of, for example, neurophysiology, and his research is drawn from peer-reviewed journals.

This book does not offer miracle cures but a series of remedies that seem likely to bring improvement in anyone's state of mind:

(1) "cardiac coherence," a sort of relaxation technique (oversimplified description)
(2) acupuncture
(3) EMDR
(4) exercise
(5) fish oil
(6) meditation and
(7) fostering social connections.

"Curing," however, used in the title, is a less skillful choice than the initial use of the word "heal." Anxiety, depression, and stress are chronic, or at least recurrent, states of the modern mind that are more to be acknowledged and managed than totally made to go away (not all stress, for example, is caused by bad things).

I was already using four of these remedies before I read the book. I learned cardiac coherence easily, I'm about to give acupuncture a try now, based on this book...but I'm still on the fence about EMDR.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Book, September 19, 2005

By	Michael G. Young "youngacupuncture" (Longmont, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dr. Servan-Schreiber has broke new ground in summarizing practical therapeutics for the treatment of the emotional brain. As a health care provider who has had to heal my own brain after two significant head injuries and related traumas I can testify to several of the therapies he recommends, and am interested in trying some of the ones I had not heard as much about. As an acupuncturist the other thing I would add is that these protocols are not just for treating anxiety and depression, but they have relevance for every other chronic disease that is prominent today, the interplay between the emotional brain and all of the things we don't want to get is enormous.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Instinct to Heal, April 9, 2007

By	C. Reed (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

So gratifying to read that science backs up much of what some of us have been doing for many years. Easy read for a sometimes complex subject.