Customer Reviews

Lifting Depression: A Neuroscientist's Hands-On Approach to Activating Your Brain's Healing Power

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Lifting Depression doesn't really do what it advertises. It doesn't provide compelling evidence that using our hands to produce meaningful outcomes (as in housecleaning, gardening, sewing, and so forth) can cure, or even prevent, depression. The author begins building the case, but then admits that "Of course, I'm not suggesting that people who are depressed can relieve their symptoms simply by cleaning their houses." So, if people can't even relieve a symptom or two by hands-on effort, what is the book about?

Actually, the book is a reasonable attempt to disabuse the public of the idea that depression is caused by serotonin deficiency, and the related idea that antidepressant drugs are an effective and sufficient way for most people to cure their depression. Depression is a complicated disease with many causes and to treat it effectively, most sufferers will need to approach it from a number of different directions.

The author is particularly interested in the "effort-driven reward circuit" of the brain, i.e., engaging your hands in productive, effortful activity that has concrete, satisfying ends (a clean house, say). It is unfortunate that she doesn't have more evidence for her thesis, but that doesn't mean it won't work. I know from experience that when I am depressed, it is helpful to do something active, and doing something with the particular purpose of relieving your depression can act like a placebo: you believe, to some degree, that what you're doing may help you, and therefore, sometimes, it does.

At any rate, those who say that the author must be wrong because they or someone they know is depressed despite cleaning and cooking on a regular basis are not quite getting it. Medication, therapy, and exercise are all proven antidepressants, yet many who use them are depressed. All this shows is that no method works for everyone all the time. The key, it seems to me, is a multi-pronged approach.

So for those readers who are still thinking that depression is all about chemicals, I can recommend this book. There is a lot to know about depression and this book presents much useful information in an easy-to-read way.

Depression is a devastating condition which immobilizes millions each year: that's why LIFTING DEPRESSION: A NEUROSCIENTIST'S HANDS-ON APPROACH TO ACTIVATING YOUR BRAIN'S HEALING POWER is so wide-ranging and important, recommended for both health libraries and general-interest lending collections alike. New research with rats (whose brains are similar to humans) leads to identification of a circuit in the human brain responsible for negative thinking and depression - and also shows how hands-on physical activities yield rewards and fight depression. Even knitting or gardening works to stimulate the body's own depression-fighting chemicals: LIFTING DEPRESSION is a solid move to individual freedom.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

What is it about productive thoughts, when converted to actual results,

provide our brain that 'just-rite' dose of neurochemicals, that present our minds with 'that-feelin' of contented pleasure? Dr. Kelly Lambert should have received a multitude of 'neuro-bombs' in her synaptic clefts,

[before-during-after] the production of this most enlightening book...

LIFTING DEPRESSION.

The 'meat-n-taters' of this work are geared around the Effort-Driven Reward [EDR] circuit of our brain that consist of the following:

o- Nucleus Accumbens ...pleasure center

o- Striatum ...motor system

o- Prefrontal Cortex ...cognitive thinking/planning/decision/memory

o- Limbic System ...emotion and learning

These 'rewards' are NOT confined to the physical effort alone, but involve complex thought processes within the realms of anticipation/expectation. When we anticipate... [MORE]-activity occurs in the pleasure center of the brain (nucleus accumbens) than actually achieving a task. The accumbens is positioned between the brain's motor system (striatum), which controls our movements, and the (limbic system), a collection of structures involved in emotion and learning. The accumbens is a MAJOR LINK between our emotions and our actions. Finally, all of these components connect/filter thru the (prefrontal cortex), where our cognitive thought processes, planning, decision-making and such blend into the mix.

In fact, she claims practically every major symptom of depression correlates with a brain part on this circuit. Loss of pleasure?-(nucleus accumbens)...Sluggishness/slow motor responses?-(striatum)...Negative

feelings?-(limbic system)...Poor concentration?-(prefrontal cortex).

Dr. Lambert's message of a "HANDS-ON" approach to the constructive oriented effort, tends to activate/fire-off the neurons that seek out to

connect these areas/regions/structures/components that mystically provide

a happy/content/pleasing effect on our mind. Yet, in the absence of such

motion/motor/manual activity, depressive symptom(s) are more likely to emerge.

Finally, Dr. Lambert includes impressive research on rats, that verify the claims made above and within the book as well. She promotes the nonpharmcological treatment for depression strongly based in the [EDR]

approach, which includes not only constructive hand skills- (knitting/gardening/carpentry/art/cooking/etc.) but basic (exercise/walking/swimming/gaming/etc.) all common sense stuff we all should "know", but now have more empirical evidence that ought to convince us to ..." LEND OURSELVES A HAND ".

I would also recommend: SPARK ...the revolutionary new science of exercise

and the brain. By: Dr. John J. Ratey ;he claims you can supercharge your mental circuits to beat stress, sharpen your thinking, lift your mood, boost your memory and much more....

New ideas to help depression victims---keep your mind and hands busy doing and creating ---it really makes a difference---not instead of meds for most people, but in addition---and for everyone anyway, depression or not--creating is therapeutic...

Enjoyed this book which did a good job of presenting scientific studies along with anecdotal information to support the theme that depression could be treated with effort-driven rewards and physical activity. Two common themes come into play in this book, one that we have the solutions within us to deal with modern-day maladies, like depression, as opposed to drug therapy. Second that our modern sedentary lifestyle and minimized physical interaction may be exsacerbating the issues.

As a lay person, it further reinforced what we've been seeing played out more and more in the news and literature which is that we need to act decisively against being overtaken by a sedentary lifestyle and conveinence as facilitated by technology.

I could only read the first twenty pages or so of this book. Are you kidding me? A rebuilt vacuum. I worry for the author's student who may struggle with clinical depression. I wonder if she has ever watched a loved one with clinical depression stuggle everyday. I have very close family members who are master gardners, extraordinary crafts people, built thier lives working with their hands and had the darkest depressions. The writing is selfinvolved and selfcentered. Struggling from the death of a beloved mother is very different that struggling with clinical depression. I am grateful every day for SSRs and other medications that allow my loved ones relief from their depression.

This is a fascinating book and her tips are useful for nearly everyone, not just depressed people.

For people new to depression or experience episodic mild symptoms or have situational depression, this book may be helpful. I would not recommend this book for persons who have chronic clinical moderate & severe depression for the the following reasons: anyone who who has suffered depression for much of their lives have already heard all of the provided advice. Depression ranges greatly in levels, intensity, chronicity & spectrums, not to mention genetic dispositions, & histories of physical, emotional & sexual abuse. Chronic depression is a mental illness & should be respected as such. The author has good intentions. I do not receive the impression that the author has worked in mental health clinics or hospitals that would provide a deeper knowledge of the workings of depression. For example, severly depressed people know that they "should" excercise. What happens when people experience a mental haze, delusional & distortive thinking & no energy not too mention near comotose state of being that excercise is an impossibility but the "should" remains as another guilt producing tormentor of the the disease? As a senior citizen, I could provide other info regarding depression & the elderly. To expound further regarding this book would be for me to write my own book.