Customer Reviews

Natural Prozac: Learning to Release Your Body's Own Anti-Depressants

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As someone who has battled severe depression since late childhood, has a strong family history of depression/suicide, has read a lot on this subject, has seen a couple therapists, has tried several anti-depressants (60mg of Prozac right now is keeping me afloat but not improving), etc., my thoughts on this book are:

1) The theory behind this book dovetails with everything else I've read and experienced (not just about depression but about how behavior, diet, exercise, sleep, etc. impact metahormones and various aspects of health) and is argued persuasively. 2) The information is not just for people with mild depression; it applies even moreso to those of us who are severely depressed and therefore need to look deeper and work harder on the underlying issues that affect our brain chemistry and mood. 3) This book actually gave me hope, after almost 5 years of struggling against a major episode, including periods of not having the motivation to get out of bed or even to call someone to talk about it. It's the first book I have ever read that I could say that about, and I've read at least a dozen on depression. 4) The reason it gave me hope is two-fold: * I recognized myself utterly in his profile of the "satiation-depressed" personality down to the last detail, which gives me confidence he knows whereof he speaks, and * He supplies practical information on how to impact your brain chemistry over time--just as prolonged stress/trauma may have adjusted it to depressive chemistry--whether you're taking medication or not.

This is not a fad program, a money-making scheme, or bogus science. There is a test at the end of the book that you can submit for analysis for a fee, but it would only be necessary if you have a very unusual, intractable problem. Reading the book will give you a clear idea what the issues are, where you fall on the continuum, and a clear, detailed plan for change.

For example: You probably already know that exercise can improve your mood. But Dr. Robertson tells you what kind of exercise for how long for how often will boost which neurotransmitters--after he's helped you see which ones specifically need to be raised or lowered in your particular case.

Some people may take offense to being categorized, but that doesn't change whether the categorization is accurate or not. If you really have depression and you really want to change that, you can't afford not to read this book. Also highly recommended for family & friends trying to understand why personality, etc. is so affected in depressed people.

If this book speaks to you, you will also want to read BEYOND PROZAC, which covers more theory and more options, based soundly on experimental test data (e.g. exactly how to use light therapy effectively, detail on the impact & use of negative ions, etc.)

I have suffered from depression for 30 years. I have been through therapy and have been on and off antidepressants for all those years. Whenever I attempt to "go off" medication, I end up depressed again and feeling defeated. I had given up hope of ever getting off medication until I read Dr. Robertson's book.

I always thought that there must be a connection between what I ate and my depression but none of my therapists and doctors ever suggested anything other than talking and taking medication. Also, I am a Psychiatriac Nurse and work in a mental hospital. I see firsthand what drugs can and cannot do and also the serious side effects of those drugs. Drugs and talk therapy can control symptoms in most people, but they do not cure. You stop the drugs, the symptoms return. Dr. Robertson is saying is that WE CAN BE CURED OF DEPRESSION through a program of diet, exercise, behavior modification, music, and the acitvities we choose! I have never heard a doctor say that before. After reading Dr. Robertson's book, I am filled with hope. In layman's terms, he describes how what we eat does contribute to our depression and also our own behaviors. He also goes into the different types of personalities, basically Type A and Type B, Arousal Type and Satiate Type. I am definatly type B.

Please read this book if you are depressed or if someone you love is depressed. You will not regret it.

I am making a serious effort to follow his guidelines. I have stopped smoking, I do some type of exercise every day, and I am changing my diet. I feel great. I am going to follow these guidelines for 2 months and then go see my doctor and talk with him about tapering me off my medication.

I would love to talk with others who have read this book and found it as helpful as I have or who tried and were not successful.

We're often inclined to look to medication to solve most health problems, including depression. While Robertson doesn't deny the value of the newer antidepressant drugs, he points out the side effects many experience on them, then suggests that natural mood boosters are worth considering to fight depression.

For example, he notes that complex carbohydrates naturally raise brain serotonin levels and feelings of well being. The complex carbs are superior in maintaining brain levels of serotonin more so than simple sugars (a candy bar, for example), because the complex carbs have long chains of amino acids that take longer to break down in the body, and thus provide a steadier stream of "feel good" nourishment.

He promotes exercise and sunshine as a way to feel better. I have tried many of his suggestions and feel he is on the right track. Even if you are already taking an antidepressant, you will likely find his suggestions helpful in beating depression. It's hard not to feel uplifted while on a walk on a sunny day, listening to a song that moves you, or eating food that truly nourishes you. Robertson reminds us not to ignore including these into our lives as mood boosters.

He asserts that over time, these better patterns of eating and living will change your brain chemistry as surely as a drug.

It's especially significant that he notes, in plain language, that sometimes sluggish depressed people may need dopamine (dopamine increases feelings of power), and overanxious depressed people may need more serotonin boosters. The book is basically about natural sources of each.

This book is a far cut above many "self help" books.

I have had problems with depression for as long as I can remember, and have been on and off medication for about a decade now. I started doing some research on the long-term effects of these anti-depressants, as well as their continued effectiveness (or lack thereof). When I came across this book, I took a chance when buying it because I was a little bit leery of trying to cure this thing myself. It just seemed like it was out of my hands.

Not only did this book point out the major factors and triggers of depression, but also explained it from different perspectives. I was never clear on the biochemical definition of depression, nor did I ever have any idea that my (bad) diet was contributing. The doctor is very understanding and is not completely against taking medication, though at the same time he offers a plan that does not require medication. He states that over time, being medicated for years and years is not always a good thing for the body.

I am now at half the dosage of Zoloft that I was taking and still feel great. I have changed my eating habits and exercise quite a bit, and when I do go off the wagon and eat junk food (i.e. fast food, cookies, etc.) I feel the difference and feel myself going back into that slump. I have a hope that after being completely off of the medication that I can still maintain a positive attitude towards life without symptoms of depression. He does point out that you cannot get over depression if you do not try to change your behavior and lifestyle because everything you do, say, eat, and think affects the balance of your neurotransmitters. I have learned a lot from this book and it all makes perfect sense to me. I hope others can benefit from it, as well.

The following review is from the New York Daily News newspaper on March 30,1997. The reporter is Colette Bouchez.
"If you can forgive the trendy 'buy me' title (it has almost nothing to do with the anti-depressant Prozac), what you will find is a well-written guide to understanding brain chemistry and the everyday factors that influence the way we think and feel. Discussing everything from the foods we eat to the way we exercise and the music we listen to, this author contends that much of our daily living has subtle but important effects on the way our brain works. That, in turn, can influence everything from our mood to our productivity. Backed with solid science, it will show you how to make small lifestyle changes that could change your life."

In my more than twenty years of dealing with depression, I've tried many strategies - talk therapy, drugs, herbs, psychological spelunking, spiritual practices, and cognitive or goal-setting approaches. I've read dozens of books. Most either talk about brain chemicals from a overwhelmingly clinical perspective (with pharmaceuticals as the answer) or try to pinpoint the root emotional causes (as if to identify them is to solve them) - without offering small remedial steps that seem do-able to a severely depressed person. Robertson's book not only shows the links between our brain chemistry and our life experiences, he offers modifications in diet and habit that can result in rectifying the chemical imbalances.

Frequently when I've read self-help books on the subject, I wind up even more depressed and inert than I started - "Why can't I 'just do it?' What's the matter with me that I can't think more positively, set goals, etc?" The feeling is one of having just been instructed to run a marathon with cement blocks on my feet. In contrast, my mood is already much improved simply having read this book! There is hope - I can choose to eat certain foods, engage in certain activities, and even listen to certain composers daily.

And I don't agree with the negative reviewers that the good doctor is a huckster; he could simply post teasers and success stories on the Internet about the Robertson Mood Optimization Program and charge $199 for it (like everyone else out there who smells a cash cow) instead of keeping this little paperback, with suggestions anyone can follow at home, in print.

I have long term depression and this book spells out in simple (overly simple?) terms what goes on with ones brain chemistry. I began to pay attention and become more aware of the effects of serotonin on my daily activities. This could be psycho-somatic, but it makes sense to me.

The author points out that brain chemistry changes very rapidly throughout the day depending on food, drugs, excersize, and emotional excitement.

It explains my extreme reaction to and addiction to sugar, and also why I may be 'burning out' my serotonin receptors.

I am only half way through the book and I consider it to be life altering.

But, after fighting depression for 2 years, and having already tried most of the things he talks about in his book, I can tell the author has never BEEN depressed and his ideas are unclear and ill explained.

Some of his bogus ideas include: A. Sugar increases the amount of tryptophan in the blood. This is just untrue. Sugar makes the body release insulin, which in turn carries existing tryptophan (given there are no other competing amino acids) across the blood/brain barrier. B. He says that depression is a coping mechanism to cover up hopelessness. WHAT?? In my experience depression is any combination of bad feelings that are so extreme they are painful. Fatigue, sleep deprivation, lack of ability to feel pleasure, abandonment, Rage, anxiety, and yes, hopelessness are all bad feelings that have hit me in every combination at one time or another. The feelings reflect changing concentrations of different neurotransmitters. "Depression is a coping mechanism to cover up hopelessness???" What is depression then, some kind of stable, bad feeling? Which feeling???? He's just not making any sense. And it's belittling to all of us who are depressed to simplify depression in an unhelpful, and just plain wrong, way. C. Then he tries to pigeonhole depressed people into 2 categories. DON'T WASTE MY TIME. I didn't fit into any of his categories.

Do I have anything good to say? Yes. He's right that thoughts and behaviour can change brain chemistry and mood and that's a really good thing. For example, getting your heart to pound with excercise REALLY helps us depressed folk. But you'll probably have to experiment to see what really works for you. THIS BOOK WON'T CURE YOU.

This author mixes fact with fiction and it gets hard to tell the difference. This guy's a wingnut, don't let him screw you.

There. NOW I feel better.

As someone who has been depressed for 6+ years, this book is helpful. It's even more helpful as someone who has not been using anti-depressants for 2 years. This book has motivated me to change things in my life to feel better. The book had one simple message for me: without changing your lifestyle, nothing will get better. That should be common sense right? But for people like me who don't think there is anything wrong with their lifestyle until you think about where you're going to be in 10 years...stuck maybe? This book is a step in the right direction, not a cure. This book made a lot of sense to me and I have never been so positive about my depression in my life.

I have been looking for information on ways to defeat depression other then medications and this book has been by far the most informative I have been able to find and understand how our bodies deal with depression, chemically and psychologically. It has opened up new hope in how I can help my wife with her own depression and that there is another way in treating the effects and causes of depression. Can't wait to put this information into PROGRESS!