Women's Moods: What Every Woman Must Know About Hormones, The Brain, And Emotional Health [Hardcover]

Deborah Sichel (Author), Jeanne W. Driscoll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1999

Depression and anxiety are rampant in America. Twice as many women as men are afflicted. They suffer in silence, are misdiagnosed, or aren't even aware of their risk. Here is a bold new explanation for why women's unique brain chemistry makes them vulnerable to mood problemsand what they can do about it. Only this book details all the risk factors, including the brain's sensitivity to female hormones, life stresses, reproductive events, and a woman's genetic history.

Combining more than forty years of clinical work with their own personal experiences, the authors share a self-care program that helps the brain self-stabilize to alleviate and prevent problems. They also advocate early, customized use of medication before problems become entrenched. This powerful, proven approach is a call to awareness for women who have been trying to "be strong" for too long.

Both authors are sought-after speakers, known for their sensitive, no-nonsense presentations, guaranteed to fill the auditorium. They continue their work with women through the Hestia Institute, a collaborative practice they co-founded in Wellesley, Massachusetts.Depression and anxiety are rampant in America. Twice as many women as men are afflicted. They suffer in silence, are misdiagnosed, or aren't even aware of their risk. Here is a bold new explanation for why women's unique brain chemistry makes them vulnerable to mood problemsand what they can do about it. Only this book details all the risk factors, including the brain's sensitivity to female hormones, life stresses, reproductive events, and a woman's genetic history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Have you taken care of your brain today?" The question arises frequently in this look at how women's hormones affect not only their moods but their lives. According to Sichel (a Harvard Medical School professor specializing in psychiatry and neurology) and Driscoll (a clinical nurse specialist known for her work in women's psychology and hormonal issues), the way a woman's hormones function in relation to her brain (and thus her entire body) dictates how her life will unfold. Drawing on women's personal stories as well as on clinical studies, Sichel and Driscoll explain why a woman's transit through her menstrual cycle affects her moods; why the devastating, complex effects of postpartum depression "are the biggest complication of birth today"; and how female hormonal imbalance undoubtedly causes depression. Readers are invited to utilize NURSE (nourishment, understanding, relaxation, spirituality and exercise)Athe secrets to keeping brain function optimal. Whether a woman is menstrual, pregnant, postnatal, periomenopausal or menopausal, this book offers a wealth of detailed information on how to maintain proper hormonal balance and thus a happy and productive life. 10-city author tour. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Sichel, a physician board certified in psychiatry and neurology, and Driscoll, a certified clinical nurse specialist, are in practice together treating women with postpartum mood disorders and other psychosocial problems brought on by pregnancy, postpartum, and lactation. Drawing on their own personal experiences, the experiences of their patients, and their own research as well as that of others, the authors discuss why the unique brain chemistry of women and the sensitivity of the brain to female hormones make women more susceptible to mood disorders and anxiety problems. They outline the program they use with their patients, which includes some medications and a great deal of self-care. Much of their text deals with menstruation or issues associated with reproductive events, while there are two chapters discussing menopause. Well researched and well written with an extensive selected bibliography, this is recommended for consumer health collections.
-AMary J. Jarvis, Pampa, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (November 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688148980
• ISBN-13: 978-0688148980
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading for Women and anyone who loves them, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Women's Moods: What Every Woman Must Know About Hormones, The Brain, And Emotional Health (Hardcover)

This book was recommended to me by a therapist who works with postpartum women experiencing depression. It is a gift to anyone who has suffered mood swings, depression, crying fits, or irrational anger and wondered why. No, it isn't excuses, it's explanations that make sense and help to alleviate the guilt and shame that come with such feelings. It is written in an accessible style for what is essentially a medical/psychological text. I intend to give it to all of my women friends, and even a few men I know who've suffered with depression. Recommended reading.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A validating read for any woman who has been depressed, July 27, 2000

By 

Dr. Julie Peters - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women's Moods: What Every Woman Must Know About Hormones, The Brain, And Emotional Health (Hardcover)

As a clinical health psychologist in an OB/GYN facility as well as a survivor of a recent life "earthquake" - I found this book to be an enormously validating experience both personally and professionally.

The overwhelming majority of my patients are postpartum women who are suffering from a mood disorder which is embarrassingly poorly understood, and are often told to "snap out of it" at a time when "they should be happy."

The authors of this book offer an explanation for postpartum depression from a biochemical standpoint, and thus relieve women from the shame that they are somehow doing "the mother thing" incorrectly.

However, despite the fact that the book focuses on women's hormonal events such as pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause, this book explains women's depression from a view that is significant to any woman, regardless of her status of ever having been pregnant. In my estimation, this is the most powerful and most broadly applicable benefit of this book.

The authors regard mood disorders as the result of brain "dysregulation" - a state which exists following repetitive and/or extreme stress to the brain, and based on an excess of stress hormones or "chemical loading." The dysregulation occurs when the brain "relearns" the adaptive stress mode as being the normal mode of operation, and gets "stuck" like a needle in a record groove which can't quite jump out on its own.

The book's salvation - the NURSE program in conjunction with antidepressants, may be simplistic in some cases, but it's the best by far that we have to offer right now, and quite possibly the solution which leads to the quickest relief of physical and emotional symptoms. Therefore, I have recommended this book wholeheartedly to my patients as well as to those spouses/family members/significant others who need to better understand what their loved ones are facing.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, March 9, 2000

By 

J. Hill "never enough books" (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women's Moods: What Every Woman Must Know About Hormones, The Brain, And Emotional Health (Hardcover)

As someone who is recovering from severe Postpartum Depression and postpartum OCD, this book was invaluable. Unlike other books that list symptoms and offer coping skills, this book actually shares the stories of women who have suffered through the hell that PPD can be. No matter how many times I'd been told "this is part of the illness, it will get better," I had a difficult time believing that until I read the story of Pamela, who suffered from postpartum OCD. I couldn't believe what I was reading! Parts of her story were so familiar to me that it was frightening; but I took comfort in the fact that I'm not alone, that this illness is VERY REAL. It is so difficult to suffer from mental illness, especially when no one around you can see the pain you are in. You just look "normal." For me, this book has been a wonderful tool to help educate my family about the severity of what I have been through. They had a better understanding after reading real stories that paralled mine, versus reading lists of symptoms that simply defined depression. A must read for women who suffer from major mood disorders and for their families, too.