Biological Unhappiness

Rating:
Summary: All encompassing explanatory manual on mentall illnesses.
Review: Every depressive will know the fears which hound us - "Is there really something biologically wrong with me or am I just weak, stupid or lazy by nature." It takes the clarity of this one-of- a kind book to show the conclusive biological evidence responsible for the mental chaos depressives suffer from. It leads through to sound medication choices followed by helpful advice on how to retrain a previously depressive mind set into a more positive direction.

Rating:
Summary: lots of good information and pragmatic advice
Review: Every depressive will know the fears which hound us - "Is there really something biologically wrong with me or am I just weak, stupid or lazy by nature." It takes the clarity of this one-of- a kind book to show the conclusive biological evidence responsible for the mental chaos depressives suffer from. It leads through to sound medication choices followed by helpful advice on how to retrain a previously depressive mind set into a more positive direction.

Rating:
Summary: Finally! A book you can understand!
Review: I actually found myself unable to put this book down - pretty good for a book on mental health! This book explains things in layman's terms and was very helpful and easy to understand. The many case histories, written in regular English, made understanding the concepts easy. One can definitely tell that Dr. Heller has an understanding for his patients, and is truly interested in helping them. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you are frustrated yourself, or know an adult or child who is.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing New Here!
Review: I read the reviews before I purchased, and had some great hope about new and significant insights into my own difficulties. I also reviewed Dr. Heller's website.

I am most sorry to report that the book failed even my smallest expectations. More than 1/4 of the book is simply "feel good" case studies. Another quarter of the book is devoted to the Author's evaluation of medical treatments (primarily prescription drugs). Another fourth is simply a reconsitution of DSM IV - with very little new material on the diagnosis. Particularly disturbing to me was Dr. Heller's marketing which can lead one to believe he has uncovered a beter diagnostic tool. On the contrary, the book is woefully short on this, and does not even address some of the standard testing methodologies that have some well deserved validity.

Even if one were to look at this book as an anthology or compendeum of material; it is very weak. neither exhaustive or cutting edge. The Author dismisses non-prescriptive treatments, generally, except for psychiatric and psychological inteventions; but the case is weak and defeated somewhat by the Author's strong inclination towards chemical assistance as the primary treatment. I do take issue with Dr. Heller's dismissal of non-precsription medications. Products such as HTP-5 are now well established as direct pre-cursors to seratonin, with high yield and low to non-existant side-effects.

Excellent information, for no charge, is prevasive throughout the Internet and local libraries. There is relatively little value in this book. I had hope it was otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: Is it biological or a personal weakness
Review: Think carefully about the question "Is it biological or am I just weak and lazy etc. by nature?". This is a non-sensical question because there isn't a difference between the biology and the "nature". It's like asking, "am I biologically not a math genius or am I just bad at math by nature?". What is the difference between "nature" and "biology"? What is really being asked is, "is it biological or is it just biological?". This question is supposed to trick people who don't look at it carefully into thinking there are two different things being talked about. Only one issue is being addressed here, that of biology. The other issue that is being ignored is psychology and learning. If you learned at an early age to repress your emotions, to be ashamed of bad emotions and to deny them and resist them with all your might (sometimes called the chinese finger trap of the mind) then you will experience anxiety and depression. The question should be, "is there a biological pathology or is this learned, the result of thinking patterns?". And *yes*, learning is the result of biology but we understand that a distinction is being made between some kind of physical damage or chemical imbalance (which can be caused by thinking a certain way also) and faulty destructive beliefs and -mental practices-. Yes, physical damage to the brain is the cause of a lot of disorders, most notably sociopathy, but there are also faulty ways of thinking. While it can be argued that the biology we're born with causes that predisposition to think a certain way, there aren't any cures for that (or we'd take a pill for doing Calculus) other than learning to think differently. In short (too late), I distrust any publication that uses the slight of hand question, "is it biological or am I just this way by nature" question. If it's biological I've got news for you: You're that way by nature! A game is being played with people who are struggling with the question, "is there a scar on my brain or am I a bad bad person who is at fault here?". If there isn't a physical biological deformity in your brain that doesn't mean that the only alternative is that you are a bad person who should be ostracised and shamed. People who think like this are merely being exploited by those who use the question, "is it biological or am I lazy and weak" question. Think about it. Do we ask, "am I unable to learn Einsteins theory of relativity because of biology or am I just a dummy by nature"? Being a dummy by nature and being a dummy because of biology *are the same things*. We just don't get depressed and call ourselves "dummy" in this particular case. Why call ourselves weak, lazy etc. if our depression/anxiety etc. isn't a chemical imbalance?

Rating:
Summary: Reassuring words of wisdom
Review: This book came to be important to me because of an interest in dealing with BPD in a member of our extended family. This person has rent a large family asunder and there seemed to be no hope of ever having a family reunion or enjoying life events together. At least with this book there is hope that if the victim of this disease gets proper help that there may be resolution before we all die. The explanations of the biological processes in brain chemistry is very informative. The other chapters were also full of illuminating facts and I would recommend this book to anyone with an AHD child. My one complaint was a dearth of proof reading . There were errors that had me grabbing my blue pencil but the facts transcend the grammatical and spelling errors.

Rating:
Summary: biological unhappiness
Review: this book IS life-changing. I had given up hope, yet now, after having read the book I've got hope again for the future. Viewing psychological ilnesses as medical problems is probably a thing of the future. I've changed my medication and according to the plan and it has definitely worked. Must-read for all people with psychological problems ranging from social phobia to pms

Rating:
Summary: lots of good information and pragmatic advice
Review: This book is tremendously helpful for those who suspect they or a loved one may have a problem, but have not yet been diagnosed. The criteria are outlined for each type of disorder, and case studies give examples of what the life of a sufferer of a particular disorder is like. The writing is clear, and the solutions presented are useful, pragmatic, and inspiring. The book leans a little heavily toward recommending medication, but only as part of a multifaceted approach involving all aspects of life, from diet & exercise to counseling changing patterns of thought. For me, it validated what I already suspected, and caught my attention regarding the seriousness of the issue, and made me realized that getting help is not optional. Mental illness deeply impacts physical wellbeing and quality of life, and it isn't something that a person can just pull themselves out of. This book helped me to get past the stigma of the "mental" part of the problem and look clearly at the "illness" and how to confront it.

Rating:
Summary: Eye-opening! Controversial! Refreshing and needed! READ IT!
Review: You can't read this book and not be moved. It contains hope and help for the literal millions of people who are needleesly suffering from everything from "simple" unhappiness to anxiety disorders to potential suicides. The author writes clearly and illustrates his ideas with case histories. Some will find this book controversial, others will think it's heavens sent. I say read it. It can save lifes and change the direction of our planet.