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

Description

In this fascinating exploration of depression, neuroscientist Kelly Lambert highlights her groundbreaking research suggesting that important clues to the mysteries of this disease have been in our hands all along. She identifies a circuit in the human brainconnecting movement, feeling, and cognitionthat is responsible for symptoms of depression, and shows that when we knit a sweater, prepare a meal, or simply repair a lamp, were actually bathing our brain in feel-good chemicals. Highlighting inspiring accounts of change and growth, Lifting Depression offers a compassionate and commonsense way of preventing and treating one of the modern eras most debilitating diseases.

Kelly Lambert is chair of psychology at Randolph-Macon College. Her writing has appeared in Nature, Scientific American, behavioural Neuroscience, and more. Her research has been featured on ABC World News Tonight and in Scientific American Mind. She is president-elect of the International behavioural Neuroscience Society. She lives in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

"Midwest Book Review" "Wide-ranging and important, recommended for both health libraries and general-interest lending collections alike..."Lifting Depression" is a solid move to individual freedom." Frank Forencich, author of "Exuberant Animal: The Power of Health, Play and Joyful Movement"" ""Kelly Lambert offers us a comprehensive and compelling view of health that is holistic, practical and visionary. Her work on the efforts-based rewards system not only explains much of our modern discontent, it also offers a path to vitality and exuberance. This book will not only change our views on depression, it will transform our understanding of our bodies and our predicament in the modern world." "Library Journal" "Drawing from fields as diverse as evolutionary psychology, child development, neurobiology, and psychopharmacology, the author creates a compelling case for her theory of the effort-driven rewards circuit in the brain as the central explanatory mechanism." Christopher R. Martell, Ph.D., ABPP, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Psychology, University of Washington; co-author, "Depression in Context," "Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time," and "The Myth of Depression as Disease" "In this exciting and invigorating new book, Kelly Lambert presents a compelling proposition: that our highly technological society may in fact be increasing the rates of depression. Her suggestion for coping by increasing effort-based rewards is elegantly straightforward and consistent with emerging research in major clinical trials. "Lifting Depression" will help people suffering from the crippling impact of this disorder, and it is essential reading for all who want a full understanding of the biological and social aspects of depression beyond the popular sound bites about chemical imbalances and pills." Katherine Ellison, author of "The Mommy Brain" "Kelly Lambert's cutting-edge research on depression is innovative, original and deeply inspiring. I strongly recommend "Lifting Depression" for anyone suffering from mood and stress disorders and all who seek a better understanding of these troubling diseases."