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This book contains advice and information relating to health care. It is not intended to replace medical advice and should be used to supplement rather than replace regular care by your doctor. It is recommended that you seek medical advice before embarking on any medical programme or treatment. All efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in this book as of the date of publication. The publisher and the author disclaim liability for any medical outcomes that may occur as a result of applying the methods suggested in this book.
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First published in the US by Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers This UK edition published by Thorsons 2016
FIRST EDITION
© Kelly Brogan 2016
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2016 Cover photograph © Jonathon Kambouris/Gallery Stock
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN 9780008128005
Ebook Edition © February 2016 ISBN: 9780008128012
Version: 2016-02-22
To the legacy of Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez
and to all of the light workers
who illuminate the path for my daughters,
and everyone’s daughters.
Contents
Copyright
Introduction: Psych—It’s Not All in Your Head
PART I: THE TRUTH ABOUT DEPRESSION
1 Decoding Depression
It’s Not a Disease: What You Don’t Know About This Syndrome and How It Manifests
2 Truth Serum: Coming Clean About the Serotonin Myth
How You’ve Been Misled, Misdiagnosed, and Mistreated
3 The New Biology of Depression
What Gut Microbes and Silent Inflammation Have to Do with Mental Health
4 The Great Psychiatric Pretenders
Two Common, Resolvable Conditions That Can Lead to a Psychiatric Diagnosis
5 Why Body Lotions, Tap Water, and OTC Pain Relievers Should Come with New Warning Labels
Common Exposures and Drugs That Can Lead to Depression
PART 2: NATURAL TREATMENTS FOR WHOLE-BODY WELLNESS
6 Let Food Be Thy Medicine
Nutritional Recommendations to Heal Your Body and Free Your Mind (Without Feeling Like You’re on an Impossible Diet)
7 The Power of Meditation, Sleep, and Exercise
Three Simple Lifestyle Habits That Can Enhance Mental Health
8 Clean House
How to Detoxify Your Environment
9 Testing and Supplementing
Supporting the Healing Process
10 4 Weeks to a Natural High
A 30-Day Plan of Action
Closing Words: Own Your Body and Free Your Mind
Recipes
Notes
List of Searchable Terms
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Publisher
Psych—It’s Not All in Your Head
All along the history of medicine, the really great physicians were peculiarly free from the bondage of drugs.
—Sir William Osler (1849–1919)
If you’ve picked up this book, then chances are you can relate to any of the following: persistent distress, malaise, anxiety, inner agitation, fatigue, low libido, poor memory, irritability, insomnia, sense of hopelessness, and feeling overwhelmed and trapped but emotionally flat. You might wake up most mornings unmotivated and uninspired, and you drag yourself around all day waiting for it to end (or waiting for a drink). Maybe you feel a sense of dread or panic without knowing why. You can’t silence the negative thoughts, which puts you on edge. Sometimes it seems like you could let loose an endless stream of tears, or perhaps you can’t remember the last time you cared enough about something to cry. All of these descriptions are symptoms that typically fall under a diagnosis of clinical depression. And if you were to seek help through conventional
