Much Better than Prozac Nation
938194
I am not surprised that someone would compare PROZAC NATION to PROZAC DIARY.  They are both autobiographical books about women dealing with severe mental problems, problems that were helped by Prozac.  When Prozac was prescribed for me, I decided to read every book with the word 'Prozac' in the title, starting with LISTENING TO PROZAC and PROZAC NATION.
I'm amazed that a previous reviewer praised PROZAC NATION over this book.  I'd probably give NATION a 2 or 3 stars at best, I found the author of NATION, irritating, repetitive, boring and presumptious.
I think Slater (the author of PROZAC DIARY) is a much, much better writer.  True, she uses a lot of metaphors and poetic language but, for me, that language worked.  I have no symptoms of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) which plagued Slater, yet I could really empathize with her.  The author of NATION lost my sympathy at about the fifth or sixth whining diatribe on what her parents did to her.  Or maybe it was when she slept with her friend's boyfriend (that's a sore spot with me!).
Slater's language is so moving, that I wondered what this book would have been if she hadn't lost some of her creativity to Prozac.  I highly recommend this book.
887616
"Ten Days to Self Esteem" is the one of my most valuable books, but my first impression of the author, Dr. David Burns, wasn't too positive. I'd browsed his book "Feeling Good" back in 1991 and didn't find anything profound.
But I wasn't seriously depressed at the time either. In June 2001 it was a different story. I'd been feeling suicidal since April. I was away from home on business and considered ending it all in a Minneapolis hotel room, but didn't want my wife have the hassle of shipping my body 1,000 miles back home.

I forced myself to take a walk and saw "Feeling Good" in a nearby bookstore. "What the hell," I thought, "for less than $10 this is worth a try." Back in my hotel room I took the depression test and scored 64 - severe depression. I read much of the book that night, took the self-test again the next day and scored in the 40s. With a 20 point drop in less than 24 hours, I again had hope. I got home, got counseling, got medication.
I'd made progress, but I was still somewhat depressed. In July I bought "Ten Days to Self Esteem" and started doing the daily exercises, including self-tests for depression, anxiety and relationship satisfaction.
It took about 9 months but with exercise, meds, counseling, support from friends and family, and the perspective offered by the events of that September 11, I started getting scores showing very little depression, much less anxiety and better relationships. Burns' approach has been an important part of that process for me.
Although "Feeling Good" is less expensive and a better seller, "Ten Days to Self Esteem" offers more value because it prompts more reader involvement.
3100451
I have suffered for 8 years with GERD; my GI was dismissive when I asked what research had been performed and if any alternatives were available over PPIs --he responded with dismissal saying that PPI and avoiding trigger foods (spicy and caffeine) were the only possibilities.

After 7 years on PPI, my symptoms become progressively worse. I was bloated and sick, reflux would not respond well to any treatment. So, I bought the book and followed Norm's and other's research. I am now seeing dramatic improvement. I am able, after 3 weeks, to survive with taking PPI only every third day and, if I am very disciplined, just rely on the occasional famotodine.

This has saved my life.
482118
Rescue Heeler mix has been on Prozac, wanted to try this....seems to work well!!  She isn't crazy about the smell/taste alone, but smear a little peanut butter on them, and they go right down!
1967587
Great read about the medication of a several nations and how people are being controlled by antidepressants. I enjoyed reading and learning how other countries compare to our country. I feel we are dependent on these, while it continues to take over nations. Where people are unable to process their own emotions without being medicated.
4818062
You would think I worked for the Phenylephrine companies. Just knowing how to spell this means I've referred to it too many times. This is NOT pseudoephedrine, which is the D in Allegra-D. That keeps me awake at night. This is the lovely alternative that you can take up to 4 x a day if needed (i only take once in the morning with my Claritin mostly) that doesn't give you the nervous energy rush like ephedrine products do. The pills are very tiny and I have noticed absolutely no difference between this and Sudafed PE, the brand name. Take a look at most all allergy/sinus meds and the majority of them have this in it as the decongestant. This only is a decongestant (unstuffs the nose) and not an antihistimine like Claritin or Zyrtec. You can take this along with the antihistimine and if you have chest congestion add in some Mucinex or the generic is guafenesin. I was so happy to find this on Sub & Save, i'll be getting a box every month from now on.
4229376
I felt like I needed a prescription for Prozac after reading this. Yes worth the read but wondering if it would have killed the writer to spread a little more sunshine in this book.
4277338
I wish I would have followed the book more exactly than I did.  I "successfully" quit Paxil, but 2-4 weeks after my last pill, I had a "relapse" and all my worries started over again. I tried other meds, but needed to go back again onto the Paxil.  Next time I will quit with the help of a therapist and psychiatrist to make sure I learn to "cope" with my thoughts and don't get stuck in negative patterns of thinking.  After all, I HOPE to be off Paxil someday IF I ever want to have a baby.  It's a category D which is known to cause birth defects.
I think the author should have mentioned more about how we need to talk to our health care providers, especially a counselor or specialist like a psychiatrist to make sure you are emotionally and cognitively prepared also to quit the drug and have a back up plan in case you do relapse (ie, another safer med/ natural herbs/alernatives).  I didn't have a back up plan, b/c I just assumed that I didn't need it anymore since everything was going "fine" in my life.
1804894
I really loved this book. I have had DP/DR for the last 4 years.  It is incredibly difficult to live with.  It can be very difficult to function while you feel out of body and disoriented.  The vast majority of doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists have had no idea what I was talking about- it's so hard to describe.  Finally I have a name for my disorder.  However, even the reputable Kaiser psychiatrists I've seen have barely even heard of DP/DR.  I've had to do a lot of my own research and be my own advocate for medication.  FYI- if you suffer from DP/ DR, antipsychotics will not work!!!  I tried 5 of them and none of them helped- and I gained a bunch of weight on them.  I've been on clomipramine (anafranil) for a year and my symptoms are totally under control finally (until I tried to go off clomipramine and they came back).  To those who suffer- try clomipramine (as described in the book)! It actually works!  (Also, lamotrigine works well as an "add-on" to an antidepressant, I take clomipramine and lamotrigine, helps with depression and DP/DR). Loved this book, best by far on the subject.
4403637
Instant Zen is absolutely unique in its design and concept and provides something most of those self-help books can only hope to accomplish: a sense of well-being and dimensional perspective on life and its challenges. This book is cheaper than Prozac and considerably better for one's body chemistry. Brilliantly done!
2454051
I  read just under half of this book.  At the moment I live in a nursing home where things disappear, like this book, so I haven't finished it and may not be able to

So please permit me explain my interest in it.

At age 19, I first sought help for depression, present since childhood, to be told that only if I would commit myself totally to my husband (didn't have one yet), children (none) and cooking (i lived in a dorm) etc., to the exclusion of all else (1961), could I be helped.

I struggled with severe depression, agoraphobia and severe anxiety disorder throughout my adult life, finally winding up on disability in 1989.  The mid - century tricyclic antidepressants helped my mother a lot; they had very little effect on me.  Neither did the early SSRIs.  It was not until Celexa came on the market in the late 80s that I had a good response.  The Brahms in a minor key background music to my life disappeared.  I was able to see a negative behavior stemming from childhood abuse, understand it and , at last, change i and sustain the change.  It finally dawned on me that "normal" people must experience the world much more like I did since taking Celexa than in the years before it.

While I understand the concerns raised in this book.about the shaping of self, I would have gladly traded all the hypotheticals for the ability to experience happiness and joy and the freedom from constant sorrow possible with meds for me from childhood rather than my late 50s.

To me everything before Celexa felt off, awful, painful...I could go on...  but with this SSRI I felt "normal" for the first time, ever.  And recognized it as "normal."

Peter Kramer in Listening to Prozac covered some of the "what is me and what is meds?" debate in 1993. Some of his patients reported the same...that they had become what they could only describe as "normal".

My own experience is with antidepressants.  I cannot speak for those with different diagnoses and meds.  Some are  not as easily treated. Some need combination of meds.  We clearly need to tease all this apart.  I welcome hearing more from those with other experiences
2021454
I suffered anxiety and mild depression and a PCP gave me antidepressant. After one week taking the pills, I felt emotionally worse and my stomach didn't feel well, so I stopped. My friend who is studying psychology at Vanderbilt told me maybe it's about how you think, and the pills can fix temporarily but negative thinking will bring depression back. Then I read this book and watched Rick Hanson and Daniel Amen's videos on YouTube. This book and talks open a new world to me. My next books were by James Doty, Richard Davidson, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. Now I feel so much better and it feels like the world is so different from it was before this book. Meditation should be a ongoing process, you learn about yourself and the world everyday with a open mind and warm heart.

Thank you so much, Rick Hanson.
2428197
dog is lots better but still needs Prozac to help control himself. He was beside himself before.  Now I can reach for him without getting holes in my hand.
4469771
I have ADHD and every energy drink I have ever tried makes my mind race even more than usual.  Even the cans of NOS do the same thing.  But, for some reason the bottles of NOS allow me to focus on one thing and really wake me up!  I love this stuff.  I think the grape flavor is the best, but that's up to you.
1221161
I have tried many ways of managing my anxiety, from the ancient to the high-tech. In all my years of trying toxic medications and expensive psychotherapy, some relief was attained, but side effects and high costs were huge drawbacks to every approach Western medicine had to offer.  Natural remedies, like herbs and meditation were more helpful, actually, but, did not completely free me from my constant worrying and occasional panic attacks. I have gone to the emergency room several times, with scary symptoms of a stroke or heart attack, only to be told the tests were normal and it was "probably just anxiety".  Nothing has given me the relief that this breathing technique has provided in a short time.  The book is simple to read and easy to put into immediate use. The same technique also reduced my asthma symptoms to the point that I am off my maintenance medications and rarely use my rescue inhaler.
2686458
Twenty five years ago, when I was in grad school, we thought that the problem of depression- and in fact almost all mental illnesses- had been solved, or nearly solved. A new generation of psychoactive drugs made it possible to change the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, raising the levels of some and lower that of others to restore a normal balance. The newest drugs, the seratonin reuptake inhibitors like Prozac, were the magic bullet that cured depression.

Or so we thought.

Then the exceptions started piling up. Prozac, the new magic drug, didn't help everyone. And some people showed startling improvements before CNS levels of Seratonin could be detected in patients. The theory behind the new drug therapies wasn't matching up with the clinical evidence. But psychiatrists kept prescribing the new drugs, Time and Newsweek wrote stories about the new magic drugs, and books like Prozac Nation and Listening to Prozac kept the myth going.

Since that time researchers have discovered that these drugs have very different effects than were intended in their design. Some actually promote new neuronal growth. Some still don't have a correlation between pharmacological activity and behavioral or cognitive change. But medical practice hasn't changed, for the most part. Prozac is still treated by many in the health profession as a miracle drug.

Gary Greenberg is a therapist with a different view, both of psychoactive drugs, and of depression. He thinks that too often, sadness is treated as a disease to be cured instead of an important human emotion. This book is both a recounting of the history of depression and the pharmacological treatment of depression, as well as an exploration of the existential meaning of depression, much of it from Greenberg's personal experiences. To those used to the more modern scientific approach, in which we look at group statistics and shared characteristics, this may seem like a return to 19th century introspectionism, and to a degree it is, but it provides a valuable perspective often missing in the attempt to rationalize neurobiology with emotion.
2872144
I found this book very helpful after undergoing withdrawal from antidepressants and benzodiazepines. I  found myself with a great deal of anxiety and needed some help. I did read The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. This book is more specific for anxiety and is a bit more up to date. I wish that our medical system would embrace these ideas as there are many who lack the knowledge skill or luck to be able to put this complex nutritional guidance to work. More information and support is offered on the author's website.