Depression-Free, Naturally 7 Weeks to Eliminating Anxiety, Despair, Fatigue, and Anger from Your Life

CHAPTER 1 It's Not All in Your Mind As far back as he could remember, Peter had been fearful, but he covered it up extremely well. Now married, he supported his family adequately but felt shy and joyless most of the time. He drank beer occasionally to offset those feelings. Still, he seemed to become more of a loner with each passing year. Peter never considered himself a candidate to see a psychiatrist. He was simply living out his life of quiet despair until we met. Meg was an excellent attorney with a very bright mind. Her facade was take-charge aggressive, and few crossed her. Yet at our first meeting she was in tears because of her angry, erratic behavior. She had no idea why she seemed to exist in a state of such high arousal. . . . This trait was hurting those she loved the most. She wanted to mellow out but knew her career couldn't afford the fog prescription drugs created. An exceptional designer, musician, and musical director, Eric didn't have the emotional staying power to ignite his career into high gear. Despite his brilliance, his heart pounded with anxiety during performances. He drank a lot of caffeine and was a heavy smoker. His mood swings left him exhausted when he desperately needed extra energy. Ongoing psychological counseling did not change any of this. . . . Now he was considering taking prescribed drugs to relieve his depression and anxiety. He summed it up the day we met, telling me, at age forty-two, "Some days my life feels entirely hopeless." Donna usually felt scattered. Her thinking was foggy, and her problems concentrating were affecting her job. Memories of her childhood were of a pale, listless little girl who had never felt the world was a friendly place. She had had frequent childhood illnesses--earaches, strep throats, and colds. Now as an adult, she still felt fragile. She told me she needed help to overcome her muddled thinking and get some joy in her life. But her number-one priority was finding relief from her fatigue, which made her tired right down to her bones. For Donna, life was an uphill battle--and she was slowly losing the war. It is part of the human condition that we keep taking our own inventory and continually come up short, but it becomes a calamity if the missing pieces prevent us from enjoying a fulfilling, stable life. If, like Peter, Meg, Eric, and Donna, you are saying, "I wish I could feel better, think better, perform better," it is time to stop wishing and take heart! This book will change your life. Like the case studies just cited, you, too, may be coexisting with an erratic nervous system or brain, and lack the energy, verve, joy, and confidence that are your birthright. Yet you may be hesitant about seeing a therapist. And, in fact, the idea that a good therapist can solve these problems by simply talking to you has been the great bane of the twentieth century! Untold millions are filling the coffers of psychologists and counselors who listen to the tales of misery that such lives produce but aren't able to effect real, positive, lasting changes in their clients. Fortunately, in the last few decades, biochemists and medical doctors have begun to pinpoint scientific explanations for behavior that used to be labeled "psychological." These researchers have noticed that: * many "psychological" symptoms often cluster in families. * certain physical changes in the brain (and body) can create mayhem emotionally. * an internal invasion of yeast parasites may create full-blown mental and physical illness. * food intolerances strongly affect our emotions. * airborne chemicals can alter our brains. * angry outbursts are predictable from a brain in a chemical state of high arousal all the time. * dozens oLarson, Joan Mathews is the author of 'Depression-Free, Naturally 7 Weeks to Eliminating Anxiety, Despair, Fatigue, and Anger from Your Life' with ISBN 9780345435170 and ISBN 0345435176.