Book Review: The Chemistry of Joy

Here is a chicken or egg dilemma: I am wondering if I have been reading too much nonfiction and that is causing brain mush or if the brain mush has been causing me to read too much nonfiction! The concrete fact is that I wish to find some solution to the physical, mental, and emotional problems which have been plaguing me.

I don't want to begin each book review with a disclaimer, but I do feel led to clarify that the only book I approach as the ultimate guide to wisdom and guidance is - the Bible! All these other books I have been reading are merely more caves I am willing to search in for clues to the mystery of my experiences. There are nuggets of truth in many of these books, but I don't take any of them to be the truth in entirety.

Moreover, even the Bible (which I do consider to be ultimate truth, i.e. "inerrant") fails to provide me with a concise paragraph to addresses the particular issues perplexing me. I can find camaraderie in the Psalms as David struggles with depths of despair, but I won't find an outline of steps to follow to overcome my clinical depression. Each of us are unique creations and God must work in us and through us from a wide array of directions (the Bible, prayer, community, health concerns, rocky relationships, books, music, etc.).

This book, The Chemistry of Joy, by Dr. Henry Emmons, is subtitled A Three-Step Program for Overcoming Depression Through Western Science and Eastern Wisdom. I make no bones about the fact that I am a Christian. I am not looking for Eastern wisdom to aid in my approach to the clinical depression I am fighting. However, when you are knocked to the floor so often that you are not sure if you can ever get up again, you begin to be willing to hear out every offer of assistance (even the ones you know may be selling you down the river with a healthy dose of snake oil).

It is obvious that I read from a biased perspective every bit as much as authors write from a biased perspective. So, it was no surprise to me that I felt most comfortable with the western science applications. However, I can't say that I didn't see myself (and other people I know) clearly portrayed in some of the Eastern paradigms.

I would agree with Dr. Emmons, that we are both spiritual and physical beings and therefore, must pursue both spiritual and physical healing. Dr. Emmons breaks his advice down into three steps: 1) Understand Your Brain (including discussions about brain chemistry, the pros and cons of medication, nutritional elements, and physical activities. 2) Know Your Ayurvedic Type (Air, Fire or Earth). 3) Discover Your Buddhist Emotional Type (Fear, Anger, Self-Deluding or Adrift). My favorite section? The one dealing with the human brain and how it responds to medication, certain foods, exercise, breathing patterns and sleep patterns.

I could certainly relate to many of the patients which Dr. Emmons outlined. I have had my own difficulties with medication (he talked about how medications will frequently help initially but then wane in their effectiveness and leave the individual in a deeper pit than before). I fully believe in "the close connection between food choices, weight, depression, and brain chemistry" and I've experienced the "vicious cycle" where our choices make us feel worse and the worse we feel, the harder it gets to make healthy choices (p. 47).

There were several valuable resources in the book. Dr. Emmons provides lists of various foods which boost serotonin levels, dopamine levels and norepinephrine levels. He suggests nutritional supplements to try. He discusses the benefits of regular, adequate sleep (oh, I struggle with this one, even though I know it would benefit me to improve my sleep habits) and focused breathing. Furthermore, he validated Dr. Leaf's proposition that our thoughts direct our attitudes and thereby, our emotions and actions.

I was thankful that he didn't at all advocate dropping all medical intervention in favor of meditation, happy thoughts, strict diet and exercise. His introductory analogy of a doctor treating a heart patient was helpful. Any cardiologist worth his fee will treat a patient by pairing medication with diet and lifestyle changes. Dr. Emmons approach to depression is merely one which integrates the role of medicine with the role of diet and lifestyle changes.

The goal of the three suggested steps is to "restore your body's natural balance and energy." This is what I found most appealing. This is what I'm after. I desperately want to restore my body's natural balance and energy. Being depressed feels very much like being off-balance. As much as I would like to find a magic diet or the perfect lifestyle plan to cure what ails me, I believe I will have to continue with the medicinal intervention as well.

So, I'll keep taking my meds (both for the depression and the high cholesterol). But, I'm certainly going to also give an improved diet and various nutritional supplements a try. I've been increasing my exercise (always difficult when you are on-call with small children). Unfortunately, I can't say that I've been making progress on the thought detox front - if anything, my thoughts were highly toxic this week and we are all dealing with the fallout as a result.

I won't return the book on The Omega 3 Connection until I read it. Still, it would be nice to find a thoroughly absorbing, well-written fiction book to read. After all, I'm getting a little depressed by reading so many books on depression. Sigh.