Review: Winning the Depression Game?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 30, 2013
Andrew Wiseman's Beat Your Brain at its Own Game - 12 Essential Skills for Overcoming Depression is a handy reference guide providing alternative therapy tips for those dealing with the emotional disorder. Wiseman professes himself as one who has `been there done that',  clawed his way out of it tooth and nail, in his own words. His technique, called metacognition, is a person's awareness of their own cognitive skills. By pitting `mind vs. brain', Wiseman provides invaluable advice in recognizing the brain's interpretation of negative impulses. It allows one to supercede the process with a positive and dynamic translation leading to a road of resurgence and recovery.The author refers to a barbaric experiment by Martin Seligman in which dogs subjected to electric shocks fell into states of depression while those given a chance of release from the torture did not. It had a profound effect on Wiseman, who understood that humans also descend into states of learned helplessness. When they cannot or will not take actions to abate the causes, depression is the inevitable result. This is a result of the brain's natural synthesis of outside stimuli, and our remedy is to engage the mind in counteractive processes to reverse the trend. One case in point is the author's personal experience with anorexics whose phobia of gaining weight had developed into a neurosis that made them see pockets of fat in the mirror that were actually not there. This helps us realize how the brain can create illusions to trap us in mindframes of despair within non-existent situations.He goes on to discuss the pit of despair itself, and how happiness is the escape route that so many people convince themselves is unattainable. Again, we find that this is largely a state of mind that we can reprogram our consciousness to accept as a substitute for the brain's negative rationalizations.  By managing our expectations and having a realistic world view in pursuing our goals, we are better suited to take the first steps in changing our perceptions of our environment. The author then implores us to not only put our plans into action, but keep a journal in recording our gradual progress and accomplishments. Taking some to meditate and internalize our new perspective is an important part of the process, as is manifesting our new outlook through random acts of kindness.Wiseman concludes his study by emphasizing that the internal process must and should be manifested on the outside as a sign that the change has truly taken effect. After all, the damaging effects of depression are profoundly displayed by the victim as a sign to the world that they are in dire need of help. It would seem illogical for the mentally balanced, emotionally stable person to appear no different on the outside than when they did while overwhelmed by depression. The author's how-to manual helps us resuscitate that happy, wholesome person deep inside us and pull him up from the pit of despair for the world to see.