Healing Depression without Medication: A Psychiatrist’s Guide to Balancing Mind, Body, and Soul

An effective, evidence-based guide for preventing, treating, and overcoming depression–without drugs.

Antidepressants–the first line in our standard of care for treating depression–may not be much more effective than placebos, yet 1 in 6 Americans takes medication to alleviate feeling sad, anxious, stuck, or unable to focus or sleep. More and more, conventional medicine pathologizes how we respond to life’s challenges, like feeling trapped in an unfulfilling job, grieving the death of a loved one, or being anxious about a bad relationship, telling us that they’re symptoms of disease. But what if everything we thought we knew about depression–and how to heal from it–was wrong? Psychiatrist Dr. Jodie Skillicorn presents a new path, debunking the myth of the neurochemical imbalance and exploring the roots of depression, like adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poorly managed day-to-day stress. In Part 1, Dr. Skillicorn explains what depression is, why we get it, and how we got to where we are now within a pharmaceutical-driven treatment paradigm. Part 2 addresses different aspects of physical and mental health and includes practical, guided Wellness Rx exercises that teach readers to nourish, heal, and restore balance to body and mind. Fully supported and evidence-based, Dr. Skillicorn introduces holistic methods for beating depression, including nutrition, mindfulness, fostering meaningful connections, exercise, sleep, nature, and breathwork–and empowers readers to become agents of their own wholeness and healing.