Book Review: The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression

Through discoveries in immunology, we know that inflammation has an impact on physical illness. What remains unclear is how inflammation influences thoughts and behaviors — a question that intersects the fields of immunology, neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry. In The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression, Edward Bullmore explores how inflammatory changes could impact the way the brain works, resulting in symptoms of depression as a result of the inflammation. Bullmore is certainly knowledgeable about this area. A psychiatrist with expertise in neuroscience who is in the development stages of anti-inflammatory drugs for depression, he leaves the reader with a promise of more to come. Bullmore provides a thorough analysis of the latest research on how inflammation might cause depression. Although much is still unknown, he confidently states, “we can move on from the old polarized view of depression as all in the mind or all in the brain to see it as rooted also in the body; to see depression instead as a response of the whole organism or human self to the challenges of survival in hostile world.” With more holistic treatments available for mental health than ten years ago, our culture is at least moving in the right direction to see more than one option for managing ailments like depression. Bullmore explains, “Your body’s state of inflammation, your immune system’s level of threat arousal, can have a direct effect on how you feel, and what ...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Antidepressants Book Reviews Depression Disorders General Medications Neuroscience Psychological Assessment Psychology Self-Help Stigma Treatment books about depression Cognition Depression Treatment Edward Bullmore Inflamm Source Type: news