Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life
John B. Arden PhD
I downloaded "Rewire your brain" with much anticipation. Mr. Arden's examples of patient successes were oversimplified explanations that bend to his theory. If the people shown in his book were completely well with no underlying physical illnesses other than mild psychological ones, no stress so deep, so real, in some cases insurmountable that the most heroic efforts worked, like many people are undergoing right now, then yes, some of his suggestions might help with moderate depression or bad habits or a slipping memory. But who is perfectly healthy, now?
The book was so last century. Not a cutting edge book on neuroplasticity written in 2010 that I had hoped for and the review promised. Mr. Arden, PHD talks about good memory but neglects the thyroid. Who researches plasticity and talks about a good memory or studies the brain without a full discussion of the implications of thyroid disease and it's effect on the brain, and subsequent depression?
Mr. Arden minimized and explained symptoms away when advising a patient with thyroid disease, which has a bagful of symptoms that mimic everything from Alzheimer's to mental illness to mind numbing depression. He diagnoses him with "loneliness." Treatment for the disease with thyroid supplementation might have relieved his "loneliness" or the mental illness that often accompanies this disease within the first few days of taking the missing or low hormone, especially with desiccated natural hormone. How do you treat depressive patients for 35 years and not associate thyroid disease with depression? That patient example was fairly far along in the book but it was where I quit reading, and started skimming.
