The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time

Amazing book ,easy to read and understand how the brain works when depressed and/or anxious. Packed with practical guides on how rewire your brain even when it feels harder sometimes but practice is key.

This book is incredible! A wealth of factual information written in a funny laid back and easy for all to understand manner. It basically explains how much of the negative or depressive feelings we experience are out of our control and why this is. Then it reveals what we do have control of and how to balance things out in our day to day living. It explains small and simple practical methods to follow (even how to counteract those little 'I can't be bothered' moments) to re-enter that feeling of holistic well-being (not the usual change you life and personality to feel good again garbage that's out there). Just realistic goals everyone can achieve no matter how low they get. An amazing book bought as a last resort before the option of anti-depressants. I never needed them and I'm feeling fabulous!!! Check it out for yourself. Best wishes.

This is an excellent book. Have read it three times already. Alex Korb is a graduate researcher in Neuroscience as it can help with depression. The references in this book are a bang up to date survey of several key lines of research. Alex then applies the key practical applications of this new understanding of neurochemistry and brain architecture to prescribe simple exercises to re-calibrate habits, and over time shift the biases of the brain towards the positive. Excellent contribution to wider appreciation of how neuroscience is now at the point of real practical everyday benefit to peoples well being. Exciting times.

Helps you become aware of how little things do make a difference. No matter how little energy you have there are always something we can do to improve our situation no matter how tough.

This book has been full of great and useful information. I've read it in a week as I work with people that struggle with depression, anxiety and low mood. I've actually started explaining to my clients how their brain works and small changes they could do to improve their mood. Absolutely loved the book! If it has a downside, it's just the fact that it's a bit difficult to remember the regions of the brain and what they are responsible for. But writing them down makes it easier to remember! Would recommend it to anyone! Full of wisdom and practical advice!

Bought for someone who found it helpful and interesting. Helped her manage certain feelings and look at certain things in a different way!

Quite literally life changing. I owe a lot to this book and am truly grateful for its existence. It's the most fascinating, insightful look into how your brain works and how it can also sometimes work against you. And if required, it is the most empowering user manual for pulling yourself back into better mental health. Very very highly recommended.

This is an interesting read with a good description of how depression and anxiety affect the brain. However, Dr Korb makes the same mistake as many scientists involved in basic research by assuming that animal studies and small experiments in humans automatically translate into proven strategies to treat or prevent clinical depression - they don't. For example, the book describes how exercise elevates mood and can supposedly relieve depression. This is based on small studies in rats and humans showing that exercise can boost mood in the short term. Yet, large and robustly controlled clinical trials have generally not found that exercise is an effective treatment for clinical depression - for example, a 2017 meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials came to the following conclusion: "There is currently no evidence in favour of exercise for patients with depression with a view to ameliorate depressive symptoms." Krogh et al. BMJ Open. 2017 Sep 18;7(9):e014820. This is important because if someone with clinical depression expects exercise to alleviate their symptoms, based on Dr Korb's book, but finds that it actually doesn't, they could end up blaming themselves, thus worsening their depression. Similarly, a lot of the other strategies described in the book sound logical and may indeed have short-term mood-elevating effects - however, as yet there is little evidence they are effective treatments for clinical depression. So, my advice is to enjoy the book and use any strategies that work for you - but don't beat yourself up if you find that, actually, they don't really do much to help your depression.

Amazing read! Written in accessible and captivating language. A great read for anyone, not just someone struggling with depression.

I am not at all into "self-help" books but this is amazing. It's full of small suggestions, which when taken into account, can really make a difference. It changed my life, for the better. It can take some time to do that but it can be done. I think this is the main message of the book

Must-read for those who has issues with bad mood, or depressive moods. It really helped me to structure knowledge about ways to make me feel better.

Everyone should know about depression as it can happen at any time of life and great to know how to help a loved one going through it. This Book helps understanding how the brain works when suffering with depression and gives many practical advise on how to get out of the downward spiral.The author writes with empathy .

I'm not even done reading this book and I'm already giving it a five star review! this book is wonderful because it breaks down which part of the brain causes different aspects of depression such as pessimism or the mental filter that we use to only remember the painful experiences of the past, lack of motivation, etc. The author does so without getting too highly scientific about Brain chemistry yet explains how each of the brain parts interact with each other in the depressive cycle and make suggestions about simple things we can do to improve depression and how those brain parts create an upward spiral. Nothing he suggests I do sounds too overwhelming or difficult. this book has already really helped me a lot and gives me new information that I did not know before. This book doesn't just give you the same old information about depression. It's worth buying it and reading it because it's not the same all basic information about depression he approaches it in a different way. The benefit of all this is twofold: First, it gets me doing some of the simple tasks that help me improve depression in my brain. Second, it gets me to really realize that depression is truly an illness of brain chemistry so it helps me give myself a break and not beat myself up because I have depression and that helps my depression right there. When I'm caught in a depressive downward spiral I tend to beat myself up & that makes my depression worse right there. But, I remember the concepts in this book, that it's a brain disorder so I'm more gentle with myself and realize it's not my fault I'm depressed anymore than if I had cancer and that helps my depression improve!