Spontaneous Happiness: A New Path to Emotional Well-Being Paperback – January 1, 2013

"Spontaneous Happiness" is one of Dr. Andrew Weil's most encouraging books. Within the pages he reveals his own battles with depression and explains he grew into a happier life by changing his lifestyle. Before reading this book I always assumed he was one of the happiest individuals on the planet. However he has had his moments of battling depression just like the rest of us.From page one I was completely captivated. The writing is intellectual all while revealing Dr. Andrew Weil's care and concern for the reader. His goal in writing about happiness and depression is to lead the reader to an "internal state of well-being."While reading this book you will happen upon interesting thoughts, like the real cause of postpartum depression and why there is a depression epidemic in the world.Here and there medications are mentioned and Dr. Andrew Weil is in no way against taking prescription medications. In fact he recommends medication and psychotherapy for bipolar individuals. He does however suggest a number of herbal and natural remedies that will appeal to readers looking for natural alternatives. There is also a mention of herbs and drugs you don't want to take that will make depression worse. So this is all very helpful information.Some of the topics in this book include: light therapy, empathy, breathing exercises, laughing clubs, pet therapy, writing in a gratitude journal, social isolation, compassion, meditation, avoiding news and the problem of disconnection from nature.There is a section on secular spirituality that can be practiced by anyone no matter their religion. The only thing I'd personally suggest is that you consider praying to God. This has personally made me happy. While reading this book I could not help feeling that perhaps Dr. Weil was in some way denying himself a wonderful relationship with the Creator of all he loves. He definitely loves nature and talks about loving tulips and other flowers he grows.For me bliss is reading books and this book made me especially happy. I found that it also made me feel very calm. I liked how Dr. Weil looked at subjects from a variety of angles and how he came to interesting conclusions. He also provides and excellent 8-week program at the end of the book. This program gives more detailed information that is needed to get healthy and happy.I know the difference between ecstatic bliss and extreme depression. The ideas in this book will lead you to a calm state of happiness that feels like unending joy.By 2030 there are going to be an overwhelming amount of people who are going to be depressed. This book can lead the world to a happier place and maybe prevent some suffering.~The Rebecca Review

This is a book I saw off of a recommended reading list this past summer, and I was in a mood to read through as many of the books on that list as I could, so I bought it several months ago, but didn't really get around to reading in it until recently.In this book, Dr. Weil argues for an approach to treating depression and anxiety that blends both Western medicine and eastern medicine traditions. Which, as a person who has managed to live through some of the downsides of western medicine in the last few years, is something at this point in time, I'm fully supportive of.There are a couple of important points I want to make right off the bat before I go into any additional thoughts on this book. It was published in 2011, so it is important for you to keep in mind that medical science is not a static thing, studies and new information are actively coming about all the time. There is a lot of information in here as relates to studies, and my recommendation is if there is something in particular you are planning on relying on, especially when it comes to the herbs and the supplements, that you look up what the current information is.And for the supplements, it is important that you look up the contraindications and interactions before you start taking any of them. Ideally, you'd be looking into these with the support of a Dr, but often times, Dr visits are short in duration, and your PCP may not be able to evaluate all of your medications and whether or not you should be on these supplements in your typical office visit. And some Dr's are not open to taking these kinds of supplements at all, so if you're Dr. is one of them, and you want to try these, you may need to seek elsewhere. Some of these supplements, like St. John's Wort, interact with medications. St. John's Wort interacts with a ton of them, and I mean a ton. And SAMe really shouldn't be taken without physician guidance if you are already on an anti-depressant. And you need to be aware that some of these herbs can have effects on the body just as strenuous as prescription or over the counter meds, so checking for the contraindications for any of your medical conditions is a must if you want to avoid undesirable outcomes. And for me personally, as a person who experienced medication induced liver damage, I am hesitant to take a product like Rhodiola, which hasn't been studied enough to know the impact on the overall human system.For some things, like Omega 3, there are options on the market for vegetarians and vegans, but you do have to be careful to look up the dosing, because he gives all of his recommended doses in grams for fish oil, and those don't really translate over to the same amounts for algae or flax seed products. So based on what I looked up, it's about 1500 mg of omega 3's that's in the amount of fish oil he's recommending. I don't particularly need that high a dosage (it's about 3 times what is recommended for the average daily intake for normal conditions), but I've started paying attention to the amounts in the omega products I'm using and ordering, because there are a couple of people I would like to recommend try adding this to their regimen for mood support, and not all supplements will provide the amount you need for any of the therapeutic uses without taking multiples.If you were to ask me what I would sum up as being the most important pieces of advice in this book, it would be: take care of your body, and what you focus on matters.Exercise, nutrition, getting enough sleep,...I agree with him, the benefits of all of these in mood regulation are profound. He also references Seligman's work in here, and I've read some of his stuff myself, and I think that some of the selective optimism techniques have been very beneficial to me personally over the years. And Dr. Weil emphasizes meditation in terms of helping to reshape thought patterns and reduce stress, and I think he lays as strong enough case that studies are certainly supportive of that.My daughter asked me the other day, “Mom, how is it that you are not absolutely miserable?” She went on to reference the things people say to me about her brother (who has significant disabilities), the reactions I sometimes get from others about things like my muscles, the things that happen in the course of providing care for her brother, and the things I've been through in recent years. She'd been to the store with me and her brother that day, and got to witness some of my challenges in a few of those areas. I was still pretty surprised by the question, but I told her, “you know what, that's an important question, and I'm glad you asked it.” I told her: It's about what I focus on. I could focus on all of that bad stuff, and sometimes, I just can't help it, it still does cross my mind. But what I prefer to focus on as much as I can are the positives. I got to build a puzzle with you today. Your brother has a new skill. These arms are successfully raising a boy most people won't even babysit-they're freaking gorgeous as far as I'm concerned at this point and I can't be bothered to care what they think. Yes, things are hard, and life is certainly no fairytale. But the good moments are in there too. And that's what I want to focus on the most, because they are the things that make me happiest.”And I think that is for me, one of the more powerful tools in this book based on my personal experience. So, I do think this is an interesting read, and I can certainly recommend it. I would just strongly caution you to make sure you've done all of your research before you start ingesting any of the supplements on his list.

I found this book quite enjoyable, although a little medically technical. I had to frequently look up the definition for words not in my common vocabulary, and read in short bursts. Dr. Weil seems to have a good grasp on the dramatic increase in depression in modern Americans. His recommendations to improve your baseline mood are relatively simple. He follows his discussion of the scientific research with an aggressive 8 week plan to implement all the solutions described in the book. All are simple (start taking this vitamin, practice deep breathing, etc.) although some are life altering and may be a challenge for many (cook more using real food, limit screen time, information exposure, spend time outside more).Like the saying goes, there's no escalator to success, you must take the stairs. I haven't yet started to implement his suggestions, but can see the potential for major stumbling blocks along the way.I bought the paper copy for my wife, and she bought the Kindle version for me. I haven't yet cracked the paper version, preferring to read on my Kindle Paperwhite. The one challenge I had with the Kindle format of this book is the plethora of hyperlinks in the text. Because the Paperwhite doesn't have physical page turn buttons, you must tap the screen to change places. This often had the unintended consequence of sending me off to another section of the book, or a website. Luckily, the back button works. This is a shared flaw with the Kindle device and the text formatting. The hyperlinks are useful, although they could have been formatted better so they didn't span multiple lines of text. I'm not in the market for a new Kindle device, but this book does give the the reason to consider an Oasis or Voyage over the Paperwhite.