Its Not All In Your HeadUnearthing the Deep Roots of Depression[978-1-84694-393-5] Nov 2010 $24.95 | £14
Its Not All In Your HeadUnearthing the Deep Roots of Depression[978-1-84694-393-5] Nov 2010 $24.95 | £14
Mental health, Personal memoirs
The story of one man’s search for the roots of a puzzling depression that struck suddenly in midlife reaches back decades to childhood in a dysfunctional alcoholic household. It is not unlike the story of millions of sufferers. This humanistic portrayal dispels widespread myths about depression and exposes its pervasive stigma. Tonys story chronicles the surprising lessons learned during two lengthy, draining episodes of depression. Unlike a memoir the point of the story is to illuminate emerging, controversial findings from medical research that explain the physiological basis of these misunderstood disorders, demonstrating that "its not all in your head." By revealing the devastating effects of childhood trauma on mental health in later life, the book enables readers to better understand their own experiences, conquer guilt and shame, and heal their inner wounds.
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A stunning cri de coeur, carrying us from one psychiatrist to another, one drug to another, one side-effect to another, one support group to another - this memoir (every bit as valuable as William Styron's acclaimed Darkness Visible) digs down to bedrock, exposing the worm of apathy and arrogaance that prevails (as the author expounds) in our "overwhelming technological, commercialized culture with an ever-accelerating and dehumanizing-pace life".
~ Susan Martinez, The Journal of Spirituality and Panonormal StudiesTony Giordano writes with admirable clarity, has an important tale to tell, and makes persuasive arguments about the genesis of depression. I recognized parts of myself in Tony's story and I think this will be equally true for other readers. In the end, this will be a fundamental value of the book. It will provide a road map for others who are befuddled by their feelings of depression. The book does something distinctive – almost a new genre of writing – by shuttling between a personal story and analysis of the childhood-trauma roots of depression. ~ David A. Karp, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at Boston College, author, and depression survivor.
It's Not All In Your Head is written by a depression sufferer who has personally experienced the propaganda of the pharmaceutical and insurance managed care industries as well as the impotence of simplistic cognitive behavioral therapies. I applaud Tony Giordano's insistence on the too often neglected significance of psychological trauma and his brave efforts to discover truths and heal. ~ Bruce E. Levine PhD, PhD Clinical Psychologist and author of Surviving America's Depression Epidemic
