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The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic Audiobook
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Nearly every depressed person is assured by doctors, well-meaning friends and family, the media, and ubiquitous advertisements that the underlying problem is a chemical imbalance. Such a simple defect should be fixable, yet despite all of the resources that have been devoted to finding a pharmacological solution, depression remains stubbornly widespread. Why are we losing this fight? In this humane and illuminating challenge to defect models of depression, psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg argues that depression is a particularly severe outgrowth of our natural capacity for emotion. In other words, it is a low mood gone haywire. Drawing on recent developments in the science of mood—and his own harrowing depressive experience as a young adult—Rottenberg explains depression in evolutionary terms, showing how its dark pull arises from adaptations that evolved to help our ancestors ensure their survival. Moods, high and low, evolved to compel us to more efficiently pursue rewards. While this worked for our ancestors, our modern environment—in which daily survival is no longer a sole focus—makes it all too easy for low mood to slide into severe, long-lasting depression. Weaving together experimental and epidemiological research, clinical observations, and the voices of individuals who have struggled with depression, The Depths offers a bold new account of why depression endures—and makes a strong case for de-stigmatizing this increasingly common condition. In so doing, Rottenberg offers hope in the form of his own and other patients’ recovery, and points the way towards new paths for treatment.
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“Rottenberg’s practical style and talent for using real-world examples by real-world people to illustrate states of low and high mood is refreshing…The book is a wonderful first step for those who wish to better understand the illness from a scientific viewpoint. And it gives the reader hope by suggesting that depression is a common, albeit painful, human experience: that a low mood does not mean we have failed.”
— PsychCentral
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“The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic has the potential to revolutionize the way scientists study depression and therapists treat depression. It can provide hope for people with depression and understanding for their families.”
— Psychology Today -
“A stimulating book.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“In this provocative presentation of the natural history and evolution of depression, the bottom line is, strangely, both deflating and hopeful: ‘low mood is both inescapable and sometimes useful.’”
— Booklist -
“An important contribution to [Rottenberg’s] stated aim of promoting ‘an adult national conversation about depression.’”
— Kirkus Reviews
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About Jonathan Rottenberg
Jonathan Rottenberg is an associate professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, where he is director of the Mood and Emotion Laboratory. His work has been covered by Scientific American, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Time. In 2013, Rottenberg launched the Come Out of the Dark campaign to start a better, richer national conversation about depression. He lives in Tampa, Florida.
About Walter Dixon
Walter Dixon is a broadcast media veteran of more than twenty years’ experience with a background in theater and performing arts and voice work for commercials. After a career in public radio, he is now a full-time narrator with more than fifty audiobooks recorded in genres ranging from religion and politics to children’s stories.