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essie_may's review against another edition
3.0
"Жизнь без боли и тревоги кажется мечтой, но в действительности она длилась бы очень недолго".
bessma_jumaah's review against another edition
A series of questions with no answers
Many many research references and scientists' quotations regarding one issue and one issue only (reads like and essay on a school project to some extent)
I'm not convinced with all the author's saying since it all revolves around one unproven theory.
It was a lot of rolling around in one circle with no benefit, information or research material.
At least that's in the 30% I've read, and I don't think I'll ever want to finish it.
If there's something to gain by the end of the book please enlighten me, I would be more than happy to be proven wrong.
Otherwise, no thank you :/
Many many research references and scientists' quotations regarding one issue and one issue only (reads like and essay on a school project to some extent)
I'm not convinced with all the author's saying since it all revolves around one unproven theory.
It was a lot of rolling around in one circle with no benefit, information or research material.
At least that's in the 30% I've read, and I don't think I'll ever want to finish it.
If there's something to gain by the end of the book please enlighten me, I would be more than happy to be proven wrong.
Otherwise, no thank you :/
quigonchuy's review against another edition
4.0
A book about looking at Psychiatry not just as a way to treat symptoms, but also to understand the role of these symptoms in our minds and bodies from an evolutionary perspective. So we're not just treating the symptom, but also getting to the root cause of the symptom and to understand why.
zhzhang's review against another edition
5.0
It is a revolutionary book on a brand new concept to me: evolutionary psychiatry. The six factors: mismatch, infection, constrains, trade-off, reproduction and defensive responses have "doomed" our vulnerability to illness. The perspective that the author has presented is very refreshing and thought-provoking. The beginning of the book is especially gripping. A good read.
tigor's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, I’ve learned so much from this book about the evolutionary perspective. I already knew some things about it but not the relation between the evolution and mental health. It gave me a lot of new insights!
Quote: “our brains were shaped to benefit our genes, not us.”
Quote: “our brains were shaped to benefit our genes, not us.”
batoolm's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
ohsoreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
o88's review against another edition
3.0
“Several years into my work teaching psychiatry, I was frustrated as well as confused. The field seemed to be narrowing to the slogan ‘mental disorders are brain diseases'. The phrase is great for marketing drugs, decreasing stigma, and soliciting donations, but it short-circuits clear thinking”
This book is a reassessment of the field of psychiatry by introducing how evolutionary biology factors in and should be taken into consideration to better understand emotions and mental disorders. The main question raised here is “Why did natural selection leave our bodies with traits that make us vulnerable to diseases”. The book then tries to explain how emotions are essentially defences and symptoms for bad things happening in people’s lives. Ultimately, the author, a former psychiatrist, is trying to advance the profession, particularly it’s foundations, by bridging psychiatry with evolutionary biology for a more comprehensive understanding of mental health.
There is some useful common sense information here particularly with motivation, goals, low moods, and ‘depressogenic situations’, and how feeling ‘trapped’ in pursuing an unreachable goal is a disaster for mental health. Also, that it’s challenging to generate motivation and enthusiasm when positive outcomes are so few and far in between. Also, having ‘hope’ may sometimes be counterintuitive to well being as it may leave you stuck in a bad situation, and ironically, lead to depression.
Bottom Line:
Not as rich with information as I would have liked. The book's target audience is for psychiatrists, but it will appeal to the layman who is interested in evolutionary biology. The big takeaway for me is that the profession still seems to be very far off from understanding and treating emotional disorders effectively. It’s actually quite surprising how psychiatrists are not on same page and how flawed the DSM is. I think the evolutionary biology angle at best may help you understand yourself a little better, if you subscribe to a naturalistic perspective on things, but there is little practical use with that sort of information.
3/5
This book is a reassessment of the field of psychiatry by introducing how evolutionary biology factors in and should be taken into consideration to better understand emotions and mental disorders. The main question raised here is “Why did natural selection leave our bodies with traits that make us vulnerable to diseases”. The book then tries to explain how emotions are essentially defences and symptoms for bad things happening in people’s lives. Ultimately, the author, a former psychiatrist, is trying to advance the profession, particularly it’s foundations, by bridging psychiatry with evolutionary biology for a more comprehensive understanding of mental health.
There is some useful common sense information here particularly with motivation, goals, low moods, and ‘depressogenic situations’, and how feeling ‘trapped’ in pursuing an unreachable goal is a disaster for mental health. Also, that it’s challenging to generate motivation and enthusiasm when positive outcomes are so few and far in between. Also, having ‘hope’ may sometimes be counterintuitive to well being as it may leave you stuck in a bad situation, and ironically, lead to depression.
Bottom Line:
Not as rich with information as I would have liked. The book's target audience is for psychiatrists, but it will appeal to the layman who is interested in evolutionary biology. The big takeaway for me is that the profession still seems to be very far off from understanding and treating emotional disorders effectively. It’s actually quite surprising how psychiatrists are not on same page and how flawed the DSM is. I think the evolutionary biology angle at best may help you understand yourself a little better, if you subscribe to a naturalistic perspective on things, but there is little practical use with that sort of information.
3/5