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ammmiiiii's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.75
The evidence for mental illness being caused (or supplemented) by inflammation in the body is a compelling concept.
While he presents some evidence for the idea, Bullmore only really scratches the surface — the book is quite slow, lay, and repetitive.
While he presents some evidence for the idea, Bullmore only really scratches the surface — the book is quite slow, lay, and repetitive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
jcousins's review against another edition
5.0
Dr. Bullmore is articulate and interesting. I'm very glad I read the book, but while Dr. Bullmore holds out much hope for the near future I was left feeling like it would be some time before those I love would get the help they need with the depression they fight.
rschmidt7's review against another edition
4.0
There might be a lot to the central idea: that bodily inflammation causes depressive symptoms. But ultimately the book falls a little flat because it feels like "a distinction without a difference." In other words, what difference does it make if inflammation causes depression when it doesn't actually open up any treatment options and when Big Pharma refuses to research the idea further?
Bullmore tries to answer this in the final chapter called "So What?" but it's a frustrating and unsatisfactory answer. I guess this isn't really Bullmore's fault, but it underscores how frustratingly little progress has been made in treating depression in the last few decades. Maybe in the long run, immunopsychology or psychoneuroimmunology or whatever you want to call it will actually unlock new ways to treat inflammatory depression. But for right now, here we are.
Bullmore tries to answer this in the final chapter called "So What?" but it's a frustrating and unsatisfactory answer. I guess this isn't really Bullmore's fault, but it underscores how frustratingly little progress has been made in treating depression in the last few decades. Maybe in the long run, immunopsychology or psychoneuroimmunology or whatever you want to call it will actually unlock new ways to treat inflammatory depression. But for right now, here we are.
pammy_taylor's review against another edition
3.5
While I don’t imagine inflammation is the cause of all depression, this book answered a lot of questions I’ve had about my own experience with the two intertwining.
labyrinth_witch's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting theory about whether inflammation in the body causes depression, pioneered by a new group of medical professionals called immunoneurologists.
The value of the books is in the discussion of Descartes and how the mind/body divide came to be so entrenched in our worldview and the assumptions behind the worldview- namely that certain bodily chemicals couldn’t cross the barrier into the brain. New technology has revealed that, indeed, there are chemicals present that cross this divide. When Bullmore outlines it, it feel fairly absurd that we don’t consider our minds as “part of our bodies” and have set up a system where we have different doctors for the mind and the body.
The draw back to the book is that it is fairly heavy on medical and anatomical language which sometimes caused me to disconnect from the narrative. Definitely preferred listening to it on audio book as I would have struggled reading a hard copy.
Recommend to anyone who suspects there is more to their depression.
The value of the books is in the discussion of Descartes and how the mind/body divide came to be so entrenched in our worldview and the assumptions behind the worldview- namely that certain bodily chemicals couldn’t cross the barrier into the brain. New technology has revealed that, indeed, there are chemicals present that cross this divide. When Bullmore outlines it, it feel fairly absurd that we don’t consider our minds as “part of our bodies” and have set up a system where we have different doctors for the mind and the body.
The draw back to the book is that it is fairly heavy on medical and anatomical language which sometimes caused me to disconnect from the narrative. Definitely preferred listening to it on audio book as I would have struggled reading a hard copy.
Recommend to anyone who suspects there is more to their depression.
sinaiblx's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting but a bit disappointing: too much about the business of finding the next blockbuster on depressive medication and make it commercially viable. I liked the new perspective of inflamed body as one of the causes of depression, and I found the Darwin’s evolution side very intriguing.
peripetia's review against another edition
2.0
I have been reading a lot around this topic lately, and apparently there really is evidence that points to inflammation as either a culprit or a correlation in some mental illnesses. Still, this book did not manage to be very convincing in its argument.
At least half of the book was not on inflammation but on the history of the mind/body divide in medicine and in our thinking in general. This may be justified - it is relevant background information, I suppose - but it was too much. The author spends less time on actual scientific evidence than on theorizing and encouraging the medical and pharmaceutical fields to take action. Again, this may be justified, but it didn't give me much useful information.
I was most annoyed by the attempt to theorize an evolutionary benefit to mental illnesses. Just because something exists, doesn't mean that evolution engineered it to be just so. We like to think of evolution as an intelligent creator, but sometimes stuff just happens. Also, more importantly, the author does not know why humans suffer from mental illnesses, and it's completely useless to try to invent some kind of "humans of the savannah" model to explain it. Also, the author's ties to the pharmaceutical industry make me instantly skeptical.
Still, the inflammation model seems to have some merit, although my opinion as a non-medical professional is pretty worthless. Of course I won't let it stop me from giving it, though.
At least half of the book was not on inflammation but on the history of the mind/body divide in medicine and in our thinking in general. This may be justified - it is relevant background information, I suppose - but it was too much. The author spends less time on actual scientific evidence than on theorizing and encouraging the medical and pharmaceutical fields to take action. Again, this may be justified, but it didn't give me much useful information.
I was most annoyed by the attempt to theorize an evolutionary benefit to mental illnesses. Just because something exists, doesn't mean that evolution engineered it to be just so. We like to think of evolution as an intelligent creator, but sometimes stuff just happens. Also, more importantly, the author does not know why humans suffer from mental illnesses, and it's completely useless to try to invent some kind of "humans of the savannah" model to explain it. Also, the author's ties to the pharmaceutical industry make me instantly skeptical.
Still, the inflammation model seems to have some merit, although my opinion as a non-medical professional is pretty worthless. Of course I won't let it stop me from giving it, though.
subbasegirl's review against another edition
3.0
Fascinating glimpse into Bullmore's career in psychiatry and drug development and the way in which mental illness has been considered and treated historically. The book is written at a basic level and Bullmore takes careful pains to explain new terms as he introduces him. For readers with some knowledge of neuroscience and/or immunology the text is a little introductory. But his bibliography provides a good resource for future reading. Bullmore's optimism is infectious and I can't help but hope that he is right and that we will see some breakthroughs in our understanding and treatment of depression in the near future.