“A silent tragedy in the history of modern healthcare is happening right now in America, but no one is talking about it. We have been told a story of depression: that it is caused by a chemical imbalance and cured by a chemical fix—a prescription. More than 30 million of us take antidepressants, including one in seven women (one in four women in their forties and fifties). Millions more—maybe you—are tempted to try them to end chronic, unyielding distress, irritability, and feeling emotionally flat—trapped by an exhausting, unshakable inner agitation.

It is time to let go of this false narrative and take a fresh look at where science is leading us. Before you try an antidepressant, I implore you to read this book. And if you do currently take these drugs, then I have an important message for you, too. Let me give you a primer.

Believe it or not:

• In six decades, not a single study has proven that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.
• The serotonin theory of depression is a myth that has been supported by the manipulation of data and an echo chamber of industry and media rhetoric.
• Depression is not a genetic disease. It is an epigenetic syndrome. In 2003, a study published in Science suggested that those with genetic variation in their serotonin transporter were three times more likely to be depressed. But six years later this idea was wiped out by a meta-analysis of 14,000 patients published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that denied such an association.
• Depression is often an inflammatory condition, a manifestation of irregularities in the body that can start far away from the brain and are not associated with the simplistic model of so-called ‘chemical imbalances’.
• Depression is an opportunity. It is a sign for us to stop and figure out what’s causing our imbalance.

The human body interacts in its environment with deep intelligence. Your body creates symptoms for a reason. We usually suppress these symptoms with medication, but that is like turning off the smoke alarm when you have a fire going on.

I get the allure of the quick fix cure via a drug. I used to believe in the magic pill. Then, after my residency and fellowship training, I took a sharp turn.

I have spent years voraciously researching to find better health solutions for women, hungry for the truth about what works and what doesn’t. In my research and work with patients—people just like you—I’ve been analyzing data and connecting the dots.

First, we have to ask why you are feeling the way you are feeling, and the sources of your symptoms may surprise you. It may be your food, your gut, your thyroid, or even your go-to pain reliever. I continue to be amazed at the power of the body to heal, after decades of abuse by our lifestyles, within time frames as short as thirty days.

My goal is to:

• Help you change the beliefs we’ve all been fed by a system that is not really focused on wellness, but on symptom suppression—and profit.
• Help you discover your body’s innate ability to recalibrate, reset, and recharge so you can heal.
• Give you simple, highly practical steps in a comprehensive plan that activates your own healing power so you can start feeling freer and healthier in thirty days or less.

Because you deserve to experience a mind of your own.”