Robert J. Hedaya

The Antidepressant Survival Program is probably a fancy way to say eat well, exercise, meditate, and make sure you don't have any other underlying medical problems that could exacerbate either your depression or side effects.

I was hoping to find some ideas for relief getting through the first few weeks on an antidepressant, but this book seems geared towards those who have already acclimated to their meds. For people just starting a new med, it doesn't offer any advice on getting through severe mood swings, panic attacks (which may be uncharted territory if taking a med for depression), lack of appetite, etc.

Generally this book rubbed me the wrong way, as well, because the author came off as being very arrogant. He also says things like "[a]bout 80 percent of [my patients] experience more energy and feel significantly better on the Five-Day Jump Start." (which is his initial "survival program")... Which, sure, I'll take his word for it, but how do I know that's not a data point he pulled out of his butt? Where's the study?

He also seems to assume that we all eat packaged foods and sit on our butts all day. Or, if we do, that we have the resources and/or ability to eat well (access to grocery stores, money to afford healthy food) and exercise (no disabilities or significant injuries). He takes on a somewhat patronizing tone about his patients' (apparently universal) diets of coffee and carbohydrates. I found that, in all things in life, there is no one solution to the question of "ideal diet", so inflexibly prescribing one thing is probably not going to be terribly useful for everybody. (Personally, as a vegan, his diet does not have any options for me, so, no, not terribly useful.)

I also think that this *very* strict nutrition plan could be extremely triggering for anybody who suffers from disordered eating, some of whom are prescribed antidepressants. Personally, I can't keep a food diary without eventually starving myself, which would be counterproductive to say the least.

In sum, Dr. Hedaya has The Answer To Everything in this book, and that just bothers me. Eat his diet. Exercise. Quit smoking, but if you do quit smoking, don't quit cold turkey. (What? Worst advice ever! Everybody who quits smoking does so in a way that works for them, and for some people, including me, that means cold turkey!) Don't drink coffee, ever. Don't drink alcohol, ever.

Finally, this book also suffers from being almost 15 years old. In pharmacological terms, that's an eternity. It's quite possible you're taking a med that wasn't even on the market when this book was written, and your side effects could be quite different from those outlined here.… (plus d'informations)