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Brain Reboot: New Treatments for Healing Depression
HEAL YOUR DEPRESSION AND REGAIN YOUR LIFE—WITH THREE NEW TOOLS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF TREATMENT
Everyone feels depressed sometimes. But a sustained lack of energy, a pro-found inability to enjoy life, or an overwhelming sadness that can render unbearable pain may be symptoms of something more. If you suffer from any of these symptoms, you may be one of 300 million people worldwide who have depression. While we often think of pharmaceutical treatments as the best way to treat depression, the truth is that for many people they either don’t work or lose their efficacy after a time. But there is hope in the form of three groundbreaking ketamine, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In Brain Reboot , you’ll
Dr. Michael Henry’s life mission is to help anyone suffering with treatment-resistant depression; in Brain Reboot he provides everything you need to know about using ketamine, TMS, and ECT to regain your self and your life.
Everyone feels depressed sometimes. But a sustained lack of energy, a pro-found inability to enjoy life, or an overwhelming sadness that can render unbearable pain may be symptoms of something more. If you suffer from any of these symptoms, you may be one of 300 million people worldwide who have depression. While we often think of pharmaceutical treatments as the best way to treat depression, the truth is that for many people they either don’t work or lose their efficacy after a time. But there is hope in the form of three groundbreaking ketamine, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In Brain Reboot , you’ll
Dr. Michael Henry’s life mission is to help anyone suffering with treatment-resistant depression; in Brain Reboot he provides everything you need to know about using ketamine, TMS, and ECT to regain your self and your life.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published November 29, 2022
8 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Michael Henry
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2023
A great and important book (I’m a patient of the author)
I’ll say up front that I entered into the reading of Brain Reboot with strong, favorable biases, as I have been a grateful patient of the author, Dr. Michael Henry, for the past 8 years. Still, I believe I’m in a great position to review this book (I’ve suffered from treatment-resistant depression) just as Dr. Henry was in a great position to write it. I’ll dig into both of those claims a little more at the end.
Brain Reboot would be good read for anyone whose life is touched by depression, but it will be especially valuable to those for whom first-line treatments like SSRIs and SNRIs aren’t working (or aren’t working well enough) and are considering the other promising treatment options that the author discusses in this book like ketamine, TMS, and ECT. And since reading anything can be can be difficult or impossible when one is depressed, I’d argue Brain Reboot is also an invaluable read for those good souls who are acting as close supports and advocates for those suffering from treatment-resistant depression (spouses, parents, therapists, etc.).
Brain Reboot offers hope in the form of accessible, actionable knowledge. The prose is both warm and crystal clear, which makes this a smooth read (I’m a writer, so I’d like to think I have an eye for this). I’ve read many books on depression and treatments for depression, but even for me there was plenty of history and science I hadn’t encountered before and enjoyed learning about. Dr. Henry takes great care to explain how these different treatments work and why they work so differently than first-line treatments like SSRIs. He also dispels myths and misperceptions about the treatments that might otherwise make patients reluctant to consider them, and he discusses the next steps you should take if you’re interested in trying them.
Besides the three main treatments discussed, there’s also a chapter on treatments which are still in an early developmental phase but do hold promise and may become available/improved in the near future. These include hallucinogenic treatments (e.g. psilocybin) and techniques like deep brain stimulation (DBS). There’s also a chapter on the importance of maintaining (to the extent one can while depressed) healthy sleep, diet, and exercise habits.
I’ve already recommended Brain Reboot to friends and family, some of whom are mental health therapists, because I firmly believe this book can provide help and hope to those who suffer from treatment-resistant depression as well as the people invested in their care.
Some context on me (the reviewer): I’m 43 years old and have been managing depression my entire adult life—and for many years, psychotherapy and the SNRI Effexor (venlafaxine) did in fact keep the depression quite “manageable.” But starting around age 33 I entered a new depth of depression I’d never experienced before. I tried different med combinations, but none of them worked and I got worse. I even tried TMS and ketamine with no response (though I maintain these are excellent, research-supported treatment options that any fellow sufferer should consider!). By the time I tried ECT, I had a plan for committing suicide if the treatment didn’t work. Thankfully, it did work, at least somewhat, bringing me back to a state of partial remission that allowed me to function. Still, for the past nine years, even at my best, I continued to struggle with crushing anhedonia, such that motivation and joy were almost always weak and fleeting, and I had to force or drag myself to do almost everything. But recently (and I mean like three months ago) I began taking the newly available treatment of dextromethorphan-plus-bupropion and have been experiencing periods of full remission for the first time in nearly a decade (Dr. Henry discusses this new drug combo briefly in the final chapter).
My point in sharing all this? Even if you’ve been trying different treatments for years and years without success, finding eventual relief from your depression is still possible. There are a lot of options out there, and there are more coming. Allow Brain Reboot to give you that hope.
Some context on the author (because I think it’s highly relevant): Michael Henry is precisely the person to write this book (and I’m so glad he did). He possesses that high-level perspective that comes from overseeing the Bipolar Clinic and the ECT Clinic at a nationally recognized hospital, as well as the ground-level perspective that comes from treating (I imagine) hundreds of depressed patients over his career. Moreover, I have met and been treated by other intellectually and professionally accomplished psychiatrists, but none of them possesses Dr. Henry’s compassion and thoughtful patience. Despite his many other demanding responsibilities, I never feel rushed in our sessions. He really listens when I try to explain how I’m feeling and how a particular treatment is working (or not working), and he always takes ample time to consider the best possible “next step” for someone with my unique patient profile. The journey toward finding a treatment that brought me full remission was long and arduous, but I never doubted I was in the best possible hands. Should you decide to read this book, you’ll be in good hands too, I promise you.
Godspeed.
I’ll say up front that I entered into the reading of Brain Reboot with strong, favorable biases, as I have been a grateful patient of the author, Dr. Michael Henry, for the past 8 years. Still, I believe I’m in a great position to review this book (I’ve suffered from treatment-resistant depression) just as Dr. Henry was in a great position to write it. I’ll dig into both of those claims a little more at the end.
Brain Reboot would be good read for anyone whose life is touched by depression, but it will be especially valuable to those for whom first-line treatments like SSRIs and SNRIs aren’t working (or aren’t working well enough) and are considering the other promising treatment options that the author discusses in this book like ketamine, TMS, and ECT. And since reading anything can be can be difficult or impossible when one is depressed, I’d argue Brain Reboot is also an invaluable read for those good souls who are acting as close supports and advocates for those suffering from treatment-resistant depression (spouses, parents, therapists, etc.).
Brain Reboot offers hope in the form of accessible, actionable knowledge. The prose is both warm and crystal clear, which makes this a smooth read (I’m a writer, so I’d like to think I have an eye for this). I’ve read many books on depression and treatments for depression, but even for me there was plenty of history and science I hadn’t encountered before and enjoyed learning about. Dr. Henry takes great care to explain how these different treatments work and why they work so differently than first-line treatments like SSRIs. He also dispels myths and misperceptions about the treatments that might otherwise make patients reluctant to consider them, and he discusses the next steps you should take if you’re interested in trying them.
Besides the three main treatments discussed, there’s also a chapter on treatments which are still in an early developmental phase but do hold promise and may become available/improved in the near future. These include hallucinogenic treatments (e.g. psilocybin) and techniques like deep brain stimulation (DBS). There’s also a chapter on the importance of maintaining (to the extent one can while depressed) healthy sleep, diet, and exercise habits.
I’ve already recommended Brain Reboot to friends and family, some of whom are mental health therapists, because I firmly believe this book can provide help and hope to those who suffer from treatment-resistant depression as well as the people invested in their care.
Some context on me (the reviewer): I’m 43 years old and have been managing depression my entire adult life—and for many years, psychotherapy and the SNRI Effexor (venlafaxine) did in fact keep the depression quite “manageable.” But starting around age 33 I entered a new depth of depression I’d never experienced before. I tried different med combinations, but none of them worked and I got worse. I even tried TMS and ketamine with no response (though I maintain these are excellent, research-supported treatment options that any fellow sufferer should consider!). By the time I tried ECT, I had a plan for committing suicide if the treatment didn’t work. Thankfully, it did work, at least somewhat, bringing me back to a state of partial remission that allowed me to function. Still, for the past nine years, even at my best, I continued to struggle with crushing anhedonia, such that motivation and joy were almost always weak and fleeting, and I had to force or drag myself to do almost everything. But recently (and I mean like three months ago) I began taking the newly available treatment of dextromethorphan-plus-bupropion and have been experiencing periods of full remission for the first time in nearly a decade (Dr. Henry discusses this new drug combo briefly in the final chapter).
My point in sharing all this? Even if you’ve been trying different treatments for years and years without success, finding eventual relief from your depression is still possible. There are a lot of options out there, and there are more coming. Allow Brain Reboot to give you that hope.
Some context on the author (because I think it’s highly relevant): Michael Henry is precisely the person to write this book (and I’m so glad he did). He possesses that high-level perspective that comes from overseeing the Bipolar Clinic and the ECT Clinic at a nationally recognized hospital, as well as the ground-level perspective that comes from treating (I imagine) hundreds of depressed patients over his career. Moreover, I have met and been treated by other intellectually and professionally accomplished psychiatrists, but none of them possesses Dr. Henry’s compassion and thoughtful patience. Despite his many other demanding responsibilities, I never feel rushed in our sessions. He really listens when I try to explain how I’m feeling and how a particular treatment is working (or not working), and he always takes ample time to consider the best possible “next step” for someone with my unique patient profile. The journey toward finding a treatment that brought me full remission was long and arduous, but I never doubted I was in the best possible hands. Should you decide to read this book, you’ll be in good hands too, I promise you.
Godspeed.
March 2, 2025
Very good book for both people suffering from depression as well as anyone else who wants to learn. I love the science around how depression affects your brain and impacts your entire life. I read this book to gain insight into the “how it works” of ketamine and TMS and gained a lot of knowledge. The author writes in a way that is scientific and fact-based, but not confusing or over-complicated. Highly recommend!
November 8, 2023
If you suffer from depression, i highly recommend this book!
Read
April 22, 2024Helpful overview of some newer and coming treatments for depression. Hopeful.
August 13, 2024
Excellent info.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews