"Beautifully written, scientifically sound, and easily understood by the thoughtful reader."
"Written by a distinguished clinical psychologist who did seminal work in the psychology of women and contributed with her impressive evolutionary theory on the origins of bipolar disorder, Sherman's autobiographical story stands out for its ability to weave together the professional and scientific with the personal."
"This is the story of an illustrious psychologist in her battle with depression in the context of a male-dominated, medicalized mental health profession; I hope this book will serve as a catalyst for action."
"This memoir is quite extraordinary since it is written by a sophisticated researcher and clinical psychologist who bravely, frankly, reveals her own struggles with mental illness. Sherman also creates a new kind of memoir, one that brings research studies to bear on her own personal and professional experiences as a daughter, a graduate student, and a working professional. Brava Julia!"
5.0 out of 5 stars
“Dr. Sherman weaves together her theory of Evolutionary Origins of Bipolar Depression with a personal accounting of her life and struggles with bipolar depression to create a fascinating memoire. Her brave outing of her male coworkers, who were sexually abusing their patients, sets the stage for her ethical and professional nightmare scenario as a clinical psychologist in a male-dominated world. If not for her training in psychology and understanding of anthropology and genetics she literally would not have survived the blackballing and professional discrediting. This honest and explicit biography is a real page-turner. Although it is not written as a self-help book, it will give women who live with bipolar depression hope for a life without powerful psychotropic drugs and a path toward self-actualization.”
Dr. Kimberley Harrell
Depression and bipolar disorder are the largest public health issue, affecting 23 million Americans, according to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Persephone Publications' new book, "Beating Depression and Bipolar Disorder Without Drugs" by nationally-known psychologist, Julia A. Sherman demonstrates how these disorders can be managed without crippling psychiatric drugs.
Sherman has 62 years of clinical, teaching, and research experience. Her powerful story recounts her own struggle with bipolar disorder and depression, and the severe adverse drug reactions that made her stop psychiatric medications.
Hundreds of studies and Sherman’s own experience support the effectiveness of bright light therapy for depression and dark therapy for mania. In addition, triple chronotherapy (wake therapy + sleep phase advance + bright light therapy) provides a quick, effective non-drug treatment for even severe suicidal depressions. And, it works in a few days to a couple weeks.
These treatments are consistent with her hypothesis that correctly traces the genetic origin of bipolar disorder to pre-historic Neanderthals, who were hypomanic (to manic) during short summers and in a depressed state during long, severe winters, according to the treatise Evolutionary Origin of Bipolar Disorder in Medical Hypotheses 78(1):113-22 (2012).
Noting that depression affects more women than men, Sherman says, “My life story is a harrowing one, surviving #MeToo experiences, dosage with psychiatric drugs until I was a hulk of my former self."
The memoir recounts Sherman’s pioneering efforts to replace prejudice with science in the area of the psychology of women and her seminal research, debunking the idea that women are incapable of mastering mathematics and the pursuit of careers in law, medicine, engineering, and the sciences.
The book discusses how different parts of the brain record memories, and that repressed traumatic memories are recalled in more detail by women.
Sherman calls out the pharmaceutical industry for its fraud, greed, and propaganda and the way it has dominated the treatment of depression, even when scientific studies reveal that antidepressants are not effective and often harmful.
Moreover, lithium and “anti-psychotics” aren’t specific treatments for psychosis; instead they operate to shut down the brain. In her career, she observed such “treatments” as electroshock and prefrontal lobotomy.
Sherman recalls consulting work at a maximum-security facility for those then called the “criminally insane.” She met the notorious serial killer Ed Gein, and the menacing rage of another inmate in a therapy session.
Part memoir, part history, part science, and part a call to action, "Beating Depression and Bipolar Disorder Without Drugs: A Memoir of Survival in a Male-Dominated World" provides intellectual and emotional focus on specific feminist issues with an emphasis on the fraudulent hype of psychiatric drugs, the problems of depression and bipolar disorder, a new genetic theory, and a drugless treatment born in the crucible of scientific knowledge and desperation.
The book can be ordered on Amazon.com at https://tinyurl.com/BeatingDepression
About Persephone Publications
Based in Madison, WI, Persephone Publications publishes books about psychology. Titles include:
- Evolutionary Origin of Bipolar Disorder
- On the Psychology of Women: A Survey of Empirical Studies
