This groundbreaking international bestseller has become a classic of its kind ever since its publication in French ten years ago. In this book, award-winning psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, son of Jacques Servan-Schreiber, a well known French journalist and politician, shows us how to reclaim the balance and well-being needed to heal ourselves and transform our lives.

Some people live in perfect harmony and they exude a formidable positive energy: they appear to be constantly in a good mood. They are always ready to enjoy all of life’s pleasures especially those we take for granted like breathing, enjoying good food, having genuine friends. Their ability to face their personal problems and overcome life’s constant misfortunes led Dr. Servan- Schreiber to search for effective treatments to cure stress, anxiety and depression.

After one of his friends was treated successfully with sophrology, a technique that involves deep relaxation, Dr. Servan-Schreiber learned to open his mind and heart to alternative medicine.

Clinical studies suggest that 50 to 75 percent of all visits to the doctor are related to stress. Stress in fact, poses a far more serious health hazard than tobacco. Moreover, anti-anxiety and antidepressants medicines do not cure the way antibiotics cure infections. Furthermore, it is a well known fact that most of the patients who quit taking antidepressants relapse within a year.

Research findings have also brought to light that less than 20% of a person’s success is due to his individual IQ which consists of abstract intelligence and logic. There is however another form of intelligence known as ‘emotional intelligence’ which has the capacity to identify and regulate our own emotions and those of others.

The emotional brain, known as the limbic brain, regulates our breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, appetite, sleep, and secretion of hormones. “It is the dynamic balance that keeps us alive” and furthermore, “When the emotional brain is out of order, the heart suffers and wears out. But the most astonishing discovery of all is that this relationship works both ways. The proper functioning of the heart influences the brain as well.

Dr. Servan-Schreiber describes seven effective and scientifically backed methods. The first approach known as heart coherence is the most fundamental. Undergoing heart coherence teaches us how to control our heart rhythm and harmonize the essential interplay between the heart and the brain and thus reduce stress, fatigue, anxiety as well as protect us from depression. The practice of heart coherence is deceptively simple. It is a combination of deep breathing, meditation and relaxation: “…breathing slowly and deeply (but effortlessly), visualize and really feel, each inhalation and exhalation passing through that key part of your body. Imagine that each intake of oxygen nourishes your body and each exhalation rids it of the waste it no longer needs”.

The author also highlights the importance of taking a daily supplement of Omega-3 Fatty Acids which is found in mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, haddock and also trout, tinned tuna, spinach, walnuts, flax seeds and flaxseed oil. This powerful brain fuel has a striking effect on human behavior.

A Danish study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that children who were breastfed for at least nine months and also received a great quantity of Omega-3 had a higher IQ than children who were given a placebo.

Other studies have also shown a link between omega-3 fatty acids and depression. Depressed patients have apparently a lower incidence of omega-3 fatty acids in their body than normal subjects.

Dr. Bernard Gesh, a Senior Research Scientist at Oxford, gave a tablet containing the recommended daily intake of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids or a placebo, to violent offenders in a high security prison. Six months after, the prisoners who had taken the supplement showed a 35 percent reduction of violent behaviors.

Moreover, Western Science has also proved in the last decades that exercise is a remarkable treatment for anxiety. It is not so much the quantity that matters but the quality. One does not need a lot of physical exercise, but one must exercise regularly. Studies have shown that the minimum time required to affect the emotional brain is 20 minutes of exercise, three times a week.

Our lives are increasingly shaped by a global narcissistic trend, centered on personal development, individual freedom, autonomy, and the desire to be unique.

"The cost of this relentless pursuit of autonomy is isolation, suffering and a loss of meaning. Never have we had as much freedom to part from spouses or partners who no longer suit us perfectly. The divorce rate is now approaching 50 percent in our societies ... Released from family bonds, duties, obligations toward others, we have never been as free to seek our own way.

But because of this same process, we can get lost and end up alone. This growing alienation is probably one of the reasons why depression seems to have risen steadily in the West over the past 50 years,” explains Dr. Servan-Schreiber.

The seven natural approaches, described in this book, are all backed by research evidence for their effectiveness. But what is most interesting is that drug-free methods confirm that the most effective way to heal the mind is through the body. Deep breathing combined with exercise, better nutrition and other alternative medical therapies start a self-healing process which resets the emotional brain, monitors it’s functioning in an optimal range, and maximizes our vital energy.

Healing without Freud or Prozac brings hope to those who suffer from anxiety and depression. This incisive book explores unconventional treatments which are not only effective but also empower considerably the patients who use them.