This is Your Brain on Joy, Dr. Earl Henslin

An interesting look at how our brains work based on Dr. Henslin's and Dr. Amen's studies using SPECT scans. There are many different parts of our brains and each part plays a different role in affecting our moods. This book gives detailed description of common mood disorders and then realistic guideline for how to treat each disorder.

This book was very interesting to me. On one hand, I am really into psychology and mood disorders, so this book was very appealing, interesting and insightful. On the other hand, I am a Christian. And the Christian part of me was surprised at the lack of balance between science and spirituality. To me, this was a book about a psychological experiment. I really went into this book blindly looking for a spiritual revelation that would bring great joy into my life. This is not what the book was about. However, as a psychology book, I thought it was great. I like that the author provides a very basic assessment quiz so that you are not guessing what your brain is like. And after you've determined your main problem areas, there are explanations of each of the imbalances. What I really like is that this book doesn't just point you to the nearest pharmacy. There are ways to support your physical and emotional health using nutrition, natural remedies, herbs and drugs, if necessary. I found the SPECT scan information extremely interesting, but this book creates a desire to go get one of these scans for yourself, and they are extremely expensive, unattainable for the average person.