The best one can say about any of these methods is that although they haven't been proven, they're also not likely to be harmful, at least not for the run of the mill depressions and anxieties that most of us suffer at some time or another. I wouldn't recommend them for the suicidal or the severely schizophrenic, but for the chronically sad or anxious, they could be worth a try. Especially when conventional medicine has failed. And to Dr. Servan-Schreiber's credit, he provides ample reference to back up his support of each method. And he never claims miracles for them or touts them to the exclusion of other treatment modalities.

The best recommendations, however, are at the end of the book. Not just the chapter that covers the importance of regular exercise to mental well-being, but the final five chapters devoted to the importance of emotional communication. That doesn't mean communicating raw emotions with bald frankness, but developing the emotional maturity to speak honestly without giving offense, and to respond to the emotional rants of others without taking offense. (The "can't-we-all-just-get-along?" method of inner healing.) In stark contrast to the beginning of the book, which emphasizes the disconnect between the rational and emotional brains, this emphasizes the supremacy of the rational mind over the emotional mind. (The author recommends carrying around index cards with acronyms that stand for each step in the process of effective emotional communication -both in the giving and the receiving - to help you get through it at first.) And as dorky as it may seem to take out a cheat sheet in the middle of a tempest, I find myself tempted to make up a set of cards to keep in my pocket. Lord knows there are plenty of times thoughout the day I could use them. (And so could some others around here.)