The only good part of the book was the first couple of chapters which are very similar to many others out there. Basically eat healthy, exercise and decrease screen time. Mediation and yoga are also helpful. There are many other great books out there that I would recommend over this one. Dr. Oz as a mentor is also a huge red flag to me.

The book "State Change" by Dr. Robin Berzin proposes a new approach to connecting the mind and body in medicine for addressing anxiety and mood. The author's stance of considering the whole person, rather than just treating symptoms, is valuable and practical tips are provided. While I skipped over the diet advice, preferring a more intuitive and clean eating approach, the book is still an important resource for opening up critical conversations about the mind-body connection in medicine. It has the potential to impact future research and practice positively, and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I really enjoyed the tips and tricks throughout this book. The cover is absolutely stunning, clearly I'm a huge fan of pink. I feel like this will be a book I pick up and go through many times.

Learning patience for yourself is a big issue, and this book really helps to break that down in to actionable steps in order to be a better person. I really enjoyed this book.

State Change is a really useful and interesting book about creating change in your life and how most of your issues are controlled by food/medical reasons. It was a good discussion about not just blaming yourself and your brain for everything and how food choices and vitamin deficiencies play a role in disease and mental health. The author is definitely knowledgeable about the subject and has plenty of real world evidence of her patients that benefited from the state changes she proposes. I really enjoyed the chapters devoted to supplementation since it gave an easy to follow list of things to do and try to improve health.

Book review
Thanks so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. First of all, confession here- I don’t like “Self Help” books because they stress me out or bore me- I always feel like i “ should be “ doing something with the advice- digesting, absorbing, and taking it. Otherwise- whats the point? It’s usually given in a sort of vague way that I can’t recall 10 pages later. Often, the author gets preachy about how they figured it all out, and I quit reading.
When I started this book, I was at a point in my life where I feel like crap. Most of the time- tired, grumpy, sad, lonely and a bit depressed. It is written by a doctor, who run a bougie clinic. I figured why not get the same advice as her clients. Low expectations but worth a try.
At the beginning, She outlines how our medical system is set up to treat symptoms, not the whole person-example many people are on anxiety and depression meds for years, and are not feeling better . Many are seeing therapists for years, and not feeling better. Most doctors aren’t running the proper tests or digging into their symptoms to actually figure out the why.

As I began reading, she explained how my symptoms were caused by my behaviors- the same behaviors MANY of us in the modern world have- too much sugar, look little exercise, too much screen time, too little sleep. The book then goes into detail on how each of us can do some simple things to change them, and feel better, I was ready to try.

Most of the advice is pretty common sense- e.g. we spend too much time on screens, but the hearing the science behind WHY its bad, resonated with me. She also encourages us to start small- change one small thing, whatever is easiest for us, and see how we feel. For me, it was trying to get more sleep. I spend hours scrolling news, insta, FB before going to bed. Often staying up really late doing it. I averaged 5-6 hours of poor quality sleep a night.
There is self health test where you rate your symptoms every 2 weeks - everything from heartburn, to depression. I took the test and first scored a 43 .( above 23 may indicate a chronic issue) Three weeks in Im averaging 7.5 hours of sleep, I have added new good behaviors, and my symptoms are down - This a.m. I scored a 14. I feel so much better. Im planning to add more things ( reduce more sugar, add daily meditation ) to feel even better.

She provides the proper level of caution that those with conditions like diabetes , eating disorders , depression they must work with their doctors before undertaking changes to medications or diets etc. Advice is also given on what to look for in supplements, tests your doctor should be running every year as well as how to find a functional doctor.

Bottom line, for a non-self help reader- this book has actually made a difference to me, and my health.
Highly Recommend

This book takes an empathetic approach and gives bite size approaches and allows you to have kindness and patience with yourself when dealing with life. This is so necessary for everyone to read in life. Highly recommend. Especially loved the reflection to true life to humanize my feelings and relate. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Accessible and manageable for most any lifestyle. Affordable and conscientious, not so much.

Things I liked: A breakdown of healthy eating habits where it counts, taking it incrementally, understanding where the biggest impacts can be made; same for exercise plans - starting small and increasing over time so as to avoid 0 to 60 burnout; key supplements worth taking and why - so you can pick what may be best for you; technology fasts - addressing phone addiction and negative self esteem issues due to social media; promotion of energy healing as it benefits you - whatever that may be: massage, reiki, acupuncture

Things I'd approach with caution: There is an overwhelming amount of privilege here. My assumption while reading was that this kind of "functional healthcare" or holistic healthcare is for the wealthy, predominantly white middle, upper class. After googling the author and her clinic, it does look like a spa, and she's featured in and alongside other medical professionals who pair up with Goop - so take that for what you will. I think anyone can gain insight into basic mind/body health here, but it will not be just anyone (myself included) who can afford to regularly purchase the diet Berzin recommends or the pharmaceutical grade supplements, let alone membership to her clinic. And for advertising a "whole person" holistic approach to healthcare, she doesn't address the very real toll that racism, sexism, and homophobia play in terms of mental and physical health as well as access to healthcare in general.

Some red flags: While mentioning covid-19 and its impact on mental health in several parts of the book, she never addressed vaccines. I was curious where she and the other doctors she cites as medical sources for patient care and information stood on the topics around the pandemic. It was VERY hard to find ANYTHING about it. Several of them, the author included, had general posts promoting Vitamin D, getting more sleep, and creating an exercise regime to combat health and mood issues during the pandemic, but none of them stated their vaccine stance outright. Given we're all living year 2 of the pandemic, I think that would be crucial information to include, if not in the book, then at least somewhere on their platform! Since there was a strong lack of anything, and an overwhelming amount of publicity to weed through (paid content), I was disheartened by an obvious choice to be obscure here. It's a business just as much as it is a clinic, but that took away from the "we see you as a whole person" messaging and felt more about branding and making money.

Additionally, I've seen other readers advise caution, and I would agree, that for anyone who's faced an eating disorder, the paleo and keto diet recommendations could be triggering. There's some language that could be deemed as anti-prescription drugs for mental health, and she offers a few disclaimers for that, but it's one more area to read with caution if you take such drugs and find they help you.

As with any health and wellness book, take what helps you and leave the rest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed a lot of the foundations of this book and the research behind it. I agree with the principles of making sure your body is functioning optimally for your brain. However, she takes it too far and gets into indirectly encouraging eating disorders by supporting paleo and keto diets. Research shows that Mediterranean (blue zone) is the best for you

I took a lot of notes while reading this. As someone with hashimotos and anxiety, this was extremely eye opening in the different ways I can take charge of my health and wellness. I now plan to start some of these suggestions presented in this book and I’m very excited about it. The author was relatable and gave so many different examples and solid plans.