THE BALANCED BRAIN, THE SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH Written by Camilla Nord 

HOW WE BREAK, NAVIGATING THE WEAR AND TEAR OF LIVING Written by Professor Vincent Deary 

HOW TO REBALANCE THE MIND

Review by Gunnel Minett

These two books can be said to represent a topic seen from two different perspectives. Camilla Nord’s approach is predominantly to describe from the outside, to understand the process of brain balancing with the aim to reach inner homeostasis, whereas Vincent Dreary focuses on the mind’s inner dialogue.

Camilla Nord, who is a neuroscientist, offers an overview of the scientific and technological developments which are dramatically changing the way we think about mental health. From the perspective of contemporary science we are starting to see mental health as part of an complex, self-regulating process, which may be different for each one of us.

Today’s range of treatments stretches from conventional psychotherapy and medication to drug-induced therapy and even electrical brain stimulation. Here Nord both explains how they work, and why sometimes they don’t. In order to understand this you have to see it as a whole entity where our moods and thoughts are influenced by our environment and may be changing over time in a way that may be unique for each one of us. 

Our mental health isn’t separate from our daily life. It is very much part of it, down to what food we eat, where we are, whether we’re tired or not, with friends or alone etc. Mental health is all part of the same brain processes whether it is the latest pharmacological treatments for mental health disorders or our daily activities, important for our survival and uniquely designed for our  individual needs. And, (as Nord shows in great detail) with so many variables in the equation, the positive news is that there are more possibilities for recovery and resilience than we might think.

Vincent Deary, who is professor of applied health psychology, focuses on the development of new psychosocial interventions in his book. He describes our relationship with our inner self, the voice in our head, our inner dialogue which may help or hinder us to live well depending on our life story.

In the book he presents some clinical case studies, people who for some reason have faced struggles in their lives which have brought them close to breaking point. What they describe are not necessarily big life traumas, but rather situations where too many things have gone wrong at the same time. We may have developed strategies to cope with such events in our daily lives but, that at some point, they may tipped us over the edge, resulting in unhappiness, anxiety, hopelessness, or just exhaustion. A breaking point is usually reached when our inner systems which are designed to enable us to life a satisfying life become unregulated. 

Throughout his book we follow some of Dreary’s patients and how they ended up in need of help.Our capacity to meet the unpredictable challenges life throws at us has its limit. The concept of allostatic load(the wear and tear of chronic stress) is something of which we need to be aware. Via such awareness, Dreary argues, we can catch ourselves and find new ways to navigate situations which might otherwise lead to burnout, stress, fatigue and despair. 

Both books offer a clear picture of how far our understanding of our inner selves has come since Freud’s first explanations of the psyche. That in itself can be a great help for us to find new ways to rebalance our lives and avoid   what can otherwise lead to inner hardship and despair.

Published by Allen Lane, 2023, 304 PP, ISBN 9780691259635 and ISBN 978-0241008355