Losing Our Minds

A compelling and incisive book that questions the overuse of mental health terms to describe universal human emotions Public awareness of mental illness has been transformed in recent years, but our understanding of how to define it has yet to catch up. Too often, psychiatric disorders are confused with the inherent stresses and challenges of human experience. A narrative has taken hold that a mental health crisis has been building among young people. In this profoundly sensitive and constructive book, psychologist Lucy Foulkes argues that the crisis is one of ignorance as much as illness. Have we raised a 'snowflake' generation? Or are today's young people subjected to greater stress, exacerbated by social media, than ever before? Foulkes shows that both perspectives are useful but limited. The real question in need of answering is: how should we distinguish between 'normal' suffering and actual illness? Drawing on her extensive knowledge of the scientific and clinical literature, Foulkes explains what is known about mental health problems—how they arise, why they so often appear during adolescence, the various tools we have to cope with them—but also what remains unclear: distinguishing between normality and disorder is essential if we are to provide the appropriate help, but no clear line between the two exists in nature. Providing necessary clarity and nuance, Losing Our Minds argues that the widespread misunderstanding of this aspect of mental illness might be contributing to its apparent prevalence.

America is being held back by the quality and quantity of learning in college. Many graduates cannot think critically, write effectively, solve problems, understand complex issues, or meet employers' expectations. The only solution - making learning the highest priority in college - demands fundamental change throughout higher education.

Wouldn't it be a disgrace if we lost the brightest students now attending our nation's schools? Dr. Deborah L. Ruf establishes that there are far more highly gifted children than previously imagined, yet large numbers of very bright children are "never discovered" by their schools. Using 78 gifted and highly gifted children as her examples, she illustrates five levels of giftedness. Parents will be able to estimate which of the five levels of giftedness their child fits by comparing their own child's developmental milestones to those of the children described in the book. This book contains practical advice for parents, including how to find a school that works for your child. Book jacket.

The exponential increases in neurodevelopmental disorders implicate both genetic causes and environmental factors. Flame-retardants, pesticides, plasticizers, and other every-day products contain chemicals shown to affect thyroid hormone signaling, which if disrupted can result in significant impairment to IQ. Across entire populations, such effects spell large-scale social and economic consequences. In this book Barbara Demeneix suggests what can and must be done to halt and reverse this disturbing trend.

In the tradition of My Stroke of Insight and Brain on Fire, this powerful memoir recounts Barbara Lipska's deadly brain cancer and explains its unforgettable lessons about the brain and mind. Neuroscientist Lipska was diagnosed early in 2015 with metastatic melanoma in her brain's frontal lobe. As the cancer progressed and was treated, she experienced behavioral and cognitive symptoms connected to a range of mental disorders, including dementia and her professional specialty, schizophrenia. Lipska's family and associates were alarmed by the changes in her behavior, which she failed to acknowledge herself. Gradually, after a course of immunotherapy, Lipska returned to normal functioning, amazingly recalled her experience, and through her knowledge of neuroscience identified the ways in which her brain changed during treatment. Lipska admits her condition was unusual; after recovery she was able to return to her research and resume her athletic training and compete in a triathalon. Most patients with similar brain cancers rarely survive to describe their ordeal. Lipska's memoir, coauthored with journalist Elaine McArdle, shows that strength and courage but also an encouraging support network are vital to recovery.

Matthew K. Shannon provides readers with a reminder of a brief and congenial phase of the relationship between the United States and Iran. In Losing Hearts and Minds, Shannon tells the story of an influx of Iranian students to American college campuses between 1950 and 1979 that globalized U.S. institutions of higher education and produced alliances between Iranian youths and progressive Americans. Losing Hearts and Minds is a narrative rife with historical ironies. Because of its superpower competition with the USSR, the U.S. government worked with nongovernmental organizations to create the means for Iranians to train and study in the United States. The stated goal of this initiative was to establish a cultural foundation for the official relationship and to provide Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with educated elites to administer an ambitious program of socioeconomic development. Despite these goals, Shannon locates the incubation of at least one possible version of the Iranian Revolution on American college campuses, which provided a space for a large and vocal community of dissident Iranian students to organize against the Pahlavi regime and earn the support of empathetic Americans. Together they rejected the Shah’s authoritarian model of development and called for civil and political rights in Iran, giving unwitting support to the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

A veteran war correspondent shares examples from his personal life and career to discuss how specific American social groups can benefit from an adherence to the Ten Commandments.

Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight, the country’s highest-selling diet book, has revolutionized the way Indians think about food and their eating habits. Funny, easy to read and full of great advice, it argues that we should return to our traditional eating roots (yes, ghee is good for you), nutrients are more important than calories (cheese over biscuits) and, most importantly, the only way to lose weight is to keep eating. Rujuta Diwekar is one of the country’s best nutritionists, with deep roots in yoga and Ayurveda and a client list which boasts some of Bollywood’s biggest names. In the updated edition of this classic, she has added an extensive Q&A section which deals with the questions she gets asked most by her clients.

MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD! Are your thoughts out of control--just like your life? Do you long to break free from the spiral of destructive thinking? Let God's truth become your battle plan to win the war in your mind! We've all tried to think our way out of bad habits and unhealthy thought patterns, only to find ourselves stuck with an out-of-control mind and off-track daily life. Pastor and New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel understands deeply this daily battle against self-doubt and negative thinking, and in this powerful new book he reveals the strategies he's discovered to change your mind and your life for the long-term. Drawing upon Scripture and the latest findings of brain science, Groeschel lays out practical strategies that will free you from the grip of harmful, destructive thinking and enable you to live the life of joy and peace that God intends you to live. Winning the War in Your Mind will help you: Learn how your brain works and see how to rewire it Identify the lies your enemy wants you to believe Recognize and short-circuit your mental triggers for destructive thinking See how prayer and praise will transform your mind Develop practices that allow God's thoughts to become your thoughts God has something better for your life than your old ways of thinking. It's time to change your mind so God can change your life.