The Thyroid Solution: A Revolutionary Mind-Body Program That Will Help You
by Arem Ridha

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Book Reviews of The Thyroid Solution: A Revolutionary Mind-Body Program That Will Help You

Book Review: A Balanced Perspective is Needed For Readers
Summary: 1 Stars

The author makes a pretense of sympathy for persons suffering from undiagnosed or undertreated hypothyroidism, but whatever empathic and useful information might be garnered from this text is quickly lost in a lot of faulty assumptions about causality based on uncited studies and correlational data. The underlying message is, you are to blame for your illness.

After providing ample evidence of the etiology of hypothryoidism as a physical disorder, the author continually returns to the theme that the disease is "all in the head," or at any rate, caused by "stress," ie. mental stress, or, as the author indicates, distress caused by faulty perceptions of life events.

The author's confusion about the "mind/body connection," is evident in the lack of clarity concerning the critical difference between the affect of a disorder, and the cause. Providing a good synopsis of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, the author describes a disease process with a physiological etiology, then states that the disorder is caused by mental stress, and in the very same paragraph says that hypothroidism is a genetic disorder! Clearly the author is struggling within him/herself about what this disease really is, and cannot resist the comforting notion that such a disruptive disorder is caused by the individuals who suffer from the condition.

I am glad that this book has been helpful to several persons who suffer from hypothyroidism, which presents many challenges to living a healthy and happy life. However, if you dislike psychological mumbo jumbo and sloppy reasoning, and simply want the factual, yet kindly stated, information without solipsistic suppositions, I recommend these two texts, which provide better, more accurate scientific information, without a blanket (anonymous) psychoanalysis thrown in.

Living Well With Hypothyroidism, by Mary Shomon and Thyroid Power by Richard and Karilee Shames. There is also an excellent article availble on line from the New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 340: 424-429, Number 6, entitled Effects of Thyroxine as Compared with Thyroxine plus Triiodothyronine in Patients with Hypothyroidism, which details the effects of insufficient T3 supplement in the treatment of hypothyroidism.

I appreciate anyone's efforts to help those of us who suffer from hypothyroidism, but I cannot recommend this book. Good luck to you.

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