Raising an Optimistic Child: A Proven Plan for Depresion-Proofing Young Children--for Life
(McGraw-Hill, 2006) by Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry

Creating Optimism:
A Proven Seven-Step Program for Overcoming Depression
(McGraw-Hill, 2004) by Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry

02 March 2004

If you could lower the rate of depression, you could cure America's health crisis, says Bob Murray, PhD.

New research has confirmed what the authors of the newly-released book "Creating Optimism: A Proven Seven-Step Program for Overcoming Depression" Bob Murray, PhD and Alicia Fortinberry, MS, have been saying for a long time: that depression, and it's neurological twin, anxiety, can manifest as "physical" as well as "mental" illnesses.

The new study, carried out by researchers at the University of Alberta, demonstrated for the first time that depression can actually cause severe back pain. Scientists have long known that depression is a factor in a large variety of ailments, from cancer and heart disease to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel and diabetes.

Other studies have shown that up to 80% of people who visit physicians are suffering from "functional illnesses," (i.e. those not having a biological basis) usually the result of depression.

In "Creating Optimism," Murray and Fortinberry show how depression can cycle between the "mental" problems of traditional depression, anxiety and "physical" illness, citing examples from their 20-year practice. When an emotional problem takes on physical symptoms the process is called "somatization."

America's soaring health cost crisis can now be linked to the depression pandemic, according to Murray and Fortinberry. "Since the 1950s, the rate of depression in advanced countries has doubled every twenty years as people become more isolated and stressed. At the same time, our healthcare crisis has escalated," says Murray.

The solution, according to the authors, is to put more resources into truly effective programs for depression that also teach people relationship skills. The author's Uplift Program for Depression and Relationships, sponsored by the University of South Florida, has been shown to be 94% successful in elevating mood and enhancing relationships according to participant surveys up to two years later.

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About the Authors

Dr Bob Murray is a widely published psychologist and expert on emotional health and optimal relationships. Alicia Fortinberry is a psychotherapist, health writer and executive coach. Together they are the founders of the highly successful Uplift Program, and authors of Raising an Optimistic Child (McGraw-Hill, 2006) and Creating Optimism (McGraw-Hill, 2004).