Black Belt Mind

Who better to give advice on overcoming anxiety, depression and antidepressants, than a psychologist who lived with the shadow of mental illness and took antidepressants for 17 years. In Black Belt Mind, author David Fox shares his journey.

What’s Black Belt Mind all about?

After almost seventeen years of struggling with anxiety and depression and trying to taper off antidepressants whilst suffering through incredibly difficult withdrawal symptoms, David Fox was able to finally achieve his ultimate goal of being completely free of antidepressant drugs and living life on his own terms again.

David provides the mindset, techniques, tools and resources to help anyone suffering with anxiety and depression to move themselves towards a happier, healthier and more fulfilling experience of life.

Firstly, this book in no way tells you to suddenly stop and come off prescription medication. That would be reckless and dangerous. David also insists that some extremely serious mental health disorders require careful watch, care and definitely some form of medication. David Fox’s focus in Black Belt Mind is instead on the millions of people suffering from mild bouts of depression and anxiety disorders who are given a prescription (sometimes multiple prescriptions) and told to go on their way with little knowledge of the side effects and addictive qualities they hold.

Prescription drugs are big business and big pharma do very well out of Americans and Australians who take a pill and fill a script every day. Black Belt Mind is Davids story, a very personal and open story about a 17-year relationship with antidepressants and the huge mistakes and small wins he encountered as he fought tooth and nail to regain control of his mind and body, bringing them back to synchronicity.

I’m pretty lucky. I’ve never been prescribed drugs for a mental health issue, but I have been given quite powerful prescription drugs by several doctors over the years for quite minor ailments. One time I was out of the doctor’s office with a script in hand after a less than 5-minute consultation.

My experience with prescription meds

A few years ago, I was moving home and extremely stressed out that week and anyone that has moved home can relate I’m sure. The bad week was exacerbated when I woke up with my neck locked up next to my right shoulder and in extreme pain. Unable to move without crying silently, I went to a doctor surgery close to my work, not my normal doctor. I hopped on the bed while she felt my neck and I winced. She diagnosed me with stress and with being ‘incredibly locked up’ across my shoulder and neck. She wrote a prescription for what she said were muscle relaxants and off I trotted to the chemist. What came back, rolling around in my brightly coloured plastic tray to take to the checkout was a bottle of 50 Diazepam! A nice score of benzos, thank you very much.

So, whilst I can’t directly comment on the safety, or the tools required to come off antidepressants, I can agree with Fox’s point that antidepressants and anxiety medication are handed out without any proper consultation frequently and with incredible ease to those who want access to them.

Duffy’s Thoughts On Black Belt Mind

Give up your personal history – Wayne Dyer

If you are looking to mend the relationship you have with your brain and proactively understand what first is causing your anxiety and depression and secondly to manage it, you will get a lot out of this book. If you are on meds and thinking of getting back to your ‘normal’, without the fog of prescription drugs, read this book. But, take care of yourself and do your research.

David Fox isn’t a fly by night quack, he’s a practising psychologist who went through his own hell with mental illness and a strong, toxic relationship with anti-depressants. But, even with these credentials, you need to fully understand what you are doing, thinking and feeling and come up with a personal plan with your doctor, or get a second professional opinion if you think the local GP isn’t cutting it BEFORE weaning yourself off of the pills.

Aside from the pill talk, there are some useful, practical tools and plenty of ‘a-ha!’ moments to be found within the pages of Black Belt Mind which will resonate and motivate anyone with a range of anxiety and depressive issues. From the horror and confusion of your first panic attack (thankfully mind wasn’t out on the open water!) to the drowning feeling stress and depression can bring, David shares every mental health milestone with accuracy and empathy. Fox doesn’t sugar coat anything. He tells it just like it is, warts and all, but even his darkest moments are told with an element of hope and a keep on keeping on message.

A surprising and interesting read with an aim to make 2019 the year sufferers of anxiety, panic attacks and depression get themselves a little bit better with the right balance of discipline and compassion.