Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

by John J. Ratey

There’s nothing wrong with your desire to take a break.

Antidepressants seem to work through a bottom-up chain of events, meaning the activity begins in the brain stem and ripples through the limbic system until it reaches the prefrontal cortex. This might explain why antidepressants relieve the physical effects first—we feel more energetic before we feel less sad. With cognitive behavioral therapy and psychotherapy, we feel better about ourselves before we feel better physically.