164 CCUPATIONAL MEDICINE
doi:10.1093/occmed/kqs219
Exercise for Mood and Anxiety: Proven
Strategies for Overcoming Depression
and Enhancing Well-being
Michael W. Otto and Jasper A.J. Smits. Published by Oxford
University Press, USA, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-19-979100-2.
Price: $17.99 (GBP £11.99) paperback. 235 pp.
towards using exercise to improve mood, anxiety and
general well-being. I found that the practical strategies
to engage and maintain motivation for exercise are probably the most useful aspects covered in this book.
Whilst focusing on psychological well-being, it does
reference the physical benefits of exercise, but there is
scope for further inclusion for the prevention and management of longer term diseases as well as musculoskeletal disorders.
Overall I think the book represents good value for
money, particularly for signposting patients towards
reading material when they are struggling with stress in
the workplace. It would also be useful for the clinician
working with patients with depression or anxiety, as well
as those with physical health concerns and for those who
simply may benefit from improving their lifestyle using
exercise.
Rating
★★★✩ (Buy and keep)
Rachel Clift
This book is written for people with diagnosed mood or
anxiety disorders but refreshingly also for those who are
interested in exercise, as well as those who might want to
learn how to maintain their motivation for exercise.
Both authors are professors of psychology in the USA.
Michael Otto specializes specifically in behaviour change
for mood, anxiety and substance misuse. Jasper Smits
has focused his research on developing interventions
such as exercise for anxiety and smoking.
The book consists of 11 chapters, introducing the
benefits of exercises for mood, anxiety and well-being.
Each chapter covers practical tips on how to maintain
motivation to exercise. Chapter size varies from only a
few pages to an average of 20 pages, making this book
easy to dip into. Chapters include US-based research
supporting the use of exercise to manage stress or mood,
as well as the prevention and management of depression
and anxiety. Whilst very US focused the material covered
is appropriate, easy to read and understand.
In the second chapter the authors tackle the physiological effects of exercise on the human body, specifically
towards mental health benefits. They highlight the difference between mood, stress or anxiety and psychiatric
disorders, which is a useful delineation, but in all areas
they could have provided more detail that would have
been helpful for the reader.
From the readability perspective, both in terms of
language and number of pages I think this book covers
about as much as it can to assist people in their journey
doi:10.1093/occmed/kqs225
Asperger’s on the Job
Rudy Simone. Published by Future Horizons, Arlington, TX,
USA, 2010. ISBN-13: 9781935274094. Price: UK £15.50.
156 pp.
Rudy Simone has Asperger’s syndrome (AS) and is the
author of four books on the subject, as well as being a
performing singer, songwriter and comedian. She coined
the term ‘Aspergirls’ to describe under-acknowledged
women on the autism spectrum. Promoting self-advocacy
Book Reviews 165
and management of the challenges facing those with AS,
she has lectured at autism conferences in the UK, the
USA and Australia. This book is aimed at employees,
educators and employers and is particularly aimed at
those with high functioning autism likely to be in permanent employment.
After the introduction, which covers why employers
should employ someone with AS by pointing out the
advantages they bring, she organizes each chapter to deal
with the problems and symptoms of an AS employee
with a section on each to help the employee with AS and
a separate section to help the employer. Thus the book
moves through ‘Bluntness, perfectionism, that famous
Asperger arrogance’, blunders, boundaries and emotional detachment, sensory issues of noise and visual
stimulation, ritual and routine and on through to the difficult issues of psychometric testing and disclosure. The
book is highly readable as the structure enables quick
referral to the issues.
The author references the DSM-IV diagnosis and statistics on prevalence of AS. But this is neither a scientific/
medical exploration of AS nor pure research. It is a practical handbook that reaches wider than a self-help book,
aiming to educate and advise mentors and employers on
how to approach an AS employee and maximize their
performance. Interviews with more than 50 AS adults
from the USA, Japan, Europe and Australia asked to
describe their work experience in their own words, their
successes, their failures and what they felt they needed
to succeed in employment underpin the book. She also
contacted psychologists, autism researchers, government
disability benefit agencies, university disability offices
and Asperger’s education/work-study programmes.
There is no listing of the psychiatric diagnostic
features of autism spectrum disorder or of AS. For
the lay person—for whom the work is intended—this
would not be an issue since all major features of the
disorder are tackled through the book. The subtitle of
the book says it all, it provides ‘must have advice for
people with Asperger’s or high functioning autism and
their employers, educators and advocates’. It amply
fulfils its mission and in my opinion is excellent value
for money.
For occupational physicians this book provides a
mine of useful prompts and information on workplace
issues, providing practical advice that would benefit both
employees and employers. But just as important is the
schooling in how to approach and communicate effec­
tively with these workers and their managers.
Rating
★★★✩ (Buy and keep)
Jane Wilford
doi:10.1093/occmed/kqs226
Oxford Handbook of Pain Management
Edited by Peter Brook, Jayne Connell and Tony Pickering.
Published by Oxford University Press, NewYork, 2011. ISBN:
978-0-19-929814-3. Price: £34.99. 366 pp.
Chronic pain issues and their impact on function is a
common scenario encountered in everyday o
­ ccupational
health practice. This is another addition to the wellknown Oxford Handbook series. It aims to provide a
concise ‘in-your-pocket’ guide to pain management. It
emphasizes that it provides a biopsychosocial approach,
something, that as occupational health professionals we
are already well versed in.
The book is really a practical guide for managing
acute and chronic pain and aimed more at the health
professional who is treating and managing patients with
acute pain (demonstrated by the fact that my anaesthetist husband had already borrowed my copy before
I could review it). The book is divided into two sections:
acute and chronic pain. This acute pain section is not
completely redundant to the occupational health professional. Parts that I felt were useful were the measurement
tools for quantifying acute pain, an overview of the current interventions for acute pain and their side-effects/
complications and some discussion on the long-term
detrimental effects of acute pain.
The chronic pain section is still very orientated to frontline clinical management but more relevant to our practice. There are good chapters on how to assess chronic
pain, measurement tools and when someone warrants
referral to a chronic pain service. The chapters on interventional, surgical, physical and psychological therapies