make sure your family is ready if a disaster strikes. a funny story one man's quest for bodily perfection what you might learn from the healthiest man alive h. first a look under the microscope. >> mike wallace of "60 minutes" made news over his nearly 70 year career including a revelation when he was 87 he suffered from severe depression, was nearly suicidal at one point. he's not alone. depression affects more than 19 million american adults every year. think about the number. more than coronary heart disease, more than cancer. it makes a lot of people still uncomfortable to simply talk about it. so we decided to bring the discussion out in the open. in most cases depression is treatable. medication, anti-depressants can be effective. in milder cases, cognitive therapy has been shown to work just as well. unfortunately, for many people, though, nothing seems to work. that is why it's so exciting to

hear about this totally different new approach, it involves a device like this. implanted, looks like a pacemaker, you have two wires that come from this and insert in the brain. deep brain stimulation. on the outside, a doctor can late flip the switch. the results can be astonishing. for as long as edie can remember, she could not get the sad thoughts out of her head. >> my mother used to say to me, smile, edie, why don't you smile? and i would give a something like that, maybe, or just think what is there to smile about? >> at 19, the first of three suicide attempts. >> for reasons that are inexplicable to me even now, got up and started playing with a razor, and --

>> you cut your wrists. both your wrists? >> yeah, um-hmm. >> over the next 40 years, she tried counseling. psychiatric drugs. and electroconvulsive shock therapy, but nothing worked. >> the despair i think is what is the most powerful push toward suicide. there feels like there is no hope. >> but if could you look edi guyton's head today, this is what you would see. two electrodes, the thickness of angel hair pasta, powered by a battery pack under her collarbone. >> i don't think about it. i've l have electrodes in my br. >> deep brain stimulation. pioneered by nurologist dr. helen maberg.

>> the x is where we're stimulating. >> the target is area 25, a junction box for the brain circuits that control our moods. here at em or rewhere i'm on staff my colleagues have been using deep brain stimulation for 15 years to treat movement disorders such as parkinson's disease, they are targeting the brain's motor system. they wanted to target area 25 for patients with severe depression. it was a procedure just like this done on edi guyton. in surgery, patients are lightly sedated as a neurosurgeon drills two holes. with an instrument to guide him, he then inserts the electrodes. >> is the contact on? >> contact on. >> as a benchmark, they asked edi to rate her feelings on a scale of 1 to 10, starting with dread. >> my sense of dread is getting worse. >> rate it.

>> 8. >> two minutes later, they turned on one of the four contacts. >> how does it feel right now? is it still high? >> no, it's much better. >> what is the dread right now? >> 3. >> a drop from 8 to 3. but doctors would soon get an even better result. >> we'll make some changes. up until this time, edi could not connect emotionally not even with her grandniece, susan. >> somebody handed her to me, i held her but i was going through the motions and i felt really nothing. >> nothing. >> nothing. nothing. >> that changed in the operating room. >> stim on. >> when they tried contact number two. >> let me know if anything changes, give a shout. >> i just almost smiled. >> you almost smiled? >> yes. >> describe that for us, would you please? >> i didn't smile, i haven't

smiled before in a long time. or laughed. >> right there in the middle of brain surgery, i felt feelings that i thought were gone. >> you say you almost smiled, did something strike you as funny or spontaneous? >> it was -- well it -- actually i was thinking of playing with susan. >> i started thinking about susan, little susan. and i thought i was holding her with her face to me. >> what that is like to think a machine and electricity could transform your emotions like that? >> it felt fantastic. i didn't care what was doing it. it just felt great. >> spoon that in there. >> since 2003, maberg studied 37 patients with two-thirds showing significant improvement. >> pretty good, huh?

>> i don't feel good all the time but this gives me the capacity that if i can if there is joy in my life i have the capacity to feel it. >> what exactly is dbs doing to the brain circuits? >> what do we and don't we know why this works? >> to be brutally honest, we have no idea how it works. >> while mayberg continues her research to unlock the secrets of area 25, it's been five good years for edi guyton. >> aww. >> if you hadn't had the operation where would you be right now? >> i really believe that i would have committed suicide. >> edi's transformation is so dramatic. for now as you might guess the procedure is still experimental, two medical device companies that are conducting larger studies, have the hope of winning fda approval, but that is several years away. much more of this reporting

on battery powered brains, sunday night, cnn presents 8:00 and 11 clock eastern. stephanie joins me to funny piece for our website that is called an optimist journey toward dropping the d-bomb. can you be an optimist and depressed at the same time the answer is yes, you won't look at your friend, co-workers, family the same way after this. we'll talk about it, that's next. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all.

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talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news. dealing with depression sn easy, friends and loved ones can help as some of you know they can get in the way. the first step is admitting you have something going on. stephanie goman who works down stairs, did just that. she started to talk about it and stephanie, thanks for joining us and being on the show. >> thank you for having me. >> it was brave. we do reporting on depression, one of the first things people

tell us, just admitting it, talking about it is a hard thing to do. how hard was it for you? >> zwrefr one that asked me about the piece, i am came out of me, deciding what to do with it was the most difficult part. after speaking to my family, close friends, this is a good idea, they were very supportive, some were honest, i one handle it that way, i would keep that to myself, but my personality is kind of -- it's wide open, so i felt better, more like me to share it, and the response has been overwhelming, i'm glad i did. >> on cnn.com, a wonderful blog, one of the things that is poignant is when you were first told, look, you're depressed, you have depression, you essentially laughed it off. you said that is not me, that is somebody else, i don't even like depressed people was your attitude, right? >> yeah, and my doctor laughed

because that was my first instinct was to say oh no, that is not me, i'm not depressed. depressed people to me were people who cried all the time and wore sweatpants and held up in their home, i was not that person. i was very gregarious, told jokes, that was not something i identified with at all. >> one of the things a lot of people think about and we work together, so we're colleagues here but people who have jobs, they think i can't talk about this, because people in my work place, we don't know how they will react and you called it the "d" bomb. you were very open about it. what was the response from your other work colleagues? >> it has been overwhelmingly supportive and positive. and strangely enough, so many people have reached out to me saying i suffer from this, you're so brave, which i don't

necessarily think i'm brave as much as i am just kind of laying it all out there. a lot of people suffer from this, to varying degrees. some people have been completely debilitated by it. that wasn't my experience but to a lot of different levels, a lot of people here and in other work places and outside of here are suffering from this. and it's unfortunate it is so taboo to talk about it. >> it's helpful for people to hear you say that. one of the hardest things people suffering in silence. i want to read something from the blog, i guess little piece of advice or thoughts instead of drugs they would say why don't you do more of the things that you enjoy? tend to your garden. find a project, something to focus attention on. read "the secret" bite me. >> my mom will be so happy i put that. >> that is the quote we decided to pull out. >> that is awesome, yeah.

>> hi ms. goaman. where did that come from? >> when you tell people i'm depressed, there is a lot of people who don't believe that depression is a real thing. and i get it. i definitely was kind of in that school of thought, too, again, if you're depressed you're not trying hard enough, you're not doing enough of the things that you should do to make yourself happy. and so when people would say that, oh, gee, why didn't i think of that, of course like i'll totally go out and do more of the things i want. you're not listening. i'm having a hard time. >> remind people we're talking about a brain disease here, something we now have more evidence than ever objective evidence of what is happening in the brain. this isn't something subjective, it's real and i'm glad you came on the show and glad you talked about it. >> thank you so much. >> i hope everyone reads the

blog, will make a huge impact. >> appreciate it. >> sorry about that, ms. goaman. one man's quest to become the healthiest man in the world. who doesn't want that. what you can learn from him. the human factor brought to you by general mills. there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian, and she suggests that i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day and i love the great taste. [ female announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to help keep bones strong and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and our great taste is guaranteed or your money back. learn more at boost.com. [ dad ] i choose great taste. i choose boost.

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we're back racism a rash of natural disasters this week. you may have heard about earthquakes that rocked indonesia and mexico,also a tornado ripped through california. as you probably know, hurricane season is around the corner, so we invited back meterologist bonnie snyder who has written a book, "extreme weather "guide to surviving natural disasters, she shows us how to prepare for the worst. thanks for being back here. >> thanks, sanjay. >> you hear the warnings, see the tornado images like one there, people don't know what to do when they are being given

warnings or hear the news. what is the first thing you recommend? >> first thing i recommend is to have a noaa weather radio, a small device or smaller, these are important to have with you at your house or in your car when you're traveling and make sure it's turned on, the batteries are working and programmed to your county or in louisiana your parish, if a tornado warning goes off, you'll be aware. many people don't understand they are under a threat. being aware is half the battle. >> we learn these things as kids, people become more complacent as they get older, an important reminder. also just being prepared, people always take care of things after the fact but be proactive, tell us what some of the things you should have in the house or car. >> very important to have a supply kit in the house or car and know where it is, make sure everyone knows where it. that is part of the problem. people don't know where it is. let's say you have your radios

but another important thing is a water proof, air tight container just like this as a simple thing. you want to put your passport in here, any important documents because in the event of a flood or tornado, this is likely to protect your belongings as well. even if you have a pet i recommend keeping identification papers and a picture of your pet in this box, too. when you become separated from your pet if you have a picture you're more likely to find it. >> good advice. >> if you are driving these are standard things to keep in your car. if you live in an area where you could get caught in a snowstorm or even if it turns colder at night this blanket, we see this a lot during the marathons but that is a simple thing to have in case of emergency to keep warm. first aid kit, flashlight, jumper cables. this is an emergency poncho in case you're caught in a rain storm you want to be able to get out and protect yourself. this is interesting too. a whistle. you can have this at home and in your car. in the event of a tornado when there is debris everywhere, road closures, if you're caught and stuck and you have no way to communicate that, just let the

rescue workers know here i am. come rescue me. >> thanks for being with us. appreciate it. stick around. we got one man's humble quest as he calls it for bodily perfection. >> i subscribe to a movement called chewedism. the more chewing the better. >> a.j. jacobs has written this new book out this week that he promises will make you laugh until your sides split and endorphins flood your blood stream. can he do it? i'll talk to him next. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪

as you know our goal here is to help you live a longer, healthier, more optimistic life. with that in mind i can't wait to introduce you to our next guest, who transformed himself literally into a human test subject with this goal. he wanted to become the healthiest man in the world. a.j. jacobs is the author of "drop dead healthy" one man's humble quest for bodily

perfection. a.j., thanks for joining us. good morning to you. >> thank you. good morning. >> i got to ask. the first question i think everyone asks you is how did you come up with this idea? >> well, a few years ago i was totally out of shape. i was what they call skinny/fat. i had a body that looked like a snake that had swallowed a goat. and my wife said to me, i don't want to be a widow when i'm in my 40s. you've got to get in shape. i said, okay. if i'm going to do this i'm going to go all in and try everything out and see if i can see what works, what doesn't, how healthy i can possibly be. >> so you did not want to start small. it wasn't just about losing weight for you or finishing a triathlon or lowering your cholesterol. it sounds like your goal was maximum health literally head to toe. how did you feel? your wife has given you some grief, sounds like. my wife has done that to me as well by the way. how did you feel at that point? >> before i felt terrible. my energy was low and as i said

i was -- i looked terrible. so i said, yeah. i'm going to do everything. not just diet, exercise, i'm going to work on my sleep, my stress level, my sex life, my posture, everything. and so it was like a 24/7 job. just so much to do. >> were there things that surprised you? one thing i always hear, a.j., is i tell people things and it's not usually things i'm telling them, aren't things that they don't already know. i'm sort of more reminding them. were you surprised by some of the advice you got? >> there were some surprises. i was surprised by how bad sitting is for you. i never realized what the research says, that it is -- someone described sitting as the new smoking. >> right. >> because it's just terrible for your heart and it's like eating a paula dean donut every day. i try not to sit for more than an hour at a time. i try to get up from my desk.

i took it to the extreme because that was the premise of the book so i wrote this book on a treadmill desk. it took me about 1200 miles. >> you say you're healthier. you look great. i'm watching you here during this interview. >> thank you. >> i mean, what do you think was the most important thing ultimately? people who aren't going to do all the things that you did, i mean, the advice always seems to be eat less, exercise more, move more. what do you think is the takeaway for people out there? >> i think the takeaway is that you can do a series of small things that will have a big impact as i say, walking and flossing and chewing. this one i didn't see coming. but i started to chew my food because because there is this movement on the internet. they are very passionate. they call themselves chewedism and they believe we all should be chewing more. they do have a point. when you chew you eat more slowly and when you eat slowly you eat less and gain less weight. things like that i -- i also

learned that you don't have to go to the gym for an hour and a half. if you do something called high intensity interval training, if you go really hard and really fast for a shorter period of time, you can have a more efficient workout. so that is a huge bonus for me, because i am crunched for time. >> you're a busy guy. a lot of us are. it's a fascinating book. i hope a lot of people get a chance to read it. in the end, again, some of those simple tips that i think people can immediately incorporate into their lives and makes a huge difference. thank you very much. appreciate it. >> thanks. thank you for having me. >> so do you want to live to be a hundred? a lot of people do. i have a travel tip for you. this one is really important to me. because i spend a whopping 33 hours in the air last month alone. it's not something i'm proud of. but sitting for a long stretch of time especially if you're tall or overweight can cause really a life threatening blood clot. you may have heard of this. it's called a deep vein

thrombo-embolism. the clot can form in the leg then break free and lodge for example in your lungs. one study found the risk goes up by 18% for every two hours of sitting. i want to show you a quick trick i use on long flights. sitting in my seat, these are my socks, i don't often wear shoes when i do the show. sitting in my seat i lift my legs like this. you're literally getting the calf muscles a little stretched there and then sort of rotate your ankles around. this is something you can do while sitting there on the flight. you want to do just enough to keep the blood flowing through your legs. like my socks? i also make a point to stand and walk around the plane as much as i can as much as the flight attendants will allow me. this week i'm on the road again in fact so follow me at cnn.com/sanjay or on twitter sanjay gupta cnn. make an appointment. come back to see us next weekend right here on sgmd. time to get you a check of your top stories. randi kaye is