Lost Connections
Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope by Johann Hari
🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
Depression cannot simply be described as a 'chemical imbalance' as is often thought.
There are psychological and social factors, in addition the the more talked about biological factors that contribute to depression, as well as innovative social and environmental treatments for depression or 'reconnections'
By offering social prescriptions, to provide more meaningful connection, people will feel more valued. They help people reconnect with others around them, have meaningful work, meaningful values, and give a chance for people to overcome trauma from their past.
🎨 Impressions
This book is incredible. Partly from Hari's own experienced from understanding the flaws in his own treatment with anti-depressant pills, and partly using varying perspectives of scientists, psychologists and people with depression, he shares his understanding from the lesser-known side of anxiety.
How I Discovered It
These notes are from my second read of the book. This is probably the most important book I have read!
Who Should Read It?
The insights and discussions from the book would be beneficial for everybody. The topic is of paramount importance, some of the studies that are drawn upon will likely shock you, the stories and interactions in the book are fascinating and beautifully told. This book brings a sense of urgency and rigour that will hopefully lead to improvements in our understanding about meaning, connection and depression.
✍️ My Top 3 Quotes
What if depression is, in fact, a form of grief—for our own lives not being as they should? What if it is a form of grief for the connections we have lost, yet still need.
You aren’t a machine with broken parts. You are an animal whose needs are not being met.
Loneliness isn’t the physical absence of other people, he said—it’s the sense that you’re not sharing anything that matters with anyone else.
📒 Summary + Notes
Anti-Depressants
When Lost Connections author Johann Hari first started taking antidepressants, his doctor explained depression the way the medical community sees it: Depression is a brain disease caused by low levels of a chemical called serotonin in the brain, and antidepressants treat depression by increasing the level of serotonin in the brain.
Today, most scientists talk about depression and other mental illnesses using the arguably more accurate biopsychosocial model, or the idea that mental illness is caused by a combination of three factors: biology (“bio”), psychological history (“psycho”), and social environment (“social”). In other words, biology is only part of the problem—which means a drug that treats biological factors can only be part of the solution.
9 Causes of Depression:
Disconnection From Meaningful Relationships: Deep rooted in evolutionary history humans banded together in tribes. This meant that we built up a need for a tribe. Now, humans are more socially isolated than ever before. Studies show that most American adults have zero close confidants. Also, it is important to have meaningful connection with others, not just close proximity.
Disconnection From Positive Social Status: Some scientists think that human depression is a stress response from our evolutionary history, linked to a feeling of low social status. Common hardships like financial insecurity can make us feel though we are of a lower-status and we react with a stress response. Also, when are status is threatens we are prone to depression due to constant worrying of threats.
Disconnections From Your Past and Future: Being disconnected from your own trauma history and from a sense of a hopeful future can both cause depression. Childhood trauma is one of the most reliable predictors of adult depression according to the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. With less security about the future and losing the ability to plan the future, it becomes impossible to picture and imagine—and easier to get depressed.
Disconnection From Intrinsic Motivation: Intrinsic motivation is what drives you to do things purely for the joy of them. Studies show that achieving intrinsic goals increases happiness, but achieving extrinsic goals doesn’t
Disconnection From a Rewarding Work Life: Meaningful work is really important for us, and with a recent study showing only 13% of adults are enthusiastic and committed to work, this can lead to depression. This is often due to a lack of control over the job, low professional status, disconnect between effort and reward, and increasing working hours.
Disconnections From Meaning and Purpose: With increasing numbers of people living in cities, struggling to find stable work and surrounded by unhelpful, shallow advertisements, fighting back against that sense of meaninglessness becomes very difficult. Our consumer-driven society has left us detached from worthwhile values, which in turn contributes to depression.
Lots of Materialism: Materialistic people have shorter, lower-quality relationships with others because they’re preoccupied with accumulating money and status. Furthermore, more materialistic orientated people are less about their self-worth due to them constantly worrying about impressing others in order to earn external rewards.
Disconnection From Nature: Because we have become more disconnected from the natural world, we often become caught up in our own problems and lose sight of the greater sense of meaning in our lives. Humans living in dense cities are similar to unhappy wild animals in captivity, and we’re similarly distressed. This is because: modern, sedentary lifestyles don’t meet our evolutionary needs; we have an innate preference for natural landscapes; connecting to nature breaks the grip of the ego.
