People who are depressed are not victims of bad brain chemistry – they’re depressed because they are disconnected from things that make life worth living.
Journalist Johann Hari said in his new book that people who are depressed are not victims of bad brain chemistry. They are depressed because they are disconnected from things that make life worth living.
They are disconnected from meaningful work, meaningful values and meaningful relationships with other people, from status and respect, the natural world and a secure or hopeful future.
In LOST CONNECTIONS: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—And the Unexpected Solutions (2018), Hari walks the reader through the scientific research that shows how people suffer when they are disconnected from the things they need, and how they can heal when they recover those connections.
Depression and anxiety are big problems. Hari said psychiatric drugs are being taken by one in five American adults, one in three French adults and an even higher proportion in the UK.
The death rate in the United States is actually increasing, driven by
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The Most Revolutionary Act 
This is a great blog and artice Dr Bramhall. Thankyou.
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Aw shucks, Doug. You make me blush. It’s a subject dear to my heart.
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I agree with Journalist Johann Hari’s conclusion that “people who are depressed are not victims of bad brain chemistry. They are depressed because they are disconnected from things that make life worth living.”
In Brazil, I lived for several years among low-wage working people. Yet our connectedness as neighbors lightened the heavy burdens we each shared. At the end of the workday, there was always a group of neighbors chatting outdoors in the shade of a cashew tree.
In the apartment complex where I live in West Los Angeles, only the few small children, under the watchful eyes of a parent, come outside to play. Some neighbors I’ve never seen. My attempts at connection can be perceived as an invasion of an individual’s privacy. Over time, I’ve learned not to intrude but, instead, to remain open to those seeking a connection.
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Same here, Rosaliene. At this point in time, I think Hari could have added malnutrition, cold damp housing and neighborhood violence to the elements that contribute to depression in the poor.
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