Scan barcode
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
3.0
Hari starts out strong, liberating the individual from the tragic misunderstanding that depression and anxiety are merely chemical imbalances, results of a broken brain. He hints that our real problems reside with our stories; our narratives about our pain are broken. Just as one thinks Hari is going to offer individual, personally empowering solutions to broken worldviews, he shackles and distracts. He includes several perplexing chapters on public policy changes, making the mistake of focusing the remainder of his book on external problems.
He aims to free people from depression and anxiety, but ends up telling a story in which our well-being depends on factors beyond our control. He demands that we must embrace a handful of illiberal progressive policies before "we" can overcome depression. He has a strange bias against individualism and conflates materialism and consumerism with capitalism. He doesn't even entertain the possibility that there are many who embrace individualism without falling prey to egoism.
I deeply appreciate his criticism of purely medical-material explanations for depression and anxiety. I commend him for including chapters on meditation and connection with nature, but, sadly, his book contains almost no treatment of psychological solutions. He emphasizes societal level prescriptions which leave the individual powerless waiting for a utopian change in the structure of society.
The book felt more like a bait and switch. I'd read the first few chapters where he frees us of purely biological explanations for emotional well-being, and then I'd move onto something more personally useful, like Martin Seligman's Learned Optimism.
He aims to free people from depression and anxiety, but ends up telling a story in which our well-being depends on factors beyond our control. He demands that we must embrace a handful of illiberal progressive policies before "we" can overcome depression. He has a strange bias against individualism and conflates materialism and consumerism with capitalism. He doesn't even entertain the possibility that there are many who embrace individualism without falling prey to egoism.
I deeply appreciate his criticism of purely medical-material explanations for depression and anxiety. I commend him for including chapters on meditation and connection with nature, but, sadly, his book contains almost no treatment of psychological solutions. He emphasizes societal level prescriptions which leave the individual powerless waiting for a utopian change in the structure of society.
The book felt more like a bait and switch. I'd read the first few chapters where he frees us of purely biological explanations for emotional well-being, and then I'd move onto something more personally useful, like Martin Seligman's Learned Optimism.
howeslee's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
yodamom's review against another edition
5.0
I only got to 58% when it was returned to the library (digital) :( So I will finish it when it comes back to me. What I read was a 5 star read for me. I like the different take on depression, it was very eye opening.
jennifertijssen's review against another edition
4.0
Heel goede boodschap, ben het roerend eens met alle punten in dit boek. Goede reminder dat advertenties kut zijn, dat tijd in de natuur belangrijk is, dat tijd doorbrengen met geliefden het allerallerbelangrijkst is, en dat Big Pharma kut is.
_bookmoth's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This book has a strong beginning but a weak ending. It starts with explaining why most depressions can't be fixed by drugs, that most of the time antidepressants are a scam. It is the lack of connections, to values, to people, to nature, that cause depression and reconnecting to them makes recovery more durable.
The second part intends to offer reconnections but delivers only more stories of people finding those connections and has an extensive part on the advantage of the use of psilocybin that could be shortened.
Hari should have incorporated the stories of the latter part into the former to avoid repetition, but overall, this is an important read for our modern days.
The second part intends to offer reconnections but delivers only more stories of people finding those connections and has an extensive part on the advantage of the use of psilocybin that could be shortened.
Hari should have incorporated the stories of the latter part into the former to avoid repetition, but overall, this is an important read for our modern days.
mariisaur's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0