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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Every sentence is used effectively to deliver its message. The end of the last chapter actually made me tear up.
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
BIG disclaimer: I read the whole book with a grain of salt, because Hari is clearly influenced by his own personal experience, so I wouldn't take this to be an answer for everyone. Especially since it seems some people have benefited hugely from antidepressants.
I didn't think that Hari's "solutions" to depression were all that unexpected. Meaningful work/purpose, good community, and time in nature are all fairly obvious things that people have talked about. What was interesting to me was how Hari's description of the FDA and the sketchy process for how drugs get approved (scary!), and how we've potentially swung too far to the side of treating depression and anxiety as a physical problem totally disconnected from any of our real life experiences, and only treatable with medication. When in many cases, there is a trigger that causes the depression/anxiety. It is still true that depression is an imbalance of brain chemicals, but in many cases there are life circumstances which created the imbalance. Perhaps by telling people that they were just "born this way" makes them feel better, but it eliminates any incentive or hope for trying to get to the root cause. Just because you are genetically predisposed for something does not mean you can't work hard to solve the issue. I wonder if there is a way to remove the stigma around mental health, while still trying our best to use medication as a last resort, not the first solution.
I didn't think that Hari's "solutions" to depression were all that unexpected. Meaningful work/purpose, good community, and time in nature are all fairly obvious things that people have talked about. What was interesting to me was how Hari's description of the FDA and the sketchy process for how drugs get approved (scary!), and how we've potentially swung too far to the side of treating depression and anxiety as a physical problem totally disconnected from any of our real life experiences, and only treatable with medication. When in many cases, there is a trigger that causes the depression/anxiety. It is still true that depression is an imbalance of brain chemicals, but in many cases there are life circumstances which created the imbalance. Perhaps by telling people that they were just "born this way" makes them feel better, but it eliminates any incentive or hope for trying to get to the root cause. Just because you are genetically predisposed for something does not mean you can't work hard to solve the issue. I wonder if there is a way to remove the stigma around mental health, while still trying our best to use medication as a last resort, not the first solution.
I feel like I'm still processing this incredibly well researched book. I learned so much and my paradigm shifted from what I thought I understood to what I know now and believe. There are so many great takeaways from this book that I feel as if I need to own this book so that I can refer back to it. All of that being said - connections - life is about connections - we all need more of them. For example, when he is discussing social media and how we are more "connected" than ever- he makes the comparison that "connecting" or "interacting" on social media is the difference between porn and sex. Porn may satisfy an itch for some but it doesn't provide the lasting connection that is honestly being sought. Is that too risque to put in a book review? Anyway - real and lasting human connection is the antidote to a world of depression. I truly believe this.
He has some pretty good points, the social and environmental changes are indeed very important, but…
- I have never in my life heard that depression is only caused by missed up chemicals in the brain and that life experience is irrelevant! -but I’m young
- I have never in my life heard that depression is only caused by missed up chemicals in the brain and that life experience is irrelevant! -but I’m young
Really made me think. Some more woo woo elements didn’t work for me, but overall I’d recommend this as an essential part of the debate about treating depression - and I say this as someone who has been on antidepressants for 4 years!
A bit ...interesting to read living alone during lockdown. It's not perfect but it definitely resonated. I think I'd recommend it.
This book is not a science book. And so verbose. Every discussion of a study needed some contrived exposition about his childhood that was only loosely connected. I was interested in the science and social studies about depression and what they have revealed to be influencing factors in life, but I simply could not tolerate all the mediocre and elementary prose to try to get there. I will just go find the research papers instead. Thanks.
Great read. Much more radical than I anticipated which is excellent. Will definitely be thinking about this one and recommending it.
I wouldn't say this was earth-shattering information, but I think he did a good job of digging into many of the reasons for depression and anxiety. What he suggests as a treatment besides medicine and therapy seems fairly common sense to me, but I have done quite a bit of reading on the subject. Actually, I think that many of the books out there about how to be happy focus on many of the same ideas or techniques. The trick is finding what works best for you and sticking with it.