Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Just an amazing book, whether you have depression, know someone with depression, or are interested in neuroscience, this is a treasure. 5 stars!
Causes of depression
1. Lack of meaningful work
2. Losing social connections
3. Lack of meaningful values
4. Disconnection from childhood trauma
5. Disconnection from status & respect
6. Disconnection from the natural world
7. Discussion from a hopeful or secure future
8/9. The real roll of genes and brain changes
1. Lack of meaningful work
2. Losing social connections
3. Lack of meaningful values
4. Disconnection from childhood trauma
5. Disconnection from status & respect
6. Disconnection from the natural world
7. Discussion from a hopeful or secure future
8/9. The real roll of genes and brain changes
I adored this book. I have worked my entire career in community and much of it doing social prescribing-esque and advocacy work. I've seen first-hand the impacts that things like community organizing, feeling connected to neighbours, not feeling alone, and cooking/growing food together can have on a person's mental health. I also know from first-hand/personal experience what an impact re-connection has had on my life. This book validated so much of what I have felt intuitively in my work, and lays it out in a way that is well researched (with lots of citations!) and told in a beautiful set of stories, both personal and not. I appreciated the way Hari wove his personal story through the entire book, and how he integrated the stories of others in powerful ways. I cried as I read the story of community organizing in Berlin. So powerful to see these anecdotes of success and of different ways of being in the world that lead to mental wellness.
I think this book does a fantastic job of reminding people that depression has a deeply social component to it. I think perhaps being clear about that in the title could support a person's experience of reading the book better. There are plenty of non-social reasons beyond chemical imbalance that create the conditions for depression - systemic inflammation, poor vagal tone, diet, etc. We're complex systems - biopsychosocial ones, as he mentions in the book, and I would have loved to read a chapter about more of the bio-elements.
I think this book does a fantastic job of reminding people that depression has a deeply social component to it. I think perhaps being clear about that in the title could support a person's experience of reading the book better. There are plenty of non-social reasons beyond chemical imbalance that create the conditions for depression - systemic inflammation, poor vagal tone, diet, etc. We're complex systems - biopsychosocial ones, as he mentions in the book, and I would have loved to read a chapter about more of the bio-elements.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Got halfway through then this was due back at the library and I’ve decided not to reserve it again.
It’s an easy and entertaining read, there were some interesting anecdotes, I liked the referencing, and most of the information is true (though some is misleading) but it’s all presented as though it’s new and it’s just not. Jobs we hate make us miserable, big pharma tells lies, humans need social connection... helloooo Captain Obvious! This has all been in other well-known books before, perhaps not all together but more carefully explained - for example what happens with testing of SSRIs is clearer in Ben Goldacre’s “Bad Pharma”, published six years before “Lost Connections” (not new!).
The author also repeatedly talks about how people with depression or anxiety are mislead by their doctors but I have anxiety and my GP is all over the social side of mental health. Is America just behind Australia in this space? Or do I live in an unusually progressive bubble? I dunno, but I found this book too self-important and not really for me.
That said, I hear that the book ends with supporting a universal basic income so I’m a fan of that bit! ✔️
It’s an easy and entertaining read, there were some interesting anecdotes, I liked the referencing, and most of the information is true (though some is misleading) but it’s all presented as though it’s new and it’s just not. Jobs we hate make us miserable, big pharma tells lies, humans need social connection... helloooo Captain Obvious! This has all been in other well-known books before, perhaps not all together but more carefully explained - for example what happens with testing of SSRIs is clearer in Ben Goldacre’s “Bad Pharma”, published six years before “Lost Connections” (not new!).
The author also repeatedly talks about how people with depression or anxiety are mislead by their doctors but I have anxiety and my GP is all over the social side of mental health. Is America just behind Australia in this space? Or do I live in an unusually progressive bubble? I dunno, but I found this book too self-important and not really for me.
That said, I hear that the book ends with supporting a universal basic income so I’m a fan of that bit! ✔️
This is simply the best book I’ve ever read. It asks all the right questions and it also provides many possible answers. I hope this will be a book that ultimately will change our society and the way we think about mental illness. Working as a psychologist myself, it felt like somebody finally provided solutions that will work for us.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced