From the New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream, a radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety.
What really causes depression and anxiety – and how can we really solve them? Award-winning journalist Johann Hari suffered from depression since he was a child and started taking antidepressants when he was a teenager. He was told that his problems were caused by a chemical imbalance in his brain. As an adult, trained in the social sciences, he began to investigate whether this was true – and he learned that almost everything we have been told about depression and anxiety is wrong.
Across the world, Hari found social scientists who were uncovering evidence that depression and anxiety are not caused by a chemical imbalance in our brains. In fact, they are largely caused by key problems with the way we live today. Hari’s journey took him from a mind-blowing series of experiments in Baltimore, to an Amish community in Indiana, to an uprising in Berlin.
Once he had uncovered nine real causes of depression and anxiety, they led him to scientists who are discovering seven very different solutions – ones that work. It is an epic journey that will change how we think about one of the biggest crises in our culture today.
Compelling and timely An engaging journalist presents the emerging picture of depression as having its roots in life events that are then compounded by social and cultural dynamics. He explores the various treatments and approaches that are proving effective – often far more than pills.He’s done an amazing job tracking down the many threads of research from around the world that create that picture as well as unearthing touching community stories to illustrate the points. That study you may vaguely have…
Whoever you are, this book is about you. A must read. Like many who will consider reading this book I have suffered from bouts of extreme clinical depression for a long time, despite a life that has been, by any standard measure, filled with success, recognition, and good fortune. And I know, like most who suffer from depression do, that 1. the pain is very real, and 2. career recognition, material success, and a comfortable life have little to do with the ultimate quality of life.Three decades ago I was finally forced to seek help…
At last, something new that feels true. While this book was on pre-order I read (without exaggeration) twenty-three books on anxiety and depression. I’ve read many in the past, and I wanted to read everything that had a good reputation. I wasn’t impressed. I got so tired of reading the same ideas and advice, which was usually ‘breathe deeply’ and ‘try to be mindful’. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy came up a lot too, which is mind-numbing when you’ve found its benefits to be so limited. To be fair, many people must get a lot out of…