The book is part personal odyssey, in which Hari gets to grips with the flaws in his own treatment, and part scholarly reflection, where he sifts through the varying perspectives of scientists, psychologists and people with depression. It wasn’t until he was in his 30s that he thought of all the questions the doctor didn’t ask, such as: what was his life like? What was making him sad? What changes could be made to make life more tolerable? The push and pull between “reactive” depression (the kind that relates to our environment and life experience) and “endogenous” depression (where something goes wrong in the brain) forms the basis of Lost Connections, an eye-opening, highly detailed though sometimes frustrating investigation into the causes and cures of depression. As Hari swallowed his first tablet, he says, “it felt like a chemical kiss”. And so he prescribed some pills that would restore the balance. “Get over it,” it would say, “stop being so weak.” The doctor was reassuring, explaining that these feelings were to be expected since Hari was one of many people whose brain had depleted levels of serotonin. When he wasn’t taking himself off to cry quietly, an anxious monologue would be running in his head. That morning he had visited a doctor and explained how, ever since he was small, he had battled with feelings of overwhelming sadness. When Johann Hari was 18 he took his first antidepressant.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |