summary ofLost ConnectionsBook by Johann Hari

first KEY POINT

Depression and anxiety have similar solutions

Anxiety and depression rise and fall together. According to a professor of psychology, Robert Kohlenberg, empirical data indicates that the two are not that distinct and nothing suggests that they have different causes. In truth, the National Institutes of Health — the principal agency for medical research in the United States — has ceased funding for research that differentiates depression and anxiety as separate conditions. Depression and anxiety are not identical, yet they are closely linked. They resemble different bands performing their versions of the same tune.

Antidepressant drugs are all around us. Approximately one in five U.S. adults is consuming at least one psychiatric medication. Nearly one in four middle-aged women in the U.S. consume antidepressants at any point. About one in ten boys in American high schools receive a potent stimulant to aid their concentration.The Western world is literally awash with antidepressant drugs. For instance, one in three individuals in France is ingesting a legal mood-altering drug like an antidepressant at this moment. And the U.K. currently boasts nearly the highest consumption across Europe.Lost Connections offers references to scientific studies that challenge conventional views about depression and anxiety. You will find that the primary causes of rising depression and anxiety lie mainly in our environment and our manner of interacting with it. There exist no fewer than nine established causes of depression and anxiety, with many steadily increasing, leading us to feel even worse.There are two types of antidepressants — the real antidepressants and the chemical antidepressants. The latter offers a temporary escape that leads to more pain eventually. The former provides a true path out of pain. It is not something you buy or swallow. It challenges our current explanations of the causes of depression and anxiety, opens our eyes to the actual causes, and provides permanent solutions to these problems.