Lost Connections, by Johann Hari (2018)

Following on from Hari’s other book, stolen focus, I picked up his earlier work Lost Connections. I was expecting to read about changing society, what I didn’t realise though was this book was actually focused on Depression.

Like Hari’s other work, this book does a great job pulling readers into the emotional story hook line and sinker. Hari starts with his own experiences with anti-depressants and goes onto build his ludicrous web of connection highlighted by Turkish migrants in Germany working with staff at a gay bar to fight property capitalism in Berlin. This book hits all the notes, the stories are well picked and told and the messages are clear.

Unlike Stolen Focus I’m beyond trying to pick apart Hari’s scientific nous but rather reading this I sunk into the book and enjoyed the simple messaging. It was odd how hard he needed to unwind the story about anti-depressants and reframe depression as a social-cultural problem, I felt like I was probably there before picking up the book so the early chapters only served to show me how warped other people’s thoughts on the condition are.

The second part was more useful. Hari hits the basics, the importance of meaningful work, and connection with people as well as having meaningful values. He speaks about addressing childhood trauma and the importance of social status. He speaks about having hope for the future and even the impact of genes.

That long list of items in the first part of the book for me says a few things. Listen, to yourself, and to those around you. Don’t force things and be honest about how you feel and what you are doing, in essence have a why to what you are doing. But I think the conditions necessary for this openness are partly physiological. Before re-establishing your social status, get a good nights rest! Eat well, exercise and then with these other things in mind you will have the energy to move towards them in your life slowly slowly. I think the scary thing can be that things can move pretty quickly, not just for the worse, but for the better!

It’s probably work dipping into the reconnection part of the book at the end.