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Frakoblet: De egentlige årsakene til depresjon - og de overraskende løsningene by Johann Hari
darren0101's review against another edition
4.0
I read Lost Connection with the fortune never to have suffered from depression but interested in how it affects some people during their lifetime. Johann Hari’s seven theories on how, as a sufferer himself the writer is looking for an alternative to the cocktail of prescription drugs currently being provided to sufferers.
Touching on numerous studies and stories, Lost Connections promotes behaviours to simplify life in a way which would make us all happy. From the perspective of the loss of the community, to the disregard of nature in our lives and our materialistic desires the writer provides some of the ways he feels lead to a person becoming depressed rather than the more promoted chemical in-balance.
For me, I think there is some advice in this book which I know people could take away and use to make them happier in their day to day lives and I think Johann Hari is brave in promoting these ideas as an alternative.
This book was provided by Netgally for an honest review.
Touching on numerous studies and stories, Lost Connections promotes behaviours to simplify life in a way which would make us all happy. From the perspective of the loss of the community, to the disregard of nature in our lives and our materialistic desires the writer provides some of the ways he feels lead to a person becoming depressed rather than the more promoted chemical in-balance.
For me, I think there is some advice in this book which I know people could take away and use to make them happier in their day to day lives and I think Johann Hari is brave in promoting these ideas as an alternative.
This book was provided by Netgally for an honest review.
tamisiobhan's review against another edition
4.0
This book has been an eye-opener to read. My knowledge increased about depression and anxiety by opening my mind to disconnections and reconnections I haven’t been exposed to before. The stories that the author spoke about brought me different emotions and made me question my own actions. There were even a couple of quotes within this book where I had to pause before I could read any further because they were powerful words. I think this book is for everyone regardless of whether you have experienced depression and anxiety yourself. I feel that even though I have read, self-reflected and discussed this book with others, it’s one I’m going to be coming back to.
ultramarine316's review against another edition
5.0
What a great treatment of the subject of depression! Hari looks at the current narrative about depression (that it is an individual problem, a malfunction of the brain, if not an actual moral failing, requiring medical intervention of the individual) and finds it wanting.
He makes the case, using engaging anecdotes backed up by convincing research, that depression is a perfectly rational reaction to the society we live in; one in which the majority of people spend most of their waking hours doing work that seems meaningless to them without freeing themselves from financial insecurity, one that seems designed to promote isolation and loneliness, and one where people are promised happiness through consumerism, leading to a constant cycle of disappointment.
Hari also tells us about his own experiences with depression, which makes the book very personable and palatable; he's not some smug jerk telling you to just go exercise more and spend some time in nature, he comes across as someone who genuinely cares and has been there. Refreshingly, he also doesn't blame social media (the forces causing social isolation were in place long before social media, he points out. If we're so eager to consume the thin gruel of interpersonal connection social media gives us, it's at most a sign of how pervasive isolation is, not the cause of it.)
I would recommend this to anyone who has dealt with depression, who knows someone who has, or to anyone who enjoys a good critique of capitalism.
He makes the case, using engaging anecdotes backed up by convincing research, that depression is a perfectly rational reaction to the society we live in; one in which the majority of people spend most of their waking hours doing work that seems meaningless to them without freeing themselves from financial insecurity, one that seems designed to promote isolation and loneliness, and one where people are promised happiness through consumerism, leading to a constant cycle of disappointment.
Hari also tells us about his own experiences with depression, which makes the book very personable and palatable; he's not some smug jerk telling you to just go exercise more and spend some time in nature, he comes across as someone who genuinely cares and has been there. Refreshingly, he also doesn't blame social media (the forces causing social isolation were in place long before social media, he points out. If we're so eager to consume the thin gruel of interpersonal connection social media gives us, it's at most a sign of how pervasive isolation is, not the cause of it.)
I would recommend this to anyone who has dealt with depression, who knows someone who has, or to anyone who enjoys a good critique of capitalism.
lifemeetsliterature's review against another edition
It was very frustrating to read someone claim that depression and anxiety are not a result of a chemical imbalance, but you just need to connect more. This was way too close to blaming people for their own mental illnesses. No thank you. It also demonized mental health medications. Bad take.
thejajon's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
shema's review against another edition
4.0
I did find the book insightful. The author gives causes and backs it up with research from professionals. I definitely agree that one of the reasons that depression and anxiety is on the rise is because we are loosing our connections with community and that capitalism makes us drained in the workplace as well as a few other reasons he mentions in the book.
There were a few things I didn't agree with him or I felt like he could've done more research especialy given he's a white western man. For example, he claims that one of the ways we can solve depresssion in our society is to be more collectivist like Eastern cultures. Now that can't be the solution. Because even though countries like Japan and South Korea have a culture centered on the community, they have some of the highest suicide rates in the world. My theory is that Western individulistic culture to the extreme is the pulling yourself up by your bootstaps mentality. Eastern collectivist culture to the extreme is that any shame you put on yourself reflects on your family.
But other than a few disagreements, I do think the book overs good theories and solutions.
There were a few things I didn't agree with him or I felt like he could've done more research especialy given he's a white western man. For example, he claims that one of the ways we can solve depresssion in our society is to be more collectivist like Eastern cultures. Now that can't be the solution. Because even though countries like Japan and South Korea have a culture centered on the community, they have some of the highest suicide rates in the world. My theory is that Western individulistic culture to the extreme is the pulling yourself up by your bootstaps mentality. Eastern collectivist culture to the extreme is that any shame you put on yourself reflects on your family.
But other than a few disagreements, I do think the book overs good theories and solutions.
schwarzerphooka's review against another edition
5.0
A useful western viewpoint of what indigenous people have lived and thought since the beginning.