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Lost Connections MP3 CD – Unabridged, September 3, 2019

4.6 out of 5 stars 9,508 ratings

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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.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Johann Eduard Hari is a Swiss-British writer and journalist. Hari has written for publications including The Independent and The Huffington Post and has written books on the topics of depression, the war on drugs, and the monarchy. The writer has also given a TED talk on the topic of addiction.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 3, 2019
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Unabridged
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1799722058
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1799722052
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 9,508 ratings

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Johann Hari
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Johann Hari is the New York Times best-selling author of 'Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs', and one of the top-rated TED talkers of all time.

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4.6 out of 5 stars
9,508 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful, particularly appreciating its leading research and thought-provoking content. Moreover, the writing style is reader-friendly and well-articulated, making it a compelling read that customers say will change their lives. Additionally, the book receives positive feedback for its interesting look at depression, with one customer noting its solid recommendations for reconnecting, and another highlighting its focus on reducing stress and mental and physical ailments. However, the narrative flow receives mixed reviews, with some finding it compelling while others find it meandering, and opinions on value are divided between those who find it worth the cost and those who consider it not well-researched.

286 customers mention "Insight"266 positive20 negative

Customers find the book insightful and thought-provoking, appreciating the leading research and good information presented.

"...He has made both the problems and the solutions very accessible and in so doing has broadened both the audience and the quality of the dialogue...." Read more

"...Partners are happier, less anxious, and less depressed than they had been working in the kind of top-down organizations that dominate our society...." Read more

"...This insight, backed by psychological, sociological, and anthropological research, reframes these struggles not as personal failings but as rational..." Read more

"...Part 3 contains further insight, with well written illustrations at what solutions look like; how others have gone about attaining them...." Read more

196 customers mention "Readability"193 positive3 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as compelling and worth their time, with one customer noting it's the best they've read about depression and anxiety.

"...Johann Hari has provided a delightful refresher course, although that understates the contribution of this book...." Read more

"...a combination of personal experience and extensive global research, Hari identifies nine causes of depression—only two of which are biological—and..." Read more

"Excellent book. Well written and easy to understand." Read more

"Lost Connections is a good book about the causes and fixes for anxiety an depression written by a Brit who realized that a small chunk of what he’s..." Read more

90 customers mention "Readable"79 positive11 negative

Customers find the book readable and well-written, with a reader-friendly style that makes it an easy fast read.

"...you work with have compassion, humility, and optimism; are competent in what they do; and have some sense of how they and we, as human beings and as..." Read more

"...and formerly depressed people make the book more interesting and readable...." Read more

"Excellent book. Well written and easy to understand." Read more

"...Part 3 contains further insight, with well written illustrations at what solutions look like; how others have gone about attaining them...." Read more

20 customers mention "Thought out"20 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thoughtful and interesting, providing an insightful look into depression, with one customer noting its interconnected theme.

"...nature, while at the same time being incredibly well-researched and thought out. It makes perfect sense to me too...." Read more

"...They appear well thought out, researched and relevant to today's society...." Read more

"...It’s not dry. It’s not dull...." Read more

"...I appreciated his careful look at SSRI’s and their lack of efficacy...." Read more

15 customers mention "Connection"11 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the book's focus on connections, with one customer highlighting its hope-inspiring ideas for reconnecting, while another notes its emphasis on reconnecting with nature.

"...Let’s just say that the title is appropriate. It’s all about connections...." Read more

"...time working with your hands and seeing the results, it’s being out in nature, it’s spending time in prayer and meditation, it’s gaining perspective..." Read more

"...Cyberspace connection doesn't fill the void...." Read more

"...It is both personable and conversational in nature, while at the same time being incredibly well-researched and thought out...." Read more

15 customers mention "Stress level"15 positive0 negative

Customers report positive effects on stress levels, with multiple customers noting reduced anxiety, and one customer mentioning improvements in both mental and physical health.

"...Partners are happier, less anxious, and less depressed than they had been working in the kind of top-down organizations that dominate our society...." Read more

"...cohesion, increases of feelings of worthiness, reductions in stress and mental and physical ailments. All of that is great and I loved that chapter...." Read more

"...But it’s not a conspiracy book; it’s about real diagnoses and solutions to what ails us...." Read more

"...Also solid recommendations on how to reconnect and be happier and calmer." Read more

24 customers mention "Value for money"8 positive16 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's value for money, with some finding it worth the cost and time while others consider it a waste of time and not well researched.

"...And his proof is quite flimsy. What a waste of money." Read more

"...While this book is not a breezy fireside read, it is a valuable, thought-provoking choice for book clubs ready to wrestle with tough questions about..." Read more

"...Almost like this section of the book was not well thought out or researched. It seemed rushed...." Read more

"Outstanding book. It is truly life changing. The second part is dull but the first one is worthy. Helps you to ground and reconnect with the nature." Read more

13 customers mention "Narrative flow"7 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the narrative flow of the book, with some finding it compelling while others note that it meanders too much.

"...I enjoy that the end notes do not break up the narrative, though they're a bit less helpful for referencing for those inclined...." Read more

"...I would have liked to see footnotes. It is composed of a series of stories, spoken with the author's viewpoints...." Read more

"...Thorough and entertaining with a great narrative flow." Read more

"...His stories are punctuated with occasional profanity which contributes nothing more than shock value to his ramblings and interestingly enough, he..." Read more

Not just for those who are depressed...for ANYONE living in modern society!
5 out of 5 stars
Not just for those who are depressed...for ANYONE living in modern society!
Have you ever felt like life isn’t working the way it should? That the world is disappointing you—that everything is a little off? This book dives into the 9 reasons why people experience anxiety and depression and explores how modern society is making everyone less stable. It gives fabulous suggestions on how you increase your own mental wellbeing in your own life. This book is a serious game-changer for me—and I hope you love it!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    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. And I mean forced. I was that guy in the corner office of a large organization, I owned an impressive amount of stuff, traveled the world, and split my holidays between Aspen and the Caribbean. And I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. There was no reason to. And if I hadn’t addressed it, I’d probably still be there.

    I, too, was treated with SSRIs and they worked remarkably well. And I could not have cared less if that was a function of the placebo effect or the drugs were addressing some chemical imbalance in my brain. I still don’t, to be honest.

    I do, however, care about continuous improvement in my overall health and well-being. View the beautiful valley before you from atop the mountain and you’ll seek a more magnificent mountain. I have little fear of falling back to where I was because I ultimately went through extensive psychotherapy with a brilliant and insightful doctor and he taught me how to fish, or climb, as it were.

    Johann Hari has provided a delightful refresher course, although that understates the contribution of this book. He has also reframed the discussion in a way that only a fellow traveler and gifted writer could. He has made both the problems and the solutions very accessible and in so doing has broadened both the audience and the quality of the dialogue.

    Which is why, I think, this is a book not for the depressed and anxious, but for all of humanity. Depression is often defined as a very specific manifestation of issues each and every one of us faces at some time in our lives. That doesn’t mean that different manifestations are any less painful or debilitating. Addiction is just one example. Are you drinking too much because you’re addicted or depressed? It doesn’t matter.

    That’s not to suggest that the source of all pain is universal. That, I think, would be naïve. We are quite literally defined by our experiences and once you’ve been around for a couple of decades or more you are experientially unique.

    Mark Twain once quipped, “History does not repeat itself but it often rhymes.” And so it is with mental and physical well-being. We’re more alike with each other and with the baboons of the savanna than we are different.

    I won’t give away the details of the book because you need to experience the context within which the author unveils the problems and their solutions. Let’s just say that the title is appropriate. It’s all about connections.

    I have given a great deal of thought, and now have the time to do so, as to how to re-establish the connections that have been lost in our current world. As Johann so clearly established, it is the loss at the heart of our growing collective angst and disillusionment. I have been particularly interested, in light of my executive career, with re-establishing purpose and connection in the workplace. When I began my career we never talked about work/life balance, not because we didn’t work hard or our lives outside of work weren’t important, but because our careers were an integral part of our life. We achieved connection, purpose, identity, and status there, no matter what job title you held.

    But that is all gone today and I have met few, even in the C-suites of corporate America, who honestly claim to get any real fulfillment from their work. And that is a function of lost connection. That loss, however, has resulted in an even bigger loss - the loss of trust that connection enables. There is no trust in the world most of us live and work in today. And by trust I don’t mean the trust to set a pile of money on the table and leave the room. I mean the trust to know that the people you work with have compassion, humility, and optimism; are competent in what they do; and have some sense of how they and we, as human beings and as a work unit, fit into the world.

    I read a lot of books. And this is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. Johann never says so, but he is a fellow Pyrrhonist, I suspect. That, by the way, is the ultimate compliment – it’s where trust comes from. You can’t trust a person who hasn’t challenged himself or herself. And he clearly has.

    This is a book you should read. Perhaps more importantly, this is a book your adolescent children should read. (I feel the same way about psychotherapy, actually. It should be mandatory when you turn sixteen.)

    Thank you, Johann Hari.
    1,087 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The US suicide rate has risen nearly 30 percent since 1999. The rate in 2017 was the highest it has been in at least 50 years. Why are more Americans suffering from depression?

    Johan Hari interviewed prominent researchers in the field to find the answer. An award-winning journalist and best selling author, Hari suffered from depression, which ran in his family. He took antidepressants in progressively stronger doses, but inevitably the sadness returned.

    Hari noticed a tremendous increase in the American use of antidepressants over several decades. Today about one in four middle-aged women in the United States is taking antidepressants. His book explains why are so many more people apparently feeling depressed and severely anxious. Something changed. Hari came to understood that depression is not caused by a defective brain. Instead, anxiety and depression are reactions to how we are living.

    What are environmental factors causing anxiety? In a word, the cause is disconnection -- from meaningful work, from other people, from meaningful values, from nature, from a secure future.
    Gallup finds that 87 percent of workers are either not engaged or are actively disengaged from their jobs. Nearly twice as many people hate their jobs as love their jobs. Depression among British civil servants correlates with their rank, with higher ranked bureaucrats suffering less depression than those lower on the totem pole. The degree of control a worker has over his job is the key factor, even among workers with the same ranking.

    "More people say they feel lonely than ever before," and research shows that loneliness leads to depression. In most cases in one five-year study, loneliness preceded depressive symptoms.

    Humans evolved in tribes, and being part of a tribe was necessary for survival. "Loneliness isn’t just some inevitable human sadness, like death. It’s a product of the way we live now." Highly social groups such as the Amish and the Hutterites have very low rates of loneliness.

    In his book Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam of Harvard meticulously documented the sharp decline in community involvement in the US since the 1960s. Putnam also found we do fewer activities with our families, such as eating meals or watching tv together.

    Americans have been polled for decades about how many close friends they have; at one time the answer was three, but today the most common answer is none. In short, there has been an unprecedented social crash, which prevents us from fulfilling our desire for belonging.

    Cyberspace connection doesn't fill the void. The inordinate amount of time young people spend on smartphones further reduces the time they spend in face-to-face interaction.

    "Online connection is a pale imitation of face-to-face connection that we social animals crave. The difference between being online and being physically among people is a bit like the difference between pornography and sex: it addresses a basic itch, but it’s never satisfying. Social media can’t compensate us psychologically for what we have lost—social life."

    Another cause of depression is the loss of status and respect. Among baboons, the lowest ranking members of the troop have the highest levels of stress hormones, although having an insecure status was the one thing even more distressing than having a low status. In other words, stress is highest when status is low or is threatened. Depressed humans have the same stress hormone found in low-ranking male baboons. Human depression and anxiety are responses to the constant status anxiety many of us live with today.

    Research by Wilkinson and Picket finds that the more unequal the society, the more prevalent all forms of mental illness are. The higher the inequality, the higher the depression, which strongly suggests that something about inequality seems to be driving up depression and anxiety. This doesn’t affect only people at the bottom; in a highly unequal society, everyone has to think about their status a lot, and whether they are in danger of falling into lower status.

    What role do genes play in depression? The best research on identical twins reveals that 37 percent of depression is inherited, while for severe anxiety, it is between 30 and 40 percent. "So genes increase your sensitivity, sometimes significantly, but they aren’t—in themselves—the cause. Experts agree that depression caused solely by internal brain malfunction is rare or nonexistent, with the exception of bipolar or manic depressive disorders where genes play a bigger role.

    If Hari is right that depression is not a brain disease, then pills are not the appropriate treatment for most people. So what is? Hari says treatment would change if doctors called depression disconnection. "If disconnection is the main driver of our depression and anxiety, we need to find ways to reconnect." The Amish have low rates of depression because they have a dense community network that provides a profound sense of belonging and meaning.

    Alienated workers need to become reconnected to meaningful work. They need to overcome the feelings of being controlled and having no say and little status. An alternative to the corporation is the democratic cooperative, which better engages partner/workers than the hierarchical corporate structure. Partners are happier, less anxious, and less depressed than they had been working in the kind of top-down organizations that dominate our society. People are less anxious where they feel they have some control and input, as opposed to just being given orders.

    Finally, he would address anxiety related to low income by having government provide a guaranteed basic income. Studies of this policy show recipients have less stress, a reduced sense of financial insecurity, fewer doctor visits for anxiety and depression, and more time with their kids.

    Lost Connections reads like a series of stories rather than an academic journal. Hari's interviews with researchers and formerly depressed people make the book more interesting and readable. Some of his contentions are debatable, but he certainly persuades readers to rethink what we know about depression. ###
    103 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • てすと
    5.0 out of 5 stars めちゃめちゃ面白い 的を得ている
    Reviewed in Japan on February 17, 2021
    Wow super interesting
    So many things that I was able to relate to

    Would definitely recommend to authentic people who seek meaningful connections but nevertheless experience loneliness today!!
  • iamjaniet
    5.0 out of 5 stars Da leggere nelle scuole
    Reviewed in Italy on February 15, 2021
    Lost Connection è stata una rivelazione.
    Sono "scottata" dai libri di auto aiuto e di crescita personale. Il più delle volte sono ridondanti di concetti ripetuti all'infinito. Li trovo vuoti, noiosi da leggere, riassumibili in 10 pagine.
    Questo libro è un mondo a sé.
    Analizza i "perché" delle malattie mentali (depressione in primis) del nuovo millennio e lo fa da vicino, vicinissimo, dando voce (e riportando a fine lettura) a colossi del settore e a studi che hanno coinvolto migliaia di partecipanti.
    Mi ha aperta ad un'infinità di nuove prospettive e, ad oggi, è stato il primo libro in grado di farmi mettere DAVVERO in discussione tutto ciò che facevo per prendermi cura della mia psiche portandomi ad un cambio di rotta decisionale.
    Non smetterò mai di consigliarlo.
    10+!
    Report
  • Shrikant Pawar
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, a must read
    Reviewed in India on January 7, 2023
    Very good book.. Just finished reading Kindle edition.. A perspective changing book, A must for those with anxiety and depression; for those who are care givers for people with depression and anxiety; those who want to understand depression and anxiety and for health care professionals in related fields.
    5 star rating for content, research, presentation, courage to go against the prevailing thinking in society and bigwigs, courage to accept incorrect stands taken by author (on this topic) in the past.
    But I recently read criticisms about book and author on Google. I am not in position to evaluate that in depth. So just mentioned this to have a balanced views. But personally I found great insights in this book.
  • Heiko
    5.0 out of 5 stars "It's no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a sick society"
    Reviewed in Germany on June 29, 2021
    I read this book based on recommendations by my friends and I have to admit I am a bit torn right now writing this review:
    On one hand, I found this book very inspiring and it helped me quite a lot in understanding myself a bit more and in trying to find solutions for myself. I loved the insights and it really hit a mark.
    BUT on the other hand, I found this book at parts very cheesy and overly "American"-ized, so to say. The metaphors and examples used are often like getting smacked into your head with a tree trunk. There's no subtlety and the writing is filled, at parts, with overly dramatic accentuations so I as a reader often felt like reading a biased diary of someone instead of an actual novel.

    "Lost Connections" is definitely a book that I would recommend- and already have recommended- to other people but only with a "reading discretion": try to find the essence but don't get stuck in the sometimes terribly camp-y writing or get distracted by the very obvious and biased examples. Otherwise, it's a great read and I felt like I learned new things :)
  • Topher
    5.0 out of 5 stars cultural disorders not personal pathology
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2018
    This book should be read far and wide – it was such a refreshing read and really helps us to take a different view from the norm of human suffering by zooming out more broadly on the cultural disorders that have been recast as personal pathology. Reading David Smails works on power and the psy professions is also fascinating.

    It is true that mental health services at least in the UK are meant to work to the biopsychosocial model. Sadly though in reality the ‘social’ part is tagged on as nothing more than a trigger rather than the cause of suffering.

    Secondary care services are still pretty much dominated by psychiatry with powerful harmful drugs often including poly pharmacy and the language and labelling of people as disordered is common throughout the work force. Tales from the Mad House by Gary Sidley is a good read on the shocking state of secondary care services.

    Staff are also often suffering high levels of burnout due to overwhelming competing demands and stress - really its more like an anti mental health system for all concerned.

    Sadly its not much better in primary care with more and more IAPT services focusing on the horribly stigmatising labels of psychiatry’s disorders to categorise people and offer ‘treatment’ like we are computers in need of a reboot. The only ‘diagnosis’ within IAPT that hinted at a social cause for suffering was ‘stress’ and this was recently removed.

    Sadly this makes sense because of the way IAPT has been forced to measure ‘success’ by using two self-assessment measures (and now some other equally useless measures) designed and sold by Pfizer the PHQ9 and GAD7 – two measures that are probably partly responsible for the massive over use of diagnostic labels and drugs –(see James Davies Cracked).

    It matters not that your life is being crushed by the culture around you if you score below ‘clinical’ on these two measures you are now 'in recovery' and a ‘treatment’ success –all this from one of these options: a few hours in a group activity, or one to one sessions ranging from 6 x 30 minutes or 6x 50 mins or max 10 x 50 minute one to one sessions.

    Nationally IAPT has been heavily criticized for burning its staff out because it has been turned into a production line of suffering - yet nothing changes except the targets are increased with resulting staff harms - another anti mental health service in development.

    Also with such short sessions just at the stage a distressed person is beginning to trust the therapist its back out the door armed with ‘tools’ for self-monitoring your individual malfunctions. See how the revolving doors spin as people soon return struggling to maintain the sticking plaster in the face of such cultural disorders. All the while our focus is mostly on the person so services in this regard as Smail might say help to mystify and obfuscate the massive culture misuses of power and ply the individual with responsibility to change themselves. Of course having the limited time and space to be listened to and understood can ease things even if only for a short time especially in the absence of mutual aid from a functioning community, family and friendships.

    I really appreciate that the book only just touches on the ideas of ‘talk therapy’ given this endeavour mostly locates the source of suffering within the individual in combinations of faulty thinking, behaviour, attitudes, relationships etc.And the evidence for most talking therapies has been heavily criticized by many with little difference between them except for perhaps self interest and marketing. See the Therapy Industry by Paul Maloney.

    How can any of us when beaten down by the culture - often enduring multiple sustained harms from a job, and say financial issues and the resulting family breakdown and then when we experience emotional overwhelm be said to be suffering with 'panic disorder' or 'clinical depression' or 'OCD' or whatever label the therapist believes you have.

    The book also importantly looks at what we need and value and how these needs and values are absolutely not met in the culture as it is.

    Well done Johann for writing a book that can hopefully ignite the debate on mental health and wellbeing and how we must strive together to change our word rather than continue as atomised individuals to change ourselves to just fit in with the cultural disorders and just ‘get on with it’.

    The Key for Johann is disconnection vrs connection and he highlights a range of currently harmful disconnections or cultural disorders in the form of disconnection from meaningful work, from others and from community, from nature, from security, from trauma and from status and respect.

    Perhaps more mental health workers can critique their own professions/models and discus the possibility that services as they are could be part of the maintaining factors not of some hypothesized psychological disorder but of the cultural disorders we must change if human beings are to thrive.