Shownotes Transcript
Depressed? The Solution Is Human Connection. Jhoann Hari understands depression. He has written two books on the subject and he has dealt with depression and antidepressants for much of his adult life. He shares some of the insights he has picked up along the way in his Ted talk “ this could be why you’re depressed or anxious. Hari notes that if someone Is depressed or anxious, it is not because they are weak or broken but because they are a human whose needs are unmet. To illustrate this, he tells a story about Cambodian farmer that suffered from depression after losing his leg while working. The doctors didn’t prescribe him medication, nor did they send him back to work in the fields. Instead, they made him a dairy farmer. Soon after, the man’s depression improved. This anecdote also offers another observation about depression. The problem may not always be within ourselves, But in the way we live. If drugs were the solution, the rates of depression in the US and Europe would not be on the rise. This is because as a society people are lonelier than ever. Hari mentions another story. This one is about a woman in London who had severe depression and the anxiety. One day, her doctor asked her to come to the clinic twice a week to meet with other people. It wasn’t a meeting for people to talk about their problems, But a place where the group could work together on the goal, any goal. They built a garden and looked out for each, And soon there are conditions began to improve. This type of treatment is called social prescribing. As Hari points out, The solution to depression isn’t in fixing ourselves but in connecting with others.