TEDSummit 2019
Johann Hari: This could be why you're depressed and anxious
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In a moving talk, journalist Johann Hari shares fresh insights on the causes of depression and anxiety from experts around the world -- as well as some exciting emerging solutions. "If you're depressed or anxious, you're not weak and you're not crazy -- you're a human being with unmet needs," Hari says.
Johann Hari - Journalist
Johann Hari spent three years researching the war on drugs; along the way, he discovered that addiction is not what we think it is. Full bio
Johann Hari spent three years researching the war on drugs; along the way, he discovered that addiction is not what we think it is. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
For a really long time,
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I had two mysteries
that were hanging over me.
that were hanging over me.
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I didn't understand them
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and, to be honest, I was quite afraid
to look into them.
to look into them.
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The first mystery was, I'm 40 years old,
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and all throughout my lifetime,
year after year,
year after year,
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serious depression and anxiety have risen,
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in the United States, in Britain,
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and across the Western world.
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And I wanted to understand why.
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Why is this happening to us?
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Why is it that with each year that passes,
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more and more of us are finding it harder
to get through the day?
to get through the day?
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And I wanted to understand this
because of a more personal mystery.
because of a more personal mystery.
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When I was a teenager,
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I remember going to my doctor
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and explaining that I had this feeling,
like pain was leaking out of me.
like pain was leaking out of me.
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I couldn't control it,
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I didn't understand why it was happening,
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I felt quite ashamed of it.
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And my doctor told me a story
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that I now realize was well-intentioned,
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but quite oversimplified.
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Not totally wrong.
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My doctor said, "We know
why people get like this.
why people get like this.
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Some people just naturally get
a chemical imbalance in their heads --
a chemical imbalance in their heads --
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you're clearly one of them.
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All we need to do is give you some drugs,
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it will get your chemical
balance back to normal."
balance back to normal."
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So I started taking a drug
called Paxil or Seroxat,
called Paxil or Seroxat,
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it's the same thing with different names
in different countries.
in different countries.
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And I felt much better,
I got a real boost.
I got a real boost.
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But not very long afterwards,
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this feeling of pain started to come back.
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So I was given higher and higher doses
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until, for 13 years, I was taking
the maximum possible dose
the maximum possible dose
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that you're legally allowed to take.
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And for a lot of those 13 years,
and pretty much all the time by the end,
and pretty much all the time by the end,
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I was still in a lot of pain.
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And I started asking myself,
"What's going on here?
"What's going on here?
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Because you're doing everything
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you're told to do by the story
that's dominating the culture --
that's dominating the culture --
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why do you still feel like this?"
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So to get to the bottom
of these two mysteries,
of these two mysteries,
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for a book that I've written
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I ended up going on a big journey
all over the world,
all over the world,
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I traveled over 40,000 miles.
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I wanted to sit with the leading
experts in the world
experts in the world
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about what causes depression and anxiety
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and crucially, what solves them,
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and people who have come through
depression and anxiety
depression and anxiety
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and out the other side
in all sorts of ways.
in all sorts of ways.
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And I learned a huge amount
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from the amazing people
I got to know along the way.
I got to know along the way.
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But I think at the heart
of what I learned is,
of what I learned is,
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so far, we have scientific evidence
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for nine different causes
of depression and anxiety.
of depression and anxiety.
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Two of them are indeed in our biology.
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Your genes can make you
more sensitive to these problems,
more sensitive to these problems,
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though they don't write your destiny.
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And there are real brain changes
that can happen when you become depressed
that can happen when you become depressed
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that can make it harder to get out.
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But most of the factors
that have been proven
that have been proven
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to cause depression and anxiety
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are not in our biology.
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They are factors in the way we live.
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And once you understand them,
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it opens up a very different
set of solutions
set of solutions
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that should be offered to people
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alongside the option
of chemical antidepressants.
of chemical antidepressants.
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For example,
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if you're lonely, you're more likely
to become depressed.
to become depressed.
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If, when you go to work,
you don't have any control over your job,
you don't have any control over your job,
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you've just got to do what you're told,
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you're more likely to become depressed.
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If you very rarely get out
into the natural world,
into the natural world,
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you're more likely to become depressed.
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And one thing unites a lot of the causes
of depression and anxiety
of depression and anxiety
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that I learned about.
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Not all of them, but a lot of them.
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Everyone here knows
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you've all got natural
physical needs, right?
physical needs, right?
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Obviously.
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You need food, you need water,
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you need shelter, you need clean air.
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If I took those things away from you,
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you'd all be in real trouble, real fast.
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But at the same time,
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ever human being
has natural psychological needs.
has natural psychological needs.
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You need to feel you belong.
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You need to feel your life
has meaning and purpose.
has meaning and purpose.
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You need to feel that people
see you and value you.
see you and value you.
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You need to feel you've got
a future that makes sense.
a future that makes sense.
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And this culture we built
is good at lots of things.
is good at lots of things.
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And many things are better
than in the past --
than in the past --
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I'm glad to be alive today.
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But we've been getting less and less good
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at meeting these deep,
underlying psychological needs.
underlying psychological needs.
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And it's not the only thing
that's going on,
that's going on,
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but I think it's the key reason
why this crisis keeps rising and rising.
why this crisis keeps rising and rising.
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And I found this really hard to absorb.
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I really wrestled with the idea
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of shifting from thinking of my depression
as just a problem in my brain,
as just a problem in my brain,
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to one with many causes,
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including many in the way we're living.
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And it only really began
to fall into place for me
to fall into place for me
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when one day, I went to interview
a South African psychiatrist
a South African psychiatrist
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named Dr. Derek Summerfield.
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He's a great guy.
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And Dr. Summerfield
happened to be in Cambodia in 2001,
happened to be in Cambodia in 2001,
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when they first introduced
chemical antidepressants
chemical antidepressants
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for people in that country.
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And the local doctors, the Cambodians,
had never heard of these drugs,
had never heard of these drugs,
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so they were like, what are they?
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And he explained.
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And they said to him,
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"We don't need them,
we've already got antidepressants."
we've already got antidepressants."
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And he was like, "What do you mean?"
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He thought they were going to talk about
some kind of herbal remedy,
some kind of herbal remedy,
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like St. John's Wort, ginkgo biloba,
something like that.
something like that.
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Instead, they told him a story.
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There was a farmer in their community
who worked in the rice fields.
who worked in the rice fields.
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And one day, he stood on a land mine
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left over from the war
with the United States,
with the United States,
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and he got his leg blown off.
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So they him an artificial leg,
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and after a while, he went back
to work in the rice fields.
to work in the rice fields.
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But apparently, it's super painful
to work under water
to work under water
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when you've got an artificial limb,
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and I'm guessing it was pretty traumatic
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to go back and work in the field
where he got blown up.
where he got blown up.
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The guy started to cry all day,
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he refused to get out of bed,
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he developed all the symptoms
of classic depression.
of classic depression.
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The Cambodian doctor said,
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"This is when we gave him
an antidepressant."
an antidepressant."
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And Dr. Summerfield said,
"What was it?"
"What was it?"
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They explained that they went
and sat with him.
and sat with him.
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They listened to him.
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They realized that his pain made sense --
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it was hard for him to see it
in the throes of his depression,
in the throes of his depression,
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but actually, it had perfectly
understandable causes in his life.
understandable causes in his life.
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One of the doctors, talking to the people
in the community, figured,
in the community, figured,
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"You know, if we bought this guy a cow,
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he could become a dairy farmer,
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he wouldn't be in this position
that was screwing him up so much,
that was screwing him up so much,
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he wouldn't have to go
and work in the rice fields."
and work in the rice fields."
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So they bought him a cow.
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Within a couple of weeks,
his crying stopped,
his crying stopped,
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within a month, his depression was gone.
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They said to doctor Summerfield,
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"So you see, doctor, that cow,
that was an antidepressant,
that was an antidepressant,
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that's what you mean, right?"
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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If you'd been raised to think
about depression the way I was,
about depression the way I was,
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and most of the people here were,
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that sounds like a bad joke, right?
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"I went to my doctor
for an antidepressant,
for an antidepressant,
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she gave me a cow."
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But what those Cambodian
doctors knew intuitively,
doctors knew intuitively,
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based on this individual,
unscientific anecdote,
unscientific anecdote,
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is what the leading
medical body in the world,
medical body in the world,
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the World Health Organization,
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has been trying to tell us for years,
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based on the best scientific evidence.
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If you're depressed,
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if you're anxious,
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you're not weak, you're not crazy,
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you're not, in the main,
a machine with broken parts.
a machine with broken parts.
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You're a human being with unmet needs.
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And it's just as important to think here
about what those Cambodian doctors
about what those Cambodian doctors
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and the World Health Organization
are not saying.
are not saying.
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They did not say to this farmer,
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"Hey, buddy, you need
to pull yourself together.
to pull yourself together.
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It's your job to figure out
and fix this problem on your own."
and fix this problem on your own."
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On the contrary, what they said is,
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"We're here as a group
to pull together with you,
to pull together with you,
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so together, we can figure out
and fix this problem."
and fix this problem."
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This is what every depressed person needs,
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and it's what every
depressed person deserves.
depressed person deserves.
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This is why one of the leading
doctors at the United Nations,
doctors at the United Nations,
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in their official statement
for World Health Day,
for World Health Day,
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couple of years back in 2017,
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said we need to talk less
about chemical imbalances
about chemical imbalances
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and more about the imbalances
in the way we live.
in the way we live.
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Drugs give real relief to some people --
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they gave relief to me for a while --
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but precisely because this problem
goes deeper than their biology,
goes deeper than their biology,
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the solutions need to go much deeper, too.
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But when I first learned that,
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I remember thinking,
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"OK, I could see
all the scientific evidence,
all the scientific evidence,
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I read a huge number of studies,
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I interviewed a huge number of the experts
who were explaining this,"
who were explaining this,"
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but I kept thinking, "How can we
possibly do that?"
possibly do that?"
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The things that are making us depressed
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are in most cases more complex
than what was going on
than what was going on
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with this Cambodian farmer.
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Where do we even begin with that insight?
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But then, in the long journey for my book,
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all over the world,
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I kept meeting people
who were doing exactly that,
who were doing exactly that,
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from Sydney, to San Francisco,
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to São Paulo.
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I kept meeting people
who were understanding
who were understanding
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the deeper causes
of depression and anxiety
of depression and anxiety
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and, as groups, fixing them.
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Obviously, I can't tell you
about all the amazing people
about all the amazing people
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I got to know and wrote about,
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or all of the nine causes of depression
and anxiety that I learned about,
and anxiety that I learned about,
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because they won't let me give
a 10-hour TED Talk --
a 10-hour TED Talk --
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you can complain about that to them.
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But I want to focus on two of the causes
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and two of the solutions
that emerge from them, if that's alright.
that emerge from them, if that's alright.
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Here's the first.
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We are the loneliest society
in human history.
in human history.
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There was a recent study
that asked Americans,
that asked Americans,
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"Do you feel like you're no longer
close to anyone?"
close to anyone?"
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And 39 percent of people
said that described them.
said that described them.
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"No longer close to anyone."
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In the international
measurements of loneliness,
measurements of loneliness,
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Britain and the rest of Europe
are just behind the US,
are just behind the US,
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in case anyone here is feeling smug.
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(Laughter)
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I spent a lot of time discussing this
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with the leading expert
in the world on loneliness,
in the world on loneliness,
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an incredible man
named professor John Cacioppo,
named professor John Cacioppo,
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who was at Chicago,
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and I thought a lot about one question
his work poses to us.
his work poses to us.
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Professor Cacioppo asked,
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"Why do we exist?
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Why are we here, why are we alive?"
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One key reason
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is that our ancestors
on the savannas of Africa
on the savannas of Africa
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were really good at one thing.
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They weren't bigger than the animals
they took down a lot of the time,
they took down a lot of the time,
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they weren't faster than the animals
they took down a lot of the time,
they took down a lot of the time,
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but they were much better
at banding together into groups
at banding together into groups
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and cooperating.
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This was our superpower as a species --
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we band together,
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just like bees evolved to live in a hive,
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humans evolved to live in a tribe.
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And we are the first humans ever
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to disband our tribes.
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And it is making us feel awful.
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10:27
But it doesn't have to be this way.
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10:29
One of the heroes in my book,
and in fact, in my life,
and in fact, in my life,
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10:31
is a doctor named Sam Everington.
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2095
10:33
He's a general practitioner
in a poor part of East London,
in a poor part of East London,
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10:36
where I lived for many years.
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10:38
And Sam was really uncomfortable,
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10:40
because he had loads of patients
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10:41
coming to him with terrible
depression and anxiety.
depression and anxiety.
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10:44
And like me, he's not opposed
to chemical antidepressants,
to chemical antidepressants,
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2722
10:46
he thinks they give
some relief to some people.
some relief to some people.
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2222
10:49
But he could see two things.
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1373
10:50
Firstly, his patients were depressed
and anxious a lot of the time
and anxious a lot of the time
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10:54
for totally understandable
reasons, like loneliness.
reasons, like loneliness.
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3738
10:57
And secondly, although the drugs
were giving some relief to some people,
were giving some relief to some people,
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11:01
for many people,
they didn't solve the problem.
they didn't solve the problem.
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11:03
The underlying problem.
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11:05
One day, Sam decided
to pioneer a different approach.
to pioneer a different approach.
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11:08
A woman came to his center,
his medical center,
his medical center,
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11:11
called Lisa Cunningham.
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11:12
I got to know Lisa later.
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1874
11:14
And Lisa had been shut away in her home
with crippling depression and anxiety
with crippling depression and anxiety
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11:18
for seven years.
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1150
11:20
And when she came to Sam's center,
she was told, "Don't worry,
she was told, "Don't worry,
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11:23
we'll carry on giving you these drugs,
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1830
11:25
but we're also going to prescribe
something else.
something else.
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11:28
We're going to prescribe for you
to come here to this center twice a week
to come here to this center twice a week
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3443
11:31
to meet with a group of other
depressed and anxious people,
depressed and anxious people,
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2778
11:34
not to talk about how miserable you are,
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2810
11:37
but to figure out something
meaningful you can all do together
meaningful you can all do together
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3547
11:41
so you won't be lonely and you won't feel
like life is pointless."
like life is pointless."
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3103
11:44
The first time this group met,
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2775
11:47
Lisa literally started
vomiting with anxiety,
vomiting with anxiety,
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2256
11:49
it was so overwhelming for her.
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1921
11:51
But people rubbed her back,
the group started talking,
the group started talking,
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2634
11:54
they were like, "What could we do?"
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1675
11:55
These are inner-city,
East London people like me,
East London people like me,
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2294
11:58
they didn't know anything about gardening.
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2048
12:00
They were like, "Why don't we
learn gardening?"
learn gardening?"
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2245
12:02
There was an area
behind the doctors' offices
behind the doctors' offices
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2166
12:04
that was just scrubland.
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1151
12:05
"Why don't we make this into a garden?"
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1882
12:07
They started to take books
out of the library,
out of the library,
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2175
12:09
started to watch YouTube clips.
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1485
12:11
They started to get
their fingers in the soil.
their fingers in the soil.
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2159
12:13
They started to learn
the rhythms of the seasons.
the rhythms of the seasons.
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3043
12:16
There's a lot of evidence
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1330
12:18
that exposure to the natural world
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1629
12:19
is a really powerful antidepressant.
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1976
12:21
But they started to do something
even more important.
even more important.
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3009
12:25
They started to form a tribe.
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2030
12:27
They started to form a group.
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1811
12:29
They started to care about each other.
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2024
12:31
If one of them didn't show up,
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1674
12:32
the others would go
looking for them -- "Are you OK?"
looking for them -- "Are you OK?"
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2520
12:35
Help them figure out
what was troubling them that day.
what was troubling them that day.
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2611
12:38
The way Lisa put it to me,
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1803
12:39
"As the garden began to bloom,
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2597
12:42
we began to bloom."
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750609
1267
12:44
This approach is called
social prescribing,
social prescribing,
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2032
12:46
it's spreading all over Europe.
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1515
12:48
And there's a small,
but growing body of evidence
but growing body of evidence
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2301
12:50
suggesting it can produce real
and meaningful falls
and meaningful falls
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2880
12:53
in depression and anxiety.
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761298
1978
12:55
And one day, I remember
standing in the garden
standing in the garden
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763300
3721
12:59
that Lisa and her once-depressed
friends had built --
friends had built --
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767045
2481
13:01
it's a really beautiful garden --
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769550
1584
13:03
and having this thought,
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1191
13:04
it's very much inspired by a guy
called professor Hugh Mackay in Australia.
called professor Hugh Mackay in Australia.
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772373
3871
13:08
I was thinking, so often
when people feel down in this culture,
when people feel down in this culture,
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776268
4381
13:12
what we say to them -- I'm sure
everyone here said it, I have --
everyone here said it, I have --
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780673
3064
13:15
we say, "You just need
to be you, be yourself."
to be you, be yourself."
317
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3224
13:19
And I've realized, actually,
what we should say to people is,
what we should say to people is,
318
787742
2950
13:22
"Don't be you.
319
790716
1150
13:24
Don't be yourself.
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1333
13:26
Be us, be we.
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2209
13:28
Be part of a group."
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1325
13:30
(Applause)
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3706
13:33
The solution to these problems
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801844
2579
13:36
does not lie in drawing
more and more on your resources
more and more on your resources
325
804447
3151
13:39
as an isolated individual --
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807622
1439
13:41
that's partly what got us in this crisis.
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809085
2040
13:43
It lies on reconnecting
with something bigger than you.
with something bigger than you.
328
811149
2753
13:45
And that really connects
to one of the other causes
to one of the other causes
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813926
2421
13:48
of depression and anxiety
that I wanted to talk to you about.
that I wanted to talk to you about.
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816371
2897
13:51
So everyone knows
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819292
1690
13:53
junk food has taken over our diets
and made us physically sick.
and made us physically sick.
332
821006
3746
13:56
I don't say that
with any sense of superiority,
with any sense of superiority,
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824776
2206
13:59
I literally came to give
this talk from McDonald's.
this talk from McDonald's.
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827006
2399
14:01
I saw all of you eating that
healthy TED breakfast, I was like no way.
healthy TED breakfast, I was like no way.
335
829429
3513
14:04
But just like junk food has taken over
our diets and made us physically sick,
our diets and made us physically sick,
336
832966
5143
14:10
a kind of junk values
have taken over our minds
have taken over our minds
337
838133
4110
14:14
and made us mentally sick.
338
842267
1478
14:16
For thousands of years,
philosophers have said,
philosophers have said,
339
844157
3104
14:19
if you think life is about money,
and status and showing off,
and status and showing off,
340
847285
4588
14:23
you're going to feel like crap.
341
851897
1523
14:25
That's not an exact quote
from Schopenhauer,
from Schopenhauer,
342
853444
2067
14:27
but that is the gist of what he said.
343
855535
1772
14:29
But weirdly, hardy anyone
had scientifically investigated this,
had scientifically investigated this,
344
857331
3026
14:32
until a truly extraordinary person
I got to know, named professor Tim Kasser,
I got to know, named professor Tim Kasser,
345
860381
3649
14:36
who's at Knox College in Illinois,
346
864054
2293
14:38
and he's been researching this
for about 30 years now.
for about 30 years now.
347
866371
2563
14:40
And his research suggests
several really important things.
several really important things.
348
868958
3016
14:43
Firstly, the more you believe
349
871998
3191
14:47
you can buy and display
your way out of sadness,
your way out of sadness,
350
875213
4365
14:51
and into a good life,
351
879602
2191
14:53
the more likely you are to become
depressed and anxious.
depressed and anxious.
352
881817
2912
14:56
And secondly,
353
884753
1293
14:58
as a society, we have become
much more driven by these beliefs.
much more driven by these beliefs.
354
886070
4588
15:02
All throughout my lifetime,
355
890682
1413
15:04
under the weight of advertising
and Instagram and everything like them.
and Instagram and everything like them.
356
892119
4193
15:08
And as I thought about this,
357
896871
1373
15:10
I realized it's like we've all been fed
since birth, a kind of KFC for the soul.
since birth, a kind of KFC for the soul.
358
898268
5761
15:16
We've been trained to look for happiness
in all the wrong places,
in all the wrong places,
359
904053
3873
15:19
and just like junk food
doesn't meet your nutritional needs
doesn't meet your nutritional needs
360
907950
2770
15:22
and actually makes you feel terrible,
361
910744
2298
15:25
junk values don't meet
your psychological needs,
your psychological needs,
362
913066
3142
15:28
and they take you away from a good life.
363
916232
2642
15:30
But when I first spent time
with professor Kasser
with professor Kasser
364
918898
2623
15:33
and I was learning all this,
365
921545
1477
15:35
I felt a really weird mixture of emotions.
366
923046
2587
15:37
Because on the one hand,
I found this really challenging.
I found this really challenging.
367
925657
2690
15:40
I could see how often
in my own life, when I felt down,
in my own life, when I felt down,
368
928371
3262
15:43
I tried to remedy it with some kind of
show-offy, grand external solution.
show-offy, grand external solution.
369
931657
5265
15:49
And I could see why that
did not work well for me.
did not work well for me.
370
937441
2690
15:52
I also thought,
isn't this kind of obvious?
isn't this kind of obvious?
371
940930
2882
15:55
Isn't this almost like banal, right?
372
943836
1745
15:57
If I said to everyone here,
373
945605
1325
15:58
none of you are going to lie
on your deathbed
on your deathbed
374
946954
2143
16:01
and think about all the shoes you bought
and all the retweets you got,
and all the retweets you got,
375
949121
3316
16:04
you're going to think about moments
376
952461
1683
16:06
of love, meaning
and connection in your life.
and connection in your life.
377
954168
2111
16:08
I think that seems almost like a cliché.
378
956303
1945
16:10
But I kept talking
to professor Kasser and saying,
to professor Kasser and saying,
379
958272
2349
16:12
"Why am I feeling
this strange doubleness?"
this strange doubleness?"
380
960645
2353
16:15
And he said, "At some level,
we all know these things.
we all know these things.
381
963022
3807
16:18
But in this culture,
we don't live by them."
we don't live by them."
382
966853
2375
16:21
We know them so well
they've become clichés,
they've become clichés,
383
969252
2079
16:23
but we don't live by them.
384
971355
1278
16:24
I kept asking why, why would we know
something so profound,
something so profound,
385
972657
3209
16:27
but not live by it?
386
975890
1286
16:29
And after a while,
professor Kasser said to me,
professor Kasser said to me,
387
977200
3404
16:32
"Because we live in a machine
388
980628
2421
16:35
that is designed to get us to neglect
what is important about life."
what is important about life."
389
983073
3733
16:39
I had to really think about that.
390
987260
1587
16:40
"Because we live in a machine
391
988871
1405
16:42
that is designed to get us
to neglect what is important about life."
to neglect what is important about life."
392
990300
3678
16:46
And professor Kasser wanted to figure out
if we can disrupt that machine.
if we can disrupt that machine.
393
994299
3778
16:50
He's done loads of research into this;
394
998101
1873
16:51
I'll tell you about one example,
395
999998
1555
16:53
and I really urge everyone here
to try this with their friends and family.
to try this with their friends and family.
396
1001577
3500
16:57
With a guy called Nathan Dungan,
he got a group of teenagers and adults
he got a group of teenagers and adults
397
1005101
3342
17:00
to come together for a series of sessions
over a period of time, to meet up.
over a period of time, to meet up.
398
1008467
4213
17:04
And part of the point of the group
399
1012704
1763
17:06
was to get people to think
about a moment in their life
about a moment in their life
400
1014491
3300
17:09
they had actually found
meaning and purpose.
meaning and purpose.
401
1017815
2746
17:12
For different people,
it was different things.
it was different things.
402
1020585
2143
17:14
For some people, it was playing music,
writing, helping someone --
writing, helping someone --
403
1022752
3617
17:18
I'm sure everyone here
can picture something, right?
can picture something, right?
404
1026393
2803
17:21
And part of the point of the group
was to get people to ask,
was to get people to ask,
405
1029220
2881
17:24
"OK, how could you dedicate
more of your life
more of your life
406
1032125
2762
17:26
to pursuing these moments
of meaning and purpose,
of meaning and purpose,
407
1034911
2684
17:29
and less to, I don't know,
buying crap you don't need,
buying crap you don't need,
408
1037619
2950
17:32
putting it on social media
and trying to get people to go,
and trying to get people to go,
409
1040593
2722
17:35
'OMG, so jealous!'"
410
1043339
1267
17:36
And what they found was,
411
1044958
1643
17:38
just having these meetings,
412
1046625
1334
17:39
it was like a kind of Alcoholics Anonymous
for consumerism, right?
for consumerism, right?
413
1047983
3110
17:43
Getting people to have these meetings,
articulate these values,
articulate these values,
414
1051807
2953
17:46
determine to act on them
and check in with each other,
and check in with each other,
415
1054784
2531
17:49
led to a marked shift in people's values.
416
1057339
2857
17:52
It took them away from this hurricane
of depression-generating messages
of depression-generating messages
417
1060220
4413
17:56
training us to seek happiness
in the wrong places,
in the wrong places,
418
1064657
2634
17:59
and towards more meaningful
and nourishing values
and nourishing values
419
1067315
3341
18:02
that lift us out of depression.
420
1070680
2000
18:05
But with all the solutions that I saw
and have written about,
and have written about,
421
1073347
3302
18:08
and many I can't talk about here,
422
1076673
2739
18:11
I kept thinking,
423
1079436
1371
18:12
you know: Why did it take me so long
to see these insights?
to see these insights?
424
1080831
3699
18:16
Because when you explain them to people --
425
1084554
2016
18:18
some of them are more
complicated, but not all --
complicated, but not all --
426
1086594
2444
18:21
when you explain this to people,
it's not like rocket science, right?
it's not like rocket science, right?
427
1089062
3244
18:24
At some level, we already
know these things.
know these things.
428
1092330
2095
18:26
Why do we find it so hard to understand?
429
1094449
2637
18:29
I think there's many reasons.
430
1097110
1934
18:31
But I think one reason is
that we have to change our understanding
that we have to change our understanding
431
1099475
4269
18:35
of what depression
and anxiety actually are.
and anxiety actually are.
432
1103768
3420
18:39
There are very real
biological contributions
biological contributions
433
1107776
2182
18:41
to depression and anxiety.
434
1109982
1733
18:44
But if we allow the biology
to become the whole picture,
to become the whole picture,
435
1112117
3754
18:47
as I did for so long,
436
1115895
1246
18:49
as I would argue our culture
has done pretty much most of my life,
has done pretty much most of my life,
437
1117165
4065
18:53
what we're implicitly saying to people
is, and this isn't anyone's intention,
is, and this isn't anyone's intention,
438
1121254
3857
18:57
but what we're implicitly
saying to people is,
saying to people is,
439
1125135
3037
19:00
"Your pain doesn't mean anything.
440
1128196
2302
19:02
It's just a malfunction.
441
1130522
1436
19:03
It's like a glitch in a computer program,
442
1131982
2469
19:06
it's just a wiring problem in your head."
443
1134475
2667
19:10
But I was only able to start
changing my life
changing my life
444
1138061
3107
19:13
when I realized your depression
is not a malfunction.
is not a malfunction.
445
1141192
4065
19:18
It's a signal.
446
1146620
1150
19:20
Your depression is a signal.
447
1148684
2007
19:23
It's telling you something.
448
1151077
1841
19:24
(Applause)
449
1152942
4611
19:29
We feel this way for reasons,
450
1157577
2389
19:31
and they can be hard to see
in the throes of depression --
in the throes of depression --
451
1159990
2715
19:34
I understand that really well
from personal experience.
from personal experience.
452
1162729
2610
19:37
But with the right help,
we can understand these problems
we can understand these problems
453
1165363
3483
19:40
and we can fix these problems together.
454
1168870
2474
19:43
But to do that,
455
1171368
1192
19:44
the very first step
456
1172584
1738
19:46
is we have to stop insulting these signals
457
1174346
2618
19:48
by saying they're a sign of weakness,
or madness or purely biological,
or madness or purely biological,
458
1176988
4192
19:53
except for a tiny number of people.
459
1181204
1935
19:55
We need to start
listening to these signals,
listening to these signals,
460
1183163
3626
19:58
because they're telling us
something we really need to hear.
something we really need to hear.
461
1186813
3272
20:02
It's only when we truly
listen to these signals,
listen to these signals,
462
1190514
5023
20:07
and we honor these signals
and respect these signals,
and respect these signals,
463
1195561
4015
20:11
that we're going to begin to see
464
1199600
2247
20:13
the liberating, nourishing,
deeper solutions.
deeper solutions.
465
1201871
4158
20:19
The cows that are waiting all around us.
466
1207133
4073
20:23
Thank you.
467
1211585
1181
20:24
(Applause)
468
1212790
3688
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Johann Hari - JournalistJohann Hari spent three years researching the war on drugs; along the way, he discovered that addiction is not what we think it is.
Why you should listen
British journalist Johann Hari is the author of the New York Times best-selling book Chasing The Scream, from which his talk on addiction was adapted and for which he spent three years researching the war on drugs and questioning the ways in which we treat addiction.
He has written for many of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian, New Republic, The Nation, Slate.com, and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was a columnist for the British newspaper The Independent for nine years.
Hari was twice named National Newspaper Journalist of the Year by Amnesty International, was named Gay Journalist of the Year at the Stonewall Awards -- and won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for political writing.
Johann Hari | Speaker | TED.com