Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-304) and index.

Machine generated contents note: pt. I The Crack in the Old Story -- 1.The Wand -- 2.Imbalance -- 3.The Grief Exception -- 4.The First Flag on the Moon -- pt. II Disconnection: Nine Causes of Depression and Anxiety -- 5.Picking Up the Flag (An Introduction to Part Two) -- 6.Cause One: Disconnection from Meaningful Work -- 7.Cause Two: Disconnection from Other People -- 8.Cause Three: Disconnection from Meaningful Values -- 9.Cause Four: Disconnection from Childhood Trauma -- 10.Cause Five: Disconnection from Status and Respect -- 11.Cause Six: Disconnection from the Natural World -- 12.Cause Seven: Disconnection from a Hopeful or Secure Future -- 13.Causes Eight and Nine: The Real Role of Genes and Brain Changes -- pt. III Reconnection. Or, a Different Kind of Antidepressant -- 14.The Cow -- 15.We Built This City -- 16.Reconnection One: To Other People -- 17.Reconnection Two: Social Prescribing -- 18.Reconnection Three: To Meaningful Work --

Contents note continued: 19.Reconnection Four: To Meaningful Values -- 20.Reconnection Five: Sympathetic Joy, and Overcoming Addiction to the Self -- 21.Reconnection Six: Acknowledging and Overcoming Childhood Trauma -- 22.Reconnection Seven: Restoring the Future.

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 anti-depressants 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. His TED talk ? 'Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong' ? has been viewed more than 8 million times and revolutionized the global debate.