My goodness! I don't know where to start. I can say it changes your perspective but I'm sure most of them will not agree with me. There's this thing about humans, there are two ways we judge something we do not know about - 1. We think it is too Good because it is beyond our apprehension. 2. Or it is too Bad because it doesn't make any sense to us because we either do not 'know it' or 'know about it'. And there are some who actually know it and understand it but do not usually go around explaining or judging.
One such thing is Depression. So when someone says something about it, there are people who understand it, and people who just agree with it and those who disagree with it. When coming to review this book about depression, it’s causes and solutions you can only fall into the above categories.
Johann starts with antidepressants and how it does not work for everyone. He himself has been on the pills for 13 years. He says in the beginning it feels great but gradually the sadness sets in again and you are supposed to increase the dose to match. And it’s a never ending cycle. After sometime when you look back, you realize it is not solving anything but just being postponed until you pop that next pill. Instead of solving the problem, if you just mask the symptoms, you will end up nowhere or even worse.
So he talks about various reasons you might be depressed and why antidepressants might not work for you. Some disconnections from like, meaningful work, people, meaningful values, childhood trauma, status and respect, natural world and hopeful or secure future. And also the real role of genes and brain changes. Which is excellent research done by him.
He says the solution is in connecting back with those disconnections which are causing us to go hay-wire in ignorance, and not popping pills. He also says for certain conditions and specific cases pills are helpful but not just about anybody.
But interestingly these solutions are not just for depression but human life as it is. These solutions are for any illness of the mind and body unless it is caused by external organisms. Also for those who have no disconnections mentioned above, but still are sad and depressed, you might need to strengthen your already established connections.
When Johann talks about meditation as a solution, he limits it to the science of depression because that is the scope of this book. But there are various types of meditations and various benefits not just towards depression but for life in general.
I say the things he has pointed out do not just cause depression but also other illnesses like addiction, obsession, insecurity and more. I can go on and say this book is not just for sick people but also to those feeling-on-top-of-the-world people. Because Life is not limited to just as we know it, there is a vast unknown territory which we either consciously or unconsciously choose to ignore.
Oops it’s quite a bit long, but thanks for reading. The book gets 5/5.
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