What Are The Real Causes Of Depression? - Johann Hari - #172

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Oh yes, hello friends. Welcome back to Modern Wisdom. Before I get on to today's guest, I wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone that supported the show. The last couple of weeks has been insane for plays, and we landed in the top 40 on Apple podcasts, which is just ridiculous. Oprah is now officially eating my dust. So yeah, take that. It's all because of the support that the show is getting, and obviously the quality of my fantastic guests. So thank you. I really appreciate it. All the messages, all the tags, all the shares, everything. It's so good. It really, really does make me so happy. I adore this project. I love getting to speak to these people. And the fact that you are along for the ride makes it all the more sweet. And on to today's guest. I am joined by Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections and Chasing the Scream. I have been trying to get Johann on this podcast for more than two years now, but as he can attest, I am incredibly persistent, which is why I'd probably make a good serial killer. But yeah, I probably, is that the sort of thing you should say, that you'd be a good serial killer? That's not illegal, is it? I would be a good serial killer. Anyway, we're talking about a topic which is incredibly close to my heart, which is depression. Depression, anxiety, loneliness. We're hearing increasingly that we are in a connected world that has never felt more apart. And I wanted to get who I consider to be one of the seminal writers on this topic. Lost Connections is the book to read if you want to understand how depression manifests itself in yourself, and also how you can take back control of the way that you deal with it. fair warning, this podcast is a beast and clocks in at just under two hours. But there was so much for me and Johann to talk about. He had a lot of questions to do with reality TV and my experience on Love Island, especially to do with the mental health aspect of it. I think he's worked with some past reality TV stars, helping to guide them through their mental health challenges. So that was really interesting. Some great conclusions drawn from that. Also, just a lot of sense making around your experience with regards to your happiness, any senses of depression, any down periods. It's just great. It was a fantastic episode and well worth the wait after two years. In other news, this episode of the podcast is brought to you by The Protein Works. That's right. They are keeping me alive during this pandemic. Their Super Greens powder is one of the best products that I have ever used. It has been a part of my daily routine for years and years now. You are not getting enough greens in your diet. Even if you're vegan or vegetarian, stop lying to me. You're not getting enough veg in your diet. The way to help, the easiest solution I have found to bump that up, to get your micronutrients in and to ensure that your immune system and everything else is working smoothly is with a greens powder. Protein Works Super Greens tastes fantastic. And it gives you millions of everything that you need in one dose per day. So you should go and do that. Also you should use a steel shaker. It will upgrade your life instantly. Also you should use one of their towers for keeping all of your powders and all of your tablets and all of the other stuff. And then the super food bites and their crunkies. The entire range is just phenomenal. So head to theproteinworks.com/modernwisdom.
And enter the code modern35. That's the proteinworks.com/modernwisdom. And enter the code modern35 at checkout for 35% off everything. You need it. 35%. That is a good deal considering it's cheap as hell already. We did it. It's time for Johann Hari. Let's go.
I am joined by Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections. Johann, welcome to the show.

**Johann Hari** (4:16)
It's great to be with you, Chris. You're also a very rare instance of a person who said my name right first time. I once waited for six hours with a broken arm in casualty because they were calling for Joanna hairy to come forward. So I'm always so happy when people get it right first time.

**Chris Williamson** (4:33)
Yeah, I think I've said your name or heard it on podcasts and interviews sufficiently for me to know what it is. So for the people who are listening, you should have already heard me say Johann's name. As far as I'm concerned, Lost Connections, your book is the 80-20 way to understand everything you need to know about depression. I think you should be incredibly proud of it.