LOST CONNECTIONS: RECLAIMING THE SIGNAL IN THE NOISE

A Review of Johann Hari’s Wake-Up Call on Depression, Disconnection, and What Really Heals

By Rus Devorah (Darcy F.) Wallen, LCSW, CIMHP, PC

I recently read this very important and insightful book in about 2 ½ sittings. It was so intriguing, and incredibly informative, written by an acclaimed science journalist. In an era driven by speed and soundbites—by chemical cures and algorithmic distractions—Johann Hari’s Lost Connections arrives as a sacred pause. It is less a book than a turning point, a moment of Chesed – Compassionate Kindness, inviting readers to exhale, to feel, and to remember what it means to be human. Hari does not merely question a dominant narrative—he pierces it with gentleness and clarity, urging us to reclaim what we have forsaken in the name of modernity: CONNECTION!

We’ve been told a story—a story both tidy and profitable. Depression, we were taught, is a disease of the brain, a serotonin deficit treatable with the right cocktail of medications. This narrative, championed by well-meaning professionals and broadcast through billions of dollars in pharmaceutical marketing, became gospel. Yet as Hari reveals with surgical insight and lived vulnerability, the story is incomplete. Worse, it may be misleading. “The false story,” Hari writes, “is to claim that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and that the primary solution for most people is a chemical antidepressant” (Hari, 2018, p. 312).

Beyond the Brain: A New Lens of Suffering

Hari is not dismissive of biology. Having personally battled the weight of depression and the challenge of anxiety, he understands the allure of a clean, clear, medical diagnosis. But what he offers is far more radical: the idea that our despair may not be a disorder at all, but a signal—a whisper from the soul, saying something vital is missing. Hari builds a case that depression and anxiety are not primarily the result of broken brain chemistry, but rather broken connections—to meaningful work, to others, to nature, to purpose, and to the very essence of being needed.

Drawing from hundreds of interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and everyday people across the globe, Hari constructs an alternative map of depression. This map doesn’t lead inward toward neurochemical repair, but outward—toward lost relationships, trauma, fractured communities, exploitative economies, and a culture obsessed with image over essence. In Hari’s framework, nine distinct causes of depression emerge—only two of which are biological. The rest are social, spiritual, and existential.

Here are the Nine Disconnections Hari discusses in this insightful book:

1. Disconnection from meaningful work

2. Disconnection from other people

3. Disconnection from meaningful values

4. Disconnection from childhood trauma

5. Disconnection from status and respect

6. Disconnection from the natural world

7. Disconnection from a hopeful or secure future

8. The real role of genes and brain changes

9. The real role of chemical imbalance and medication

He interviews dozens of people around the world and is able to see the common issues everyone faces with depression and anxiety. This is not just a book. It’s a mirror, a map, and a call to action. Here are 4 areas of the scientific, research-based explanations for his thesis.

I. The Serotonin Myth and Antidepressants

Hari critiques the chemical imbalance theory and questions the efficacy of SSRIs for most people beyond the placebo effect. He references the work of researchers like Irving Kirsch.

• Kirsch, I., Deacon, B. J., Huedo-Medina, T. B., Scoboria, A., Moore, T. J., & Johnson, B. T. (2008). Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: A meta-analysis of data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. PLOS Medicine, 5(2), e45. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045

• Moncrieff, J., & Kirsch, I. (2005). Efficacy of antidepressants in adults. BMJ, 331(7509), 155–157. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7509.155

• Lacasse, J. R., & Leo, J. (2005). Serotonin and depression: A disconnect between the advertisements and the scientific literature. PLOS Medicine, 2(12), e392. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020392

II. Disconnection from Meaningful Work

Hari explores how loss of autonomy and purpose at work is linked to emotional distress.

III. Social Isolation and Loneliness

He discusses loneliness as a public health crisis, citing research showing its impact on mortality and depression.

IV. Values Disconnection (Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Goals)

Hari draws from research on materialism, values, and well-being.

• Kasser, T. (2002). The High Price of Materialism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

• Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(3), 280–287

A Grief for What We’ve Lost

Hari’s exploration of these causes reads like a modern-day Megillas Eichah—Lamentations not for a destroyed Temple, but for the sacred “buildings” our society has let crumble: meaningful work, belonging, purpose, nature, and the experience of being truly needed.

In perhaps one of the book’s most revelatory moments, Hari reframes depression not as a sign of dysfunction but as a kind of mourning. He writes: “Depression, I realized, is itself a form of grief—for all the connections we need, but don’t have.”

This insight evokes not only psychological wisdom but deeply Jewish themes. Grief, in our tradition, is holy. It is the echo of love, the proof that what was lost mattered. It is not something to be “medicated away.” The DSM-IV (the previous version of the “Diagnostic Bible” for Mental Health Professionals) contained a “bereavement exclusion.” If someone lost a loved one and showed symptoms of depression within two months, they were typically not diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), unless certain severe features were present. However, in DSM-5 (2013), that bereavement exclusion was removed. Now, a person grieving can be diagnosed with MDD as early as two weeks after a loss if they meet the standard criteria (e.g., depressed mood, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness). This shift reflects a deeper problem in our cultural relationship with suffering.

Our sages teach that the process of aveilus—mourning—is not a pathology but a pathway. It unfolds over time: the seven days of Shiva, thirty days of Shloshim, and the year of Shanah or Yahrtzeit. These are not rigid deadlines, but compassionate time markers that honor the rhythms of the soul. To rush this grief—or to pathologize it—is to dishonor the mourner’s inner wisdom and the sanctity of what was lost.

Hari reminds us: “Grief is necessary. We grieve because we have loved.” In this way, depression becomes a sacred teacher, not a pathology—a perspective that aligns both with emerging psychological theories of trauma and longstanding Chassidic ideas about the spiritual origins of suffering.

“To say that the grief should disappear on a neat timetable is an insult to the love we have felt.”

Grief is not a disorder. It’s often a deeply adaptive and sacred response to loss. And while some grief can become “stuck,” trying to define normal mourning with a stopwatch risks silencing the soul’s process.

Disconnection as Disease

Each of Hari’s identified “lost connections” is a blow to the psyche, and collectively, they form a haunting diagnosis of the modern world. The disconnection from meaningful work, for example, is not merely about job dissatisfaction—it’s about the soul-crushing reality that many people labor for survival in systems that devalue their humanity.

As Hari notes, “A huge number of people hate their jobs. And more importantly, they feel they have no control over their work, no sense of autonomy or purpose.” This lack of agency has been shown in research by Michael Marmot (2004) and others to significantly increase the risk of mental illness.

The same can be said of our disconnection from community. Hari cites studies showing that loneliness is as deadly as smoking or obesity. Neuroscientist John Cacioppo, in his pioneering work, demonstrated that chronic social isolation literally changes brain structure, increasing inflammation and impairing immune function (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008). We are wired for connection, not just emotionally but biologically.

Yet the society we’ve built undermines these connections at every turn. The rise of digital culture with “Social Media” has, paradoxically, made us less socially engaged. As our screens grow brighter, our inner lives grow dimmer. Advertising tells us we are not enough—and then sells us the illusion of wholeness. As Hari observes:

“Advertising at its best is making people feel that without their product, you’re a loser.”

This is not paranoia. It is strategy. Since the 1920s, marketers have known that cultivating inadequacy is the surest way to sell. The result is a culture in which value is outsourced to brands, meaning is reduced to marketability, and belonging is repackaged as a luxury item. No wonder our mental health is fraying.

Listening to the Signal

One of Hari’s most compelling arguments is that depression is a form of intelligence—not a dysfunction, but a signal from the psyche. He writes:

“You could try to muffle the signal. That will lead you to many wasted years on the path where it persists. Or you can listen to the signal—and let it guide you away from the things that are hurting and draining you, toward things that will meet your needs” (p. 314).

The Baal Shem Tov taught that every descent is for the sake of ascent (yeridah l’tzorach aliyah). When a soul experiences a downturn, it is often not a sign of spiritual failure, but an invitation to seek higher ground. Depression, when understood through this lens, becomes not a detour from the path but an essential curve within it. It is a soulful protest against misalignment, a cry that the current terrain no longer matches the soul’s native geography.

This resonates powerfully with Jewish concepts of teshuvah—not merely repentance but return. In Chassidic thought, teshuvah is not about shame, but about coming home to one’s truest self. If we view depression as a cry for return—to connection, to meaning, to the Source—then we transform suffering into a sacred invitation.

This is also where Hari’s thesis aligns with emerging therapeutic paradigms. In Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, symptoms like depression are not pathologized but honored as protective parts of the self. In narrative therapy, clinicians help clients re-author the stories they’ve been told—especially those that reduce them to diagnoses.

The Role of Power and Injustice

Hari’s critique is also deeply political, though never partisan. He argues that the root of much emotional suffering lies not just in personal trauma, but in systemic disempowerment. Drawing on the World Health Organization’s 2011 report, he quotes:

“Mental health is produced socially: the presence or absence of mental health is above all a social indicator… We need to move from focusing on chemical imbalances to focusing on power imbalances.”

A physician quoted by Hari reframes it perfectly: Instead of asking “what’s the matter with you?” ask “what matters to you?” This is a revolutionary idea. It shifts the burden of healing from the individual to the collective—how can we, together, make it right? This subtle shift rehumanizes the therapeutic process. It affirms that emotional pain is not irrational. On the contrary, in a disconnected world, depression may be the most rational response available.

Hope in the Cracks

Despite the gravity of his findings, Hari’s book is not despairing. It is hopeful—but not in the way of quick fixes or spiritual bypassing. Rather, Hari offers the hope that emerges when truth is spoken aloud, when shame is removed, and when connection is restored.

This is a hope born of honesty, not denial. A hope that, like the Kohein Gadol ascending the Temple ramp, climbs slowly, humbly, and with great care—step by sacred step for the ascent. It is not the dazzling transformation of a sudden miracle, but the gentle rewiring of the brain and soul, and the community through reconnection.

In Lost Connections, Johann Hari does not offer all the answers. But he asks the right questions—and in doing so, he opens a path. A path back to ourselves, to one another, and to the sacred signal beneath the noise.

References

Cacioppo, J. T., & Patrick, W. (2008). Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. W. W. Norton & Company.
Hari, J. (2018). Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—and the Unexpected Solutions. Bloomsbury.
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLOS Medicine, 7(7), e1000316. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316
Kasser, T. (2002). The High Price of Materialism. MIT Press.
Kirsch, I., et al. (2008). Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: A meta-analysis. PLOS Medicine, 5(2), e45. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045
Lacasse, J. R., & Leo, J. (2005). Serotonin and depression: A disconnect between the advertisements and the scientific literature. PLOS Medicine, 2(12), e392.
Marmot, M. (2004). Status Syndrome: How Your Social Standing Directly Affects Your Health and Life Expectancy. Bloomsbury.
World Health Organization. (2011). Mental Health: A State of Well-being. https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/