Lost Connections -- How our environment and relationships can affect our mood

This blog gives a summary of information in Johann Hari’s book titled Lost Connections. 

(https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lost-connections-johann-hari/1126399423)

Mr. Hari begins this book about how meaningful connections affect our mental and emotional health by telling a thought-provoking personal story. (You can read the whole story on this website: (https://tppahanshilhorst.wordpress.com/2018/10/14/lost-connections-uncovering-the-real-causes-of-depression-and-the-unexpected-solutions-johann-hari/) 

Here is a summary of the story --

During a stay in Vietnam, the writer bought an apple, which had been covered in pesticides. He was careful and meticulous about washing the apple with bottled water. However, as he found out later, he should have peeled the skin off altogether because he still got very ill from it. He would have died if not brought to the local hospital following the advice of a wise older woman who noticed how dire his situation was. While in the hospital, he was feeling, among other things, extreme nausea. Through his interpreter, he begged the doctor to give him something for the nausea. Deciding not to do so, the doctor gave a very poignant and pertinent response, stating “You need the nausea. It’s a message. It will tell us what is wrong with you.” 

Mr. Hari thinks of those words as a lesson about health in general, including emotional health. Before deciding to get rid of sadness, depression, or anxiety, maybe we can look at those feelings as a message. Maybe they are telling us what is wrong.

The book discusses how the ways we might feel disconnected from our world can trigger emotional suffering. Something that we think of as a mood disorder can be healed through finding meaning, connection, and fulfillment in our lives.

These are the types of disconnections the book focuses on:

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 and secure future

I will give a description of each type of disconnection that Hari writes about, and then also about what would help make a difference.

1. Disconnection from meaningful work.

Here Hari describes various research done on how much job satisfaction affects people’s mental health. One thing he learned is that the level of control that people had in their work lives made a huge difference in their overall health -- both physical and mental. When people had more control over their work environment in general, they felt much better than people who had less control, even if their pay was equal. 

An Australian doctor, Michael Marmot, did a lot of research on this topic and summarized some of his findings by saying this: “The worst stress for people is work that is monotonous, boring, soul destroying; people feel like they die a little when they come to work each day because their work touches no part of them that is them.” In fact, findings showed that people who were lower in the ranking within a busy office environment actually tended to have more heart attacks and more health complications than their superiors.

This is something we don’t think about too much. We know that we have to work and not all work is enjoyable, but even something like having more control over your work environment could make a huge difference. According to Dr. Marmot’s findings, people feel despair if their efforts don’t match the rewards. 

2. Disconnection from other people

Here Mr. Hari talks about some studies done by a neuroscientist named John Cacioppo. One of the very surprising findings was that being deeply lonely seemed to raise the cortisol level (hormone that gets activated under stress) to the same level as it is after being punched in the face. 

In the next blog post, I will write more about research findings on disconnection from other people, and about findings having to do with all the other types of disconnection.