Summary of This Could Be Why You’re Depressed and Anxious

Of the nine causes of depression and anxiety, only two are biological.

Journalist Johann Hari started taking antidepressants as a teenager to counter what doctors told him was a chemical imbalance in his brain. The drugs would work for a time, but then Hari would need higher doses to keep the pain at bay. He took medication for 13 years. Eventually, he started to question why, like himself, increasing numbers of people in the Western world were experiencing greater levels of depression and anxiety than ever before.

Researchers have uncovered nine different causes of depression and anxiety. Only two are biological: Genes can play a role, and some people undergo brain changes when they fall into depression that makes that darkness difficult to escape. “Imbalances in the way we live,” rather than chemical imbalances, influence the other seven causes of depression. For example, loneliness can trigger depression, as can a meaningless, dead-end job.

As society fails to meet people’s psychological needs, more people struggle with anxiety and depression.

Just as humans require food, water and shelter...