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Johann Hari (Chasing the Scream, Lost Connections) sits down with Bridget to discuss the rise in depression, anxiety and addiction in society, particularly during Covid, and what that means about their underlying causes. Through extensive traveling and research for his books, Johann has explored the idea that the roots of all three are not just biological, but also psychological and social, and that we need a more complex approach to treatment in order to address all three aspects of these ailments. In a deep and wide-ranging conversation, they discuss loneliness, tribalism, how Portugal solved its heroin crisis, how Cambodians treat depression, the rising wealth disparity in our society, how junk values have taken over our lives, homelessness, competitive victimhood, and why social media is to having a social life what porn is to having sex.
I had another conversation that went like this. A man from church tells me of his daughter who got clean in AA. He admires the twelve steps but says that he has a disagreement. AA thinks that alcoholism (or the many other 12-step ailments) is a disease that needs to be managed through meetings and program for the rest of her life. The church thinks it is a sin that needs to be repented of towards a deeper cure in Christ.
Dr. Anna Fels recently saw a patient who had an interesting method of self-medication. The psychiatrist wrote up the experience in the