Johann Hari suffered from depression since he was a child and took anti-depressants as a teenager because he was told that depression is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. He went on a quest to see if this is really the case. In his book,  Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression—and the Unexpected Solutions, he discusses that journey. He interviewed many social scientists who are uncovering evidence that depression and anxiety are largely caused by key problems with the way we live today not brain chemistry.
Johann Hari is a New York Times best-selling author. His book, Chasing the Scream: the First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, has been translated into 15 languages and is currently being adapted into a major Hollywood film, and into a non-fiction documentary series.
He is one of the most-viewed TED talkers of all time: his talk, ‘Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong’, has (along with the animation based on it) been viewed more than 20 million times.
He has written over the past seven years for some of the world’s leading newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, the Spectator, Le Monde Diplomatique, the Melbourne Age, and Politico. He has also appeared on leading TV shows, including HBO’s Realtime With Bill Maher.
He was twice named ‘National Newspaper Journalist of the Year’ by Amnesty International. He has also been named ‘Cultural Commentator of the Year’ and ‘Environmental Commentator of the Year’ at the Comment Awards.