I.22.2019 - Lost Connections
Our work takes us into organizations of all types, sizes and sectors as we help people strategize for the future and improve their appetite for risk while managing the change that ensues as a result of taking a new path. And, to quote Rutger Hauer in his final scene as the replicant, Roy Batty, in Ridley Scott’s film 
Blade Runner, “I have seen things.” I have coached C-Level women through negotiations to receive the same compensation as their male counterparts doing the identical work. At the same time, I have helped organizations change their policies to promote equity internally while “giving back” to the communities where they do business in real ways like having executives spend 15% of their time working with non-profits. With the help of my team over the years, we have integrated cultures from four different countries into a single location that manufactures, packages and distributes their products to people around the world. While I’m pleased with our results-based track record, I had some time over the holidays to think at a different level about the thousands of people I have worked with professionally as well as my family and friends. A significant number of them have something in common besides being Sapiens — they exhibit behaviours that indicate stress, depression and anxiety.
Our work with government and agencies involved with mental health and addictions has fine-tuned my awareness (and professional curiosity) concerning the efficacy of various treatment programs over the years as well as the role that psychopharmacology has played in patient/client health. In his book, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression and the Unexpected Solutions, Johann Hari references statistical analysis from the drug companies own drug trials that explicitly illustrate the ineffectiveness of anti-depressants. Hari and his research colleagues did not have to torture the data to reveal the truth. In fact, placebos (or no drug-based intervention) work much better and without the nasty side effects of weight gain, sexual dysfunction, insomnia and the inability to get off the meds without experiencing serious withdrawal and, at times, suicidal ideation. Yet, without any scientific verification whatsoever, I would submit that anti-depressants continue to be prescribed at a rate far greater than what we have been experiencing through the ongoing opioid crisis.
BTW, for those who are not inclined to contribute to their clutter (per Marie Kondo) by purchasing another book, Sam Harris interviews the author of Lost Connections on one of Harris’ podcasts.
The drug companies combined with the Mad Men advertising agencies have made taking anti-depressants seem like it’s a “normal” response to feel better by just popping one of their pills every day. I can think of ten people close to me right now and six of them are taking these meds in various forms. Let’s flip the data coin. Do the data show that anti-depressants work to ease the pain of depression and anxiety so that patients are able to function fully again? Sometimes. But not reliably nor can the improvement be causally attached to the meds and the impact on the chemicals in our brains such as serotonin as opposed to people wanting to get better, e.g., placebo. Once again, sugar pills work better without the side effects.
I am not arguing against all of the medications that psychopharmacology has produced or their use in treatment modalities in response to mental health issues such as schizophrenia and bipolar types 1 or 2. Those drugs have saved people’s lives and that can be indisputably proven. I’m saying that anyone who is taking anti-depressants needs to read Hari’s book and, if concerned, have a serious chat with their doctor. I am sending the book to my family doctor and to the people in my life who may need to look in a different place for solutions to their stress, depression and anxiety.