0:00:01.357,0:00:02.928 For a really long time, 0:00:02.952,0:00:06.086 I had two mysteries[br]that were hanging over me. 0:00:06.689,0:00:08.950 I didn't understand them 0:00:08.974,0:00:11.877 and, to be honest, I was quite afraid[br]to look into them. 0:00:12.349,0:00:15.896 The first mystery was, I'm 40 years old, 0:00:15.920,0:00:18.991 and all throughout my lifetime,[br]year after year, 0:00:19.015,0:00:22.371 serious depression and anxiety have risen, 0:00:22.395,0:00:25.085 in the United States, in Britain, 0:00:25.109,0:00:26.863 and across the Western world. 0:00:27.173,0:00:30.101 And I wanted to understand why. 0:00:31.108,0:00:32.975 Why is this happening to us? 0:00:33.394,0:00:36.036 Why is it that with each year that passes, 0:00:36.060,0:00:39.314 more and more of us are finding it harder[br]to get through the day? 0:00:39.743,0:00:43.300 And I wanted to understand this[br]because of a more personal mystery. 0:00:43.324,0:00:44.713 When I was a teenager, 0:00:44.737,0:00:46.158 I remember going to my doctor 0:00:46.182,0:00:50.667 and explaining that I had this feeling,[br]like pain was leaking out of me. 0:00:51.237,0:00:52.633 I couldn't control it, 0:00:52.657,0:00:54.942 I didn't understand why it was happening, 0:00:54.966,0:00:57.021 I felt quite ashamed of it. 0:00:57.045,0:00:58.641 And my doctor told me a story 0:00:58.665,0:01:00.678 that I now realize was well-intentioned, 0:01:00.702,0:01:02.394 but quite oversimplified. 0:01:02.418,0:01:03.586 Not totally wrong. 0:01:03.610,0:01:06.402 My doctor said, "We know[br]why people get like this. 0:01:06.426,0:01:10.658 Some people just naturally get[br]a chemical imbalance in their heads -- 0:01:10.682,0:01:12.103 you're clearly one of them. 0:01:12.127,0:01:14.111 All we need to do is give you some drugs, 0:01:14.135,0:01:16.499 it will get your chemical[br]balance back to normal." 0:01:16.523,0:01:18.933 So I started taking a drug[br]called Paxil or Seroxat, 0:01:18.957,0:01:21.983 it's the same thing with different names[br]in different countries. 0:01:22.007,0:01:24.490 And I felt much better,[br]I got a real boost. 0:01:24.514,0:01:25.925 But not very long afterwards, 0:01:25.949,0:01:27.950 this feeling of pain started to come back. 0:01:27.974,0:01:29.802 So I was given higher and higher doses 0:01:29.826,0:01:33.037 until, for 13 years, I was taking[br]the maximum possible dose 0:01:33.061,0:01:35.077 that you're legally allowed to take. 0:01:35.402,0:01:38.871 And for a lot of those 13 years,[br]and pretty much all the time by the end, 0:01:38.895,0:01:40.395 I was still in a lot of pain. 0:01:40.419,0:01:43.395 And I started asking myself,[br]"What's going on here? 0:01:43.419,0:01:44.961 Because you're doing everything 0:01:44.985,0:01:48.125 you're told to do by the story[br]that's dominating the culture -- 0:01:48.149,0:01:50.268 why do you still feel like this?" 0:01:50.292,0:01:53.164 So to get to the bottom[br]of these two mysteries, 0:01:53.188,0:01:54.596 for a book that I've written 0:01:54.620,0:01:57.125 I ended up going on a big journey[br]all over the world, 0:01:57.149,0:01:58.568 I traveled over 40,000 miles. 0:01:58.592,0:02:01.085 I wanted to sit with the leading[br]experts in the world 0:02:01.109,0:02:03.276 about what causes depression and anxiety 0:02:03.300,0:02:05.172 and crucially, what solves them, 0:02:05.196,0:02:07.820 and people who have come through[br]depression and anxiety 0:02:07.844,0:02:09.956 and out the other side[br]in all sorts of ways. 0:02:09.980,0:02:11.466 And I learned a huge amount 0:02:11.490,0:02:14.045 from the amazing people[br]I got to know along the way. 0:02:14.069,0:02:17.045 But I think at the heart[br]of what I learned is, 0:02:17.069,0:02:20.104 so far, we have scientific evidence 0:02:20.128,0:02:23.835 for nine different causes[br]of depression and anxiety. 0:02:23.859,0:02:26.668 Two of them are indeed in our biology. 0:02:26.692,0:02:29.375 Your genes can make you[br]more sensitive to these problems, 0:02:29.399,0:02:31.333 though they don't write your destiny. 0:02:31.357,0:02:34.968 And there are real brain changes[br]that can happen when you become depressed 0:02:34.992,0:02:36.690 that can make it harder to get out. 0:02:36.714,0:02:38.896 But most of the factors[br]that have been proven 0:02:38.920,0:02:40.761 to cause depression and anxiety 0:02:40.785,0:02:42.550 are not in our biology. 0:02:43.520,0:02:45.734 They are factors in the way we live. 0:02:46.116,0:02:47.607 And once you understand them, 0:02:47.631,0:02:50.727 it opens up a very different[br]set of solutions 0:02:50.751,0:02:52.299 that should be offered to people 0:02:52.323,0:02:55.260 alongside the option[br]of chemical antidepressants. 0:02:55.284,0:02:57.077 For example, 0:02:57.101,0:03:00.549 if you're lonely, you're more likely[br]to become depressed. 0:03:00.573,0:03:03.684 If, when you go to work,[br]you don't have any control over your job, 0:03:03.708,0:03:05.604 you've just got to do what you're told, 0:03:05.628,0:03:07.517 you're more likely to become depressed. 0:03:07.541,0:03:10.025 If you very rarely get out[br]into the natural world, 0:03:10.049,0:03:11.918 you're more likely to become depressed. 0:03:11.942,0:03:15.053 And one thing unites a lot of the causes[br]of depression and anxiety 0:03:15.077,0:03:16.252 that I learned about. 0:03:16.276,0:03:18.339 Not all of them, but a lot of them. 0:03:18.363,0:03:20.029 Everyone here knows 0:03:20.053,0:03:22.712 you've all got natural[br]physical needs, right? 0:03:22.736,0:03:23.910 Obviously. 0:03:23.934,0:03:26.513 You need food, you need water, 0:03:26.537,0:03:28.767 you need shelter, you need clean air. 0:03:28.791,0:03:30.585 If I took those things away from you, 0:03:30.609,0:03:32.902 you'd all be in real trouble, real fast. 0:03:32.926,0:03:34.728 But at the same time, 0:03:34.752,0:03:38.123 every human being[br]has natural psychological needs. 0:03:38.147,0:03:40.186 You need to feel you belong. 0:03:40.210,0:03:43.274 You need to feel your life[br]has meaning and purpose. 0:03:43.298,0:03:45.829 You need to feel that people[br]see you and value you. 0:03:45.853,0:03:48.410 You need to feel you've got[br]a future that makes sense. 0:03:48.434,0:03:51.482 And this culture we built[br]is good at lots of things. 0:03:51.506,0:03:53.666 And many things are better[br]than in the past -- 0:03:53.690,0:03:55.011 I'm glad to be alive today. 0:03:55.035,0:03:56.999 But we've been getting less and less good 0:03:57.023,0:04:01.124 at meeting these deep,[br]underlying psychological needs. 0:04:01.895,0:04:03.998 And it's not the only thing[br]that's going on, 0:04:04.022,0:04:08.069 but I think it's the key reason[br]why this crisis keeps rising and rising. 0:04:08.919,0:04:12.149 And I found this really hard to absorb. 0:04:12.173,0:04:14.879 I really wrestled with the idea 0:04:14.903,0:04:19.309 of shifting from thinking of my depression[br]as just a problem in my brain, 0:04:19.333,0:04:20.500 to one with many causes, 0:04:20.524,0:04:22.585 including many in the way we're living. 0:04:22.609,0:04:24.974 And it only really began[br]to fall into place for me 0:04:24.998,0:04:28.141 when one day, I went to interview[br]a South African psychiatrist 0:04:28.165,0:04:29.966 named Dr. Derek Summerfield. 0:04:29.990,0:04:31.141 He's a great guy. 0:04:31.165,0:04:34.879 And Dr. Summerfield[br]happened to be in Cambodia in 2001, 0:04:34.903,0:04:38.196 when they first introduced[br]chemical antidepressants 0:04:38.220,0:04:39.952 for people in that country. 0:04:39.976,0:04:43.273 And the local doctors, the Cambodians,[br]had never heard of these drugs, 0:04:43.297,0:04:44.888 so they were like, what are they? 0:04:44.912,0:04:46.126 And he explained. 0:04:46.150,0:04:47.682 And they said to him, 0:04:47.706,0:04:50.403 "We don't need them,[br]we've already got antidepressants." 0:04:50.427,0:04:52.164 And he was like, "What do you mean?" 0:04:52.188,0:04:55.427 He thought they were going to talk about[br]some kind of herbal remedy, 0:04:55.451,0:04:59.223 like St. John's Wort, ginkgo biloba,[br]something like that. 0:04:59.910,0:05:02.299 Instead, they told him a story. 0:05:02.800,0:05:06.379 There was a farmer in their community[br]who worked in the rice fields. 0:05:06.403,0:05:08.173 And one day, he stood on a land mine 0:05:08.197,0:05:10.387 left over from the war[br]with the United States, 0:05:10.411,0:05:11.823 and he got his leg blown off. 0:05:11.847,0:05:13.283 So they him an artificial leg, 0:05:13.307,0:05:16.078 and after a while, he went back[br]to work in the rice fields. 0:05:16.102,0:05:18.634 But apparently, it's super painful[br]to work under water 0:05:18.658,0:05:20.332 when you've got an artificial limb, 0:05:20.356,0:05:22.276 and I'm guessing it was pretty traumatic 0:05:22.300,0:05:24.879 to go back and work in the field[br]where he got blown up. 0:05:24.903,0:05:27.306 The guy started to cry all day, 0:05:27.330,0:05:28.759 he refused to get out of bed, 0:05:28.783,0:05:31.666 he developed all the symptoms[br]of classic depression. 0:05:32.013,0:05:33.378 The Cambodian doctor said, 0:05:33.402,0:05:35.688 "This is when we gave him[br]an antidepressant." 0:05:35.712,0:05:38.347 And Dr. Summerfield said,[br]"What was it?" 0:05:38.371,0:05:41.180 They explained that they went[br]and sat with him. 0:05:41.982,0:05:43.382 They listened to him. 0:05:44.464,0:05:47.011 They realized that his pain made sense -- 0:05:47.035,0:05:49.956 it was hard for him to see it[br]in the throes of his depression, 0:05:49.980,0:05:53.640 but actually, it had perfectly[br]understandable causes in his life. 0:05:53.966,0:05:57.164 One of the doctors, talking to the people[br]in the community, figured, 0:05:57.188,0:05:59.125 "You know, if we bought this guy a cow, 0:05:59.149,0:06:01.149 he could become a dairy farmer, 0:06:01.173,0:06:04.268 he wouldn't be in this position[br]that was screwing him up so much, 0:06:04.292,0:06:06.799 he wouldn't have to go[br]and work in the rice fields." 0:06:06.823,0:06:08.022 So they bought him a cow. 0:06:08.046,0:06:10.226 Within a couple of weeks,[br]his crying stopped, 0:06:10.250,0:06:12.162 within a month, his depression was gone. 0:06:12.186,0:06:13.765 They said to doctor Summerfield, 0:06:13.789,0:06:16.559 "So you see, doctor, that cow,[br]that was an antidepressant, 0:06:16.583,0:06:18.050 that's what you mean, right?" 0:06:18.074,0:06:19.225 (Laughter) 0:06:19.249,0:06:22.302 (Applause) 0:06:22.326,0:06:25.199 If you'd been raised to think[br]about depression the way I was, 0:06:25.223,0:06:26.835 and most of the people here were, 0:06:26.859,0:06:28.533 that sounds like a bad joke, right? 0:06:28.557,0:06:30.581 "I went to my doctor[br]for an antidepressant, 0:06:30.605,0:06:31.771 she gave me a cow." 0:06:31.795,0:06:34.822 But what those Cambodian[br]doctors knew intuitively, 0:06:34.846,0:06:37.823 based on this individual,[br]unscientific anecdote, 0:06:37.847,0:06:41.132 is what the leading[br]medical body in the world, 0:06:41.156,0:06:43.243 the World Health Organization, 0:06:43.267,0:06:45.457 has been trying to tell us for years, 0:06:45.481,0:06:47.973 based on the best scientific evidence. 0:06:48.576,0:06:50.505 If you're depressed, 0:06:50.529,0:06:51.906 if you're anxious, 0:06:53.008,0:06:56.268 you're not weak, you're not crazy, 0:06:56.292,0:06:59.877 you're not, in the main,[br]a machine with broken parts. 0:07:00.950,0:07:03.484 You're a human being with unmet needs. 0:07:03.919,0:07:07.459 And it's just as important to think here[br]about what those Cambodian doctors 0:07:07.483,0:07:09.800 and the World Health Organization[br]are not saying. 0:07:09.824,0:07:11.356 They did not say to this farmer, 0:07:11.380,0:07:14.181 "Hey, buddy, you need[br]to pull yourself together. 0:07:14.205,0:07:17.472 It's your job to figure out[br]and fix this problem on your own." 0:07:17.851,0:07:19.843 On the contrary, what they said is, 0:07:19.867,0:07:23.391 "We're here as a group[br]to pull together with you, 0:07:23.415,0:07:27.827 so together, we can figure out[br]and fix this problem." 0:07:28.543,0:07:32.559 This is what every depressed person needs, 0:07:32.583,0:07:35.828 and it's what every[br]depressed person deserves. 0:07:35.852,0:07:38.839 This is why one of the leading[br]doctors at the United Nations, 0:07:38.863,0:07:41.181 in their official statement[br]for World Health Day, 0:07:41.205,0:07:42.696 couple of years back in 2017, 0:07:42.720,0:07:45.537 said we need to talk less[br]about chemical imbalances 0:07:45.561,0:07:48.618 and more about the imbalances[br]in the way we live. 0:07:48.920,0:07:50.893 Drugs give real relief to some people -- 0:07:50.917,0:07:53.047 they gave relief to me for a while -- 0:07:53.071,0:07:57.498 but precisely because this problem[br]goes deeper than their biology, 0:07:57.522,0:08:00.577 the solutions need to go much deeper, too. 0:08:00.601,0:08:03.188 But when I first learned that, 0:08:03.212,0:08:04.895 I remember thinking, 0:08:04.919,0:08:07.045 "OK, I could see[br]all the scientific evidence, 0:08:07.069,0:08:08.641 I read a huge number of studies, 0:08:08.665,0:08:11.971 I interviewed a huge number of the experts[br]who were explaining this," 0:08:11.995,0:08:14.381 but I kept thinking, "How can we[br]possibly do that?" 0:08:14.405,0:08:16.318 The things that are making us depressed 0:08:16.342,0:08:18.833 are in most cases more complex[br]than what was going on 0:08:18.857,0:08:20.154 with this Cambodian farmer. 0:08:20.178,0:08:22.812 Where do we even begin with that insight? 0:08:22.836,0:08:26.085 But then, in the long journey for my book, 0:08:26.109,0:08:27.680 all over the world, 0:08:27.704,0:08:30.299 I kept meeting people[br]who were doing exactly that, 0:08:30.323,0:08:32.775 from Sydney, to San Francisco, 0:08:32.799,0:08:33.971 to São Paulo. 0:08:33.995,0:08:36.061 I kept meeting people[br]who were understanding 0:08:36.085,0:08:38.432 the deeper causes[br]of depression and anxiety 0:08:38.456,0:08:40.871 and, as groups, fixing them. 0:08:40.895,0:08:43.576 Obviously, I can't tell you[br]about all the amazing people 0:08:43.600,0:08:45.076 I got to know and wrote about, 0:08:45.100,0:08:48.553 or all of the nine causes of depression[br]and anxiety that I learned about, 0:08:48.577,0:08:51.059 because they won't let me give[br]a 10-hour TED Talk -- 0:08:51.083,0:08:52.835 you can complain about that to them. 0:08:52.859,0:08:54.789 But I want to focus on two of the causes 0:08:54.813,0:08:58.226 and two of the solutions[br]that emerge from them, if that's alright. 0:08:58.578,0:08:59.728 Here's the first. 0:09:00.285,0:09:03.293 We are the loneliest society[br]in human history. 0:09:03.317,0:09:06.150 There was a recent study[br]that asked Americans, 0:09:06.174,0:09:09.324 "Do you feel like you're no longer[br]close to anyone?" 0:09:09.348,0:09:12.999 And 39 percent of people[br]said that described them. 0:09:13.023,0:09:14.387 "No longer close to anyone." 0:09:14.411,0:09:16.908 In the international[br]measurements of loneliness, 0:09:16.932,0:09:19.490 Britain and the rest of Europe[br]are just behind the US, 0:09:19.514,0:09:21.299 in case anyone here is feeling smug. 0:09:21.323,0:09:22.331 (Laughter) 0:09:22.355,0:09:24.244 I spent a lot of time discussing this 0:09:24.268,0:09:26.664 with the leading expert[br]in the world on loneliness, 0:09:26.688,0:09:28.942 an incredible man[br]named professor John Cacioppo, 0:09:28.966,0:09:30.117 who was at Chicago, 0:09:30.141,0:09:32.964 and I thought a lot about one question[br]his work poses to us. 0:09:32.988,0:09:35.293 Professor Cacioppo asked, 0:09:35.317,0:09:36.967 "Why do we exist? 0:09:36.991,0:09:38.944 Why are we here, why are we alive?" 0:09:38.968,0:09:41.174 One key reason 0:09:41.198,0:09:44.015 is that our ancestors[br]on the savannas of Africa 0:09:44.039,0:09:45.759 were really good at one thing. 0:09:46.287,0:09:49.577 They weren't bigger than the animals[br]they took down a lot of the time, 0:09:49.601,0:09:52.914 they weren't faster than the animals[br]they took down a lot of the time, 0:09:52.938,0:09:55.652 but they were much better[br]at banding together into groups 0:09:55.676,0:09:57.276 and cooperating. 0:09:57.300,0:09:59.561 This was our superpower as a species -- 0:09:59.585,0:10:00.990 we band together, 0:10:01.014,0:10:03.490 just like bees evolved to live in a hive, 0:10:03.514,0:10:05.746 humans evolved to live in a tribe. 0:10:05.770,0:10:09.580 And we are the first humans ever 0:10:10.492,0:10:11.959 to disband our tribes. 0:10:12.484,0:10:14.551 And it is making us feel awful. 0:10:15.048,0:10:17.192 But it doesn't have to be this way. 0:10:17.216,0:10:19.850 One of the heroes in my book,[br]and in fact, in my life, 0:10:19.874,0:10:21.969 is a doctor named Sam Everington. 0:10:21.993,0:10:24.731 He's a general practitioner[br]in a poor part of East London, 0:10:24.755,0:10:26.334 where I lived for many years. 0:10:26.358,0:10:28.045 And Sam was really uncomfortable, 0:10:28.069,0:10:29.625 because he had loads of patients 0:10:29.649,0:10:32.093 coming to him with terrible[br]depression and anxiety. 0:10:32.117,0:10:34.839 And like me, he's not opposed[br]to chemical antidepressants, 0:10:34.863,0:10:37.085 he thinks they give[br]some relief to some people. 0:10:37.109,0:10:38.482 But he could see two things. 0:10:38.506,0:10:42.061 Firstly, his patients were depressed[br]and anxious a lot of the time 0:10:42.085,0:10:45.823 for totally understandable[br]reasons, like loneliness. 0:10:45.847,0:10:49.291 And secondly, although the drugs[br]were giving some relief to some people, 0:10:49.315,0:10:51.583 for many people,[br]they didn't solve the problem. 0:10:51.607,0:10:53.140 The underlying problem. 0:10:53.871,0:10:56.522 One day, Sam decided[br]to pioneer a different approach. 0:10:56.546,0:10:58.998 A woman came to his center,[br]his medical center, 0:10:59.022,0:11:00.489 called Lisa Cunningham. 0:11:00.513,0:11:02.387 I got to know Lisa later. 0:11:02.411,0:11:06.495 And Lisa had been shut away in her home[br]with crippling depression and anxiety 0:11:06.519,0:11:07.669 for seven years. 0:11:08.898,0:11:11.823 And when she came to Sam's center,[br]she was told, "Don't worry, 0:11:11.847,0:11:13.677 we'll carry on giving you these drugs, 0:11:13.701,0:11:16.498 but we're also going to prescribe[br]something else. 0:11:16.522,0:11:19.965 We're going to prescribe for you[br]to come here to this center twice a week 0:11:19.989,0:11:22.767 to meet with a group of other[br]depressed and anxious people, 0:11:22.791,0:11:25.601 not to talk about how miserable you are, 0:11:25.625,0:11:29.172 but to figure out something[br]meaningful you can all do together 0:11:29.196,0:11:32.299 so you won't be lonely and you won't feel[br]like life is pointless." 0:11:32.323,0:11:35.098 The first time this group met, 0:11:35.122,0:11:37.378 Lisa literally started[br]vomiting with anxiety, 0:11:37.402,0:11:39.323 it was so overwhelming for her. 0:11:39.347,0:11:41.981 But people rubbed her back,[br]the group started talking, 0:11:42.005,0:11:43.680 they were like, "What could we do?" 0:11:43.704,0:11:45.998 These are inner-city,[br]East London people like me, 0:11:46.022,0:11:48.070 they didn't know anything about gardening. 0:11:48.094,0:11:50.339 They were like, "Why don't we[br]learn gardening?" 0:11:50.363,0:11:52.529 There was an area[br]behind the doctors' offices 0:11:52.553,0:11:53.704 that was just scrubland. 0:11:53.728,0:11:55.610 "Why don't we make this into a garden?" 0:11:55.634,0:11:57.809 They started to take books[br]out of the library, 0:11:57.833,0:11:59.318 started to watch YouTube clips. 0:11:59.342,0:12:01.501 They started to get[br]their fingers in the soil. 0:12:01.844,0:12:04.887 They started to learn[br]the rhythms of the seasons. 0:12:04.911,0:12:06.241 There's a lot of evidence 0:12:06.265,0:12:07.894 that exposure to the natural world 0:12:07.918,0:12:09.894 is a really powerful antidepressant. 0:12:09.918,0:12:12.927 But they started to do something[br]even more important. 0:12:13.347,0:12:15.377 They started to form a tribe. 0:12:15.401,0:12:17.212 They started to form a group. 0:12:17.236,0:12:19.260 They started to care about each other. 0:12:19.284,0:12:20.958 If one of them didn't show up, 0:12:20.982,0:12:23.502 the others would go[br]looking for them -- "Are you OK?" 0:12:23.526,0:12:26.137 Help them figure out[br]what was troubling them that day. 0:12:26.161,0:12:27.964 The way Lisa put it to me, 0:12:27.988,0:12:30.585 "As the garden began to bloom, 0:12:30.609,0:12:31.876 we began to bloom." 0:12:32.474,0:12:34.506 This approach is called[br]social prescribing, 0:12:34.530,0:12:36.045 it's spreading all over Europe. 0:12:36.069,0:12:38.370 And there's a small,[br]but growing body of evidence 0:12:38.394,0:12:41.274 suggesting it can produce real[br]and meaningful falls 0:12:41.298,0:12:43.276 in depression and anxiety. 0:12:43.300,0:12:47.021 And one day, I remember[br]standing in the garden 0:12:47.045,0:12:49.526 that Lisa and her once-depressed[br]friends had built -- 0:12:49.550,0:12:51.134 it's a really beautiful garden -- 0:12:51.158,0:12:52.349 and having this thought, 0:12:52.373,0:12:56.244 it's very much inspired by a guy[br]called professor Hugh Mackay in Australia. 0:12:56.268,0:13:00.649 I was thinking, so often[br]when people feel down in this culture, 0:13:00.673,0:13:03.737 what we say to them -- I'm sure[br]everyone here said it, I have -- 0:13:03.761,0:13:06.985 we say, "You just need[br]to be you, be yourself." 0:13:07.742,0:13:10.692 And I've realized, actually,[br]what we should say to people is, 0:13:10.716,0:13:11.866 "Don't be you. 0:13:12.306,0:13:13.639 Don't be yourself. 0:13:14.218,0:13:16.427 Be us, be we. 0:13:16.765,0:13:18.090 Be part of a group." 0:13:18.114,0:13:21.820 (Applause) 0:13:21.844,0:13:24.423 The solution to these problems 0:13:24.447,0:13:27.598 does not lie in drawing[br]more and more on your resources 0:13:27.622,0:13:29.061 as an isolated individual -- 0:13:29.085,0:13:31.125 that's partly what got us in this crisis. 0:13:31.149,0:13:33.902 It lies on reconnecting[br]with something bigger than you. 0:13:33.926,0:13:36.347 And that really connects[br]to one of the other causes 0:13:36.371,0:13:39.268 of depression and anxiety[br]that I wanted to talk to you about. 0:13:39.292,0:13:40.982 So everyone knows 0:13:41.006,0:13:44.752 junk food has taken over our diets[br]and made us physically sick. 0:13:44.776,0:13:46.982 I don't say that[br]with any sense of superiority, 0:13:47.006,0:13:49.405 I literally came to give[br]this talk from McDonald's. 0:13:49.429,0:13:52.942 I saw all of you eating that[br]healthy TED breakfast, I was like no way. 0:13:52.966,0:13:58.109 But just like junk food has taken over[br]our diets and made us physically sick, 0:13:58.133,0:14:02.243 a kind of junk values[br]have taken over our minds 0:14:02.267,0:14:03.745 and made us mentally sick. 0:14:04.157,0:14:07.261 For thousands of years,[br]philosophers have said, 0:14:07.285,0:14:11.873 if you think life is about money,[br]and status and showing off, 0:14:11.897,0:14:13.420 you're going to feel like crap. 0:14:13.444,0:14:15.511 That's not an exact quote[br]from Schopenhauer, 0:14:15.535,0:14:17.307 but that is the gist of what he said. 0:14:17.331,0:14:20.357 But weirdly, hardy anyone[br]had scientifically investigated this, 0:14:20.381,0:14:24.030 until a truly extraordinary person[br]I got to know, named professor Tim Kasser, 0:14:24.054,0:14:26.347 who's at Knox College in Illinois, 0:14:26.371,0:14:28.934 and he's been researching this[br]for about 30 years now. 0:14:28.958,0:14:31.974 And his research suggests[br]several really important things. 0:14:31.998,0:14:35.189 Firstly, the more you believe 0:14:35.213,0:14:39.578 you can buy and display[br]your way out of sadness, 0:14:39.602,0:14:41.793 and into a good life, 0:14:41.817,0:14:44.729 the more likely you are to become[br]depressed and anxious. 0:14:44.753,0:14:46.046 And secondly, 0:14:46.070,0:14:50.658 as a society, we have become[br]much more driven by these beliefs. 0:14:50.682,0:14:52.095 All throughout my lifetime, 0:14:52.119,0:14:56.312 under the weight of advertising[br]and Instagram and everything like them. 0:14:56.871,0:14:58.244 And as I thought about this, 0:14:58.268,0:15:04.029 I realized it's like we've all been fed[br]since birth, a kind of KFC for the soul. 0:15:04.053,0:15:07.926 We've been trained to look for happiness[br]in all the wrong places, 0:15:07.950,0:15:10.720 and just like junk food[br]doesn't meet your nutritional needs 0:15:10.744,0:15:13.042 and actually makes you feel terrible, 0:15:13.066,0:15:16.208 junk values don't meet[br]your psychological needs, 0:15:16.232,0:15:18.874 and they take you away from a good life. 0:15:18.898,0:15:21.521 But when I first spent time[br]with professor Kasser 0:15:21.545,0:15:23.022 and I was learning all this, 0:15:23.046,0:15:25.633 I felt a really weird mixture of emotions. 0:15:25.657,0:15:28.347 Because on the one hand,[br]I found this really challenging. 0:15:28.371,0:15:31.633 I could see how often[br]in my own life, when I felt down, 0:15:31.657,0:15:36.922 I tried to remedy it with some kind of[br]show-offy, grand external solution. 0:15:37.441,0:15:40.131 And I could see why that[br]did not work well for me. 0:15:40.930,0:15:43.812 I also thought,[br]isn't this kind of obvious? 0:15:43.836,0:15:45.581 Isn't this almost like banal, right? 0:15:45.605,0:15:46.930 If I said to everyone here, 0:15:46.954,0:15:49.097 none of you are going to lie[br]on your deathbed 0:15:49.121,0:15:52.437 and think about all the shoes you bought[br]and all the retweets you got, 0:15:52.461,0:15:54.144 you're going to think about moments 0:15:54.168,0:15:56.279 of love, meaning[br]and connection in your life. 0:15:56.303,0:15:58.248 I think that seems almost like a cliché. 0:15:58.272,0:16:00.621 But I kept talking[br]to professor Kasser and saying, 0:16:00.645,0:16:02.998 "Why am I feeling[br]this strange doubleness?" 0:16:03.022,0:16:06.829 And he said, "At some level,[br]we all know these things. 0:16:06.853,0:16:09.228 But in this culture,[br]we don't live by them." 0:16:09.252,0:16:11.331 We know them so well[br]they've become clichés, 0:16:11.355,0:16:12.633 but we don't live by them. 0:16:12.657,0:16:15.866 I kept asking why, why would we know[br]something so profound, 0:16:15.890,0:16:17.176 but not live by it? 0:16:17.200,0:16:20.604 And after a while,[br]professor Kasser said to me, 0:16:20.628,0:16:23.049 "Because we live in a machine 0:16:23.073,0:16:26.806 that is designed to get us to neglect[br]what is important about life." 0:16:27.260,0:16:28.847 I had to really think about that. 0:16:28.871,0:16:30.276 "Because we live in a machine 0:16:30.300,0:16:33.978 that is designed to get us[br]to neglect what is important about life." 0:16:34.299,0:16:38.077 And professor Kasser wanted to figure out[br]if we can disrupt that machine. 0:16:38.101,0:16:39.974 He's done loads of research into this; 0:16:39.998,0:16:41.553 I'll tell you about one example, 0:16:41.577,0:16:45.077 and I really urge everyone here[br]to try this with their friends and family. 0:16:45.101,0:16:48.443 With a guy called Nathan Dungan,[br]he got a group of teenagers and adults 0:16:48.467,0:16:52.680 to come together for a series of sessions[br]over a period of time, to meet up. 0:16:52.704,0:16:54.467 And part of the point of the group 0:16:54.491,0:16:57.791 was to get people to think[br]about a moment in their life 0:16:57.815,0:17:00.561 they had actually found[br]meaning and purpose. 0:17:00.585,0:17:02.728 For different people,[br]it was different things. 0:17:02.752,0:17:06.369 For some people, it was playing music,[br]writing, helping someone -- 0:17:06.393,0:17:09.196 I'm sure everyone here[br]can picture something, right? 0:17:09.220,0:17:12.101 And part of the point of the group[br]was to get people to ask, 0:17:12.125,0:17:14.887 "OK, how could you dedicate[br]more of your life 0:17:14.911,0:17:17.595 to pursuing these moments[br]of meaning and purpose, 0:17:17.619,0:17:20.569 and less to, I don't know,[br]buying crap you don't need, 0:17:20.593,0:17:23.315 putting it on social media[br]and trying to get people to go, 0:17:23.339,0:17:24.606 'OMG, so jealous!'" 0:17:24.958,0:17:26.601 And what they found was, 0:17:26.625,0:17:27.959 just having these meetings, 0:17:27.983,0:17:31.093 it was like a kind of Alcoholics Anonymous[br]for consumerism, right? 0:17:31.807,0:17:34.760 Getting people to have these meetings,[br]articulate these values, 0:17:34.784,0:17:37.315 determine to act on them[br]and check in with each other, 0:17:37.339,0:17:40.196 led to a marked shift in people's values. 0:17:40.220,0:17:44.633 It took them away from this hurricane[br]of depression-generating messages 0:17:44.657,0:17:47.291 training us to seek happiness[br]in the wrong places, 0:17:47.315,0:17:50.656 and towards more meaningful[br]and nourishing values 0:17:50.680,0:17:52.680 that lift us out of depression. 0:17:53.347,0:17:56.649 But with all the solutions that I saw[br]and have written about, 0:17:56.673,0:17:59.412 and many I can't talk about here, 0:17:59.436,0:18:00.807 I kept thinking, 0:18:00.831,0:18:04.530 you know: Why did it take me so long[br]to see these insights? 0:18:04.554,0:18:06.570 Because when you explain them to people -- 0:18:06.594,0:18:09.038 some of them are more[br]complicated, but not all -- 0:18:09.062,0:18:12.306 when you explain this to people,[br]it's not like rocket science, right? 0:18:12.330,0:18:14.425 At some level, we already[br]know these things. 0:18:14.449,0:18:17.086 Why do we find it so hard to understand? 0:18:17.110,0:18:19.044 I think there's many reasons. 0:18:19.475,0:18:23.744 But I think one reason is[br]that we have to change our understanding 0:18:23.768,0:18:27.188 of what depression[br]and anxiety actually are. 0:18:27.776,0:18:29.958 There are very real[br]biological contributions 0:18:29.982,0:18:31.715 to depression and anxiety. 0:18:32.117,0:18:35.871 But if we allow the biology[br]to become the whole picture, 0:18:35.895,0:18:37.141 as I did for so long, 0:18:37.165,0:18:41.230 as I would argue our culture[br]has done pretty much most of my life, 0:18:41.254,0:18:45.111 what we're implicitly saying to people[br]is, and this isn't anyone's intention, 0:18:45.135,0:18:48.172 but what we're implicitly[br]saying to people is, 0:18:48.196,0:18:50.498 "Your pain doesn't mean anything. 0:18:50.522,0:18:51.958 It's just a malfunction. 0:18:51.982,0:18:54.451 It's like a glitch in a computer program, 0:18:54.475,0:18:57.142 it's just a wiring problem in your head." 0:18:58.061,0:19:01.168 But I was only able to start[br]changing my life 0:19:01.192,0:19:05.257 when I realized your depression[br]is not a malfunction. 0:19:06.620,0:19:07.770 It's a signal. 0:19:08.684,0:19:10.691 Your depression is a signal. 0:19:11.077,0:19:12.918 It's telling you something. 0:19:12.942,0:19:17.553 (Applause) 0:19:17.577,0:19:19.966 We feel this way for reasons, 0:19:19.990,0:19:22.705 and they can be hard to see[br]in the throes of depression -- 0:19:22.729,0:19:25.339 I understand that really well[br]from personal experience. 0:19:25.363,0:19:28.846 But with the right help,[br]we can understand these problems 0:19:28.870,0:19:31.344 and we can fix these problems together. 0:19:31.368,0:19:32.560 But to do that, 0:19:32.584,0:19:34.322 the very first step 0:19:34.346,0:19:36.964 is we have to stop insulting these signals 0:19:36.988,0:19:41.180 by saying they're a sign of weakness,[br]or madness or purely biological, 0:19:41.204,0:19:43.139 except for a tiny number of people. 0:19:43.163,0:19:46.789 We need to start[br]listening to these signals, 0:19:46.813,0:19:50.085 because they're telling us[br]something we really need to hear. 0:19:50.514,0:19:55.537 It's only when we truly[br]listen to these signals, 0:19:55.561,0:19:59.576 and we honor these signals[br]and respect these signals, 0:19:59.600,0:20:01.847 that we're going to begin to see 0:20:01.871,0:20:06.029 the liberating, nourishing,[br]deeper solutions. 0:20:07.133,0:20:11.206 The cows that are waiting all around us. 0:20:11.585,0:20:12.766 Thank you. 0:20:12.790,0:20:16.478 (Applause)