The Cow

In his excellent book, ‘Lost Connections’, Johann Hari argues that disconnection from eight aspects of life, (Meaningful Work, People, Meaningful values, Childhood trauma, Status and Respect, the Natural World and a Hopeful and Secure Future) can cause depression and anxiety. In his book he has a chapter simply entitled, ‘The Cow’ and I was intrigued to learn what that was about.

The chapter was about a rice farmer in Cambodia whose leg was blown off by a land mine. He was given an artificial limb and returned to work in the rice fields but he was in a lot of pain and highly anxious and consequently sank into a deep depression. His doctors talked to him about his problems and then came up with a creative solution to lift his mood. They bought him a cow and suggested he became a dairy farmer. It worked wonders and his depression lifted. In Cambodia, there are no anti-depressants. The cow was his anti-depressant. We live in a world where many people are poor and undervalued and we wonder why so many people are struggling with their mental health. This is not to say that there aren’t other reasons why people become ill but an improved lifestyle can do no harm and might do a lot of good.