Big Idea Daily | Brain Energy

A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health--and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More

by Christopher M. Palmer, M.D.

“The theory of brain energy is based on one overarching concept— mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain.”

CHRISTOPHER M. PALMER

BIG IDEA
What We’re Doing Isn’t working

FROM THE BOOK

“Given everything I’ve outlined in this chapter—that these disorders are common and becoming more common, that they are an enormous burden on society both in terms of economic impact and human suffering, and that our treatments have proved unequal to the risk of relieving that burden—it seems clear that mental illness is a global health emergency.

We have poured money into research in the hope of shedding light on the problem and uncovering new solutions. In 2019, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent $3.2 billion on mental health research. What do we have to show for the research that has been done?

This is what Dr. Tom Insel, the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), had to say in 2017 after leaving the NIMH:

I spent thirteen years at NIMH really pushing on the neuroscience and genetics of mental disorders, and when I look back at that I realize that while I think I succeeded at getting lots of really cool papers published by cool scientists at fairly large costs—I think $20 billion—I don’t think we moved the needle in reducing suicide, reducing hospitalization, improving recovery for the tens of millions of people who have mental illness.

This was brave of Insel to acknowledge. Those in the mental health field know it to be true. So, again, what are we missing?

The fact is, in order to make real progress, we have to be able to answer the question: ‘What causes mental illness?’ And up until now, we have failed.”

Brian's Notes

That’s from the first chapter called “What We’re Doing Isn’t Working: Mental Health Today” in which Dr. Palmer shares staggering stats on just how prevalent mental illness is in our world.

He tells us that depression is the leading cause of disability in the world today.

And: “Mental disorders are costly to society. The financial toll worldwide was $2.5 trillion in 2010 and is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2030.”

According to estimates from the World Health Organization, in 2017 almost 800 million (!) people suffered from mental health disorders—over 10% of the global population.

Although ALL the statistics are even worse in the United States (with more people experiencing anxiety and burnout to depression and addiction), it’s especially (and excruciatingly) painful to see the rise in mental illness (and suicide) among the younger generations.

The main point of the chapter is simple. If we want to SOLVE the epidemic levels of mental illness, we need to know the CAUSE of all these issues.

Of course, providing us with a scientifically robust theory is what the book is all about which leads us to the next Idea...

Big Ideas

01: WHAT WE’RE DOING...

02: MENTAL DISORDERS =

03: WHAT IS METABOLISM?

04: SLEEP, LIGHT, AND...

05: FOOD, FASTING, AND...

“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”

ALEXANDER DEN HEIJER

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