Drawing on decades of research, Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Chris Palmer outlines a revolutionary new understanding that for the first time unites our existing knowledge about mental illness within a single framework: Mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain.
If you or someone you love is affected by mental illness, it might change your life.
We are in the midst of a global mental health crisis, and mental illnesses are on the rise. But what causes mental illness? And why are mental health problems so hard to treat? Drawing on decades of research, Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Chris Palmer outlines a revolutionary new understanding that for the first time unites our existing knowledge about mental illness within a single framework: Mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain.
Brain Energy explains this new understanding of mental illness in detail, from symptoms and risk factors to what is happening in brain cells. Palmer also sheds light on the new treatment pathways this theory opens up—which apply to all mental disorders, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, alcoholism, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, autism, and schizophrenia. Brain Energy pairs cutting-edge science with practical advice and strategies to help people reclaim their mental health.
This groundbreaking book reveals:
- Why classifying mental disorders as “separate” conditions is misleading
- The clear connections between mental illness and disorders linked to metabolism, including diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, pain disorders, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy
- The link between metabolism and every factor known to play a role in mental health, including genetics, inflammation, hormones, neurotransmitters, sleep, stress, and trauma
- The evidence that current mental health treatments, including both medications and therapies, likely work by affecting metabolism
- New treatments available today that readers can use to promote long-term healing
- …and much more
Palmer puts together the pieces of the mental illness puzzle to provide answers and offer hope. Brain Energy will transform the field of mental health, and the lives of countless people around the world.
Endorsements
“Brain Energy is a dramatic breakthrough in understanding mental illness by a leading Harvard psychiatrist who provides a revolutionary road map for people suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disease, in fact, almost any brain disorder.”
“Brain Energy provides a long-awaited unifying mechanism underlying a vast spectrum of mental illness conditions. And this new paradigm will undoubtedly usher in potent therapeutic interventions for pervasive psychiatric conditions for which standard pharmaceutical approaches have proven minimally effective.”
“Dr. Palmer takes a provocative and insightful look into the origins of mental disorders, which have profound implications for how we treat the disease . . . and for our diet.”
“Not since the foundational theories of psychodynamics (Sigmund Freud) and behaviorism (John Watson) has a bold and potentially transformative new proposition emerged to explain the mounting epidemic of mental illness throughout the world and across the age-span… Read More
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“Not since the foundational theories of psychodynamics (Sigmund Freud) and behaviorism (John Watson) has a bold and potentially transformative new proposition emerged to explain the mounting epidemic of mental illness throughout the world and across the age-span. Dr. Palmer’s ground-breaking theory is that abnormalities in brain energy metabolism are likely root causes of psychiatric conditions and that dietary and metabolic approaches can be exploited to benefit patients, and even the general population at large.”
About Dr. Christopher Palmer
Christopher M. Palmer, MD, is a Harvard psychiatrist and researcher working at the interface of metabolism and mental health.
He is the director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at McLean Hospital and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. For more than two decades, he has held leadership roles in psychiatric education at Harvard, McLean Hospital, and nationally. He spent more than fifteen years conducting neuroscience research in the areas of substance use and sleep disorders.
On top of these academic pursuits, he has continued to practice psychiatry, working with people who have treatment-resistant mental disorders using a variety of standard treatments. He has been pioneering the use of the medical ketogenic diet in the treatment of psychiatric disorders—conducting research in this area, treating patients, publishing academic articles, and speaking globally on this topic. Most recently, he has developed the first comprehensive theory of what causes mental illness, integrating biological, psychological, and social research into one unifying theory—the brain energy theory of mental illness.
Learn more about Dr. Palmer’s research and clinical work here: ChrisPalmerMD.com
