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Dr. Chris Palmer, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, joins Forrest to discuss the relationship between metabolic function and mental illness. They discuss Dr. Palmer\u2019s work with patients suffering from severe conditions like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, psychiatry\u2019s current challenges with treatment-resistant conditions, and the important distinction between difficult psychological states and brain-based disorders. They then explore the relationship between mental illness and metabolic function, the key role mitochondria play in the process, and how current treatments impact our metabolism. Forrest and Dr. Palmer close the episode by discussing a number of practical interventions to improve metabolic function, including the ketogenic diet, sleep, exercise, stress management techniques like mindfulness practice, and even love, connection, and sense of purpose.\xa0\nAbout our Guest: Dr. Chris Palmer is a board-certified psychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. His clinical practice focuses on helping people suffering from treatment-resistant mental illnesses, including mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and personality disorders. His newest book is Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health.\nYou can watch this episode on YouTube.\nKey Topics:\xa0\n0:00: Introduction\n1:35: How Dr. Palmer's personal experience has influenced his work\n4:00: The brain energy theory as a response to treatment resistant conditions\n9:05: Mental states vs. mental disorders, and problems with our diagnostic criteria\n14:25: Brain disorders as metabolic disorders\n19:50: Defining metabolism\n22:40: The role of mitochondria\n28:45: How medication affects metabolism\n35:20: How stress and emotions affect metabolism\n41:40: The ketogenic diet, mitophagy, and mitochondrial biogenesis\n47:40: The importance of education and support around ketosis for medical conditions\n53:00: Supplementing medication with lifestyle change vs. replacing it\n56:20: Sleep and light exposure\n59:35: Love, connection, and sense of purpose\n1:06:00: A sense of safety as a prerequisite for healing\n1:09:10: Recap\xa0\nSupport the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.\nSponsors:\nFactor delivers fresh, never-frozen, fully prepared meals right to your door. Head to factormeals.com/beingwell50 and use code beingwell50 to get 50% off.\xa0\nZocdoc helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care you need, and deliver the type of experience you want. Head to zocdoc.com/being and download the Zocdoc app for FREE.\nJoin over a million people using BetterHelp, the world\u2019s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!\nWant to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.\nFinally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you\u2019re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.\nConnect with the show:\n\nSubscribe on iTunes\n\nFollow Forrest on YouTube\n\nFollow us on Instagram\n\nFollow Forrest on Instagram\n\nFollow Rick on Facebook\n\nFollow Forrest on Facebook\n\nVisit Forrest's website