starvation itself is highly stressful to the body. People often end up getting sleep deprived, which adds insult to injury and causes even more stress. Maybe it maybe it does trigger a predisposition, right? Like they weren't depressed or anxious or OCD or, you know, whatever at the time,. But then the stress of the starvation of the dieting, the purging, whatever, triggers something that was like a latent, I don't know, we break in the weak link.
Christopher Palmer, MD, 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 over 27 years he’s held administrative, educational, research, and clinical roles in psychiatry. His new book, Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health—and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More, is out now.