Why Is This Chapter Different From All Other Chapters?

Peter Attia is a physician and longevity specialist with a book that debuted at the #1 position on the New York Times Best Sellers List this week. From that standpoint alone it has already garnered alot of attention and it is a book, that frankly, blew me away not only for its science but for its candor. More on that in a moment, but first a brief bio.

Dr. Attia received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine and trained for five years at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in general surgery. He spent two years at the National Institutes of Health as a surgical oncology fellow at the National Cancer Institute. His career path took him in a very different direction, and he is now the owner of Early Medical, focusing on what he calls “Medicine 3.0”.

On the surface Dr. Attia’s tome is another entry into the burgeoning stack of books about longevity that have exploded onto the scene since COVID-19. Clearly many individuals had plenty of time to contemplate their mortality then. But what is really unique about this book is its last Chapter, Chapter 17, titled “Work in Progress: The High Price of Ignoring Emotional Health”.

I’m including this interview that Dr. Andrew Huberman did last month with Dr. Attia, in which they talked about this chapter. I started it at the 2:41:06 mark, and it’s well worth listening to, though you may be intrigued enough at some point to go through the entire video marathon.

Peter alludes to his struggles with emotional health in the video, but in the book chapter goes into even more detail. It speaks to the heart of happiness and quality of life. Emotional health is not synonymous with mental health, and although Peter appeared to be accomplished on the surface in many areas of his life, he shares that he hit rock bottom emotionally in 2017. How he extricated himself from the depths of despair, and managed to flourish, is the subject of Chapter 17 and it is riveting.

I’ll leave you with this inspiring message on p. 389: “Addressing emotional health takes just as much constant effort and daily practice as maintaining other aspects of our physical health by creating an exercise routine, following a nutritional program, adhering to sleep rituals, and so on. The key is to be as proactive as possible, so that we can continue to thrive in all domains of healthspan, through the later decades of our lives.”