Podbit · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Saffron, brisk walking 45 minutes four times a week, omega-3 fatty acids, and cognitive therapy have all been shown in head-to-head trials to be as effective as antidepressants. Saffron also enhances memory and sexual function — and doesn't rewire your brain to need it.
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At 35:10 · chapter starts 33:01
A viral graph showing the US prescribes far more antidepressants per capita than any other nation prompts a deep dive into why. Amen's diagnosis: America wants a fast fix, and it's getting it — from the wrong people. 85% of psychiatric medications are dispensed by non-psychiatric physicians in 7-minute office visits that meet standard of care only 12% of the time. The result is patients walking out with Lexapro, Xanax, and Ambien from a single rushed appointment. What bothers Amen most is a pharmacological reality few patients are told: SSRIs don't heal the brain. They suppress symptoms while chemically rewiring the brain to need them in order to feel normal. Against this backdrop, he lays out four interventions that have matched antidepressants in direct head-to-head trials: saffron (the subject of 25 randomised controlled trials, which also enhances memory and sexual function); brisk walking 45 minutes four times a week; omega-3 fatty acids; and learning not to believe every automatic negative thought. [1] — Dr. Daniel Amen "85% of psychiatric drugs prescribed by non-psychiatrists: In America, 85% of psychiatric medications are prescribed by non-psychiatric phys…" 33:30 His argument is not anti-medication — it's pro-sequencing: start with these interventions first, and reserve pharmaceuticals for cases where they're genuinely needed.
In America, 85% of psychiatric medications are prescribed by non-psychiatric physicians in 7-minute office visits, with standard of care being met only 12% of the time.
There are now 25 randomized controlled trials showing saffron is as effective as SSRIs and other antidepressants, with a better side effect profile and no reduction in sexual function.
AI nailed Andrew Huberman's vertigo-vs-low-blood-pressure diagnosis because that pattern has been reported millions of times. But every patient's liver is different and data on liver surgeries is scarce worldwide — making solo robot surgery dangerous. The rule is simple: data abundance means AI can help; data scarcity means keep the human in the loop.
Fei-Fei Li's father had liver surgery performed by a da Vinci robot guided by a surgeon. The result: 10 times less blood loss than a typical procedure. This isn't replacement — it's the gold standard of human-machine collaboration, where the human's judgment and the robot's precision combine.
US drug overdose deaths fell from 110,000 to roughly 70,000 — the biggest CDC-recorded single-year drop ever. Men's rates fell 27% in one year, and the steepest decline of all was among 15–24-year-olds, down 37%. The crisis narrative around young men needs to make room for signs of genuine progress.
Kessler thought his grief expertise would protect him. It didn't. When his son David died unexpectedly, he found himself on the floor — and eventually realized that acceptance alone wasn't enough. That unmet need became the sixth stage: finding meaning.
Grief isn't just death — it's any unwanted change. Kessler lectured at Coca-Cola and General Mills not because they had lots of funerals, but because change management is grief management. People who grieve well live well.
Witnessing someone's grief isn't just emotional support — it's an essential act of healing. Kessler argues grief is a severance and connection heals it. But real witnessing has two steps: seeing the pain AND affirming the person's capacity to recover.
Avoiding grief isn't free — it's exhausting. Kessler's beach ball metaphor nails it: pushing a small balloon down is easy, but holding a massive beach ball underwater takes constant, draining energy. Unattended feelings don't disappear; they just consume you.
Most people try to control their environment to avoid triggers. Kessler flips this entirely: triggers aren't problems to manage around — they're a detailed map to your pain and your healing. Every trigger points directly to what needs attention.
Running from pain doesn't leave it behind — it accelerates the chase. Whatever we run from pursues us, and whatever we face transforms us. Both Kessler and Lewis Howes testify to knowing both roads firsthand.
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