Disconnected

Dr Paul Keedwell is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with a longstanding interest in how evolution has shaped our mental health. A fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, he has published multiple academic papers on brain function in depression. He has also published general books on mental health, including the upsides of sadness and the psychology of architecture. He translates the latest research findings in psychiatry for the mainstream media.

Preface; Introduction: The Cliff Edge Hypothesis; Part I: The mental health gap - from tribe to city; 1.1 Mental health in the age of competition: a global crisis; 1.2 Mental resilience in our ancestors; 1.3 The overwhelmed stress circuit; Part II: How things went wrong; 2.1 From sharing to competing, status anxiety and learned helplessness; 2.2 From emotional support to loneliness and suicide; 2.3 From pooled parenting to the nuclear family, postnatal depression and insecure children; 2.4 From supported relationships to marital disruptors, conflict and abnormal grief; 2.5 From natural to artificial highs, addiction and self-harm; Part III: Lessons and possible solutions; 3.1 Communal living in the modern age; 3.2 Neighbourhood building - bridging and bonding; Final thoughts; Postscript.