Hope, Healing, and the Bucket List You Didn’t Know You Needed with Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo
Every so often, a conversation comes along that reframes something we thought we understood.
This episode is one of those moments.
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Struggling to find motivation in recovery, or trying to make sense of what keeps people pushing through something as painful as an eating disorder, opens a door to a much deeper conversation. This episode steps right through that door.
It’s an invitation to think not only about healing, but about meaning, purpose, and the tiny sparks that make life feel fuller and more satisfying. And in a world where everything feels urgent, reactive, and overwhelming, this framework may be the missing link.
In this episode, we welcome back a longtime favorite guest: Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo, a neuropsychiatrist and internationally known educator whose work sits at the intersection of brain science, mental health, and eating disorder treatment. If you've heard his previous episodes, you already know that he has a profound ability to make complex neuroscience feel not just understandable, but actionable. This time, he brings something new, something that might seem unexpected coming from a neuroscientist: the science of a bucket list. And no, not the Hollywood version. Not skydiving. Not “visit Paris.” Something far more foundational.
What emerges in this conversation is a surprisingly practical framework for reconnecting with purpose, especially for those who feel disconnected from their “why,” or who have reached a place where recovery feels repetitive, exhausting, or directionless. Dr. DeSarbo explains how simple, deeply personal acts of intentionality can jumpstart neural pathways that go quiet in the presence of an eating disorder. The smallest choices, the ones we often dismiss, carry the power to reignite curiosity, pleasure, flexibility, and hope. In many ways, it’s like physical therapy for the brain, gentle movements that rebuild strength where it has quietly faded.
Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo is a physician and neuropsychiatrist who has dedicated his career to understanding the brain-based roots of eating disorders and related mental health conditions. He is the Founder and Medical Director of ED-180 Eating Disorder Treatment Programs in Garden City, NY, and has worked across all levels of care—from inpatient and residential settings to PHP and IOP. He currently maintains a large private practice where he treats a wide range of mood, anxiety, and eating-related conditions.
Blending psychopharmacology with psychodynamic, CBT, ACT, mindfulness, and existential approaches, Dr. DeSarbo brings a deeply integrative and neuroscientific perspective to treatment. He serves as an international consultant on complex psychiatric cases, supervises clinicians and psychiatric residents, and has worked with individuals ranging from students to elite performers, CEOs, and public figures.
Dr. DeSarbo is also a respected educator and international keynote presenter on the neurobiology of eating disorders, mental health, performance, and the neuroscience of bucket lists. His 15-episode NeuroSeries: The Neurobiology of Eating Disorders on YouTube has been widely viewed by both professionals and the public. He is currently authoring a comprehensive book based on more than 2,500 scientific articles on the neuroscience of eating disorders and developing a 45-hour clinical course on the neurobiology of EDs.
In 2025, he released The Neuroscience of a Bucket List and two clinical companion books introducing “bucket listing” as an intrinsic motivational tool that supports recovery, resilience, and meaningful living and has a new website at BucketListDoctor.com.
Whether you’re someone in recovery, someone supporting a loved one, or a clinician looking for fresh ways to help your clients, this episode offers a deeply humane perspective. One that blends psychology, neuroscience, existential meaning, and everyday life. It highlights how recovery isn’t only about moving away from the eating disorder; it’s about moving toward something. Something that feels genuine. Something that feels lived. Something that feels yours.
In this episode, we’re talking about:
Why so many people struggle to find a meaningful “why” behind recovery.
How the concept of a bucket list is often misunderstood and what it actually means in a therapeutic context.
The iPIG framework (Intrinsic, Purposeful, Intentional, Gratitude) and how it reshapes motivation.
Why small, simple, achievable items are more neurologically powerful than big dramatic goals.
How engaging with a bucket list stimulates dopamine and reactivates neural networks weakened by eating disorders.
The role of the brain’s default mode, salience, and executive networks in motivation and recovery.
How a bucket-list mindset serves as “PT for the brain” when cognitive and emotional functioning are impacted.
Why meaning-making is essential in pulling someone through recovery, not just pushing them into it.
The connection between purpose, legacy, and hope, especially for those who feel like “the ship has sailed”.
Three essential bucket-list categories that boost resilience and emotional regulation.
Ways clinicians can incorporate bucket-list exploration into treatment without imposing goals.
How intrinsic choice and curiosity activate the brain in ways that make recovery feel more possible.
Why skepticism is normal and why it’s actually a sign the process is working.
How to start your own bucket list in a way that reduces overwhelm and increases clarity.
Tweetable Quotes
"It's okay to be skeptical because that's part of it." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo
"Recovery kind of involves helping the brain remember how to feel that, that curiosity, pleasure, connection, and flexibility again." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo
"When you go places, and you meet different people with different cultures, the one thing I have learned… it has helped tolerability." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo
"We're programmed, and we don't even know we're being programmed to think and, more importantly, to react." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo
"Your brain is always changing." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo
Resources
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Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo’s YouTube Channel
Related Episodes
Episode 68. The Neurobiology of Recovery with Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo
Episode 58. From the Woman Who’s Seen It All with Ibbits Newhall
Episode 57. The Connection Between Trauma and Eating Disorders with Heather Ferguson, LCSW
Episode 23. The Neurobiology of Eating Disorders With Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo, DO
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Hey there! I’m Rachelle, the host of the Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I work with clients to make sense of life’s messy emotional experiences.
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