
In "Good Chemistry," psychiatrist Julie Holland reveals how our disconnection epidemic fuels anxiety and depression. Endorsed by Omega Institute's Elizabeth Lesser, this guide explores how psychedelics, nature, and community can rewire our brains for connection. Could MDMA be tomorrow's breakthrough PTSD treatment?
Feel the book through the author's voice
Turn knowledge into engaging, example-rich insights
Capture key ideas in a flash for fast learning
Enjoy the book in a fun and engaging way
Break down key ideas from Good Chemistry into bite-sized takeaways to understand how innovative teams create, collaborate, and grow.
Distill Good Chemistry into rapid-fire memory cues that highlight Pixar’s principles of candor, teamwork, and creative resilience.

Experience Good Chemistry through vivid storytelling that turns Pixar’s innovation lessons into moments you’ll remember and apply.
Ask anything, pick the voice, and co-create insights that truly resonate with you.

From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco

Get the Good Chemistry summary as a free PDF or EPUB. Print it or read offline anytime.
What if the greatest health crisis of our time isn't cancer or heart disease, but something far more insidious - the simple absence of human touch, eye contact, and genuine presence? We're living through an epidemic of disconnection that's killing us as surely as a pack-a-day habit. The numbers don't lie: social isolation now carries the same mortality risk as smoking fifteen cigarettes daily. Depression, addiction, and suicide rates climb year after year while we scroll through curated lives on glowing screens, mistaking digital pings for genuine connection. Yet here's the paradox - we're social primates, hardwired for togetherness, living in the most "connected" era in human history while feeling more alone than ever. Consider the rats in Rat Park. When researcher Bruce Alexander gave isolated rats access to morphine-laced water in the 1980s, they compulsively self-administered until overdose. But rats in enriched environments with companions, toys, and space to play? They barely touched the drugs. When Alexander published these findings in 1981, the psychiatric establishment ignored them. Decades later, as opioids ravaged communities, his insight became painfully clear: addiction isn't primarily about the substance - it's an adaptation to isolation. Opiates don't just numb pain; they mimic the brain chemistry of feeling cared for, temporarily filling the void where human connection should be. This explains why the "druggies" who welcomed an ostracized eighth-grader became a lifeline - not because of the drugs, but because they offered belonging when no one else would. That sense of acceptance, that feeling of being caught when falling, proves more powerful than any high. Isolation doesn't just fuel addiction; it directly causes suicide and sometimes violence turned outward. Mass shooters invariably share one characteristic: profound social disconnection. Our brains simply aren't designed to function alone. The solution isn't another app or medication. It's understanding the neurochemistry of human bonding and rediscovering what our ancestors knew instinctively: we need each other to survive.