Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo spends his days in Garden City, New York, listening to people describe lives that feel increasingly unsteady. As founder of ED-180 Treatment Programs, he’s treated mood disorders, anxiety, eating disorders, and burnout for decades. But lately, he’s noticed something different in his practice.
“The level of background chaos people feel has increased,” he says. “News cycles move faster. Social media never stops. Even when your personal life is stable, the world doesn’t feel stable.”
His patients weren’t just describing symptoms anymore. They were describing drift—moving through days without direction, reacting rather than building. That observation led DeSarbo to write The Neuroscience of a Bucket List: Getting the Most from Your Brain and Life, published in 2025 with his son Lukas, also a psychotherapist.
Beyond Brain Stabilization
The book challenges what DeSarbo sees as psychiatry’s tendency to stop at symptom reduction. “Symptom reduction is critical,” he explains. “But what are we stabilizing people for? What’s the plan after the crisis?”
His answer draws on neuroscience research showing that the brain thrives on anticipation and purposeful goal pursuit. When people stop imagining a future they’re excited about, the brain doesn’t stay neutral—it defaults to rumination and worry. “The brain fills empty space,” DeSarbo says. “If you’re not intentionally building something ahead of you, you’re often replaying something behind you.”
This isn’t the typical bucket list of skydiving and exotic travel. DeSarbo’s approach involves structured categories: micro-goals achievable within weeks, relational goals centered on connection, contribution goals rooted in service. Some are simple—take a class, visit a new town. Others are ambitious. The scale matters less than the direction. The bottom line is that designing a bucket list based on novelty, intention, purpose, and gratitude which not only leads to a higher-quality of life but also stimulates aging effects.
From Wall Street to Neuroscience
DeSarbo’s path to this work was unconventional. His first degree was in banking and finance, working in the Wall Street area before moving into advertising and marketing research. He returned to school for medicine, completing his psychiatry residency through NYU’s program and extending into advanced neuroscience work with his passion for writing about the the brain.
That background and expertise n neuropsychiatry and brain-based approaches informs his argument that anticipation itself activates dopamine pathways—not just achieving goals, but expecting them. “That means planning something meaningful can lift mood before it even happens,” he says. “Hope isn’t abstract. It has circuitry.” He playfully comments, for maintaining sanity these days, everyone should always have their next vacation booked.”
Mission to Improve Life
The message has resonated beyond his Long Island, NY practice. DeSarbo has appeared on over 350 radio and television shows discussing the importance of bucket lists, social media’s impact on the brain, and related topics. His speaking engagements target high-performing individuals, corporate executives, and retirees—people often experienceing what he calls “a life of movement without meaning.”
Now he’s focused on expanding that reach through more educational opportunities and speaking engagements. “External instability requires internal structure,” he says. “If you don’t design your life on purpose, the environment will design it for you.” The brain must be intentionally engaged throughout life or cognitive decline can be expected.
In a world where “someday” keeps getting postponed, DeSarbo offers what he sees as protective: intentional forward motion, however small. His books are available on Amazon and BookBaby, with additional resources at bucketlistdoctor.com.
