Change Your Brain Every Day - 7 Words That Are Your Key to Brain Health

Episode Date: December 26, 2018

In Dr. Daniel Amen’s new book, Feel Better Fast and Make It Last, he uses a powerful mnemonic to help you remember seven important concepts crucial to your brain health. In this episode of The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen teach you the details of how BRAIN XL can change your life for good.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. Here we teach you how to win the fight for your brain to defeat anxiety, depression, memory loss, ADHD, and addictions. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we've transformed lives for three decades using brain spec imaging to better target treatment and natural ways to heal the brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com.

The Brain Warriors Way podcast is also brought to you by BrainMD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceutical products to support the health of your brain and body. For more information, visit brainmdhealth.com. Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. Welcome back. Feel better fast. Make it last. We just have two more lessons on this and then we're done. How sad for you. You're always sad when you finish. Then you're on to the next one. I have you, so I will be able to deal with it.

You are the treatment for my sadness. So, okay, let's see. This is from Don Vincenti. Really good coaching, basics, and the reason they work. This should be required learning for all. Thanks, Amos. Simple, but I like that. This is required, so don't turn us off.

We're going to do a little summary of feel better fast and make it last. And we're going to do that in the context of seven tiny habits. So when you think of the brain, the B in BrainXL, what is the tiny habit that's the most important? To protect it. So it's asking yourself that question. Is this good for my brain or bad for it? So do you remember when Chloe was little and I would do this with her? Yep.

That was so much fun for me. That question is probably the most important. Because she was intense and verbal. Well, as you like to say, we have effectively instilled an anxiety disorder in that child. To do the right thing. Yes. Right, because people who have low levels of anxiety die the earliest from accidents and preventable illnesses.

And so they're not forward thinking. That's what your prefrontal cortex does so that front third part of your brain largest in humans and any other animal by far 30 percent of the human brain seven percent of aslan's brain are white shepherd three% of Miso's brain are cat. And we say that, we say that, you know, sort of flippantly, but I mean, it's, it's kind of a joke, but the reality is, you know, teenagers don't sometimes have enough anxiety. And so with her, it's not, it's not like when we joke about the anxiety disorder, but she's anxious about, she's anxious about the right things. She's anxious about getting good grades. She's anxious about getting in cars with certain people. She's anxious about,

you know, hurting herself. She's anxious about doing things that will harm her, you know, drinking, smoking pot, like all of those things. She knows. What happened when you took her to the Poison concert? Oh my God. It was so funny. So I took her to a concert and this was like an eighties rock band. Right. And so I thought we would just have this like mother daughter thing. Cause like my, my music and the first thing she did, she was horrified. She looked around at all the moms, like going crazy. And she's like, is this what you do when you're not with me? I'm like, I don't, weren't they twerking? Yes. She goes, if I ever see you twerking, I will kill you myself.

I almost died. I go, I don't twerk. I promise you, I do not twerk. And then all of a sudden. I'd like to see that. Shut up. Okay. Erase, cut, edit.

No, just kidding. Anyways, so the guy next to us, all of a sudden he lights up a joint and starts smoking pot. And she had never been to a concert where anyone smoked pot so she'd always been to these like concerts where it was just like kids mostly and so this was her first like kind of hardcore like rock concert she freaked i've never seen my daughter jump that high she literally jumped over the seats jumped over the seats grabbed her nose and took off running down the aisle. And she's like, she goes, I'm calling Daniel. I'm calling Daniel. And I go, why are you calling Daniel? She goes, because I'm going to tell him.

If my brain scan turns out bad, it's not my fault. It's your fault. So she has it. Is this good for my brain or bad for it? The R in BrainXL is rational mind. It's managing the horde of ant infestations that drive unhappiness and anxiety and fear and strife and marital trouble. And the tiny habit for this is whenever you feel sad or mad or nervous or out of control, write down what you're thinking, write it down, because when you write it down, you get it out of your head.

So when was the last time you felt really irritated? Oh, just like two days ago. Really irritated. And what was the thought? Oh, no. Yeah. I don't want to say it out loud. What is the PG-13 version of the thought? No. I was frustrated with my mom. I was really frustrated with my mom. I felt like my mother, I was angry at my mom for not taking care of herself, for putting other people

before her family, for not taking care of herself. So what was the thought? She doesn't take care of herself. That she puts everyone else before she puts her family. And I could go all the way back in my life

and I kept coming up with lots of evidence. So, yeah, other people are more important than our family. In the book, I actually teach a process that you know really well. But when you're angry, you don't want to do it because you're stubborn. I was pissed. I was, like, really pissed off. But if you want to feel better, so there's a choice. You always have a choice.

You can feel pissed off. So if that's your choice, have at it. Enjoy it. Oh, and I have lots of evidence. She makes herself sick. Or you can question it. Right. And this is very important.

Some people want to hold on to the unhappiness because it's what they're used to. Right. And I don't. They carry a flag around in their house with the, I am unhappy. I'm going to hold onto this thought. But when they question it, when they really go, is that true? Is it 100% true? They realize that these negative thoughts drive headaches. They drive tiredness. They drive unhappiness. I felt terrible. And you just don't have to have them.

Right. But you need a method. And feel better fast. I have the method. And we've talked about it here on the podcast. The A is attachment. So the little tiny habit is, does my behavior serve my goals? Does it fit?

So the first thing you have to do, and I had a teenager in my office yesterday who was not being nice to her mother. And I said, so what's your goal with your mom what kind of relationship do you want to she's like what kind of question is that it's like it's like a really good question um what kind of goal do you want to have and it stopped her and she she backed up she said i want to have a good relationship with my mom. I said, is your behavior getting you what you want? See, the father and grandfather in me wanted to chew her out because she was being rude. But that doesn't work, right?

The only thing that would do is separate her from me. It's better always to go, what do you want? I'm very clear what I want with you. Kind, caring, loving, supportive. But see, now the responsible part of me is, did you ask the mom the same thing? Of course. Okay. Because parents sometimes do stupid stuff. Because I have your voice in my head judging me. Yeah, no parents do stupid things. I have your voice in my head judging me. But the little tiny habit is does it fit? Does my behavior fit the goals I have for my life? But you have to know what your goals are, right?

That's why the one page miracle where you ask yourself, what do you want in your relationships for your work, for your money, for your physical, emotional, spiritual health? What do you want? And when your behavior doesn't fit, then you have to go, well, how do I act in ways that get me what I want? And that's not selfish. Too many people think that's selfish. It's effective. And that's what I want. And see, that's what I was frustrated with my mom for. That's what I was frustrated about.

So I, before I could even get to the point of asking, like, is it true? I had to pray and meditate for about an hour. Then I could do the whole, is it true thing? And then I found the right way to talk to her about it in a way she could hear. And you actually had a beautiful conversation. I did. And she just listened.

And I'm like, wow, like that was big. And she was sad. Did you feel how powerful you were? Yeah. And I felt how much she wanted to be part of the family. She wanted to be, you know, she doesn't do it because she thinks she's doing the right thing always. Right? She doesn't do it because she thinks she's a bad person.

She does it because she's being a good person. She just doesn't see it from the way other people are seeing it. Right. So communicating with her in a way she could hear it rather than attacking her. Right. It's just a bit more effective. Significantly.

Under inspiration, does this feeling or action have eternal value? Right. That's my favorite question on the planet. On the planet. Because immediately, for me, eternal value. Right. That's my favorite question on the planet. On the planet. Because immediately, for me, it diffuses whatever. You know, if I get to break my computer, crash a car, it doesn't matter. As long as the people in my life are not hurt, I'm able to immediately diffuse the anger that I feel for the most part. Under nourishment, the N in brain Excel.

Do I love food that loves me back? What's your relationship like with food? Absolutely. And I would add to nourishment. I mean, we've already been talking about it because all of this is nourishment for your brain. But what thoughts are you putting in your head too? Like how are you nourishing your soul and your body and everything? So that happens more than just with medications or supplements or food. It happens with the people.

Toxic air. The people. Like when I had that splitting headache driving back in the farming community and I just wonder how people live. It's a cause of mental illness. How do people live in those communities safely? There's a higher incidence of emotional learning behavior problems. So sad.

The X factor, what we learn from imaging. The question is, if I looked at my brain, would it be healthy or not? And if not, well, what am I going to do about it? In Feel Better Fast, we give you the whole Bright Minds approach to do that. My favorite part about the new book is the last chapter, which is actually fairly short. It's about love. Does my behavior show that I love myself and others? Because doing the right thing is never about you should do the right thing.

It's about you do the right thing because you love your life. You love your wife. You love your mission. You love your purpose. And quite frankly, I love you. And I want to extend this. You know, it's so interesting to me that the Bible repeatedly talks about the most important commandment being love. And even, I mean, most religions talk about love. Most religions, it's love God with your heart, mind, and soul. But love is more important than anything. And love your neighbor as yourself. And we're not good at that naturally.

We have to work at it. Because if you're not loving your neighbor, you're really not loving yourself. And we're not naturally good at this. So we need to work at it. And I think that's why it's a commandment, right? If you said it, I believe it. Stay with us. Use the code PODCAST10 to get a 10% discount on a full evaluation at amenclinics.com

or on our supplements at brainmdhealth.com. Thank you for listening to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. Go to iTunes and leave a review and you'll automatically be entered into a drawing to get a free signed copy of the Brain Warriors Way and the Brain Warriors Way cookbook we give away every month.