Change Your Brain Every Day - Has Stress Taken Over Your Life? Try This Exercise

Episode Date: July 17, 2026

Everyone struggles with stressful situations at some point in their life. And most of us know that too much stress isn't good for us. But in today's world, we're faced with all kinds of stress on a daily basis—there's no escaping it. Did you know that, according to the National Safety Council, stress contributes to as much as 80% of all disease and illness? Understanding that having to deal with stress is inevitable and that too much stress is really bad for your brain and health, it is critical to know how to deal with stress.

Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse. Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day. Welcome back. We want to talk to today about some of our own stressful experiences. So you know that we know this, not only from a professional standpoint, but from a personal standpoint. Well, we know you're watching this for a reason. And so we've both struggled. everybody struggles with stress at some point. And these are some of the strategies we've used to

overcome. So, and we like to teach these strategies. So when we first met, we were on a drive up north, and we went through Huntington Beach because there was too much traffic on the freeway, and all of a sudden, my heart stopped because we passed- Yeah, and you got teary. I remember that. The cemetery where my grandfather was. And I didn't know what it was at first, and I looked at you, when you were very emotional. Well, the saddest day of my life was when my grandfather died. So I was named after him.

He was my best friend growing up. And I was in medical school when he died. And he'd had a heart attack, and then he had another one. And then he got depressed. And he was a candy maker. And everybody's friend, he had a heart attack. And all of a sudden, this man I looked up to was sad and would cry and couldn't sleep. And looking back on it, what I learned later is 60% of people who have a heart attack

will develop a major depression in the next 18 months. And people really weren't paying attention to that. And for many years, as soon as I would think about his death, I would just start weeping. And, you know, I've internalized him because now I'm a grandfather. But dealing with that and really working through it was challenging. And you've probably lost somebody that you love. And what for me that worked just so well was focusing on the joy because my best memories were standing at the stove making fudge and prolleys. And I remember I'm one of seven children.

A lot of people don't know that. And I'm third. My mother actually had four children in four years. She was a busy girl. And so she would drop me off at my grandfather's house. And when she'd come to pick me up, I would grab his leg and say, don't let the woman take me. Because, you know, there, there was attention. There was...

It's hard to get attention when there's a bunch of kids running around. When you're part of a brood. So we should talk about the stress of being one of seven sometimes. Sounds like there's some promul around that. It has its challenges when you have five sisters. Actually, wrote a whole book about it. No, it's one of the reasons that I actually love you. I have to tell you.

fully trained and housebroken. There was nothing that stresses this man out when it comes to dealing with women. So I love your sisters for that. So think about what you've lost and how do you deal with it? I mean for me, I anchor my soul really in my relationship with my grandfather. But when I then think of my grandbabies, I know how important that relationship is. So I use the sadness, if you will, to fuel the connection. Absolutely. And I certainly focus on what I love about him and don't remember just the depression, although I remember it because it helps me be a better psychiatrist.

What about you? So I think a lot of people have heard the story about when I had cancer when I was young and it metastasized and I had to drop out of school and file for bankruptcy and quit my job. And I became very depressed during that period. And like we're not kidding. Depressed and anxious. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. And I felt very lost.

And I actually had no idea, literally no idea what to do. But I remember talking to someone very wise at that time. And they said something so profound to me that really helped me. So there were two things that happened, two quick exercises. And we actually teach one of them now and I love it. One of them, so this person said to me, how much responsibility are you willing to take for this situation? And I was stunned because I thought to myself, what do you mean take responsibility? I have cancer.

Like, how do you take responsibility at 23 years old for getting cancer? I thought it was such an unfair question. But see, that's a victim mentality right there. And that, without saying that, that's what this person was trying to point out. So he drew a circle on a whiteboard and he cut it in half. and colored in one side and he said, are you willing to take 50% responsibility? I didn't ask you if it's your fault. I asked you if you were willing to take responsibility for any of it because the word responsibility means the ability to respond. Doesn't mean you have to take blame. And the minute he said that, he said, if you take responsibility for half of this,

it means you have 50% chance of changing it. You have control over 50% of it to change it. And I was stunned. I just sat there with my mouth, though, going, oh my gosh, it was like somebody threw water on me. And I went, I don't want anyone having control over the outcome of my life. I will take 100% responsibility. Since it doesn't mean it's my fault, I sort of got that. I internalized it. And I just immediately took responsibility for my life because it meant I had the ability to respond because I never want to feel like a victim.

It, for me, is repulsive that feeling. And that was one thing. That was one of the exercises. The other one is one that we teach and I really love it. And it's an exercise where you're literally to fork in the road and you meditate. So I really did a deep meditation on this and I wrote it all down. I mean, I journaled for hours and hours, like in detail. If I go down one road, the road I was on and I stayed there, what would my life be six months from then?

My finances, my relationships, everything in my life. How would I feel? What would my weight be like? Where would I be a year from then? Where would I be five years from then? Where would I be 10 years from then? 20 years from then. And I remember I was in this meditative state. When I woke up, I was like slumped over. I was like feeling miserable. And I thought, oh my gosh, I cannot do that. Like I cannot do that.

And I will be this horrible person. But then I went down the other side of the road. So I did the same exercise. If I make these changes, I was very clear about the changes I needed to make, simple changes. But I made the changes. I became a warrior for my health, which is what we want for you watching. And I made some simple changes and I went down. What was it going to be like six months a year, five years, 10 years, 20 years? And I wrote it down in detail. My finances, my relationships, where I would live, what I would look like. And I literally, it just snapped me into gear.

Like it was just that powerful. I was not willing to go down the other road. So you have a choice in how you respond to the stress in your life. I had a choice. I could be a victim of the sadness. You could have been a victim of your cancer. But that's not what we want for ourselves. And it's clearly not what we want from you.

We want you to be a warrior. It's a great exercise that Tannick did. We call it the fork in the road. So if you just keep your life, where you're not really thinking about it, you're just going along what society quote has for you, you know, whether it's fast food or being addicted to another gadget or, you know, watching hours and hours of TV. instead of getting up and exercising. Or going down the brain warrior's way, so that's the street.

We'll call it the brain warrior's way, where you're really focused on your health. You're focused on what you want and you're acting out of love, love for yourself and love for the people you care about. That's what we want for you. We want you to feel empowered with these tools. So in fact, why don't you do this exercise? So all you have to do, think of your life right now where you're at. You can either close your eyes and meditate on it or put some great music on and you can write it down in detail. I actually like to do both personally.

So I like to meditate on it and then really journal it out. So because for me, the writing, the act of writing is very powerful. But stop. Think about where you are. Be very clear about the place that you're in at this moment. Then think of a road going to the left. Okay? and I want you to write out where your life will be in six months, in one year, in five years, in 10 years, in 20 years, and be very detailed about what it will be like.

Your finances, your weight, your relationships, your career, the house you'll live in, your health, everything. Then come back to where you are now. But notice, when you're on that road, notice how you feel when you open your eyes or when you stop writing. So that's if they don't really care. That's if you're not making changes. So when you open your eyes, when you stop the exercise, notice how you feel inside. It doesn't feel good.

Then come back to now. Come back to the fork in the road. Notice how you feel. Start over. And then do the same exercise. Write it out. Meditate on it or do both like I do. And then you want to actually be very specific going six months,

one year, five years, 10 years, 20 years down the road. If you go down the brain warrior's way, If you go down that street and you make the changes that you know you need to make, you start exercising, do some simple things, change your nutrition, follow the tips and tools that we're giving you all along the way. Just subscribe and follow us. We're giving you those tips and tools to become a warrior. And if you make those changes, notice where you'll be 20 years from now.

Do that and leave it, post it for us down below.