Change Your Brain Every Day - If You Change Your Brain, Can It Heal Your Mind?

Episode Date: September 2, 2019

Mental Illness affects us all, and the rate of mental illness continues to skyrocket despite the widespread use of prescription medications. But as Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen illustrate, we’re on the cusp of a revolution in psychiatry that will change mental health care forever. In this first episode of a series based on Dr. Amen’s upcoming PBS special, the Amens describe the reason for this exciting new revolution, and how it’s likely to play out.

Welcome to the Brain Warriors Way podcast. I'm Dr. Daniel Amen. And I'm Tana Amen. In our podcast, we provide you with the tools you need to become a warrior for the health of your brain and body. The Brain Warriors Way podcast is brought to you by Amen Clinics, where we have been transforming lives for 30 years using tools like brain spec imaging to personalize treatment to your 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 nutraceuticals to support the health of your brain and body. To learn more, go to brainmd.com. Welcome back. This week on the Brain Warriors Way podcast, Tana and I are going to talk about change your made very few mistakes it was like the best one we've done so great so it's filmed it's going to come out nationwide

in march um so we'll talk a little bit about uh some new information from the show but before we do that you have some reviews you want to read i do i actually want to say thank you to charlie bannon who took the time who does handwritten letters anymore i got a five page personally handwritten letter from charlie bannon all the way from Ireland. How cool is that? So he writes this really amazing letter thanking us so much for the podcast because he said therapy didn't help him, but listening to the podcast every day completely changed his life. And coincidentally or not coincidentally, I'm not exactly sure yet. He's a fellow martial artist. He practices Kempo and he knows my, my master,

Mr. White and his master, Eddie Downey. I know. So like what a crazy small world it is. And, and the two things I wanted to point out about that, fill your mind with the right things, which he did. So like kudos to you, Charlie, and also your community. So his master, um, Eddie Downey is an amazing human being. My master, Mr. White, an amazing human being. Our Kempo communities are just great communities. They do amazing things for people and they live in service. And when you have that community behind you and you're filling your mind with really good things, good things will happen. So thank you for taking the time to write that. That's our payment. We often say that it's just, it's makes us feel so good. So thank you for taking the time to write that. That's our payment. We often say that it's

just, it's makes us feel so good. So thank you, Charlie. Wow. Isn't that cool? It is. Uh, actually there's a little summary of this. Um, he grew up in a violent and abusive home and was suicidal from age 13. Um, our podcast was really important in his recovery when he found himself sliding back into depression after suffering from meningitis. The way we talk about finding purpose in our interviews with people who have found purpose despite life's challenges have really helped him. I'm just so grateful that this has been important to those of you who are listening. That's so sweet. And I have to tell you, so we went to the John Maxwell. I have to say, I have to congratulate my husband. He won the John Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award. And we didn't really sort of realize how big this was going to be. We showed up and there's like 3,500 people there. It was an amazing event, huge, and, um, was a very special moment. And he

was having his rockstar moment and he was surrounded by people. And so I was sort of standing off over to the side and this woman comes over to me and she had immigrated, um, from somewhere in Africa. And she was so, she starts talking to me. I thought oftentimes people will like the overflow. I'll get the overflow. They'll come talk to me, which is they can't reach you. And so she, I thought that's what was happening. And she came over and she was talking to me and all of a sudden she tells me that she listens to our podcast all the time. And then she starts to tell me my life story. And I'm like, okay,

that's a little weird, like literally in detail, my life story. And then she goes into specifics from books I've written, like all of my books, and then way back. And she's like, I looked at her kind of funny. And she said, Oh, no, I've been following you for much longer than your podcast. And I'm like, okay. And then she starts crying. And she says, I pray every day that God will do for me what he did for you. And then I start crying. And she said, she said, if she can do it, I can do it. And I started to ball. And I thought, you know what, that is the purpose. And so this new book deal that I just recently signed, I've been very resistant about doing it. As you know, I've been for the last couple of years, I've been resisting

it. And that moment was one of those moments where I went, okay, it's worth it. If one person walks up to me like that, it's worth it. You know, so many people feel shame for their life and they think if only people really knew me, they wouldn't like me. Oh, I spent my life thinking that up until 10 years ago. And I've actually found that the opposite is true, that when you share your struggles, you become more human because the more perfect you are, the less people can relate to you. Yeah, you told me that. I just didn't believe you. And then I discovered you were right. But I was right. Pain shared is pain divided. But that woman's tears and her saying, I pray every day that he'll do for me what he did for you was just like so powerful.

Wow. So I just want to thank you guys. So in this week, besides more reviews and we'll answer some of your questions, I just want to share some of the ideas from Change Your Brain, Heal Your Mind. And the show is really based on my new book, The End of Mental Illness. But PBS was having trouble with the title. It so amazes me. So many people who've not read it, like they didn't read the script, have trouble with the title.

But when you understand the content, the title just makes perfect sense. I think it's a great title. that we are on the cusp of a new revolution that will change mental health care forever. But I think what you're really saying is the end of mental illness is really the end of mental illness as we see it, as we treat it. Right. And that's a great channel. And the end of mental illness begins with a revolution in brain health. Right. And I got the best. I just have to share it with you because I haven't shared it with you. I got the best quote for my book. I already have 20 and the book isn't out until March, but this is from

Daria Long, who's a physician and national T-Bert. Yeah, we had her on the show. She's the author of Mom Hacks, which we talked about. And she said, the world needs this book. Today more than ever, by reframing the discussion of mental health into one of brain health, Dr. Amen obliterates the concept that mental health issues are someone's fault or that they should just deal with it any differently than they would the flu or a broken arm. Most importantly, Dr. Amen gives everyone not just the permission,

but the validation and hope to seek help for a better tomorrow and i love that isn't that great yeah it's fantastic it's like one of the best reviews of any of my books ever um mental illness affects us all either you've personally struggled with one or you love someone who has, no one escapes. And mental health problems are skyrocketing in our society with the deaths from drugs, alcohol, and suicide at their highest level in recorded history, despite the escalating use of psychiatric medications. Yeah. And I said this in the show, we are on the threshold of a new revolution that will change

mental health care forever based on the 160,000 scans we've done. What we discovered is these things aren't mental health issues at all. You know, when I met you and got into what you do, what we do, the part that amazed me was how often when someone comes in and they're really, really struggling with mental health, like having a mental breakdown. And how often I've heard things like, oh, they had a thyroid condition. Oh, they had Lyme disease. Oh, and it was like a simpler fix than you would think. It wasn't a lifelong psychiatric battle. Where they had mold exposure.

Just the craziest thing. And if you see it through the lens of mental illness, then you'll give them drugs or- I'm a nurse. Put them on psychotherapy. That's what I saw. Give them psychotherapy. Yeah.

Without ever looking or taking care of the organ you treat. And people just don't get it. The brain can have problems like your heart can have problems. Yet most people see a cardiologist have never had a heart attack. They're there to prevent them. And I see a day when people will see brain health doctors, maybe not psychiatrists. I'm always looking for another word for what I do because I'm not a traditional psychiatrist. I'm just not. I'm trained as one. I'm board certified in child and adult psychiatry. Um, but, but I don't practice like my, my colleagues. So we need a new word.

So those of you that are listening, if you give me a better word for what we do, you know, I don't know, a brain warriorist, um warriorologist. If you give us a better word, I will sign change your brain, change your life or the end of mental illness and send it to you. I like that challenge. To end mental illness, we must develop a similar way of thinking where we know your risk factors. That's what they do with heart disease. We know your risk factors and we attack each one of them. So for example, if teenagers sleep just an hour less than their peers, they have a higher incidence of depression, anxiety,

school failure, and suicide. So we have to make sleep a priority. And of all things, light therapy can help. If you have gut problems, you have a higher incidence of anxiety and depression, brain fog, so you got to get your gut right. And it's like, wait a minute, I thought we were talking about the brain. Right. If you have Lyme disease, people can become angry, depressed, even psychotic. So if your mind's not right, somebody should at least be thinking about an infection. And when we come back, I'm going to talk about the whole concept of why the end of mental illness and the dedication of the show to my two nieces, who are actually there at the taping. It was very special.

Your two nieces? Our. Our nieces. Our nieces. He stole my nieces. Stay with us. And, you know, is there one thing you've learned from this podcast? Please post

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