Tame Your Hidden Dragon with Dr. Daniel Amen

Today, I am blessed to have Dr. Amen join the show. Dr. Amen has helped millions of people change their brains and lives through his health clinics, best-selling books, products, and public television programs.

Dr. Amen is one of America’s leading psychiatrists and brain health experts. He has authored or coauthored 70 professional articles and more than 30 books, including New York Times mega-bestseller Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. He has appeared on numerous television shows, including Dr. Phil, Larry King, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, and The View.

In this episode, Dr. Amen opens the show speaking about his work with SPECT brain imaging. He explains what sorts of things can affect our brain negatively, especially when it comes to smoking marijuana. On Dr. Amen’s journey, he’s gotten a lot of negativity directed at him from his peers. Luckily, he has learned to push through the negativity using his 18/40/60 principle. Tune in as we talk about how being a celebrity can affect the brain, and we discover what dragons are making you sad, mad, nervous, or out of control. Don’t forget to get Dr. Amen’s latest book, Your Brain Is Always Listening. 

[06:40] About Dr. Amen’s Work With SPECT Imaging  

• In the 1990s, Dr. Amen started using a study called  SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography). SPECT is a nuclear medicine study that looks at blood flow and activity to identify underlying brain issues that can contribute to symptoms accurately.
• It basically shows us three things:
• Good activity
• Too little activity
• Too much activity
• SPECT completely revolutionized how Dr. Amen treated his patients and how he treated himself. 
• Dr. Amen came to realize that mental health was actually brain health – this realization changed everything! 
• After working on people with substance abuse issues, Dr. Amen noticed that their scans just look terrible. 
• So, Dr. Amen wanted to know what different drugs did to the brain. He took a healthy group and compared them to a marijuana group. In the marijuana group - every area of their brains was lower, particularly the hippocampus, which is the brain's major memory structure. 
• What are the factors that accelerate aging in the brain? First, schizophrenia. Second, marijuana! 
• If you smoke pot as a teenager, you have a higher incidence of anxiety, depression, and suicide in your 20s.

[16:55] Pushing Through Negativity On Your Journey 

• Dr. Amen has been able to push forward through all of the negativity in life. Sadly, so many people in his space talk down on him.
• It was quite the wild ride until he stopped paying attention to it.
• Early on, Dr. Amen realized there's not one kind of depression; there are seven kinds of depression. Based on imaging, there are seven types of ADD. Plus, there are six different types of addicts. These ideas are pushing against the status quo. 
• Plus, some of the medications Dr. Amen was taught to prescribe were toxic for brain function! 
• Sadly, people think Dr. Amen is crazy because he says you should not make diagnoses based on symptom clusters with no biological data. 
• Dr. Amen says he doesn’t care if you like him or not anymore. Basically, if you’re a doctor and don't look at your patients' brains, then shame on you!
• “When I stopped paying attention to what people said about me, I just got so much happier.” -Dr. Amen

[24:00] About The 18/40/60 Principle  

• When you're 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you're 40, you don't give a darn what anybody thinks of you; when you're 60, you realize nobody’s  been thinking about you at all.
• People spend their days worrying and thinking about themselves, not you.
• If someone criticizes you, they're only thinking about it for a short period of time.
• Also, if someone is criticizing you, then they actually don't know you at all. 

[26:00] Brain Challenges For Celebrities  

• Celebrities suffer from high stress, especially when becoming famous at a young age like, Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus. Their pleasure centers get worn out. Your pleasure centers deepen the brain to an area in the basal ganglia called the nucleus accumbens; it responds to dopamine.
• When you're a worldwide star, you are getting a lot of dopamine production from people recognizing you and you signing big contracts. With child stars, this is before their brains are actually finished developing.
• The more dopamine that hits those pleasure centers, the more it deadens them.

[29:00] The Importance of Delayed Gratification  

• Walter Mitchell is a professor at Stanford. He did this experiment with four-year-olds. Basically, the kids could agree to get a marshmallow now. However, if they can wait a little bit, then they would get two marshmallows. 
• The kids that opted to wait to get more marshmallows were significantly more successful in virtually every area of their lives because they had impulse control. 

[33:40] The Detriments On The Frontal Lobe

• Porn is wearing out your pleasure centers – it will deaden those centers. 
• You have to be very thoughtful when it comes to the brain. 
• The real weapons of mass destruction are highly processed pesticide spray, high-glycemic, low-fiber food substances. 
• Sadly, 72% of us overweight, and 42% of us obese. It's the biggest brain drain in the history of the United States.

[36:15] About Dr. Amen’s Daily Routines   

• As soon as Dr. Amen’s feet hit the floor in the morning, he says to himself, “today is going to be a great day.” 
• He starts the day by lifting weights. Then, he puts amazing foods into his body. 
• Dr. Amen only loves foods that love him back. 

[42:00] Relationship Advice

• You only want to be in a relationship where the person loves you back.
• If a relationship isn’t working, you have to be honest.
• Are you unhappy? Then, it’s time to be honest with your partner and with yourself. 
• In a relationship, you need to know what you want. Then, ask yourself: does your behavior get you what you want? 
• Basically, make sure that your actions align with your aspirations.

[47:40] About Dr. Amen’s Relationship With His Father  

• Dr. Amen had a complex relationship with his dad. His dad’s favorite word was no. His second favorite word was bullshit. 
• As a child, Dr. Amen was angry at his dad. 
• Eventually, Dr. Amen healed the relationship with his father. 
• It was a complicated relationship, and when he died, Dr. Amen was really sad.

[54:15] Know Your Dragons 

• Everyone has a dragon. The most common one is the anxious dragon. 
• The second most common one, which was a surprise, is the responsible dragon. That's where you feel like you have to take care of other people. You can actually breed codependency if you're not careful with that dragon. 
• Also, the wounded dragon is really common.

AND MUCH MORE!

Resources from this episode: 

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Dr. Amen’s Website: https://danielamenmd.com

The Brain Warrior’s Way: https://brainwarriorswaypodcast.com

Your Brain Is Always Listening: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/your-brain-is-always-listening-dr-daniel-g-amen/1137175903

Know Your Dragons: https://knowyourdragons.com/

Get Dr. Amen’s Books: https://danielamenmd.com/programs-books/

Dr. Amen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drdanielamen

Dr. Amen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doc_amen/

Dr. Amen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DocAmen

Dr. Amen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdHz-vi0JIugmscU_CkUxUQ

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