Change Your Brain Every Day

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen address some listener questions and dole out helpful advice. This week's topics include clean products for personal and household use, sedation vs. general anesthesia during surgery, workout tips, intermittent fasting to lose weight, and eating clean while away from home. If you'd like your question answered on the Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, you can submit your questions at brainwarriorswaypodcast.com

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen weigh in on brain-related current events. This week's "Brain in the News" items feature a link between the supplement ashwagandha and improved sleep and stress, two types of medication that are linked to dementia, a 9 year-old arsonist charged with first degree murder, a startling childhood obesity prediction, and a correlation of ADD/ADHD in teen moms.

When Tana Amen was suffering from depression, she had no idea it was caused by her thyroid medication. She started taking antidepressant medication, and the effect it had on her was completely unexpected. In the second episode of a series on antidepressants, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana describe how some antidepressant medications can give your entire personality an overhaul, and how it may not always be a positive change.

For some people, the choice to take antidepressants leads to a happier, healthier quality of life. For others, it only makes things worse. Therefore it's crucial to understand the benefits and drawbacks of choosing this route of treatment. In the first episode of a series on antidepressants, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen arm you with the information you need to decide if antidepressants are the right choice for you or your loved one.

In this final episode of a series with 'Thriving as an Empath' author Dr. Judith Orloff, she and the Amens discuss the phenomenon of the mirror neuron system, and how it can create either empathy or narcissism in individuals. Orloff then explains how knowledge of this system can help parents guide their children to experiencing more empathy for others, and how that can lead to happier relationships in their future.

In this final episode of a series with 'Thriving as an Empath' author Dr. Judith Orloff, she and the Amens discuss the phenomenon of the mirror neuron system, and how it can create either empathy or narcissism in individuals. Orloff then explains how knowledge of this system can help parents guide their children to experiencing more empathy for others, and how that can lead to happier relationships in their future.

Have you ever felt like you have an uncanny ability to make judgements about people that turn out to be correct? There may be more than simple guessing involved. In the third episode of a series on empaths, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen are again joined by bestselling author Dr. Judith Orloff for a detailed discussion on the crucial differences between someone who is an empath, and someone who merely feels empathy for others.

When a person is described as "sensitive", the label usually carries with it negative connotations. But as Dr. Judith Orloff suggests, there are plenty of advantages to a sensitive nature, and this disposition should be encouraged and nurtured rather than suppressed. In the second episode of a series with the 'Thriving as an Empath' author, she and the Amens discuss tips for people to use their sensitive nature as an advantage.

A small contingent of our population claims to be able to physically experience the emotional energy of other people. Sound crazy? Well there may be an actual science behind this. In the first episode of a series with Dr. Judith Orloff, the bestselling author of 'Thriving as an Empath', Dr. Daniel Amen, Tana Amen, and Orloff shed some light on this mysterious ability.

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen are here to answer your questions. This week's installment includes information on the ApoE4 gene and Alzheimer's risk, combining supplements and medication, and the health ramifications of coffee. If you'd like your question answered on the Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, you can submit your questions at brainwarriorswaypodcast.com.

It's time for "Brain in the News," our weekly brain health news roundup, where Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen go over all the latest news in brain health from the Amen angle. This week's stories include recent findings of cancer risk in tap water, a spike in suicides in the military, usage of St. John's Wort to help treat symptoms of menopause, and a fascinating scientific claim that human skulls are evolving in a way that could ultimately be detrimental to our health.

In the second episode of a series on healing with oxygen, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen take you under the hood to see exactly how hyperbaric oxygen treatment works, and why it can be effective when other treatment types have been less successful. Daniel and Tana also break down the many circumstances in which hyperbaric oxygen can be efficiently used, ranging from reducing simple inflammation to saving someone's life.

When Dr. Daniel Amen was working on the largest ever NFL study on the brains of active and retired players, one of the biggest takeaways was how the subjects' brains reacted to hyperbaric oxygen treatment. In short, they got much better. In this first episode of a series on healing with oxygen, the Amens discuss the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and Tana shares her recent first-hand account of how it helped her recover from a surgery.

Q&A time! This episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast features Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen answering some of your questions. Topics covered in this episode include the health benefits and risks of drinking milk, and what you can do to avoid a midday crash. If you'd like your own question answered on the show, please visit brainwarriorswaypodcast.com for instructions on how to submit.

It's time for more Brain in the News! In this episode, the Amens contribute to the discussion of the brain health topics in the recent news cycle. This episode features a study on the world's biggest consumers of antidepressants, a study on ashwagandha and schizophrenia, QEEG for concussions in junior hockey players, a teen who went blind from a bad diet, and a study on how eating fish can make you live longer.

In this second episode of a series on toxic products, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen give you tips to give the personal product supply in your bathroom a makeover. Learn the 10 ways that toxic products disrupt your health, as well as the most effective and easy way to make the gradual shift towards a healthier bathroom, and a healthier life.

An oft overlooked fact about personal products (makeup, hair & skin care, etc.) is that what you put on your skin goes into your body and affects it. Therefore, you could be poisoning yourself every day and not even know it. In the first episode of a series on toxic products, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen describe how easy it is to be tricked by product marketing, as well as the simple way to see exactly how healthy the products you use are to you, so you can throw them out!

It's time for another Q&A! In this episode, the Amens dip into the mailbag to answer some of your questions. This episode features information and tips on automatic negative thoughts, brain injuries, Omega 3 benefits, and dealing with impulse control. If you'd like your own question answered on the podcast, visit brainwarriorswaypodcast.com and follow the instructions on how to submit.

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen look at some of the current news stories involving the brain. This installment includes an in-depth look at cyberbullying. Dr. Amen and Tana give you some of the characteristics to look for in your own child's life, as well as tips for effective ways to approach the subject to make them feel safe and supported.

The recent epidemic of deaths and illnesses from e-cigarettes has made it clear that vaping poses a very real health hazard for teens and adults alike. But how can you quit this unhealthy habit? In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen discuss some of the brain-based strategies you can use to get yourself off of e-cigarettes for good.

With the recent headlines of illnesses and deaths attributed to vaping and the CEO of Juul promptly resigning, the nation's attention is focused on e-cigarettes. So what is vaping? And what exactly is the threat it poses to our youth? In the first episode of a series on vaping, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen describe the physiological issues associated with e-cigarettes, and why their marketing campaigns have become so problematic.

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen answer some listener questions. They give info and advice and such topics as putting the brain in a healing environment, brain tips for salesmen and entrepreneurs, and fighting the social media blues. If you would like the Amens to answer your question, visit brainwarriorswaypodcast.com.

In this episode, The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast introduces a new segment called "The Brain in the News," where Daniel and Tana Amen review some of the latest news in neuroscience and weigh in with the Brain Warrior perspective. This episode features such hot topics as problems with the vegan diet, blood tests for PTSD, marijuana use during pregnancy, and antidepressant effects in the gut.

In the previous episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen discussed the brain functions involved in judgement, particularly from a negative point of view. However, there are many instances in which judgement is crucial, whether in social situations or for safety reasons. But should you always listen to your gut? Learn the difference between judgement for discernment or discrimination, and positive thinking vs. accurate thinking.

Research using brain scans has shown us that people with extreme views tend to share similar aspects of brain function. In this first episode of a series on judgement, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen describe how the brain's frontal lobes play a huge role in determining where people may fall on the political spectrum, and how they may even help explain the existence of such negative social phenomena as racism and mob mentality.

Many of the neurological issues prevalent in our society are the result of a conscious effort of the food industry to confuse and conflate the differences between pleasure and happiness. So what exactly does this mean? In the last episode of a series with "The Hacking of the American Mind" author Robert Lustig, Dr. Amen and Lustig describe how the crucial differences between dopamine and serotonin are disrupting our health.

Fruit juice has long been considered a healthier alternative to soft drinks like Pepsi and Sprite, but unfortunately this is far from accurate. In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen is again joined by "Fat Chance" author Robert Lustig for a discussion on why fruit is good for your body while fruit juice is not, and why we need to shift our focus to protecting the liver and feeding the gut.

Back in 1955, President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack, prompting a nationwide inquiry as to what was causing cardiovascular disease. The two camps of thinking centered around either fat or sugar as the culprit. Fat won out and was subsequently demonized. In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, author Robert Lustig and Dr. Daniel Amen explain why this was the wrong decision, and the eventual fallout that resulted from this misconception.

In Robert Lustig's early work as a pediatric endocrinologist, he began studying the effect certain molecules had on the body's organs. What he found was a stunning connection between fructose and liver function, which helps explain the reason for today's obesity epidemic. In the first episode of a series with the author of "Fat Chance," Dr. Daniel Amen and Lustig discuss how and why fructose is making people fat.

Throughout their careers, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Nancy Bohl-Penrod have seen first-hand the importance of peer support to the healing process. In this last episode in a series on first responders and the brain, Dr. Amen and Dr. Bohl-Penrod share some of their personal stories of how EMDR turned other people's lives around.

Our first responders often operate in the most toxic environments, but, until recently, little or no effort has been made to keep those toxins contained. In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Nancy Bohl-Penrod discuss the lessons learned by the first responder community after 9/11 and the steps that are being taken to improve conditions.

First responders are or on the frontline of the war for our health, and, as a result, they can often suffer in silence. After all, who is going to help the helpers? In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Nancy Bohl-Penrod discuss the symptoms most often seen, the factors that are causing them, and the best, most effective ways of getting these heroes the help they deserve.

Dr. Amen is joined by Dr. Nancy Bohl-Penrod to discuss her work as the Director of The Counseling Team International. They talk about Dr. Bohl-Penrod's husband's struggles as a police officer and how that led her to the work she does, as well as the stigma around seeking help as a first responder.

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen dive into some of our listener questions to give you the answers you need to get your brain and body right. This episode tackles such topics as brain types, help for focus, and taking supplements before and after general anesthesia for a surgery. If you'd like Daniel and Tana to answer your question in an episode, be sure to visit brainwarriorswaypodcast.com to submit.

While the incidence of cancer has been experiencing a decline, the incidence of mental illness continues to trend upward. Why is this? In the third episode of a series based on Dr. Daniel Amen's recently filmed PBS special "Change Your Brain, Heal Your Mind", Dr. Amen outlines the 6 steps to ending mental illness, and how to take these steps to help you or your loved one get on the right track.

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen continue to discuss some of the concepts from Dr. Amen's upcoming PBS special, "Change Your Brain, Heal Your Mind." Dr. Amen introduces the concept of the evil ruler and the good ruler to look at some of the strategies our society uses to create either health or illness, and how you can adopt the strategies that help you, rather than hurt you.

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.

Our society has developed a habit of using different terms to delineate between the organ that occupies our heads, and the collection of thoughts we experience moment to moment. But are these really separate entities, or are they manifestations of the same thing? In the last episode in a series with author and psychotherapist Dr. Earl Henslin, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen explain why it's crucial for us to understand that the way we think about the organ between our ears shapes how we take care of it.

Dr. Earl Henslin, author, psychotherapist, and board member of The End Mental Illness Now Foundation, found himself on the other side of the desk when he brought his own mother in to scan her brain. She had often been angry and detached, and both Dr. Henslin and Dr. Amen were horrified to see her scans showed signs of early dementia. What happened next changed not only her life, but the lives of those closest to her. In this episode, Dr. Earl Henslin tells the story of his mother's transformation.

Thirty years of brain SPECT imaging has clearly shown us that disfunction in different parts of the brain require different types of treatment. One of the most often affected areas is the brain's frontal lobes, which are responsible for things like forethought, judgement, and impulse control. In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen are joined by Dr. Earl Henslin for a discussion on how to identify if you have frontal lobe problems (and other common areas of the brain), and what you can do to treat them.

When psychotherapist and author Dr. Earl Henslin first considered using SPECT imagery to help diagnose his patients, he was concerned that the scans would eliminate the need for other types of testing, possibly hurting the bottom line of his practice. But when a family member in need had their brain scanned, what they found changed Dr. Henslin's method of practice forever. In the first episode of a series about the brain and psychotherapy, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen are joined by Dr. Henslin to discuss his introduction to brain imaging.

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen answer some more of your questions. This episode features info on employment, new learning, dopamine and psychosis, antidepressants, and auto-immune diseases. Visit the brainwarriorswaypodcast.com to submit your own questions!

Every time you get behind the wheel and strap on your seatbelt there lies the possibility of disaster occurring, and the subsequent trauma that can result from being involved in an auto accident exists in many different forms. In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen share some of the various ways auto accidents can leave long term effects of trauma on the brain, as well as some of the things you can do to put your brain in a healing environment.

Did you know automobile accidents are the leading cause of death among young people? In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, the second of a series on the brain and driving, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen take a closer look at what makes driving a car so potentially dangerous. They then dive into some of the major strategies we can examine in order to make the roads a safer place for everyone.

Whether travelling, commuting to work, or just running errands, many people spend a considerable amount of their lives in their cars. The inherent danger on the road is high because many people's personalities change once the key is in the ignition. In this first episode of a series on brain function and driving, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen discuss how the brain factors in to the experience of driving an automobile.

In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen dive into the mail bag to answer some listener questions. Daniel and Tana discuss such topics as treating schizophrenia, suggestions for clearing brain fog, and the effects of ADD medications on specific brain types. Visit brainwarriorswaypodcast.com to submit your own questions!

In America, happiness is big business. Industries put billions of dollars into marketing and selling the concept of happiness to the public. But what is happiness, really? And why is so much effort put into the "attaining" of it? In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, the Amens discuss how our evolutionary hardwiring predisposes us to anxiety, and why in some cases this is actually a good thing.

Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among young people (the first is automobile accidents). What's the reason for this epidemic? In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen explain the factors involved in the rising suicide rate, as well as give you some practical tips for what to do if you're concerned about a loved one.

Oregon has recently passed legislation for taking "Mental Health Days" off from school, which makes sense as the state has one of the highest suicide rates. So why is this legislation being passed now? In this episode of The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen discuss exactly why the rate of depression and suicide is skyrocketing, not just in Oregon, but everywhere. They also give you tips for handling those down times, whether they're experienced by you or by someone you love.

Class in is session! In this fourth and final episode with Alize Castellanos, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen wrap up their two-week long series on changing your brain and changing your grades. Dr. Amen, Tana, and Alize tackle such subjects as morning routines, communication styles, and how to remember that your teacher is a person, too, and treat them accordingly.