Dr. Daniel Amen, a clinical neuroscientist and psychiatrist, believes that most psychiatric illnesses are not mental illnesses but brain health issues. He emphasizes the importance of engaging in new learning, eating fish, flossing regularly while avoiding drugs like marijuana or alcohol to keep our brains healthy. Childhood traumas can also increase the risk of leading causes of death; however, Dr.Amen assures us that there is something we can do about it by seeking help from professionals like him before it's too late.

Dr. Amen's mission is to end the concept of mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health, which he developed after realizing that most psychiatric illnesses are not mental illnesses but rather brain health issues and that looking at the organ can change everything in psychiatry.

Why Your Brain Health & Function Matters Your brain is involved in everything you do, from how you think and feel to every decision that you make. When your brain works right, so do you. However, when it's troubled for any reason such as mold or chronic stress, then the opposite happens.

Importance of Positive Healthy Cognitive Functions and Brain Health Assessing four big circles - biology (physical functioning), psychology (quality of mind), social circle (what's going on in life) and spiritual circle (sense of meaning/purpose) - is critical for being a whole healthy person. If someone has had head trauma due to playing soccer or other reasons like not sleeping well or having chronic stress can lead them towards sadness, sicknesses which will ultimately result in less success than before because their brains are not working properly anymore.

To ensure a healthy brain, it is important to assess its condition and avoid things that can harm it. Engaging in regular brain-healthy habits such as eating nuts and seeds, green leafy vegetables, healthy fish and oils can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 42%. Making small decisions based on what is good or bad for the brain with love towards oneself helps make better choices.

Making the Right Choices The speaker discusses how people often know what is good and bad for their brain, but still make unhealthy choices. He suggests pausing during decision-making to ask oneself if it's good for the brain.

Self-Worth and Decision-Making The speaker wonders whether there is a correlation between one's self-esteem or self-worth and their ability to delay gratification in order to make healthy decisions. He cites studies that show conscientiousness leads to longevity.

Forgiveness as a Gift The speaker shares his personal experience of being ostracized by colleagues when he started using imaging techniques in psychiatry. He talks about forgiveness as an altruistic gift that can increase happiness, citing examples from his own life where forgiving others helped him move on from negativity towards them.

You're not stuck with the brain you have The brain can be changed and improved through rehabilitation programs, supplements, and medication. Chronic bad habits can create ruts in the brain that make behavior change difficult.

The role of nature vs nurture in ADD ADD is strongly heritable but can also be caused by traumatic brain injury or poor diet. A study showed that 72% of children diagnosed with ADD no longer had it after being put on an elimination diet for three months. If a child's ADHD does not resemble either parent's brains, Dr. Amen wonders if they were switched at birth due to his confidence about its heritability.

The ACE quiz is a questionnaire that scores childhood traumas, and having four or more increases the risk of seven leading causes of death. EMDR therapy helps to dissipate trauma by using bilateral hemisphere stimulation, which tends to activate the medial frontal lobe.

Caffeine is a drug that can be addictive and has significant costs. It increases cortisol, puts fat around the belly, shrinks the hippocampus, constricts blood flow by 30%, blocks adenosine which tells you to go to sleep and fakes energy. Cutting down caffeine intake can lead to better energy levels and clarity in thinking without any withdrawal symptoms or headaches.

Factors that Damage the Brain Factors such as caffeine, marijuana, lack of new learning opportunities and loneliness can have a detrimental impact on brain development. Eating red meat excessively, not flossing regularly and consuming processed foods also contribute to damaging the brain.

Prevention of Brain Damage Prevention strategies include engaging in new learning experiences throughout life, eating fish once a week for omega-3 fatty acids which help increase gray matter in the brain. Avoiding head trauma from sports or texting while walking is important along with avoiding toxins like alcohol and marijuana during teenage years when brains are still developing rapidly. Reading product labels before use is recommended to avoid harmful chemicals entering our bodies through personal care products we use daily.

Toxic chemicals found in personal care products can disrupt hormones, leading to a decrease in testosterone levels. Negative thinking patterns also have an impact on mental health by increasing stress and deactivating the cerebellum. Low vitamin D levels are associated with various health issues, including a smaller brain size and increased risk of infections such as COVID-19. It is important to educate oneself about toxins present in everyday products through apps like Think Dirty or EWG's Skin Deep database for better overall health outcomes.

Cosmetic products can influence hormone levels, leading to issues such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in women. Checking hormone levels every year is recommended, especially for women going through perimenopause or menopause since a drop in progesterone can cause anxiety and other problems that may lead to the use of prescription drugs. Women have a higher incidence of Alzheimer's disease due to estrogen deficiency during menopause which puts them at greater risk for dementia.

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Dr. Amen recommends avoiding caffeine, warm and noisy rooms with light as they impair sleep. Eating before bed increases glucose levels which puts you at a higher risk for heart attack and stroke. He suggests doing things that promote sleep like having rituals such as saying prayers or thinking about positive things every night before going to bed.

Knowing your brain type is important in improving happiness in relationships. There are five primary types balanced, spontaneous, persistent, sensitive, and cautious. Opposites may attract initially but can lead to conflict later on.

Matching Brain Types for Optimal Relationships Balanced brains tend to do well with other balanced brains while CEOs should hire a persistent-cautious type as an assistant. Spontaneous types need someone who keeps their dopamine flowing while the cautious-persistent type tends to be anxious enough that they think about others' feelings.

Disassociating from Your Brain for Peace and Happiness Separating yourself from your thoughts by giving your brain a name allows you not to attach or believe every thought that comes up. Writing down what you want helps activate the prefrontal cortex if you're more spontaneous than focused; making sleep a priority also helps boost focus levels along with exercise and proper dieting/supplementation like l-tyrosine or ashwagandha ginseng rhodiola supplements depending on one's specific needs based on their brain type which is discussed further in Dr Amen's book "You Happier".

Connection and Vulnerability The podcast host asks the guest a question from a set of cards created by previous guests, which fosters connection through vulnerability. The guest picks two questions to answer - one about their fear of firing people as CEO and another about apologizing to his late father.

Mental Health Industry The guest talks about how the mental health industry is destroying America's mental health by making diagnoses based on symptom clusters with no biological data and drugging people. He believes that this dark period in Psychiatry will be studied for centuries to come. The chapter ends with sponsor messages for Huel nutrition drink and Blue Jeans online video conferencing tool.