Podcast Summary: "4 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Stress and Anxiety Right Now"
Podcast: Change Your Brain Every Day
Hosts: Dr. Daniel Amen & Tana Amen
Date: November 7, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen, New York Times bestselling authors and brain health experts, explore the pervasive impacts of stress on mental and physical well-being. Together, they break down what stress looks like, offer practical brain-based strategies to reduce anxiety, and provide listeners with four actionable steps to take control of daily stress—right now. The discussion blends personal anecdotes, medical insights, and clear, science-backed advice.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
The Pervasiveness of Stress
- Stress as a Health Issue
- Up to 30% of primary care visits are related to stress effects.
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “Stress is actually one of the greatest killers in our society. It’s estimated that 30% of people who go see their primary care physician are actually there for a result of stress.” [00:39]
- Stress links to multiple diseases—cancer, diabetes, heart disease—by decreasing immunity and aggravating symptoms.
- Tana Amen: “Almost every disease that we know of is made worse or aggravated by unmanaged stress.” [01:01]
- Up to 30% of primary care visits are related to stress effects.
- Symptoms and Manifestations
- Stress manifests as headaches, sleep problems, tension, GI upset, and ‘wired tired’ feelings.
- Personal story: Tana shares her experience with depression and anxiety related to cancer diagnosis and thyroid removal.
- Tana Amen: “After being diagnosed with cancer and having to drop out of school, it was that combination of the physical and the psychological. ... That spinning on thoughts, not being able to sleep at all, having GI upsets…” [03:19]
Biological and Psychological Links
- Get Your Numbers Checked
- Underlying physical issues (low red blood cells, thyroid problems, inflammation, B vitamin deficiencies) may cause or worsen stress and anxiety.
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “If your thyroid is high or if it’s low, you can feel anxious, stressed, or depressed. So that’s also really critical.” [02:57]
- Women are especially prone to issues related to anemia.
- Underlying physical issues (low red blood cells, thyroid problems, inflammation, B vitamin deficiencies) may cause or worsen stress and anxiety.
- The Brain’s Response to Stress
- Chronic exposure to cortisol harms the hippocampus, aggravates memory problems, and promotes belly fat.
- Positive fact: The hippocampus can regrow through lifestyle changes—the brain is adaptable.
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “By counteracting stress, you can make it bigger and fatter and think in a more healthy way.” [01:23]
Psychological Patterns: The “Ant Attack”
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Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)
- Repetitive, intrusive negative thoughts can spiral uncontrolled, worsening anxiety and perception.
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “You begin to spin on these negative thoughts. And then virtually everywhere you look, something’s not right, something’s wrong, something is making you afraid.” [04:05]
- Repetitive, intrusive negative thoughts can spiral uncontrolled, worsening anxiety and perception.
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Professional Help and Daily Choices
- Acknowledge that sometimes professional help is required.
- Daily habits—diet, movement, and thought patterns—play a critical role in brain health and mood regulation.
- Tana Amen: “You can either be making this worse or making this better every single day, because everything you put on the end of your fork matters. And exercise makes a radical, radical difference in managing stress and depression.” [04:38]
Four Easy Ways to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
1. Kill the ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts)
- Journaling and Thought-Checking Exercise
- Write down negative emotions and thoughts as they arise.
- Ask: Is this thought true? Can I absolutely know it is true?
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, write down what you’re thinking, start keeping a journal.” [05:52]
2. Focus on Gratitude and Appreciation
- Shift Brain Chemistry
- After journaling negative thoughts, consciously write down what and who you’re grateful for.
- Let people know you appreciate them.
- Tana Amen: “When you focus on gratitude, it literally changes your brain chemistry. … After you write down the thought … write down a few things that you’re really grateful for or people that you’re really grateful for, and then let them know that you appreciate them…” [06:13, 06:53]
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “Where you bring your attention determines how you feel.” [06:31]
3. Exercise—Any Movement Matters
- Boost Dopamine and Serotonin Naturally
- Exercise doesn’t need to be an hour at the gym—even a brisk 20-minute walk or a 10-minute session helps.
- Tana Amen: “It’s anything you do is better than not doing it at all. And it’s going to make you feel so much better.” [07:25]
- Exercise reduces worry and increases focus and motivation.
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “Gives you motivation and energy, and it decreases your worry. I mean, what a great intervention.” [07:19]
- Exercise doesn’t need to be an hour at the gym—even a brisk 20-minute walk or a 10-minute session helps.
4. Smart Nutrition—Stabilize Blood Sugar
- Eat to Support Brain Chemistry
- Avoid sugar; opt for “smart carbs” like sweet potatoes, quinoa, bananas with almond butter.
- Tana Amen: “Things like sweet potatoes are really helpful. Or some quinoa, maybe some banana on a coconut wrap with some almond butter. Those things are going to still help to boost the serotonin. They’re going to calm you down, make you feel really great, but they’re not going to make you sick in the process.” [07:45]
- Stable blood sugar leads to stable mood.
- Dr. Daniel Amen: “When your blood sugar drops low, you feel anxious, nervous, and panicky. So diet and mood totally go together.” [08:14]
- Avoid sugar; opt for “smart carbs” like sweet potatoes, quinoa, bananas with almond butter.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On the Mind-Body Connection:
“Almost every disease that we know of is made worse or aggravated by unmanaged stress. … But do you have the right strategies to manage it?”
– Tana Amen [01:01] -
On Thought Patterns:
“You might have an ant attack. … It’s just negative thought, negative thought.… Like a little mouse on an exercise wheel, and the mouse can’t get off.”
– Dr. Daniel Amen [04:05] -
On Action Steps:
“So kill the ants, focus on what you're grateful for, and appreciate the people in your life. Exercise and make sure you get your diet right.”
– Dr. Daniel Amen [08:14] -
On Personal Experience with Depression:
“It sent me into this deep depression along with anxiety. And I didn’t really understand what was happening … Sometimes you feel like, God, I just can’t get out of my skin.”
– Tana Amen [03:19]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [00:39] – The medical impact of stress
- [01:23] – How stress hormones harm the brain (the hippocampus)
- [02:22] – Importance of bloodwork and ruling out medical causes
- [03:19] – Tana’s story: Cancer, thyroid, depression, and anxiety
- [04:05] – Explanation of ANTs: Automatic Negative Thoughts
- [04:38] – Role of nutrition and exercise in stress management
- [05:52] – Step 1: Journaling and confronting negative thoughts
- [06:13] – Step 2: Practicing gratitude and appreciation
- [07:10] – Step 3: The importance of exercise (for everyone)
- [07:45] – Step 4: Smart carbs and stable blood sugar for emotional regulation
- [08:14] – Recap of the four steps
Final Takeaway
Dr. Daniel and Tana Amen deliver an actionable, hopeful message: While stress is unavoidable and may have physical as well as psychological roots, you can significantly improve your brain—and life—every day with mindful thought patterns, practicing gratitude, regular movement, and mindful nutrition. Small, daily shifts can fundamentally change how you experience and overcome both stress and anxiety.