Podcast Summary: Change Your Brain Every Day

Episode: Actor Dave Annable on Life, Love, and ADHD

Host: Dr. Daniel Amen & Tana Amen
Guests: Dave Annable, Odette Annable
Date: September 29, 2025

Episode Overview

In this engaging and insightful episode, Dr. Daniel Amen welcomes acclaimed actor Dave Annable and his wife, fellow actor Odette Annable. The focus is Dave’s journey with ADHD, his mental health challenges, and the broader implications for brain health, relationships, and family life. Listeners get a raw, honest look at the complexities of adult ADHD, the interplay between brain health and personal fulfillment, and practical strategies for cultivating a healthier mind, stronger relationships, and purposeful living.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Dave Annable’s ADHD Journey and Diagnosis

• Dave’s Experience with Adult ADHD

  • Diagnosed in 2015 with adult ADD, prescribed Adderall, later switched to Vyvanse seeking better results ([00:00]; [06:09]).
  • Expressed desire to understand ADHD beyond medication and improve completion, focus, and life satisfaction.
  • “I feel like there’s like a ceiling feeling...that I keep just hitting my ceiling...with my ADD or lack of, you know, real information going forward about how to help myself, versus just medication.” – Dave Annable ([05:29])

• Medication Experience

  • Noted diminishing returns with Adderall over time.
  • “It felt like a lot and I wasn’t really feeling like I was getting the benefits” – Dave Annable ([06:14])
  • Dr. Amen: “It’s not simple. Take Adderall and you’re all better. It’s a little bit more complicated than that.” ([00:10])

2. The Importance of Brain-Focused Therapy in Relationships

• Dr. Amen recounts a story of a couple transformed after he used brain scans to reveal mismatched brain types – one with OCD, another with ADD ([03:13]-[04:30]). This highlighted how understanding brain health can improve relationships:

  • “Better brain, better brain, better love.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([04:51])

• Odette remarks on prioritizing brain health, not just physical health:

  • “I forget about my brain, and now that’s the priority. Never again.” – Odette Annable ([05:06])

3. Comprehensive Brain Assessment for Dave

• Dr. Amen’s Five-Point Model (“Bright Minds”):

  • Examined Dave’s history across biological, psychological, social, and spiritual domains ([09:30]).
  • “I always think of people in these four big circles: What’s going on with your brain? How do you manage your mind? What are your relationships like? And why do you think you’re on the planet?” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([09:31])

• Notable Health Factors Discussed:

  • Testosterone levels: Too high may reduce empathy, increase impulsivity ([08:08]).
  • History of Lyme disease and possible brain inflammation ([08:34]).
  • Childhood and sports head injuries: Hockey, rugby, concussion ([11:59]).
  • Patterns of inflammation, possible autoimmune issues, frequent illness from childhood ([19:34]).

4. Strategies for Improving Brain Health

• Daily Choices Matter

  • “Every day, you are making your brain better, or you are making it worse.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([00:58])

• The “One Page Miracle” Exercise

  • Write what you want in life on one page (relationships, work, money, health) and check daily if your behavior aligns with these goals ([13:17]).
  • “With a healthy brain, everything’s better.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([13:51])

• Special Family Time

  • 15 minutes daily “special time” with kids, no tech, commands, or questions – to boost connection in a distracted world ([14:24]).

• Phone Boundaries

  • Dave’s struggle with maintaining presence and digital boundaries resonates with many in the digital era:
    • “I’m an accidental ghoster...I just hate my phone, and I hate like that it’s constantly going off.” – Dave Annable ([15:03])
    • Dr. Amen suggests setting boundaries and being intentional in communication ([15:49]).

5. Emotional Health, Trauma, and the Role of Therapy

• Grief & Trauma

  • Dave lost his best friend to suicide; Dr. Amen notes trauma is evident in brain scans ([16:58]-[17:07]).

• EMDR Therapy

  • Dr. Amen recommends Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to address lingering grief and trauma patterns ([17:26]-[19:03]).
  • “If you go back, for example, to your friend’s suicide...you’ll feel it, but then those feelings tend to dissipate...and the pattern in your brain...calms down.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([18:19])

6. Physical Health Intersections

• Discussion of sleep challenges, allergies, autoimmune symptoms, childhood illnesses ([19:56]-[22:32]).
  • Approaches like sleep hygiene, recognizing the impact of chronic illness on brain health, and even sleeping in separate rooms for better rest ([22:40]).

7. Cognitive Testing and Brain Scan Results

• Dave’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses reviewed:

  • “Your memory, long term, short term is not great...Focus, not awesome. Planning, not awesome. Processing speed, not awesome.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([23:03])
  • SPECT scan revealed brain “bumpiness,” indicating toxicity, trauma, and ADD ([25:35]).
  • “It’s bumpy. You see these valleys? So that’s the ADD...Toxicity, trauma at some point.” ([25:38])

• Recommendations include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, supplements (omega-3s, saffron), gene testing, and reducing brain toxins ([27:49]).

8. Lifestyle, Motivation, and Self-Discipline

• Dave’s extreme “on-off” behavior pattern with exercise, diet, and healthy habits ([29:07]-[29:45]).
• Dr. Amen focuses on shifting motivation from vanity/job pressure to lifelong brain health and self-care ([29:56]-[30:13]).
• “Is this good for my brain or bad for it?” – key daily self-question ([27:52])

9. Practical Tips and Brain Hygiene

• Saunas, detoxification, “killing the ANTs” (Automatic Negative Thoughts), use of the “Think Dirty” app, and reducing exposure to toxins ([33:13]-[33:35]).
• “Very important to learn not to believe every stupid thing you think.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([33:36])
• Mindset reframes: “Eating crappy food isn’t a reward, it’s a punishment.” – Drew Carey, quoted by Dr. Amen ([34:52])

10. Cognitive Resilience and Mind Management

• “If we always win or learn...just more likely to get to a much better place over time. If we’re curious and not furious.” – Dr. Amen ([37:22])
• Training discipline of mind compared to training for acting or sports ([40:34]).
• Thought exercise: Write worst thoughts, question them, meditate on their opposites ([39:23]-[39:34]; [40:09]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s not simple. Take Adderall and you’re all better.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([00:10])
• “Hallelujah...There’s other things we gotta support for you, not just, you know, medication.” – Odette Annable ([07:11])
• “So if nobody looks at your brain, how do they really help you? If the hardware is the problem.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([04:54])
• “Every day, you are making your brain better, or you are making it worse.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([00:58])
• “Give your mind a name. I named mine after my pet raccoon when I was 16. She was a troublemaker.” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([33:56])
• “Eating crappy food isn’t a reward. It’s a punishment.” – Drew Carey, quoted in episode ([34:52])
• “Is this good for my brain or bad for it?” – Dr. Daniel Amen ([27:52])

Important Timestamps

• [00:00] – Dave’s ADHD diagnosis and medication journey
• [03:09] – Dr. Amen’s story about couples therapy and brain scans
• [05:25] – Dave’s goals: understanding ADD, improving his life, marriage
• [08:04] – Testosterone, Lyme disease, and brain inflammation
• [13:17] – “One Page Miracle” for intentional living
• [14:24] – “Special time” with children to deepen family connections
• [15:03] – Dave’s issues with phone use and intentional presence
• [16:58] – Loss of Dave’s best friend and emotional trauma in his scan
• [17:26] – EMDR therapy explained
• [23:03] – Cognitive testing feedback for Dave
• [25:35] – SPECT brain scan: “bumpy” regions as signs of trauma, toxicity, ADD
• [27:49] – Personalized recommendations for Dave: Lyme consult, supplements, lifestyle
• [29:07] – On-off cycles in Dave’s exercise/diet behavior
• [33:13] – “Think Dirty” app and toxin reduction
• [34:52] – Mindset shift: food as punishment/reward
• [39:23]-[40:09] – Negative thought discipline exercise
• [41:54] – Dr. Amen’s closing message: “Write down your negative thoughts. Kill them.”

Tone and Language

The episode maintains an open, supportive, and sometimes humorous tone. Dave and Odette are candid, even joking about their flaws (“I’m an accidental ghoster…” – Dave Annable [15:03]; “We’re just actually going to have different houses. No, everything’s great.” – Dave Annable [22:50]) while Dr. Amen brings warmth, empathy, and directness as he educates and challenges.

Summary Conclusion

This episode offers deep insights into the lived experience of ADHD, the cost and benefit of various treatments, and the necessity of holistic (brain-body-mind) approaches. Listeners receive actionable, science-backed strategies for improving their own brain health, navigating relationships more compassionately, and living with greater purpose. Dr. Amen’s framework—rooted in rigorous brain science, behavioral self-awareness, and love—delivers both hope and practical steps for lasting change.