Actor Dave Annable on Life, Love, and ADHD

Summary

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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

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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.

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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])

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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])

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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]).

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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]).

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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])

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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]).

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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]).

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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])

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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])

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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]).

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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])

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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Transcript

[Dave Annable]

In 2015, I was diagnosed with adult ADD, and they gave me Adderall. Been basically on it since 2015. Some breaks here and there.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yes, I think you have add, but it's not simple. Take Adderall and you're all better. It's a little bit more complicated than that.

[Odette Annable]

Hallelujah.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

I knew it. She was just.

[Odette Annable]

I'm trying to bite my tongue, but I said, hallelujah. There's other things we gotta support.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

David Annable is an extremely successful American actor.

[Odette Annable]

He is most famous for his roles in the television drama Brothers and Sisters.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

The NBC medical drama Heartbeat, and as.

[Odette Annable]

Neil on the spy series Special Ops. Lioness.

[Dave Annable]

I just hate my phone and I hate that it's constantly going off. So what I do is I just go like this. In today's world, that doesn't hold up. You know, like, you can't normalize a bad texter. You know, like where I won't text somebody back, you know, they text. I'm like, oh, I'm with you. And then I'll text them later. Then, ah, it's not the right time. And then it just keeps getting, you know, punted.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah, but if you have boundaries around it, you teach people how to treat you by what you tell them and how you communicate. And so if you're always getting back to people and they think you're rude, if you don't, well, you've taught them that they can manipulate you with guilt. And one great exercise is every day, you are making your brain better or you are making it worse.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Stay with us to learn how you.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Can change your brain for the better. Every day. There are days when I need to be at my best. Whether it's back to back clinic sessions, long writing days, or just keeping up with life, that's when I take peak energy from brain md. It gives me clean, steady energy without jitters or crashes. And I'm not the only one who loves it. It just won a 2025 Nextie Award, beating over 500 other supplements. If you want real energy that lasts, check it [e-mail] and use the code podcast. 20 for 20% off. Well, welcome to an incredible episode. Change your brain every day. We're gonna do family scans today, and I'm with two really incredible actors and parents, Dave and Odette Annabel. And you're gonna like this episode. Stay with us. When I first started doing scans, loved it. Just got obsessed with looking in people's brains. And I was seeing this couple who hated each other. And, like, whenever they would Come in. They sat on the opposite end. I had two couches in my office. Of each couch. What's in bad sign?

[Odette Annable]

Like, you guys are close, right?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And after about three months, I knew I wasn't going to be effective. I knew you know these things intuitively, but I am persistent. Persistent. I used to think that was a good trade of mine until I realized stalkers are persistent. I'm like, maybe it's not a good trade. And at the end of nine months, I realized they're on my schedule and my stomach hurts, and I'm in the shower. I'm getting ready, go to work. And I'm like, today I'm going to tell them to get divorced. Because it's not helpful for children, of course, with people who hate each other. And then. But I grew up Roman Catholic. Like, not kidding Catholic. And the voice. Those of us that grew up Catholic have a voice in our head. Really? Because you're not a good enough therapist. You're gonna damn their eternal souls to hell. I'm like, I'm calling my friend at the images. I'm like, would you give me two scans for the price of one? Because I have this couple. And he goes, couple, What a great idea. He said, I've been married twice. I can't figure it out. Maybe we could do brain match.com.

[Odette Annable]

Wow.

[Dave Annable]

Well, we're here.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And they got dramatically better.

[Odette Annable]

Really?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Because she had an OCD brain and he had an ADD brain. And I balanced their brain, and I was in San Francisco last year. This was 34 years ago. They're still married and they like each other, and they don't see therapists. We have a shot.

[Odette Annable]

We've got a shot.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

We've got a shot.

[Dave Annable]

Let's do this.

[Odette Annable]

All right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Better brain, better brain, better love.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

There it is. You can see a marital therapist. So if nobody looks at your brain, how do they really help you? If the hardware is the problem.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah. And now you're gonna be able to tell and, like, you know, let some things.

[Odette Annable]

I just feel like we focus so much on helping our body and eating right and doing the whole thing. It's gotta be a whole body thing. But I forget about my brain, and now that's at the priority.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Never again.

[Odette Annable]

Never again.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

About your brain.

[Odette Annable]

That's right.

[Dave Annable]

All right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So, Dave, tell me your goals in being here.

[Dave Annable]

Well, to stay married. No. You know. Yeah. I mean, I think that's part of it. But obviously I'd like to really kind of look into the ADD part and finishing things that I want to Do. And I feel like there's like a ceiling feeling, you know, that I keep just hitting my ceiling with, you know, with my ADD or, or with lack of, you know, real information going forward about how to help myself versus just medication. So I'm very excited to be here.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And you're taking medicine for ADD? Yes, yes.

[Dave Annable]

I was taking in 2015, I was diagnosed with adult ADD and they gave me Adderall and I've been basically on it since 2015. Some breaks here and there. But, you know, it was this last literally two weeks ago where I was like, ah, you know, is there, is there something else out there? You know, or like a different, different drug or. Because I wasn't, it felt like a lot and I wasn't really feeling like I was getting the benefits. I think that it was there for, or maybe my body got used to it. You would know. So I just started trying Vyvanse like four days ago.

It's been great so far.

I didn't take it today.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's basically the same medicine. It's just a little bit of a different preparation. It's. Yes, I think you have add.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

But it's not simple. Take Adderall and you're all better. Yes. It's a little bit more complicated.

[Dave Annable]

Okay. Than that.

[Odette Annable]

Feels like hallelujah.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

I knew it. She was just.

[Odette Annable]

I'm trying to bite my dog. I said hallelujah. There's other things we gotta support for you, not just, you know, medication.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah. Or maybe I can tweak it a little bit. So when I reviewed the history, this, these were just some of the things I took away from it.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So diagnosed, like you said, you had symptoms in childhood. Distractibility, problems with executive function, chatter in your brain, and it interferes with focus and completion. Procrastination. Unless you're really interested. Like golf videos.

[Dave Annable]

Yes. I wrote that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

You take testosterone.

[Dave Annable]

I do.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Levels too high, you send me your labs.

[Dave Annable]

You okay? Yes.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And you have to be very careful when your level's too high.

[Dave Annable]

I just saw that get you all sorts of problems. Okay, what are some? Like, what are some of those?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Your empathy goes down.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And your libido goes up. And you're more likely to make bad decisions with it.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So I, I, I think testosterone is essential. Too high. Strouble.

[Dave Annable]

Okay, copy that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So you've done lots of work on yourself. I love that you're open minded. But you also had Lyme disease and there's something in your brain that looks like inflammation to me. And one of the Things I want you to do is see Dr. Cornish. Dr. Cornish is our functional medicine doctor for the East Coast. Okay. Oh, great. She's on the board of the International Lyme association that you had it, Your brains. Yes. You have add, but it's also too busy. I would put it in a category of over focused. ADD that you also have trouble shifting attention. It's not just paying attention.

[Dave Annable]

Okay, sure.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Let's see. Vitamin D levels. Fine. You take those. So I always think of people in these four big circles.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's like, okay, 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? Like, what is your deepest sense of meaning and purpose? And when we go to the brain, I have this big idea. You want to keep your brain healthy or rescue it? We have to prevent or treat the 11 major risk factors. And I was hunting for them, so I was reading yours, and Bright Minds is the acronym.

[Dave Annable]

Okay. We like that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

B is for blood flow and your apob, which is a measure of heart inflammation. It's a little high. It's not terrible.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

You want to get it lower.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

What are things. Okay.

Diet.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

We'll get there.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

Does that mean I should retire right now at age 45?

That's great.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Absolutely not.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

No, no. Retirement and aging. It's like, are you in a. A job that requires new learning?

[Dave Annable]

Yeah. I mean, for sure.

Yeah.

[Odette Annable]

I mean, of course, you're an actor. You've got to turn into all different kinds.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Saw you in Lioness.

[Dave Annable]

Yes. Yes, sir.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah. Was great. You were great. Thank you.

[Dave Annable]

I appreciate. It's a fun show.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I love Zoe. Oh, yeah, she's amazing.

[Dave Annable]

She's an amazing person, too. She's going to be very jealous of them here.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Inflammation was high, so there's becoming a pattern.

[Dave Annable]

Okay. Hi.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

We thought genes that ADD sort of ran on your mom's side of the family, but not your mom.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah, I don't think so.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Have you ever had your genes tested? There are a couple of genes that I want you to test.

[Dave Annable]

I have an extra.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I have an extra chromosome.

[Odette Annable]

And so does Charlie, actually.

[Dave Annable]

So does Charlie.

[Odette Annable]

We did do some genetic testing, only to see where we line up with Charlie's genetics. And that's where they saw that there was.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I.

[Odette Annable]

Can I actually have the. Oh, it might be in Charlie's chart. And Dave has the same exact one. An extra chromosome. I don't know.

[Dave Annable]

What they were saying is they don't really know what it does Yet I said, you know, love, because she doesn't have it.

[Odette Annable]

Well, we didn't get any answers. Basically, we were, you know, they told. They gave us that information, but it didn't go any further than that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Head trauma. Played hockey. You had a concussion in high school. He also played college rugby. And there's some evidence on your scan. I'll show you.

[Dave Annable]

Oh, okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

All of it is mendable. Okay. If you do what I say.

[Dave Annable]

Oh, okay.

The doc.

I love it.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Keep these headphones on, please, for a.

[Odette Annable]

Little bit until my scan comes up.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So let's say you've had multiple surgeries. And why that's important. General anesthesia can actually be hard on your brain. Like, who knew?

[Dave Annable]

No idea.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Heavy social drinking when you were younger. Now, two to three things. Two to three times a week. One of the exercises I love doing, it's like, all right, let's just be brutally honest. Why do you do it? And let's write all that down. And what would be the benefit to stop? And then we just look at the list. And usually once you see your brain, the benefits to stop outweigh the reasons to do it. Sure. But you have to understand why you do it. Right.

[Dave Annable]

Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

If we don't replace it, then you'll go back.

[Dave Annable]

You'll go right back to it.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Right. Because the goal is your highest level of happiness and connection. And one of the exercises I love to do with my patients called the one page miracle. One piece of paper, write down what you want. Relationships, work, money, physical, emotional, spiritual health. What do you want? And then every day you just go, is my behavior getting me whatever, Getting.

[Dave Annable]

Closer to this or further away from it?

Yeah. Makes sense. Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And I want you to want to have a healthy brain, because with a healthy brain, everything's better.

[Dave Annable]

Everything's better.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Money's better, Health is better. Relationships are better. The. The one page miracle is built specifically so you don't get burned out.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Right. People work too much, they lose their family, and then they get burned out.

[Dave Annable]

Right. Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Spend all the time looking for money or even all the time looking for relationships. And you don't. So it's balance and one great exercise. The kids are how old?

[Odette Annable]

9 and 2.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

9 and 2 is. I have an exercise I love called special time. 15 minutes a day, do something with your child that your child wants to do. And during that time, no commands, no questions, no directions. The level bonding just goes way up.

[Dave Annable]

Sure.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Because you can't be on your phone. They can't be on their phone. You can't be Distracted. It's like, hey, it's my time for you. That's great.

[Odette Annable]

That's great.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah, it'll just help you so much. And we. We live in a distracted society, so we have to drug ourselves so we're not distracted.

[Dave Annable]

It's like, I have a question about that, actually, because I have, like, a real. I don't even want to say love, hate. Like, I just hate my phone, and I hate, like, that it's constantly going off. I constantly have to get back to, you know, a lot of people. And then so what I do is I just go like this because I also, like, truly love to be present. Like, I really love to be. I think it's rude if I'm on my phone when other people here. But I'm like, in today's world, that doesn't hold up. You know, like, you can't normalize a bad texter. You know, when people, like, I'm an accidental ghoster, you know, like, where I won't text somebody back because, like, you know, they text. I'm like, oh, I'm with you. And then I'll text them later. Then it's not the right time. And then it just keeps getting, you know, punted. And then eight years later.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah, but if you have boundaries around it, you teach people how to treat you by what you tolerate and how you communicate. And so if you're always getting back to people and they think you're rude, if you don't, well, you. You've taught them that they can manipulate you with guilt. And so you're in charge of your life. And I think having regular breaks, like, we're not on our phones now because we're connecting, doing something important. And so I think you get to schedule the phone rather than the phone schedules you.

[Dave Annable]

Okay. Love that. Thank you.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Struggling with your mental health. At Amen clinics, we use brain imaging and personalized care to help you heal at 11 locations. Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, New York, Orange County, California, Seattle and Scottsdale. Visit amenclinics.com but you had a friend suicide a couple of years ago.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah, best friend, 20 years.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I'm so sorry. Because you have emotional trauma in your brain.

[Dave Annable]

I do. You do. Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And I don't know if it's still circle.

[Dave Annable]

Can you tell, like, when it's from.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

No, no.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I'm just go. Oh, I have to ask him about emotional trauma. In the therapy you've had, have you ever had emdr?

[Dave Annable]

No.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's a specific form of therapy. It's called Eye Movement desensitization and Reprocessing. So, like, for my patients, I have them keep a journal, and every five years, like, zero to five, five to 10, so on. On the left side of the page, write down what awesome things happened, and on the other side of the page, what awful things happen. And then with EMDR, we'll, like, pick the top 10, go after the worst one first. Have you bring it up. Have you bring up the feelings, the emotions within, get your eyes to go back and forth, and you just sort of imagine being on a train going back to when that happened.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's intense when you bring it up, and then it's not. Wow. And then it might be connected to something else, and then it might be connected to something else. And so if you go back, for example, to your friend's suicide, I mean, it's terrible and it's awful, and you'll feel it. But then those feelings tend to dissipate. You still remember them. You still remember them with love, but it doesn't circle in your head. And the pattern in your brain, which I'll show you in a little bit, calms down. I published a study on police officers who were involved in shootings, and they couldn't go back to work because they were so upset, and they all went back to work.

[Odette Annable]

Wow. A lot of friends do it.

[Dave Annable]

Oh, really?

[Odette Annable]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's really helpful, and it's one of the things I recommended for you just because I saw that pattern.

[Dave Annable]

Sure.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Lyme, you've had shingles. You have asthma and high ige, which is in the immunoglobulin, and high eosinophils on your white count. So there's. There's an immune activation.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah. Like an autoimmune something.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah. And I just think you should see Dr. Cornish and she should help hunt that down.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

For you. And I'm, like, not a huge fan of. Oh, I have an autoimmune disease. It's like, well, why do you have an autoimmune? Yeah, yeah. Is your gut not healthy? Is it the substances?

[Dave Annable]

Right, right, right, right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's like, well, why do you have.

[Dave Annable]

Well, you know, I've always been, like, sick, I guess. Like, I. I was hospitalized twice when.

I was a kid.

I didn't write that on there. With pneumonia. Allergic to everything. My parents actually sent me to live with my grandmother in Florida for a month when I was having. Right after the pneumonia because of the. In New York, like, the. The pollen was so bad or something. So, I mean, I've always had, like, high inflammation or allergies.

[Odette Annable]

You know, I mean, even when we first started dating, you were in and out of the hospital. I mean, you've gone through so many surgeries. I mean, we were first aid.

[Dave Annable]

Way to bring this.

[Odette Annable]

Okay, so he had some stomach issues.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And your brain feels that.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And that may be what you're trying to calm down. Your sleep's low.

[Dave Annable]

Very low.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah.

[Odette Annable]

Oh, very low.

[Dave Annable]

Well, I'm also sleeping next to the lightest sleeper.

[Odette Annable]

Well, this is. This is for another. This is another conversation.

[Dave Annable]

But if I, like, sniff, I hear. And then I gotta like, go downstairs.

[Odette Annable]

Separate bedrooms at this point.

[Dave Annable]

I mean, she yells at me for sneezing. I'm like, that's involuntary. I can't control you.

[Odette Annable]

Try sleeping with him and then we can have a conversation. Okay, let's keep it moving.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Odette Annable]

Sleep. It is. It is so important. It. You are clocking sometimes. What was it the other day? Two and a half hours?

[Dave Annable]

Well, yeah, it's like three.

[Odette Annable]

That's. That's why I go to bed early.

[Dave Annable]

I go to bed real early. Like a.

[Odette Annable]

You know, grandpa, he's like a 7:45.

[Dave Annable]

Okay. Probably.

[Odette Annable]

I'm not probably roasting you if it's in the truth. This is a 7:45.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

My children. It's totally fun of me. Yeah. You know, it's 8:45.

[Dave Annable]

I was like, I'll do the wake up with the kids. I ain't putting them to bed because I'll be sleeping.

[Odette Annable]

But normally, and this has been since you were a kid, you wake up up early. Very early. Like in the 4 and 5.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So if you go to sleep at a. What time do you wake up?

[Dave Annable]

Well, so, you know, let me give you a. An occasional. We just did the thing. So, you know, if I go to sleep, let's say eight.

Okay.

Then I'll probably wake up at like one. And then I'm like stuck in the. Probably pee, you know, and then I'm stuck.

Like I can't wake her up.

And then I'll hear the. I'll do anything. And then I'll hear the exhale.

[Odette Annable]

And then pretend like I'm not in bed.

[Dave Annable]

Well, you. I sleep.

[Odette Annable]

Do you go back to sleep when.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

You wake up when you're not there?

[Dave Annable]

Yes, I do.

[Odette Annable]

Okay.

[Dave Annable]

When you're there, then I go down, I grab a snack, I watch a little, you know, it's horrible. Okay, I'm. I'm not here to justify that. But I walk to the basement, it's.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Got big tv, you Guys should sleep in separate rooms.

[Odette Annable]

Yes.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

This is why she's here.

[Odette Annable]

Thank you.

[Dave Annable]

We're getting close.

[Odette Annable]

That I needed.

[Dave Annable]

We're getting close.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Cuddle with each other for sure.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah. Well, she's uncovered, so we're just actually going to have different houses.

No, everything's great.

[Odette Annable]

Yeah.

[Dave Annable]

Okay. All right. All right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So this is the long computer test you took today. And these are just how you answered questions, which is yes to adhd, Some substance stuff that we talked about. You're really good at recognizing faces. You actually recognize positive faces faster than negative faces. That's good. You get your feelings hurt. You sort of bounce back from it. That is good. Not horribly stressed, anxious, or depressed. Your memory, long term, short term is not great. That's not good. If you're learning a lot of lines over and over again. Focus. Not awesome planning, not awesome processing speed. Not awesome flexibility, sort of.

[Dave Annable]

I got to the gray, but we.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Need to make this better. And so. And I think I'll show you in a second. I think it's because you're poisoning yourself.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Reasonably positive.

[Dave Annable]

I like that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Not terribly resilient. I think that's the busyness in your brain. But very social.

[Dave Annable]

All right.

What was the resiliency part?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's how you answer the questions. I don't worry about that one so much. This is the one I worry about the most.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So we do a study called spect. And you've seen Charlie scan. And SPECT basically tells us three things. Good activity, too little or too much.

[Dave Annable]

Sure.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And then our job is to balance it. And this is our goal. Smooth, looking down from the top, up from the bottom. One side than the other should just be full, even, and symmetrical here. Blue is average activity. Red is the top 15%. White is the top 8%. So white's, like, really active parts of.

[Dave Annable]

Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It should be here. And you'll notice with Charlie, this just absolutely goes away and she tries to concentrate. So with yours, it's not bad, but it's bumpy. You see the bumpiness? The bumpiness is the problem because it means toxicity.

[Odette Annable]

I see a lot of bumps in there.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's bumpy.

[Odette Annable]

It's a bumpy road.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

You see these valleys? So that's the add.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Toxicity, trauma at some point. And it could be the concussion or playing rugby.

[Dave Annable]

And that's the physical or the emotional.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Physical.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Physical. And hyperbaric oxygen is really helpful.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

For this. So. And one of the biggest benefits of hyperbaric oxygen is you sleep better. I did the big NFL study when The NFL was sort of lying. It had a problem with traumatic brain injury and football. They've come around since. But when I put players in the chamber, they slept better.

[Odette Annable]

Wow.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

That was the first thing we saw.

[Dave Annable]

It might be my new bedroom.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Bedroom.

[Odette Annable]

That'd be great.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Well, I saw Justin Bieber and he slept in his chamber. Not sure I recommend. Right.

[Dave Annable]

All right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

You have a great cerebellum.

[Dave Annable]

Heard that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And this is when you concentrate. But if you look, it makes a diamond. That's the trauma pattern. And it's pretty clear. Worry, anxious. And when I see that. I published a couple of studies on it, and it goes with emotional trauma in the past. And EMDR seems to calm it down, but it's so busy, I'm like, I wonder if Lyme has anything to do with it.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Or whatever. Is the origin of your immune system working or. So what do I think? Yes. I think you have ADHD and a concussion or more. The toxicity on the scans, Emotional trauma, high testosterone. So what do we do? Cornish for a lime consult. Hyperbaric oxygen. I think that'll give you a really healthier looking brain.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Some supplements that help. I would add. Happy saffron is a way to calm your limbic brain as opposed. Give you something. Yeah, give me something. Give you something to sort of settle it down. And then. And then I would just love for you to love your brain. And just every day you ask this one question. Is this good for my brain or bad for it? Is it good for my brain or bad for it? All the evidence on alcohol.

[Dave Annable]

Bad. Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

There's just no good evidence. The American Cancer Society came out against any alcohol because any alcohol is associated with an increased risk of eight different cancers.

[Dave Annable]

Wow.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And it's like, decisions aren't better on alcohol. Brain is not better. Your brain is totally mendable.

[Dave Annable]

I love that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

But I want you to love it and never do anything to hurt it.

[Dave Annable]

All right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

You exercise on a regular basis, right?

[Dave Annable]

Yeah, yeah. Kind of when I'm getting job ready, I'm a little lazier when, you know, the downtime. But for sure. When it's time to go to work, I would say.

[Odette Annable]

Can I just say that you are an extremist. He's either on or he's off. And it is one or the other for the most part, I would say. So if he's. So he's going to start shooting season three of Linus in October. So he's sort of on right now. And he will be. When he puts his mind to it. He will exercise Every day. He will eat healthy, you know, the whole thing.

[Dave Annable]

Stop smoking. I stopped drinking.

[Odette Annable]

He does. He does the whole thing. And it's obviously maybe for vanity, right? I mean, for his job.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

That's all we got on camera.

[Odette Annable]

But of course. But I will tell you what. When the man is off, you will.

[Dave Annable]

There's no Dairy Queen. That's safe.

[Odette Annable]

I mean, midnight snacks. You cannot.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Candy wrappers.

[Odette Annable]

The whole thing.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

How to tap into the motivation to be great even when you're not on camera, even when it's time for a job.

[Dave Annable]

The discipline part, the overall caring about myself, it's just.

[Odette Annable]

It's almost like a rigid way of thinking.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

We'll take a break in a little bit because I want to show you. I often make my patients posters.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Here's a healthy brain. Here's yours. Here's yours if I do, you do what I say. And here's yours if you don't.

[Odette Annable]

That's great. That would be great, too. That's great. I love that.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I had an actor who, like, I saw him for a couple of times and then lost touch to him. Ten years later, he said he saw me completely stop drinking. And this poster scared the hell out of him.

[Odette Annable]

Oh, that's great. That's what we need.

[Dave Annable]

Oh, my gosh.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

New learning. You're gonna do that in your job or with the golf videos? A huge fan.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Are you taking Omega 3s?

[Dave Annable]

No, I should. I think there's. We have some at the house. I. I dabbled. I should.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So I want you to. It's my NFL formula. Two packets a day, multiple vitamin, fish oil, and a brain boost that works in six different ways. In fact, Max would be the one. I would change it to. All those lower numbers we saw, they'll all go to.

[Dave Annable]

Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Just the supplements. I published a study on it. All of these go over there.

[Dave Annable]

No kidding? Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So.

[Dave Annable]

And is that from, like, here forward, or. I'll, like, remember the fight we had where I was right. Three weeks ago.

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

But with the saffron, you'll remember the better stuff. Oh, there we go. I like that. And your negativity is not bad.

[Dave Annable]

Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I see a lot of patients, they're, like, over here. And, like, we have to work on. Today is going to be a great day.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah, sure.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I mean, you have to train now.

[Dave Annable]

Like, to get out of bed type thing.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So I'm gonna give you omega 3 fatty acids. I'm gonna give you great multiple vitamin.

[Dave Annable]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So those packets, two a day. You can Take two at the same time. If you have add, it's probably better. So you don't forget the other one. This saffron. You'll notice your mood is up.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And you'll be less worried.

[Dave Annable]

Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And the gummies for when you feel anxious.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah. It's probably a little. Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So I want to order an APOE gene type and an mthfr. And I think the big one is. This is avoid exposure. It's like you want to have a better brain. I don't know if you guys know the app Think dirty?

[Odette Annable]

No, I was just going to ask.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Allows you to scan all of your personal products. Tell you on a scale of 1 to 10, how quick, quickly they're killing you.

[Dave Annable]

Oh, wow.

[Odette Annable]

Kind of like the.

[Dave Annable]

The yuka food.

[Odette Annable]

Yeah. The Bobby approved or whatever.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Saunas. Do you take saunas?

[Odette Annable]

Yeah, we have one at home.

[Dave Annable]

We have an infrared sauna.

Great.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I get in three or four times a week.

[Dave Annable]

Great.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It will help detoxify.

[Dave Annable]

Okay, perfect.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Your system. Kill the ants. ANT stands for automatic negative thoughts. Thoughts that come into your mind automatically and ruin the day. Very important to learn not to believe every stupid thing you think.

[Odette Annable]

That's in your kids book.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's in my kids.

[Odette Annable]

Yeah. We have that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Give your mind a name. I don't know what you might give your mind. Name. I named mine after my pet raccoon when I was 16. She was a troublemaker. I loved her, but she was a troublemaker. So when my mind starts bothering me, like the chatter that you get stoned.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's. You just have to learn how to separate from it. I sat next to Lisa Trout recently. Lisa and her husband own Justify, a triple Crown winning racehorse. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was sitting next to her and I'm like, would you ever get justified drunk? And she goes, no. I said, would you ever feed him junk food? Like, would you take him to Dairy Queen?

[Odette Annable]

No, no Dairy Queen.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I'm like, why? Why wouldn't you feed him junk food? He'd never live up to his potential.

[Odette Annable]

Oh, there it is.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And you're worth so much more.

[Dave Annable]

Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So it's this mindset thing. Like Drew Carey. He said, eating crappy food isn't a reward, it's a punishment. And as soon as I read that, I go, oh, he's gonna stay healthy.

[Odette Annable]

Right.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Because it's the mindset that's Right. When you do the right thing, feel proud of yourself and kick your ass when you do the wrong.

[Dave Annable]

Sure.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Your vitamin D level is 37. I'd sort of wish it was 50. In the packets, there's going to be 2,000 units of vitamin D. Okay. Right. I only saw your testosterone. No, I think I saw. Thyroid was fine. How is your diet?

[Dave Annable]

Odie was right.

[Odette Annable]

When he's on, it's great.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah. When I'm on, it's great. It's like meat veggies, you know, When I'm off, it's everything.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

When do you film the new season?

[Dave Annable]

We start first week in October, so.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I'm so excited because I love it. So good. Have you ever been hypnotized?

[Dave Annable]

No.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's awesome, really. For your anxiety and calming things down. It's like the perfect thing because it activates your frontal lobes. Your executive functions better, but calms your emotional brain. I have an app called brain fit life 5.0. Make sure we send them that. There's hypnosis for sleep, there's hypnosis for pain, there's hypnosis for anxiety. Favorite one for you is Peak Performance. So before you go on set, I just listen to it for 20 minutes and like get your brain in the right. I mean, you already love that. That's super competent.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah. Oh, love it. Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And this is very important. It's very important for Charlie. When people first come to see us, they're not doing well, but they have good days and bad days.

[Dave Annable]

Right?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And then we intervene and they get better. That makes me so happy. That's what happens. But nobody just gets better. They're like, better and then they're not. They're better and then they're not. They're better and they're not. And we always want to take the down days and turn them into good data.

[Dave Annable]

What happened?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

What did she eat? What was going on in her environment. And if we always win or learn. Win or learn. Just more likely to get to a much better place over time. If we're curious and not furious. Does that make sense?

[Dave Annable]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So this is actually for both of you, which tend to be you. So these are like Vance species, right? All or nothing things are all good or all bad Comparison. Focusing on the negative. Beating yourself or others up with guilt. Labeling, fortune telling.

[Odette Annable]

I'm looking at that guy right there. If only I'll be happier when. Or, you know, focusing on the negative or blaming, you know.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah, blame.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's right there.

[Odette Annable]

Well, only. I only blame this mostly pointed to you.

[Dave Annable]

You don't have like a.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

He's perfect up there.

[Odette Annable]

That's his problem.

[Dave Annable]

Mind reading. Would you say that?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

No.

[Dave Annable]

No.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I don't want you Guys, I want you saying yours. I don't want you to go, yep, that's.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah, no, that' saying I me. I think.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Which one's you mind read?

[Dave Annable]

Do I like try and what would I guilt? I would say, what's fortune telling?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

It's where you predict things are going to turn out badly even though you don't have evidence of it.

[Dave Annable]

I think mind reading. I think I probably overly. I'm overly confident about what someone else is thinking when they could.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Even though they haven't told you.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Odette Annable]

Yeah, mine would be that one yours if only. Yeah, I think so.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Whenever you feel sad or mad or nervous or out of control, just write down what you're thinking and ask yourself whether or not it's true.

[Dave Annable]

Right. Love.

[Odette Annable]

Oh, that's great.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And write the opposite of what you're thinking and meditate on that.

[Dave Annable]

I haven't heard that. I like that.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

We won't make it. Is that true?

[Dave Annable]

I don't know.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

We will make it. And if you meditate on that, you're much more likely to behave in ways that you're more likely to make it.

[Dave Annable]

Yeah.

[Odette Annable]

Yeah. That's so great.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So these are the questions that I teach all of my patients.

[Odette Annable]

Can we have printed out sheets? Okay, thanks, Natalie.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So Carlos Ridicker came and did my our show like you guys, and he was worried he was gonna get Alzheimer's disease like his dad and I just took him through the process. So if you write down your worst thoughts, and that was one of his worst thoughts. We get Alzheimer's like my dad. I'm like, is that true? I don't know. Is it absolutely true?

[Dave Annable]

No.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

How does it make him feel terrible? How does it make him act more likely to drink? What's the outcome? More likely to get Alzheimer's disease. How would he feel without the thought? Stress free. Motivated to be healthy. Less likely to get Alzheimer's disease. The opposite is I won't get Alzheimer's disease. And he goes, yeah, that's true. With the right plan. So it's disciplining your mind. As actors, you have to discipline so much about yourselves, right? You have to discipline your facial expressions. You have to discipline your body. You have to discipline so much, but you also have to practice, right? It's something that is a craft. It's a skill you build over time. Managing your mind is the same thing. You have to do it over and over again. Last week we had NBA superstar Julius Randle here. I love him so much and I'm like, how many free throws have you shot like tens of thousands of them. Because in the playoffs he was spectacular, shot like 85%. And it's like you got to do that with your mind, right? Sort of like shooting free throws.

[Dave Annable]

Got to do it over and over and over. Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So I want you to write down your negative thoughts.

[Dave Annable]

Kill them.

[Odette Annable]

Yeah, yeah, blast them.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Are you excited to optimize your brain and help the brains of those you love? Do you want to prevent or treat memory problems, anxiety or depression? Do you want to be happier? That's why I created Amen University to take what I've learned over the last 45 years and help you have a better brain, a better mind, and a better body. You can take courses like our 30 day happiness challenge, which was shown in research to increase happiness by 32% in just 30 days, or memory Rescue or overcoming anxiety, depression, trauma and grief, or healing add at home in 30 days and much more. We also have professional courses and courses for kids, including brain thrive by 25, which was found in independent research to decrease depression and improve self esteem. And as a special offer just for our listeners, you can save 20% on your next course. Visit amenuniversity.com and use the code PODCAST20.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Well, that was amazing. We learned so much. I learned so much and we had such a good time. And I just want to thank you so much for being so brave and so open and I'm so excited to see what your brains are going to look like going forward in Charlie's brain. You've been watching change your brain every day. Subscribe Leave Us a Comment, Question, a Review Share it with your friends.

[Dave Annable]

Sam.