← Change Your Brain Every Day
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- [00:00]
A
What did teachers say about you?
- [00:02]
B
Do you remember probably Sweet Jillian Sweet. Then I went into junior high and it was hell. I was home of heavily homophobic because obviously I was gay and it was the 80s. Foreign.
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A
Meet you and to perhaps you do this with us. Our goal is to end the concept of mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health. And you're a pillar of health and you have been for a long time. Lots of people get healthy and so the idea that I can help your brain be healthy, that just excites me.
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B
See how you feel about this. By the end of our interview.
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A
Dog. So on average people come to see US have failed six medicines, 3.3 providers and they have four diagnoses. So you don't scare. We'll see about that. All right. Goal. See about ADD with you. Yeah. And help you have the best brain possible.
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B
Memory. Severe memory.
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A
Which is interesting because your memory score on the test was nearly perfect because
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B
they know how to cheat it short term. I've learned hacks.
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A
Where did you grow up?
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B
Here, unfortunately. The Valley Diamond. Valley girl.
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A
What was it like for you growing up?
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B
When I was little, I was kind of. I had a little some issues. Always like seeing things all the time like aliens and vampires and sharks were coming out of the bathtub drain like that, which kids do. My mom got me into therapy and the therapist was like, she's really pissed at her father. So I don't really remember a ton. But there was one episode where I love animals and I didn't have siblings, so animals. And I had a dog named Blondie and I did not name the dog, my mom named the dog. Anyway, so I. That night I could see my parents window down the hallway from my room. I was seeing things in the window, like cartoons. And you know, they're talking, the cartoons. I was five, I think. And then the cartoons started getting like angry cartoons and they started getting scary cartoons. I went downstairs and I was like, there's things in your window. On. My parents freaked out, took me to the emergency room because they're like, fuck, you know, somebody laced the pizza with lsd. She's seeing things. Took me to the er and I do remember this, which is interesting because I don't never remember anything. And the guy had me like walk from here to here, whatever. And he told me my parents, he's like, she has an overactive imagination. She's not on anything. She's fine. So I came to find out years later that. That night. Because I don't remember this at all. My dad There was company over. My dad had picked up the dog by the scruff of the neck, and I was tapping the dog on the nose. And I freaked out. I was like, put down my fucking. Like, I didn't say fucking, but I guess I freaked out. I don't remember this at all. So I'm telling you what I've been told. And he got mad at me because I was yelling at him, I guess, and sent me to my room. And how did you have a trauma reaction?
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A
You see your dad abusing the dog?
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B
He wouldn't even tell you he was abusing the dog? I don't even know.
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A
So what was it like to have a mom who was a psychoanalyst growing up?
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B
Actually, I Kind of. The best thing for me, and here's why, is that when I work with people who have weight problems, I understand it in a different way. So I'm not working with somebody who, you know, likes Twinkies. You know what I mean? I am dealing with a person who has an emotional hunger that they're feeding with food. And I understand that. So in my work, it allows me to help people much more effectively. But it's also combined with a martial arts background that is very like, no nonsense, all empathy, but no sympathy. And I've learned that when you treat people like they are who they can and should be, they'll become who they can and should be. But it's not the all, you poor thing, just take the stairs. So my mom gives me. Gives me that kind of healthy, empathetic ability to understand. But my martial arts background is like, I get. It's hard, but get the up. Get off the ground. You know, stop whining about it and let's do A, B, C and D and E. Because you can, and it's your obligation to yourself. So it's like a weird combo.
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A
What did teachers say about you before you were 12? Do you remember?
- [05:48]
B
Probably Sweet, Jillian, sweet. Then. Then I went into junior high and I went to Sierra Canyon. It was hell. And I was gay and did not realize I was gay. I was heavily homophobic because obviously I was gay. And it was the 80s. It was really not okay. It was grosser than gross. It was the only prejudice I ever experienced growing up in Los Angeles is being everyone hated gays. And I started getting bullied. And my mom pulled me out of the school and put me in Portola, which was public. Then my parents divorced, and then I became like the loser kid. And I would spend every lunchtime in this woman, Mrs. Kronstad's. Classroom, who was great. I loved her amazing teacher through junior high. My mom got me into martial arts when I was 13, and that slowly began turning things around for me.
- [06:56]
A
Head trauma. So we've talked about this. You were not kicked in the head. No. You were headed by a horse.
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B
Yes. But it was much older. I was riding a horse and the horse reared up and knocked me in the eye. But it wasn't that bad. Okay. Yeah.
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A
Because your scan looks more like trauma than hd
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B
Brain like injury.
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A
Yeah. Let me show you. So we did a study called spect. I'm so happy we got it. SPECT looks at blood flow and activity, looks at how your brain works. And it basically shows us three things. Good activity, you have lots, too little or too much. And then my job is to balance. So if we look at your brain, typically in ADD brains, we see low activity in the front. Low activity in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia. That's where dopamine is produced. And low activity in the cerebellum. Okay. Your brain shows right where you pointed to. Left front side of your brain is low. It got hurt at some point.
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B
But I was an adult when I got smacked in the head.
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A
So that's why I asked you when. Yeah. And you want to go. Was there anything earlier? Accidents, falls, bites, anything? But see your temporal lobes right here?
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B
Yeah.
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A
It just. To me, it looks like a trauma. I've seen this so often. It's like probably she had a concussion at some point. And really, if you look here. Okay, I got black here. Here. Now you have a beautiful brain for your age in a lot of really healthy brain activity. But. Your anxiety centers are working really hard and your cerebellum is sleepy. And so I think losing things and getting distracted and getting overwhelmed is. You don't have enough activity here. And. And that's going to be part of the goal. It's going to be fix this, which you totally can, and calm your emotional brain and activate your cell phone.
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B
That's possible.
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A
Absolutely.
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B
Yeah.
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A
None of it's dead. None of it's permanently damaged. But parts. It's like a car. You're sort of like an Italian sports car. It's not too quite right. So if we tune it, you'll be. You're already awesome. We're going to help you be more awesome and then maybe remember more things.
- [10:05]
B
The anxiety stuff is the. That goes on in my life, unfortunately.
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A
ADD stuff always is always, always different. So I wrote a book called Healing ADD where I talk about seven different Types of add? How? It's not one thing. And some people, Ritalin, Adderall are miracles, and other people, they're disasters. And for you, I would think they would help and hurt at the same time, but. Activate your frontal lobe, activate your cerebellum and make you tense and anxious.
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B
Super tense and anxious. And a headache. Yeah.
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A
So we need to calm your basal ganglia and find something else to stimulate those areas. Have you ever heard of the interactive metronome?
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B
No.
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A
It's a treatment specifically to activate the cerebellum. Okay, so I'll recommend.
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B
No, I don't. Brain stuff. Like, you could ask me stuff about. Ever heard about, you know, small particle ldl? I'd be like, yeah, yeah. Yes. Brain stuff. I'm like, no, I have no idea
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A
what you're talking about. That's why we should be friends. I have something called brain and body power. Multiple vitamin, fish oil, brain boost. Okay, but it's a powerful multiple vitamin and a brain boost that works in six ways. To help, repair. To help. So it's my NFL formula. I did the big NFL study. Oh, yeah, no, I know about that line.
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B
Now I can't even watch football without.
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A
Yeah. Hearing you. And so I think the packets. And then you could probably get rid of a lot of your supplements. Maybe if you send me a whole list and I'll like, oh, this is in the packets. Or this is in the packets.
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B
Okay, I got it.
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A
What do you do to relax?
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B
Actually, as I've gotten older, if I move my body, I feel better. When I was younger, I would have told you that was all bullshit. I'd be like, oh, my God. I don't get any of that. Like. Like endorphin. It's all bullshit. I just do it to fit in my jeans. But now if I don't move, I feel like, oh, God. Like, I think there's a psychology to it for me where, like, okay, I did something for me today. This is probably my wife with the kids. I'll check. But it does help calm me down a little bit. It's like, okay, it did something for me. I was proactive. Other things I love to do, love traveling. I love animals. I love having adventures with my kids and seeing friends and date night with my wife and all that stuff. But to calm down, believe it or not, probably moving calms me down.
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A
Now, have you ever meditated? Can you meditate?
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B
The single mind meditation stuff helps. Like the no mind. Forget it. I. No. Not happening. Like the clear.
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A
No, because your brain is too busy.
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B
No, way.
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A
But if you give the breathing I told you about last night.
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B
But there's something to focus on. So, like, if you give me one thing to focus on. Yes, I can do it. It's like, okay, a guided meditations work great for me because I'm so type A. It's like, now focus on your foot.
- [13:37]
A
So I have an app that you would like called Happy Brain. We have hypnosis, audios. You probably like these a lot. So anxiety, sleep, peak performance, stress, pain reduction. So there's all sorts of. Cool.
- [13:53]
B
That's amazing. Okay, thank you, doc. All right.
- [13:56]
A
What a joy. So I will. We're gonna send you home with the supplements, and I'll email you the plan.
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B
Okay?
- [14:05]
A
Okay. So just think of me as somebody on your team. Thank you, Sam.
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B
Sa.