Paul Wesley: Vampire Diaries, Mental Health, Mood & Happiness

Summary

Change Your Brain Every Day: Paul Wesley—Vampire Diaries, Mental Health, Mood & Happiness

In this compelling episode of Change Your Brain Every Day, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen engage in an in-depth conversation with actor Paul Wesley, best known for his role in the Vampire Diaries. Released on February 3, 2025, the episode delves into Paul’s personal experiences with mental health, brain injuries, and his journey towards optimizing brain function for enhanced mood and happiness.

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1. Paul Wesley’s Near-Death Experience and Early Brain Trauma

[00:00] Paul Wesley:
Paul begins the discussion by recounting a life-altering car accident during his senior year of high school. “I was in a car accident. I honestly probably shouldn't have been alive. I was asleep... the person who was driving the car fell asleep, went off the highway, flipped over” (00:00). The accident left Paul with a severe concussion, sparking his awareness of how critical brain health is.

[02:57] Tana Amen:
Tana interjects with her philosophy, emphasizing that mental health is intrinsically linked to brain health. “I often say it's not mental illness, it's brain health” (02:57). This sets the stage for a deeper exploration of Paul's brain health journey.

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2. Early Life: High School Struggles and Finding Purpose

[05:24] Tana Amen:
Tana probes into Paul’s upbringing, asking about his early life. Paul shares, “I went to three different high schools, got kicked out of two of them for fighting” (07:15). He reflects on the tough environment of his New Jersey neighborhood, where physical prowess often overshadowed intellectual or creative talents.

[08:43] Paul Wesley:
Transitioning to his discovery of New York City, Paul describes how exposure to diverse cultures and the arts transformed his life. “I discovered New York city... this whole other world of cultures and art” (08:43). This revelation led him to pursue acting seriously, marking a turning point from his rebellious high school years.

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3. Transition to Acting and Career Highlights

[11:33] Tana Amen:
Tana shifts the conversation to Paul’s passion for acting. Paul explains how he ventured into theater during his time at an all-boys Catholic school, eventually moving to Manhattan to pursue acting full-time. “I ended up getting an apartment in the West Village... had the time of my life” (12:48).

[13:23] Paul Wesley:
Paul reflects on his favorite projects, expressing pride in both mainstream and independent work. “The Vampire Diaries for eight years, which was a huge worldwide phenomenon... and smaller independent films that nobody’s ever seen” (13:27). He also mentions his role in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as Captain Kirk, highlighting his desire to diversify his acting portfolio.

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4. Current Challenges: Brain Fog, Focus, and Mood Issues

[15:03] Tana Amen:
The discussion turns to Paul’s current mental health challenges. At 42, Paul feels increased brain fog, memory issues, and difficulty focusing—issues that were negligible in his younger years. “I feel more lethargic, I have more brain fog, I have more memory issues” (03:51).

[19:00] Tana Amen:
Paul discusses his existing exercise routine, which has become sporadic due to his busy schedule. “I haven't worked out in about three months... a bit of resistance weightlifting” (32:44). Tana points out the lack of coordination exercises in his routine, essential for activating the cerebellum and enhancing brain function.

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5. The 1840-60 Rule and Personal Growth

[15:17] Paul Wesley:
When asked about his goals between now and age 70, Paul aspires for continued success in entertainment and personal growth. He expresses a desire to diversify his acting roles and start a company with Ian Somerhalder, aiming to create something lasting for future generations. “I'd like to have another big success in my entertainment field... start a company” (15:17).

[16:20] Tana Amen:
Tana introduces the “1840-60 rule,” a guiding principle for personal development across different life stages. “When you're 18, you worry about what everybody's thinking of you... at 40, you don't give a damn... at 60, you realize nobody has been thinking about you at all” (16:20). This rule encourages Paul to focus on self-improvement and authentic self-expression rather than external validation.

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6. Understanding and Addressing Brain Injuries with SPECT Scans

[22:04] Tana Amen:
The conversation deepens as Tana explains the significance of SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) scans in diagnosing and treating brain injuries. She emphasizes the importance of looking beyond symptoms to understand the underlying brain activity. “There are spec cameras in every major hospital... the brain SPECT has been around for 30 some years” (22:04).

[22:27] Paul Wesley:
Paul recounts his extensive history with head trauma, including repetitive concussions from playing ice hockey, boxing, and getting into fights during high school. “I’ve been knocked out multiple times” (23:28). Tana explains how these injuries have likely contributed to his current brain health issues, particularly damage to his temporal lobes and prefrontal cortex.

[24:57] Tana Amen:
Using Paul's brain scan, Tana identifies areas of concern, notably reduced activity in his temporal lobes and prefrontal cortex. “This is a dent from a concussion... low activity in your temporal lobes” (29:11). She stresses the importance of addressing these issues to prevent future cognitive decline.

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7. Action Plan for Brain Health Optimization

[31:02] Paul Wesley:
Faced with the reality of his brain scan, Paul expresses determination to follow Tana’s recommendations to improve his brain health. “And who knows, that may have been a factor as well” (26:28).

[31:06] Tana Amen:
Tana outlines a comprehensive plan for Paul, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a tailored supplement regimen, and specific brain-boosting exercises. She highlights the potential for recovery and normalization of brain activity with dedicated effort. “It can come back... have to be serious about it” (31:06).

[33:55] Paul Wesley:
Acknowledging his current shortcomings, Paul admits, “I have terrible balance and I have a terrible back, and I have terrible knees” (33:16). Tana recommends integrating coordination exercises, such as ping pong coaching, to activate and strengthen Paul’s cerebellum and frontal lobes, thereby enhancing overall brain function.

[34:12] Paul Wesley:
Paul reflects on Tana’s advice and the importance of consistency in his brain health journey. “Wow. Okay” (34:13). Dr. Amen echoes the importance of continual improvement, urging listeners to adopt a mindset of “win or learn” to navigate their mental health challenges effectively (35:01).

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8. Conclusion: Embracing a Brain Health Journey

The episode concludes with encouragement for listeners to take control of their brain health, emphasizing that proactive measures can lead to significant improvements in mood, memory, and overall well-being. Dr. Amen invites listeners to explore Amen University for further education on enhancing brain function and mental health.

Notable Quotes:

• Paul Wesley [00:00]: “I honestly probably shouldn't have been alive... my brain got so rattled during that accident.”

• Tana Amen [16:20]: “When you're 18, you worry about what everybody's thinking of you... at 60, you realize nobody has been thinking about you at all.”

• Paul Wesley [26:28]: “God, my brain got so rattled during that accident.”

• Tana Amen [22:27]: “The temporal lobes... are hurt in terrors. Neurons, it tears blood vessels, it causes swelling and inflammation.”

• Dr. Daniel Amen [35:20]: “Change your brain every day.”

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Key Takeaways:

1. Early Brain Trauma Impacts Long-Term Health: Paul's history of concussions from sports and accidents has lasting effects on his brain health, contributing to issues like brain fog and memory loss.

2. Importance of Comprehensive Brain Evaluation: Utilizing SPECT scans allows for a detailed understanding of brain activity, enabling targeted interventions beyond traditional psychiatric diagnoses.

3. Holistic Approach to Brain Health: Combining therapies like hyperbaric oxygen, supplements, and coordination exercises can significantly enhance brain function and overall well-being.

4. Personal Growth and Mental Resilience: Embracing principles like the 1840-60 rule and maintaining a mindset of continuous improvement are crucial for long-term mental health and personal fulfillment.

5. Proactive Brain Health Management: Taking control of brain health through informed strategies can lead to improved mood, better focus, and a more satisfying life.

This episode serves as an insightful exploration of how personal experiences with brain injuries and mental health challenges can be addressed through a comprehensive, science-backed approach to brain health. Paul Wesley's journey underscores the importance of understanding and nurturing our most vital organ to achieve lasting happiness and success.

Transcript

[Paul Wesley]

I was in a car accident. I honestly probably shouldn't have been alive. I was asleep. It was senior year in high school, somebody else was driving. And I woke up out of nowhere and my seat was laid down all the way and it was the middle of the night. And I remember I had this very strange feeling. I'd woken up out of a dead sleep and I never wore my seatbelt back in the day, which is the most idiotic thing in the world. And I woke up and I said this straight strange feeling, put the seatbelt on and then closed my eyes. And then literally eight to ten seconds later, the person who was driving the car fell asleep, went off the highway, flipped over. I think it was nine or 10 times, the police told us later. Landed upside down in a ravine, pitch black, blood everywhere, all the windows shattered. I mean, the car was like a pancake. I remember my head went to the hospital. My head was severely concussed, but nothing, you know, no, no life threatening injuries. But I remember that and thinking to myself, God, my brain got so rattled during that accident.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse. Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day. In this episode of the podcast, I'm going to interview Paul Wesley and we're going to look at his brain. Paul is an actor best known for the viral sensation Vampire Diaries. We're going to talk about brain fog issues with focus, head injuries from ice hockey fights and a brutal car accident. And then we're going to talk about his spec scans and one of my very favorite rules called the 1840s 60 rule. Are you struggling with anxiety, depression, obsessive thinking, past emotional trauma, ADHD or brain fog and don't know where to turn? Are your relationships a mess and you don't know why? Have you had a brain injury, concussion, or just don't feel the same after Covid? Is your memory worse than it was 10 years ago? Or do you have a parent or grandparent with dementia and want to work on prevention? Yes, prevention is possible, but the sooner you start, the better. For 35 years, we've been changing people's brains and their lives using brain spec imaging and a personalized natural approach to brain and mental health care. And we have some of the best published outcomes anywhere. Go to amenclinics.com to learn more and when you call us, mention podcast 10 for a 10% discount.

[Tana Amen]

I often say it's not mental illness, it's brain health.

[Paul Wesley]

Right?

[Tana Amen]

Get a better brain. Everything in your life is better.

[Paul Wesley]

Right.

[Tana Amen]

Relationships are better, business is better, health is better because you make better decisions, which all come from the three pounds between your ears. So thank you.

[Paul Wesley]

Absolutely. Yeah. It's something that is sort of, you know, when this opportunity presented itself, I was thrilled because it's not something that is often done. We don't look under the hood of the car in this way. And so I'm, you know, wildly curious, but also very excited about embarking on this type of brain health journey myself.

[Tana Amen]

So tell me your goals. How can I be of the best service to you?

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah, so, I mean, look, I definitely, you know, I'm at that age, I'm 42, where, you know, I've sort of hit this. You know, I've definitely lost a lot of the steam that I had in my. In my 20s and 30s. And sure, being productive, I think, is an issue. I definitely feel more lethargic, I have more brain fog, I have more memory issues. Things that were not as big of an issue in my 20s and 30s. So that obviously, just from a productivity standpoint, standpoint of my work, and then also just like, focus. Sitting down and reading a book used to be so easy for me, and now I get easily distracted. Things like that that I find I start thinking to myself, well, why? Why is this happening? And I think it's because of lifestyle issues and choices that I make. So I want to be. I would love for you to guide me and help me, you know, be a better version of myself and then also, frankly, to be happier, you know, because I do think sometimes, you know, we have all sorts of our habits and our lifestyles that affect our brain can also affect our mood, obviously, or your brain is your mood. And so I find sometimes, you know, I'll start getting agitated or I'll get depressed and I won't even know why. And I think I want to demystify that.

[Tana Amen]

So what was it like growing up in your house?

[Paul Wesley]

My parents were, you know, I always thought I was going to have this academic life. I worked hard, I studied hard. You know, they always told I felt that I needed to get good grades. So I think I was a pretty good kid. Although I grew up in kind of a. Grew up in a nice neighborhood in New Jersey, but for some reason got into a lot of trouble. I was always good with grades and I always did well in that regard. But as far as just getting into mischief and trouble, that was one of the things. I went to three different high schools, got kicked out of two of them for Fighting. And what was that about? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Actually, I kind of look back and laugh at it, but I. But I guess it was a little. I don't know. I don't know. You know, New Jersey, we grew up in this kind of, like, environment where we thought we had to be tough to be cool. You know, we didn't. There was no, you know, the hierarchy was like, who can kick whose ass? And so that was like. There was no, like, oh, well, this guy's, you know, funny, or this guy is smarter than you. It's like, no, he can kick your ass. And so therefore, he's the. You know, he's here and you're there. Unless. So we all had this mentality of we need to be tough in order to, you know, excel in the social, you know, ladder of New Jersey.

[Tana Amen]

Sort of like the guerrilla hierarchy, in a way.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah. And so I think we just got into a lot of trouble. And I had one. My best friend growing up was a troublemaker. And, you know, we just, you know, that was it.

[Tana Amen]

So I'm really curious. So the trouble started in high school or earlier?

[Paul Wesley]

I think the trouble started, yeah, right around. Yeah, high school. Yeah.

[Tana Amen]

And what would your elementary and middle school teachers say about you?

[Paul Wesley]

They really liked me, but, you know, I didn't fit in with the jocks, and I didn't fit in with, you know, I didn't go. Even though I played ice hockey, I never was part of that whole, like, the varsity jackets and that whole thing. Like, it just never was my. So I didn't fit in with them, and I didn't fit in necessarily with, you know, the kids that wanted to just excel academically. And so I kind of fell in the middle, and I just sort of. I don't know. I think I just. I think it was a maybe a trying to fit in thing, you know. And I remembered also, like, I just struggled a little bit with that. I guess being in the suburbs was tough for me. So when I discovered New York city, which was 45 minutes south, and I discovered, like, this whole other world of, like, you know, oh, my God, look at all these cultures and look at all this art and, like, people are. I met these. You know, I met people that were going to acting class, and some of them were poets, and this guy's a painter. And all of a sudden I was just like, this is what I want. Like, oh, my God, this is what I want.

[Tana Amen]

So that's where you found your people.

[Paul Wesley]

That's when I remember when I went to New York City and I found my friends. I made friends with a bunch of these still really lifelong friends of mine, these artists that were living in Brooklyn at the time. And I just was like, this is what I want. And then I moved to Manhattan. I got a bunch of acting jobs, and I thrived. I was so happy, I couldn't. I started doing theater, and I started to, like, really?

[Tana Amen]

And the fights continued or the fight.

[Paul Wesley]

Stopped, and then everything stopped. Everything stopped. Then I got out of that whole sort of, you know, troublemaking phase of my life, and I.

[Tana Amen]

How did your mom and dad explain it? If I asked them, and I'm like.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Tell me about Paul.

[Tana Amen]

As a teenager, I think they would.

[Paul Wesley]

Say that I was a good kid. Who. But my, you know, my dad, probably not as much, but my mom was just constantly worried about me. She was always worried about me, you know, running around. You know, at the time, there were no cell phones or anything like that, so you couldn't really. So she probably didn't. There was a lot of sleepless nights, but, you know, it wasn't anything severe. It's not, you know, we weren't, you know, thank God I wasn't doing anything, like, illegal. Like, we weren't like robbing. It was more just like getting into trouble, getting into fist fights and, you know, things that I shouldn't have been doing anyway. But it could have been a hell of a lot worse.

[Tana Amen]

When you were in school, how was your focus?

[Paul Wesley]

I think my focus was quite good. It's funny, because I kind of excelled, actually, in math, even though I found myself to be more interested in liberal arts and English or writing. But for whatever reason, that was something that I did better in in terms of scoring sats and whatnot. But I thought my focus was pretty good until, you know, like my. Maybe my senior year, my junior year, I started to getting into trouble, but then also kind of realizing that maybe school wasn't for me and that maybe I wanted to be an actor and maybe I could do something with it. I did go to Rutgers University for a short time, but then I dropped out because I was working as an actor. And I said, well, I'll just go back one day. And then I just never went back. But I enjoyed school. I mean, I enjoyed science. This is why this is so fascinating to me. I enjoyed learning about the solar system or the way that things chemistry. I love the way that things. The sort of things that were more tangible. I enjoyed that aspect of things. I didn't enjoy necessarily you know, algebra. Who does? Not me. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tana Amen]

And tell me about acting. How did that happen? When did that become an interest of yours?

[Paul Wesley]

So I got kicked off the hockey team for, you know, whatever. And then I was going to this all boys Catholic school. I was bored out of my mind. And there was a theater program there. And they. The only time that you could interact with girls because they actually, they had girls from different schools in the plays alongside the boys. So it was almost like the theater program was like, not really part of the school, but it was. And I said, well, I need to do this. And so I started doing theater and I was pretty good, at least that's what they told me. And so I started taking a bunch of acting classes in New York City. And in. An agent saw me doing like a performance on stage, I don't know what I was doing, and he said, do you want to audition for things? I said, yeah, sure, why not? And I ended up booking, like the second thing I auditioned for. And that was it, you know, and my parents were shockingly supportive of it. They were like, great, go for it. You know, they weren't like, oh, what are you doing? You need to get back. And they were like, okay, if you think you can do this, let's. You know, I think they believed in me and I give them a lot of credit for that.

[Tana Amen]

And then you moved to New York when you were 16?

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah, I had like, I was doing like a soap opera and I was. Instead of commuting, I think I was even 15 or something. I ended up getting an apartment.

[Tana Amen]

In.

[Paul Wesley]

The like West Village. And, you know, I had this apartment and I was kind of going to school, but not really, and I was, you know, being barely graduated kind of thing. And I was doing the soap opera on the Upper east side and just having the time of my life. And yeah, it was great, great time.

[Tana Amen]

And what are your favorite projects that you've done?

[Paul Wesley]

You know, the things that I'm probably like, most proud of, nobody's ever seen. Or maybe even a play that I've done, you know, off Broadway in a 99 seat theater. That, of course, is probably my best work that nobody's ever seen. So you'll have to trust me. Take my word for it, doctor. Amen. But the things that are, you know, I'm the most known for, you know, obviously I did a big show called the Vampire Diaries for eight years, which was a huge worldwide phenomenon and a show that I am very proud of. And there's some great. I mean, it's 160something episodes. So it's not. Not every one of them could be, you know, Shakespearean, but some of them are quite good. Now I'm on a show called, well, Star Trek. I play Captain Kirk, which is like the, the new. Well, the prequel to the new. It's a new series but it's the prequel to the Enterprise. So it's Captain Kirk before he was captain. So I'm doing that and I'm actually.

[Tana Amen]

Is that out?

[Paul Wesley]

It is out. It is out. It's called Strange New Worlds. Yeah, it's really great. It's on Paramount and the. There's some stuff coming out next season that I'm particularly proud of that I can't wait for people to see. So this is a little plug for those who are watching. So that's something that I'm very excited for people to see. And then, you know, smaller things, you know, smaller, you know, independent films that nobody's ever seen that, you know, I think are quite special. It's always the small things that you're most proud of and then it's the commercial successes you're also proud of. But it's definitely, you know, more, I would say, widely appealing, you know.

[Tana Amen]

Okay, so here's the big question. What's the goal? What do you want? So you're 42. I just turned 70. It happened so fast, I'm like shocked. But what do you want between now and 70?

[Paul Wesley]

It's a great question. I'd like to, I'd like to have another big success in my entertainment, in the entertainment field. A because I want that. Because I'm someone who likes to accomplish and achieve things, but also because I do feel a little bit pigeonholed. Even though I'm doing Star Trek and Captain Kirk is iconic role, I do feel that most people come up to me on the street. It's typically from the Vampire Diaries. And it would be nice to have one more thing in the portfolio, in the resume that people go, oh, and that thing, you know. And so because it's sort of like to just be sort of known for one thing, it can be a little kind of in a way suffocating because people identify you as that and you want to be identified as, as more, you know.

[Tana Amen]

Although I have a rule for you.

[Paul Wesley]

Tell me this rule.

[Tana Amen]

It's called the 1840, 60 rule. It says when you're 18, you worry about what everybody's thinking of you. And when you're 40, you don't give a damn what anybody thinks about you.

[Paul Wesley]

That is true, by the way.

[Tana Amen]

And when you're 60, you realize nobody has been thinking about you at all.

[Paul Wesley]

I've heard that before.

[Tana Amen]

People spend their days worrying and thinking about things themselves, not you. So if you want them, whoever them is, to have a different opinion of you, they don't care.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah. They don't have an opinion to begin with.

[Tana Amen]

They have an opinion in the moment, on the street.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tana Amen]

Right. It's like, oh, doctor, amen, I love you.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah, no, but I mean, it's, you know, great.

[Tana Amen]

I love that.

[Paul Wesley]

Right.

[Tana Amen]

But it's like, do I love me?

[Paul Wesley]

No. Yeah, of course. No, but it's, you know, it's funny because, like, I find my taste is always, you know, I've got very specific taste that is probably more skewed towards, you know, kind of, I don't know, niche sort of filmmaking or European style filmmaking or I'm a bit of a cinephile. Like I can really name, you know, a wide array of movies that probably no one's seen that I just love. And so it's just funny for me to be associated with sort of a very pop culture oriented, sort of younger skewing show. Not that there's anything wrong that you.

[Tana Amen]

Created the pop culture around.

[Paul Wesley]

Absolutely, absolutely. And there's nothing. And I'm so grateful for it. But it's just funny as a 42 year old man to sort of have to. And so you almost want to do it for yourself, you're doing it for them, but you also want to do it for yourself and for your peers. And also as an expression of your craft, you want to be able to do more so that you, as an artist are expressing yourself to the world in a way that, you know, is a real indication of who you are.

[Tana Amen]

So one big goal is to continue your craft.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah.

[Tana Amen]

And to elevate it as you can.

[Paul Wesley]

Yes.

[Tana Amen]

What else?

[Paul Wesley]

So I have a company with Ian Somerhalder and, you know, I've always wanted to start a company. I've always worked for somebody else. I've always been hired. And I love the idea of creating something from the ground up. And I want to be able to make that company as successful as possible and hand it off to my children, if I ever have any. I gotta hurry up. And so that's another goal of mine.

[Tana Amen]

You want to be good at business.

[Paul Wesley]

Yep.

[Tana Amen]

You want to continue acting and be better, more creative. What else?

[Paul Wesley]

In terms of my relationships, you know, romantic relationships, I've come a long way and, you know, I'm in a fantastic relationship. Now for the last two years with an amazing girl that I'm very lucky to have. And so that is something that I feel very grateful for. And I am, am luckily sort of nurturing that. And we're both very mutually committed to creating, like, the healthiest possible relationship and supporting one another. And that's something that I'm already doing. And so maintaining that and then. Yeah, and then having family eventually.

[Tana Amen]

I mean, just talking to you sort of worry a little bit about the fights in high school, but you've been working consistently productively, have had many successes, but you're not sleeping well, you have brain fog, you can have periods of depression. And we're smart people, we could come up with all sorts of reasons for that. But if you don't look, you don't know.

[Paul Wesley]

Like, stop lying about this.

[Tana Amen]

And so we want to optimize the physical functioning of your biology or your brain, but then we also have to look at your mind. So this is how I work. I believe you are not your diagnosis. The first week of medical school, the dean at Oral Roberts University that sort of went to medical school, he said, never think of your patients as their diagnosis. Always think of them in four big circles. What's their biology? Right. And most psychiatrists never look at the brain, so they have no idea what the biology is. We look because how would I know what's going on in your brain unless I look? Right? So there are spec cameras in every major hospital in the world because they do SPECT heart studies, SPECT bone studies, SPEC lung studies, and they brain SPECT has been around for 30 some years.

[Paul Wesley]

Okay.

[Tana Amen]

And it was really exciting in the early 90s. But the American Psychiatric association said, oh, you shouldn't do it because it doesn't go with the diagnostic bible, the dsm. That's the reason you do it. Because how do you know why someone is depressed? How do you know why they're addicted? Or how do you know? And could that car accident when you were 15 impacted the decisions you make when you're 40? Mm. And if you don't look, then you just guess and the guessing leads to, oh, you have a personality problem.

[Paul Wesley]

Right, Right.

[Tana Amen]

Oh, you're antisocial or you're borderline or. And I think that's name calling.

[Paul Wesley]

Right.

[Tana Amen]

That's the ultimate form of gaslighting. If you don't look, you don't know. Head trauma. This, I think, is important for your scan as we try to explain it. So I want you to sort of walk us through some of the head traumas. You've had.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah. Ice hockey is, you know, it's very. It's legal to just, you know, do a hit. And so, you know, I've been hit many times, open ice and against the boards, and I've definitely had blackouts, so that's something that.

[Tana Amen]

How many times did you have blackouts?

[Paul Wesley]

Blackouts in my life?

[Tana Amen]

No. Playing hockey when you were young.

[Paul Wesley]

Oh, playing hockey.

[Tana Amen]

When did you start?

[Paul Wesley]

When I was six years old.

[Tana Amen]

Seriously? You were on the ice when you were six?

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah, six years old. Very serious.

[Tana Amen]

And you played until you were how old?

[Paul Wesley]

Played five days a week to lose. You know, until I started acting very seriously. It's probably till about 16. Yeah, very seriously. Playing now 17, something like that. You know, it was.

[Tana Amen]

So this is sort of a big deal because it's repetitive and it's For a long time.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Do you know who Paul Correa is?

[Paul Wesley]

No.

[Tana Amen]

He's in the hall of Fame, in the NHL. Is one of my patients.

[Paul Wesley]

Oh, wow.

[Tana Amen]

Played for the Anaheim Bucks and had.

[Paul Wesley]

Some wicked, I'm sure, concussions. And I also, you know, I went through a period where I got into boxing, so I was boxing for a short time, so that, you know, I'd never had some severe knockout in the ring, but definitely, you know, sparred and got a little knocked up. And then, you know, the stupid high school fights. I've been laid out. I mean, I've been knocked out multiple. Multiple times.

[Tana Amen]

So I wonder, right? So this is my brain. You're playing hockey since you're 6 years old. Your brain is soft. It's about the consistency of soft butter tofu custard, somewhere between egg whites and jello. And it's housed in a really hard skull that has multiple sharp bony ridges. And when we look at your skin, in a minute, it's your temporal lobes that are hurt. If you just feel that, it's almost as sharp as a knife. And so you get knocked against the board, your head hits the ice. Your temporal lobes, which are right here, they get hurt in terrors. Neurons, it tears blood vessels, it causes swelling and inflammation. It's not a good thing.

[Paul Wesley]

No, it's not. And, you know, I also was in a car accident when I was again, in high school. And it was one of these situations where I honestly probably shouldn't have been alive, given the fact that I put my. I was asleep. It was senior year in high school, somebody else was driving, and I woke up out of nowhere, and my seat was down all the way, and it was the middle of the night, and I remember I had this very strange feeling. I'd woken up out of a dead sleep and I never wore my seatbelt back in the day, which is the most idiotic thing in the world. And my mother would always beg me to, and I'd be like, whatever, who needs a seatbelt? Like an idiot. And I woke up and I said this strange feeling, put the seatbelt on, and then closed my eyes. And literally eight to 10 seconds later, the person who was driving the car fell asleep, went off the highway, flipped over. I think it was nine or 10 times, the police told us later. Landed upside down in a ravine, pitch black, blood everywhere, all the windows shattered. I mean, the car was like a pancake and got out of it. I remember my head. I went to the hospital, my head was severely concussed, but nothing, you know, no life threatening injuries. But I remember that and thinking to myself, God, my brain got so rattled during that accident. And who knows, that may have been a factor as well.

[Tana Amen]

And you were how old when that happened?

[Paul Wesley]

17.

[Tana Amen]

17. So now the trauma is stacking. Yeah, Right. Hockey every day, five days a week from the time you're six to the time you're 16. That's a long time.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah.

[Tana Amen]

Fights at school, boxing, bad car accident where you nearly die.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah.

[Tana Amen]

This is where I believe in guardian angels, where it's like, put your seatbelt on.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tana Amen]

And that was really sad because you're here for something.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah.

[Tana Amen]

Okay, so let's talk about your brain.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So we do a study called spect.

[Tana Amen]

And SPECT stands for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography. It's a nuclear medicine study that looks at blood flow and activity, how your brain works. And it basically shows us three things. It shows us healthy activity. You have a lot areas that are too low, that's the problem. And areas of the brain that are too high. So good activity, too little or too much. And then my job is to balance it. And here is an example of a healthy scan. Color doesn't matter, it's the shape. You can see this. But your temporal lobes and your frontal lobe on one side. If you had add, it would be decreased on both sides. This is trauma, this is traumatic brain injury. When you get that asymmetrical decreased activity here on the left. So it wouldn't surprise me if you had ADD like symptoms. But probably you didn't have them in fourth grade. Probably you developed them after the repeated concussion. That's right, that you had. Brain is soft, skull is hard, skull has sharp bony ridges. And these are your temporal lobes. And they're damaged. We need to make them better. Now, if I was you, I'd go, can you make them better?

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah. That was my next question.

[Tana Amen]

So here it is. And now we can play with it. Now we can rotate it. I love this technology so much. So, if we look down from the top, not too bad. But if we look toward the front, you can see the dent right there.

[Paul Wesley]

What is that?

[Tana Amen]

It's a dent from a concussion. And then we see this low activity in your temporal lobes, and that's not good, because those are your hippocampi. And your hippocampus is so important. Hippocampus is Greek for seahorse, because it's shaped like a seahorse. And every day, your brain makes 700 new baby seahorses or 700 new stem cells. And it's why you don't want to ever poison them, because they want to grow into the big hippocampus and the big seahorse. And I have a program that tells me, in the future, if you do what I ask you to do, it can be better. It can be normal. This is. It's not dead. It's sleepy. It's hurt, but it's not. It can come back. Right? I don't have the Lazarus treatment to bring the dead back to life, but I can get the sleepy tissue healthy. So if you are serious and I'm smart, that'll be a good combination. So tell me now. If you don't do what I ask you to do, this is very important. In five years, your brain's gonna look like that.

[Paul Wesley]

That's not good.

[Tana Amen]

No. Now you're gonna begin to get dementia. So your brain can be so much better. We just have to be serious about it.

[Paul Wesley]

And what do I need to do?

[Tana Amen]

So I think hyperbaric oxygen is really important. I'm going to give you a group of supplements that I used in my NFL people, and then we'll talk about it. Brain envy. You got to start really loving and caring for your brain, avoiding things that hurt it, and do things to help it. This one, the color matters. Blue is average activity. Red and white are the most active parts of the brain. So we looked at the surface scan, and I showed you the decreased activity in your temporal lobes and in your left prefrontal cortex. The hyperbaric oxygen supplements, I think, also add focus and energy to you, get more energy to your brain and also blood flow here. Looking at the active scan, if we just go back to what it should look like and what it will look like in the future, we should see lots of activity here and everything else quietly. Your brain is just too quiet overall. Your emotional brain, that's part of your thalamus, that's busy. But I want this better. I just want to increase the activity. Not too much, but get it to be healthier. And so the question is, how do we do that? So we need to improve this. This is. I should put this in red. What do you do for exercise?

[Paul Wesley]

So I used, I. I go through waves. I used to be like, like exercise junkie, fanatic, as, like six to seven days a week. And now I haven't worked out in about three months and that. This is the longest I haven't gone in a long time. But I have a peloton at home. I love to hike with my dog. I just haven't been doing it. I've been working and traveling too much lately, and I just. And a little bit of resistance weightlifting.

[Tana Amen]

But do you do any coordination exercises?

[Paul Wesley]

Such a good question. The answer is no. And I have terrible balance and I have a terrible back, and I have terrible knees. And, you know, I don't do any of those things. No, But I've watched a program where you talked about racket sports. I'm a huge fan of racket sports, so I actually, I'm just terrible at it. But I love, like, I grew up playing ping pong and I love tennis.

[Tana Amen]

So I would get a ping pong coach, okay, and like half an hour, twice a week and just go make me better. Because what that's going to do is activate your cerebellum, right? That sleepy part of your brain.

[Paul Wesley]

Better than tennis.

[Tana Amen]

Better than tennis because it's faster. And if you get good, it becomes more fun. But if you get good, it means you're developing the connections in your cerebellum and in your frontal lobes.

[Paul Wesley]

Wow. Okay.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So when people come to see me.

[Tana Amen]

They'Re not doing well, but they have good days and bad days. You know, it's just. They come to see me and then we intervene and they get better, but nobody just gets better. They're better and then they're not. And then they're better and then they're not. But if you look at the graph, it's, you know, five or six months from now, you do what I ask you to do, you're gonna feel so much better. But I don't want you to let the down days set you back. I want you to think every day, I win or I learn. Win or I learn. And you probably had that mindset on the vampire diaries.

[Paul Wesley]

Yeah.

[Tana Amen]

Because you lasted eight years.

[Paul Wesley]

Right? Right. Or just even being in the profession that I'm in, you know, 99% of the time you're getting rejected, it's like 1% success rate and then that's a hit and thank God, you know, that kind of thing. So you got to keep going.

[Tana Amen]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

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 few 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. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast. Tana and I work really hard to provide free information that will make a meaningful difference in your life every day. Change your brain every day. If you liked it, please subscribe. Leave us a review and if you have a story of transformation you want to share with us, you can do that by dming us @docaimon on Instagram.

[Tana Amen]

Thank you so much.