1KHO 756: You are Not Stuck With the Brain You Have | Dr. Daniel Amen

Summary

Episode Overview

In this episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast (Episode 1KHO 756, April 2, 2026), host Ginny Yurich (referred to as Jenny in the transcript) welcomes renowned psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen. The central theme is brain health as a foundation for well-being, resilience, and happiness—deconstructing the idea that “you are not stuck with the brain you have.” The conversation weaves Dr. Amen’s pioneering work in brain imaging, the science behind acts of kindness, concerns about screens and youth mental health, and practical tools for families to restore and protect brain health one habit at a time. They also discuss Dr. Amen’s many books and programs, his personal stories, and the upcoming Good Neighbor Day America initiative, which seeks to counter the loneliness epidemic with a massive kindness challenge.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Dr. Amen’s Journey and the Power of Brain Imaging

• Backstory and Motivation
  • Dr. Amen recounts his start as an infantry medic, later falling in love with medical imaging when retrained as an X-ray technician.
    • “How do you know unless you look?” ([02:09], Dr. Amen)
  • Personal family crisis—a loved one’s suicide attempt—led him to psychiatry and the realization that helping one person can impact generations.
    • “I realized it could change generations of people.” ([02:56], Dr. Amen)
• Why Brain Imaging Matters
  • Traditional psychiatry rarely examines the organ it treats.
  • Brain SPECT imaging at Amen Clinics shows not only what’s wrong but also how it can improve—with visible brain scan changes post-intervention.
    • “If your brain's not right, you're not right.” ([03:23], Dr. Amen)

2. Behavior Isn’t Just About Willpower—It’s About the Brain

• Family Neuroscience Stories
  • Dr. Amen discusses scanning his grandmother: despite a “healthy” scan, she was rigid and unkind—a state improved by antidepressant medication.
    • “Not all behavior is will driven. A lot of behavior is brain driven.” ([05:55], Dr. Amen)
  • The healing power of hands-on activity (e.g., knitting) on brain health is highlighted.

3. Kindness as a Brain-Boosting, Mood-Boosting Practice

• Good Neighbor Day America and the Loneliness Epidemic
  • Launching May 16th, this challenge aims for 250 million acts of kindness as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration.
  • Loneliness, especially in young people, is rampant. Acts of kindness are an “antidote” through connection and giving.
    • “The antidote for loneliness is connecting, and it’s going outside…this is really a brain exercise.” ([08:35], Dr. Amen)
• Science of Volunteering and Kindness
  • Referenced Baltimore study: weekly volunteering grows the hippocampus (memory and mood center).
    • “Behavior is either growing [stem cells]…or you’re murdering them.” ([10:46], Dr. Amen)
  • Random acts of kindness (even very small ones) measurably increase well-being in students.

4. Social Media, Screens, and the Youth Mental Health Crisis

• Why Are Our Kids So Anxious and Depressed?
  • Social media, excessive screen time, and violent games overstimulate the brain’s pleasure centers, feeding anxiety and sadness.
    • “Video games, cell phone, social media are wearing out the pleasure centers in the brain…you need more and more to feel anything at all.” ([23:08], Dr. Amen)
  • Statistic: 57% of teenage girls report being persistently sad; a third have contemplated suicide; 13% have tried.
    • “These are unlike any statistics we have ever experienced in the mental health field.” ([23:50], Dr. Amen)
• Firm and Kind Parenting
  • The best parenting style is firm + kind: set limits, don’t be a pushover, but always remain empathic.
    • “Clarity is kindness.” ([15:55], Dr. Amen)

5. Purpose, Optimism, and “Training” the Brain

• Pleasure vs. Purpose
  • Pleasure overload (from fame, screens, dopamine hits) undermines deeper happiness.
  • Dr. Amen’s exercise: the “One-Page Miracle” helps patients of all ages clarify their purpose in relationships, work/school, health, spirituality.
    • “Fame is lethal for a lot of people…What you want is: how can you make a difference in the life of someone else?” ([26:18], Dr. Amen)
• Rewiring Negative Thought Patterns
  • Story of collecting penguins: Focus attention on what’s right, not just what’s wrong, in children and loved ones.
    • “I collect penguins as a way to remind myself: notice what you like more than what you don’t. And it works so well.” ([31:18], Dr. Amen)
  • Practical tools: end the day with “What went well?”; start the morning with “Today is going to be a great day.”

6. The Impact of Physical Activity and Learning

• The Importance of Hand-On Activities
  • Activities like knitting or table tennis stimulate the brain, especially the cerebellum; lifelong learning keeps the brain alive.
    • “When you stop learning, your brain starts dying.” ([41:27], Dr. Amen)
• Role of Outdoor Time and Nature
  • Micro-moments—birdsong, sunlight, time in forests—are deeply restorative for mood and brain vitality.

7. Brain Injury and Prevention

• Contact Sports and Brain Health
  • Even “mild” traumatic brain injury can cause lasting psychiatric problems.
    • “Your brain is soft, about the consistency of soft butter. Your skull is really hard and has sharp bony ridges.” ([38:38], Dr. Amen)
  • Football and soccer headers: a significant percentage of players show lasting brain damage, especially to areas involved in happiness.
    • “Never hit a soccer ball with your head.” ([40:21], Dr. Amen)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Brain's Plasticity:

  • “You are not stuck with the brain you have. You can make it better. I can prove it. And with a better brain always comes a better life.” ([39:07], Dr. Amen)

• On Parenting and Reinforcement:

  • “Whenever [my son] did what I wanted him to do, I didn’t pay any attention…when he didn’t, I gave him a ton of attention. So I was inadvertently teaching him to be trouble.” ([30:20], Dr. Amen, penguin story)
  • “Clarity is kindness.” ([15:55], Dr. Amen)

• On Kindness and Volunteering:

  • “Volunteering grew that area of the brain [the hippocampus], where the people who didn’t, as with aging, it continued to shrink.” ([09:51], Dr. Amen)
  • “If you want to live a long time, get your brain to come along with you.” ([11:33], Dr. Amen)

• On Handling Grief:

  • “You need to train your brain for when the hard times come, that it knows what to do. …It meant I’m managing my grief by managing my mind and my brain.” ([46:27], Dr. Amen, reflecting on the day his father died)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Topic/Segment | |--------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:11 | Introduction; Dr. Amen's backstory and brain imaging origin | | 04:58 | Family brain scans; behavior is brain-driven | | 08:15 | Good Neighbor Day America; loneliness epidemic and kindness | | 12:08 | Random acts of kindness studies and student well-being | | 13:14 | New moms, social media, youth mental health crisis | | 22:09 | Video game/screen addiction effects on kids’ brains | | 25:42 | Purpose, the One-Page Miracle, and outside-of-self living | | 28:29 | Penguin story on positive reinforcement in relationships | | 35:37 | Scripture memory and lifelong brain health | | 38:38 | Brain injury from sports | | 40:00 | Happiness circuitry and sports, never head a soccer ball | | 41:27 | Learning as brain exercise; knitting, table tennis | | 44:18 | Applying optimism on the worst day (father’s passing) | | 47:32 | Favorite outdoor childhood memory: picking plums with grandpa |

---

Further Resources and Where to Learn More

• Dr. Amen's Books:
  Mentioned titles include Memory Rescue, Change Your Brain Change Your Life, Raising Mentally Strong Kids, You, Happier, Stones of Remembrance, The End of Mental Illness, Your Brain Is Always Listening.
• Good Neighbor Day America:
  goodneighbordayamerica.com – details about the kindness challenge.
• Amen Clinics and Assessments:
  Brain health assessments, SPECT imaging, and programs.
• Change Your Brain Podcast:
  Weekly show on brain health topics hosted by Dr. Amen and his wife.
• The Amen Whole Four Program:
  18-week holistic brain and spiritual health curriculum launching in churches and faith-based orgs.

---

Closing Sentiment

The episode ends on a heartwarming, practical note: the best way to care for our “invisible” yet most vital organ—the brain—is through everyday, hands-on action, loving boundaries, kindness, lifelong learning, and meaningful time outside. Dr. Amen’s message—that transformation is possible for every family—resonates in a time when so many are seeking hope.

---

For Listeners New to Dr. Amen or the Topic

This episode offers a compelling blend of personal storytelling, science, and actionable encouragement for parents, educators, and anyone interested in mental health, resilience, and community connection. Dr. Amen’s optimism is as practical as it is contagious: You are not stuck with the brain you have—you can change your brain, and thus your life, one positive act at a time.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

We have had a lot of conversations on this show about how every child is different and how, especially for kids with ADHD or other learning differences, the world can feel a little overwhelming sometimes. And if you're parenting a child like that, I want to point you to a podcast called Everyone Gets a Juice Box. It's a space where parents are just being really honest with each other about what this journey actually looks like. The questions, the doubts, the small wins, all of it. One part of a recent episode that really stuck with me was this mom who was talking about how she started noticing things early on. Little signals that something might be different. But at the same time, everyone around her was. Was saying, she's fine. And she described that feeling so well, that back and forth between, I know something's going on and what if I'm overreacting? I think so many parents have felt that tension. And then when she shared this moment where her daughter said, I can feel it talking about her body not giving her the signals she needed. And it opened up this whole understanding about how some kids experience the world so differently on a sensory level. It was such a powerful reminder that often our kids are having a hard time, and the more we understand what's going on beneath the surface, the better we can show up for them. I really appreciated how thoughtful and honest the whole conversation was. So if that sounds like something you need right now, go give it a listen. To listen Search for Everyone gets a juice Box in your podcast app. That's Everyone Gets a juice Box.

[Jenny Ertz]

Welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Jenny Ertz. I'm the founder of 1000 Hours Outside, and I have someone on today that I have been a major fan of for a long time. Dr. Daniel. Amen. Welcome.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Thank you so much.

[Jenny Ertz]

Okay, here's what I will show you.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jenny Ertz]

So I've been a big fan for a long time, long before I had a podcast. So this is a full circle moment. Very cool moment for me. The first book I read of yours was Memory Rescue. My midwife was reading it, and I was super intrigued. And I just love seeing the pictures of the brains. It is so motivating to see the photos because you don't really know. You talk about in your books like, this is an invisible thing. So could you give us a little bit of your backstory? We're going to be talking about this really cool event that's happening this year soon, Good Neighbor Day America, with all these acts of kindness going on all across the country. But you started in 1990 actually scanning

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

brains I did before then. When I turned 18, I was an infantry medic. That's when my love of medicine was born. But about a year into it, I realized I didn't like being shot at. So I got retrained as an X ray technician and just developed a passion for medical imaging. As our professors used to say, how do you know unless you look? And I love that. And then 1975, I got out of the army, finished college, went to medical school, and when I was a second year medical student at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, someone I love tried to kill herself. And I took her to see a wonderful psychiatrist. And I came to realize if he helped her, which he did, it wouldn't just help her, it would help me. It would ultimately help her children or even her grandchildren, is they would be shaped by someone who was happier and more stable. So 1979, I fell in love with psychiatry because I realized it could change generations of people. And for the last 47 years, I've loved it virtually every day. But I fell in love with the only medical specialty that never looks at the organ it treats. And I knew that was wrong and I knew it would change. I just had no idea I'd be part of it. And in 1991, I went to a lecture on brain spect imaging. That's the study we do at our 11 clinics of 11 clinics around the United States. And it just changes everything. SPEC basically tells you three things. Good activity, too little or too much. And then we use that information to target treatment. If your brain is sleepy, we're going to stimulate it. If it's too busy, we're going to calm it down. And either way we're getting it healthy. Because if your brain's not right, you're not right.

[Jenny Ertz]

Right. And the images are really transformative, they're very powerful. You have pictures in there of the ones that are really healthy. Like you talk about your mom. She was 60 years old. When you give her the scan, you're like, it looks beautiful. And it does. And then you look at these other ones where they're more dimply, you can just see it. And I'd never seen it before until I saw the pictures that were in your book. Even your grandmother, she had an amazing one. Can you talk about. You talked about one of your books about your grandma and how she knitted and how just that hands on activity is so good for the brain.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah. So even at 92, when she had diverticulitis, ended up in the hospital, and then Was sad. I'm like, oh, grandma, I have to scan you. And her brain was healthy, but way too busy and on a little bit of an ssri, a medicine for depression. My grandmother was not nice, so I never remember her being nice. So she was married to my grandfather, who I was named after. He was my best friend, and I didn't like her because she was mean to him. And so when I saw her brain healthy, but she was rigid and if things didn't go her way, she would be upset. And I remember when she first met my wife 20 years ago. So grandma was still alive then. She goes, oh, you're Danny's next victim. And I'm like, grandma, like I'm going to talk bad about you. Anyways, when I put her on an antidepressant, she became so sweet. And it was so interesting to me that even if you're normal but irritating, it could actually be from a brain issue. So not all behavior is will driven. A lot of behavior is brain driven. That's funny. I haven't told that story in a long time.

[Jenny Ertz]

But what a story. You did talk about your grandpa. I read it in you happier. You were talking about how he was your best friend growing up, you named after him. And people can come and get their brain scanned. And then you show how you can improve it. I mean, it's incredible. You're like, here's this person's brain and you can see it's all kind of dimply and there's these different spots in it. And then, you know, you take another scan, however long later, and you can tell it just looks kind of plumper and it's fantastic. So you're. I mean, you are just the leading person in the whole. With the whole world, I think, right? That's what people talk about you in America, you're like the most popular. I mean, what a track record here. The most popular psychiatrist in America. Over 11 locations of the Amen clinics nationwide. All these books, I mean, you've been all over the place, TV shows. So this thing coming up is about kindness. So you talk about kindness, especially in the book, change your brain, change your life. So I've got a small stack of your books. I thought I had most of them. And then in raising mentally strong kids on the inner flap, it says a sample of books by Dr. Amen. And it was so long, and it was just a sample. And I was like, oh, I thought I had almost all of them. But in change your brain, change your life, you talk about kindness, random acts of kindness it's in the book about feeling better fast. So can you talk about this event that's coming and why something that seems so simple, like kindness can do so much for our brains?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So part of America, 250, our 250th birthday. There's a group of people that got together and it's like, how can we address the loneliness epidemic? Because we have this epidemic of loneliness that is just so frustrating. And 67% of Gen Z classify themselves as lonely. And one in three say loneliness wrecks their day and the antidote for loneliness. So rather than looking inside, I'm lonely. It's connecting, and it's going outside. And how can I make a difference in someone else's life? And so this is really a brain exercise. And what we're looking to do is create 250 million acts of kindness starting on Good Neighbor Day, May 16th. And it's really a celebration of our country, and we were built on relationships and being kind. Volunteering, doing pro social activities is good for your brain. There's actually a study out of Baltimore where they looked at older people. They did MRI scans on them. One group, they just kept doing their normal life. The other group volunteered at least once a week. And in the group that volunteered a year later, it grew a part of their brain called the hippocampus, which is one of the major memory structures in the brain. It's also a mood structure. And it's so interesting because that area of the brain produces about 700 new baby stem cells every day. And volunteering grew that area of the brain where the people who didn't it, you know, as with aging, it continued to shrink. And I hate that about aging. You know, I'm going to be 72 in a couple of months, and I've seen way too many older brains. But it doesn't have to. Like in my mom's case or my grandma's case, if you do the right things, you can grow your hippocampus. How exciting is that? Hippocampus is Greek for seahorse, just to give people some context about it. 700 new baby hippocampal stem cells every day. So it's like your brain is producing 700 new baby seahorses every day, and your behavior is either growing them so they can integrate into your full brain, or you're murdering them. So if you think of marijuana or alcohol or nicotine or bad food or being sedentary, all of those things do not encourage seahorse or hippocampal growth. They encourage death. And I Love my life. I want to live a long time. That means I have to get my brain to come along with me.

[Jenny Ertz]

That's right. What a win, win, win, win, win, win, win. I mean, obviously, people, it makes everybody feel better. If you want to check out the book change your brain, change your life, the breakthrough program for conquering anxiety, depression, obsessiveness, lack of focus, anger and memory problems. It's the New York Times bestseller. You have a study in here about students, Students carrying out five weekly random acts of kindness of their choice. Just small things, helping a younger sibling with school work. I mean, that's such a small thing. And they felt better. So not only is it growing your brain, it's helping you feel better. It'. Kindliness. So people can go to goodneighbordayamerica.com to find out more information. These are small, random acts of kindness. And there's going to be prizes.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

There's a lot here you can set up. Yeah. Join a challenge. Go to the website, Instagram. You can actually sign up. I think the grand prize is like, worth $250,000. They'll send you to the soccer championship coming up soon. It's very exciting.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

The really smart people who are putting this on, we just had a meeting today with the California surgeon general because here in California they're doing an initiative for new moms that new moms often get depressed and they have low. Loneliness actually predicts a big bad outcome. And, you know, if you know a new mom, do something nice for them. Take a meal to them, you know, take them to a medical appointment to just go over and chat with them. Ask if you can babysit. I don't know if you saw today, but social media got hammered. They, you know, there's a verdict against the Meta and YouTube because social media does harm. So we're more connected, but we're more disconnected than ever. More connected, but lonelier than ever. We're in this sort of crazy transition period where since the year 2000, suicide in the young has gone up 62%. And it's like, why? Cell phones, the constant hit of notifications, social media, and the fear of missing out and constantly comparing yourself to other people. I'm not enough. I'm not enough. I'm not enough. And it's public knowledge I've seen some of the world's most famous people like Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber now had the same thought when I first saw them. I'm not enough. Right. And so if you're not enough, who would be? But it's what social media does to you. And then if you add Covid, Covid caused an inflammatory bomb to go off in our brains. And almost everybody got Covid. And so cell phone, social media, Covid were more anxious than ever before. And the antidote? Get your brain healthy and be kind. And the best parents are firm. Say something, mean it, back it up, don't let your kids run over you. I have a funny story about that. And kind, it's like, no, don't be a jerk. Firm, right? Authoritative, yes. Kind at the same time. And I have a white shepherd and I love her and she loves me. But one of my assistants, whenever Aspen, that's my shepherd, whines, she takes her out to play. And I'm like, no, no, no, you are creating a behavior disorder in my dog. Whenever she whines, you don't do anything good for her. And then when she's calm, when she's, you know, acting like she's supposed to, then take her out to play. But when you give in to it, the rule in my family, with my kids, is if you have a tantrum to get your way, the answer is no. It's always going to be no. Go for it. And as long as I'm consistent, I'm not reinforcing bad behavior. Because we teach people how to treat us by what we tolerate and how we communicate. And clarity is kindness.

[Podcast Host]

This time of the year in homeschooling, you can really feel the shift. You're looking ahead to spring goals, end of year milestones, and making sure your kids feel confident in what they've learned. It's such a key window to reinforce those foundational skills before wrapping things up. And if you're thinking about assessments, whether that's something required or something you've set for your family, and having clarity on where your child stands can make all the difference. That's where a tool like IXL can be incredibly helpful. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into homeschooling. It offers interactive practice across math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. It personalizes learning for each child, keeps them engaged, and gives parents clear insight into progress. What really stands out is the real time feedback and progress tracking. Kids get immediate explanations when they miss something. And you can clearly see growth over time. When what's solid, what needs reinforcement without guessing. It helps build real confidence heading into the finish line. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and 1000 Hours Outside listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com 1000hours Visit ixl.com 1000hours to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. I've been doing a little spring reset with my closet lately, just really focusing on quality over quantity. Fewer pieces, better materials, things that are easy to wear and that I actually reach for day after day. And that's why I keep coming back to Quint. The fabrics feel elevated, the fits are thoughtful, and the pricing just makes sense. Quince makes beautiful everyday pieces using premium materials like 100% European linen, organic cotton and super soft denim. And a lot of their styles start around $50. Their spring collection is especially good right now. Everything is lightweight, breathable and effortless. The kind of pieces you can throw on and instantly feel put together. And it's not just clothing. Their accessories are just as impressive, especially their leather bags. Made from 100% hand woven Italian leather. They look like something you'd find in a much higher price point. What I really appreciate is how Quince does business. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Quince linen tops have become my go to this spring. The fabric feels substantial but still really easy to wear. And honestly, they don't cost what I thought Quality linen would. Refresh your spring wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.com outside for free shipping and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. Go to q u I-n c e.com outside for free shipping and 360 five day returns. Quince.com outside this episode is sponsored by Better Help. One of the things I've noticed over the years, both in our own life and in conversations with so many families, is how deeply financial stress can affect a marriage. It's rarely just about the money. It's about the pressure and the different expectations and the conversations that feel hard to have or. Or the ones we avoid altogether. And I think for a lot of us, we come into marriage with completely different money stories. How we were raised, what we believe about spending or saving, what feels safe or scary. And when stress hits, those differences can really start to feel big. I've had moments where finances feel heavy and it would have been easy to let that tension create distance instead of connection. But what I've learned is that sometimes what we actually need isn't a better budget. It's better tools for communicating, processing and understanding each other. That's where therapy can Make a real difference. It's not about financial advice. It's about working through the stress, the anxiety, and even the conflict that money can bring into a relationship so you feel more like a team again. Better help makes that kind of support easier to access. They match you with a licensed therapist based on your needs. And if it's not the right fit, you can switch anytime. With over 30,000 therapists and millions of people served, it's a resource that's helping a lot of people feel less alone when life feels overwhelming. Therapy can help. Sign up and get 10 [e-mail] 1000 hours that's better. H E L P.com 1000 hours I

[Jenny Ertz]

love the Love and Logic books. And so I love that on your website people go to your main website. That's one of the links out is to the Love and Logic information. So you've got Daniel Amenmd. Your wife has her own website. You've got a website for your podcast. Change your brain podcast. The clinics, the brain. I did the brain health assessment. You can go on and do that. There's a university with tons of courses. I'll make sure I'll put all the links. But in raising mentally strong kids, which is really applicable for this audience, this is with the Love and Logic guy. And this was the most formative for my parenting ever. And actually I read the book for teachers because I was a teacher before I was a parent and it changed my whole thing. You know, you deliver your words with empathy, with kindness. You know, the kids like, I'm bored. And you just go, bummer. I believe you'll figure something out to do, you know, but you, you're empathetic with it and you're kind. You don't have to be like, rare, rare all the time. You can just. And I did that in the classroom and it worked. So then I had had, you know, a bunch of years of experience using it before we actually had kids. And I felt like I had a total leg up. So I highly recommend this book about raising mentally strong kids. You talk in this book, you have a whole chapter on technology, misuse and addiction. She talk about video game brains. Can you talk about that for a minute? Like you have you scanned brains of. Of kids and teens who have played a lot of like, violent video games, let's say.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And it's not good. They're clearly addictive. And when you stop. I have kids that had to go to programs because they would literally go through withdrawal and become violent and torment their families and basically thrilling Kids to death. So why the high incidence of anxiety? Why the high incidence of depression? Because video games, cell phone, social media are wearing out the pleasure centers in the brain. So we have this area deep in the brain. It's part of a bigger area called the basal ganglia. So it's called the nucleus accumbens. And it's responds to dopamine with a little bit of pleasure, a little bit of joy. And the more you push on them, it wears them out. So if you push on them too much, too hard, it wears them out, and you need more and more to feel anything at all. And this was happening with the old Atari video games, you know, the little tennis things. Boing, boing, boing. But imagine now with the 3D video games, Mortal Kombat or Grand Theft Auto. Whatever craziness you allow your children to do, they don't have a chance because they're constantly dumping dopamine, meaning they won't be able to focus, they won't have motivation, they'll get hooked. And why would we ever want to do that for our children? But yet society makes you believe kids should have cell phones, they should be on social media, they should have access to the latest video games. And we're ruining a generation. Right? There's a study from the CDC. 57% of teenage girls report being persistently sad. A third of them have thought of killing themselves, and 13% have actually tried. These are unlike any statistics we have ever experienced in the mental health field.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yeah, yeah. This man I talked to a lot named Mike McLeod. He says it's a youth mental health crisis, and people can read about that, especially if you're a parent raising mentally strong kids like you. Like I said, you have that whole chapter. You also talk about purp. I. I have, I don't know, seven books of yours sitting here. But then you're in everyone else's books, too. So I interviewed this man recently named Dr. Lee Warren, and you had written the forward, and I'm interviewing tomorrow, Sadie Robertson, and she had this whole section in her book about you. She said that you say purposeful people are happier. And like you're talking about pleasure is actually the enemy of happiness, because when you get too much pleasure, it wears out your pleasure centers. She was talking about it in terms of early fame, that there's a lot of push for early fame, especially for kids, because now you can do that through YouTube and different types of things. So you talk in your books a lot about purpose. And if there's a parent listening who is really Kind of struggling with helping their kids to learn that they have purpose. What would you recommend?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

So I do an exercise with all of my patients, whether they're kids or adults. It's called the one page miracle. On one piece of paper, write down, what do you want? Relationships, work or school? Money. Physical, emotional, spiritual, health. And spiritual is. Why are you on the planet? Why is the world better? Because you're here and I'm working on. We haven't talked about this yet. A national brain health revolution. It's an initiative from the White House Faith Office, and it's all based around one question. Is what I'm doing now good for my brain or bad for it? And does it make the world better? Why? Because when you look outside of yourself to make something better, you're less anxious, you're less depressed, you're more purposeful. And so finding your purpose outside of yourself. So being famous is a purpose for you that can be potentially lethal. And I see someone who has sold 400 million records, and he told me, fame is lethal for a lot of people. That's not what you want. What you want is how can you make a difference in the life of someone else?

[Jenny Ertz]

There you go. The Good Neighbor Day America Challenge. And I'll make sure that the link is there for people so they can. This is starting soon, in just a

[Podcast Host]

couple months, so people can join and

[Jenny Ertz]

you can join in with different organizations. And this is a really exciting thing that's happening in our country. So I just wanted to scratch the surface a little bit since I have you here and I'm so excited. We talked a little bit about raising mentally strong kids. We talked a little bit about change your brain, change your life. I love you happier. So this is a book about the seven neuroscience secrets of feeling good, based on your brain type. And you told a story in here. Now, I know you've written a lot of books, so. So if there's. If I got to help jog your memory, just let me know. But there was a really cool story in here. You talk about hermy a lot in your books, like about how we can be negative. And you talk about the ants, you know, these automatic negative thoughts. And you're talking about basically taking these thoughts captive.

[Podcast Host]

It's a biblical idea.

[Jenny Ertz]

And you tell this story, the. The penguin story about collecting penguins. Do you know what story I'm talking about?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Of course. I have a penguin right behind me.

[Jenny Ertz]

Oh, I see it.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah. And as I look around my office, there's like, dozens of them, because it reminds me to Notice what I like more than what I don't like. And I have six children, and my oldest I adopted. And he was hard for me. And I was doing my child psychiatry fellowship then, so I didn't know anything. I was just learning. And I went to my supervisor and I said, I don't like this child. He's argumentative, he's oppositional. I just. I try to connect and it doesn't work. And she goes, you have to spend more time with him. Which was sort of the last thing I wanted to do, but I'm a good student. And that weekend, I was doing my child psychiatry training in Hawaii, and that weekend I took him by himself to a place called Sea Life Park. So Sea Life park is like SeaWorld or Marine World, Northern California. They have sea animal shows. And we went to the whale show, and that was great. And we went to the sea lion show, and that was funny. And the dolphin show. They were beautiful. But at the end of the day, grabs my shirt and he goes, I want to see Fat Freddy. I'm like, who's Fat Freddy? He's like, it's the penguin, dad. Don't you know anything? Right? That's the quality of our relationship. And so we go in. There's this great stadium and this little chubby Humboldt penguin, Fat Freddy, comes onto the stage, climbs a ladder to a high diving board, goes to the end of the board, bounces, and then jumps in the water. I'm like, whoa. And Freddy gets out of the water, he bowls with his nose, he counts with his flipper, jumps through a hoop of fire. And I'm, like, mesmerized by this little bird. I have my arm around my son. I think I'm a good dad. And then the trainer asked Freddie to go get something, and Freddie went and got it, and he brought it right back. And that was the time time stood still for me, because when I asked this kid to get something for me, he wants to have a discussion for, like, 20 minutes, and then he doesn't want to do it. And I knew my son was smarter than the penguin. So I went up to the trainer afterwards, and I'm like, how did you get Freddie to do all these really cool things? And she said, unlike parents, whenever Freddy does anything like what I want him to do, I notice him. I give him a hug, and I give him a fish. And the light went on in my head that even though my son wouldn't like raw fish, one of my other kids would have. Would have worked perfectly for her. Whenever he did what I wanted him to do. I didn't pay any attention to him because I was like my own father. I was busy and when he didn't do it, I wanted him to do. I gave him a ton of attention because I didn't want to raise bad children. So I was inadvertently teaching him to be trouble. So I collect penguins as a way to remind myself, notice what you like more than what you don't. And it works so well.

[Podcast Host]

Wayday is here and if you've been waiting for the right moment to refresh your home, this is it. From April 25th through the 27th, Wayfair is offering up to 80% off with fast and free shipping on everything, which is kind of unheard of. I've been slowly working on making our home feel lighter and more functional as we head into the warmer months. Our style is pretty simple, clean, cozy, a little bit modern, but still very lived in. We used Wayfair to update a few key spaces, like some outdoor pieces to make our patio feel like a place we actually want to spend time, and a few functional upgrades inside that just made my daily life run smoother. What I love is how easy it is to find exactly what works for your space. You can filter by size, style, budget, read through thousands of reviews and really feel confident in what you're choosing. And with Wayfair verified, you know those pieces have already been vetted for quality, which takes a lot of the guesswork out. Everything shipped quickly, the setup was straightforward and it just fit right into our home without overcomplicating things. Wayfair is the sale to shop the best deals in home. We're talking about 80% off with fast and free shipping on everything. Head to Wayfair.com April 25th through the 27th to shop Wayday. That's W A Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair Every style, every home.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And even you know, I just think of my wife. If she irritates me and I notice what I don't like, it never gets me anything good. But if I focus on what I like, even when I'm frustrated, we don't fight. It's because she knows I'm on her side. And for those of you that are listening, if you're having a fuss with your wife or your children, never have to win an argument right? This should never be win or lose situation. Always find where you can come to agreement and notice what you like more than what you don't. And I'm sort of dense, which is why I have so many penguins.

[Jenny Ertz]

Why does a grown man collect penguins? That's what you write in the book.

[Podcast Host]

I love that.

[Jenny Ertz]

It's about the way that you look at things. And you talk a lot in your book about optimism and you have these questions. You ask what went well today at the end of the day. And when you wake up you say today it's going to be a great day. And these are things that we can teach our kids. So that's a, a little scratch the surface of you happier. You really actually talk a lot. And you happier about time outside, vitamin D and mood and micro moments. You talk a lot about micro moments. So the bird singing outside of your window or feeling the warmth of sun on your face. You talk about how you love the, the red word forests that are north of San Francisco getting sunshine. And in other countries they really focus on this. So I love that. So if you're listening in, you just want a little reminder to get outside. You can learn about that. And you happier. You have a book about scripture memory. This is a little one. I love this one. Stones of Remembrance. One of the things that I learned from your books is that your memory can start to deteriorate at age 30. So you talk about that in Memory Rescue. It could start at age 30. So you say you, we are in a war for the health of our brain. Can you talk about. So this book is about scripture memory and how good that is, you know, to continue learning. But then it also includes little sections like 12 Verses to Remember when you are angry and you go through different types of situations. So this is a strategy, memorizing scripture to improve your brain quality but also to improve the quality of your life. Can you talk about how that works?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Well, your brain is like a muscle and the more you use it, the more you can use it and actually have a brand new program we haven't talked about called the amen whole four, which is in we're going to do it in 100 pilot sites, churches and faith based organizations around the United States where we have, I think 45 of them started where we teach kids and adults to love and care for their brains. And it's called the Whole four because we're in a whole four crisis. We're sicker than we've ever been. Half the population is diabetic or pre diabetic. We're mentally in trouble. As we've talked about, 25% of American adults are on psychiatric medications, were lonelier as we've talked about and 58% of young people have no sense of meaning or purpose. So the whole four crisis. But I believe the answer to this epidemic is not to see them as separate disorders, but as different expressions of the same unhealthy lifestyle and toxic exposures that have the same cure. Getting better physically, mentally, relationally and spiritually. So the whole four is an 18 week program that we're doing in churches and faith based organizations. And I'm very excited about it because we get better together, we get sick together. Joining a small group is part of being less lonely. It's being part of being purposeful. I wrote a program with Rick Warren called the Daniel plan that was 15 years ago and I loved it. It was done in thousands of churches around the world. And the whole four is sort of the Daniel Plan 2.0.

[Jenny Ertz]

Oh, how exciting. How exciting. So people can also check out the stones of remembrance, healing scriptures for your mind, body and soul, and see if you can find one of those churches that's doing that program. Okay. Memory Rescue was the first book of yours that I read. So this is. And this is the one that my midwife was reading too. So I was like, oh, I'm super interested. And then I started to see the different pictures of the brains in here, and it is very intriguing. So you have brains with Lyme disease, alcoholism, dementia, Alzheimer's, hydrocephalus. Can you talk about? Especially since there's often a lot of parents that listen in the brain scans when a. A kid is hit is doing a. It's called a header, I think in soccer or playing some more contact sports where they might be getting banged up a little bit. It's like you kind of don't want it. It's like you don't want to hear, but you probably should know it.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Your brain is soft about the consistency of soft butter. Your skull is really hard and has sharp bony ridges. Mild traumatic brain injuries, a major cause of psychiatric problems. And nobody knows that. Looking at the brain literally changes everything. So if you've been struggling and trying to be well and you're not coming to one of the clinics and getting a scan can just give you a map on. Okay, these are the things we need to do. And I'm so excited about it. I did the first and largest study on active and retired NFL players, on football players. High levels of damage. It was at a time the NFL really wasn't telling the truth about traumatic brain injury in football. High levels of damage. Stop lying about it. But 80% of our players got better when we put them on a rehabilitation program. And it's like you're not stuck with the brain you have. You can make it better. I can prove it. And with a better brain always comes a better life. Yeah.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yes. So people can look into your programs that you have because you talk about how it's. It's a really high number. A third of people who played football at any level had lasting brain damage. And this is to the orbitofrontal cortex, which is intimately involved in happiness. And you say flat out, never hit a soccer ball with your head.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

That's important only if you like yourself. Only if you want to like yourself as a parent. Because, you know, being a wife, being a husband, being a parent, being a business owner, the success of that often comes down to the health of your brain.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yeah. When you go to your website and you do the drop down on all of the different things that could be going on, it's kind of shocking. Like, all of the issues maybe that you could be happy having, having you, but, you know, like, there's so many conditions, but then you offer all these services and people are getting better, and there's so many locations and there's so many resources on your website. But the drop down menu was extensive for the. For the types of things that could possibly go awry. All right, I thank you for placating me here because I was like, oh, I get a. Get a chance to talk to Dr. Dr. Daniel. Amen. I'm gonna ask him about all his books. Okay. The ones that I have, you have the End of Mental Illness, How Neuroscience is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping prevent or reverse Mood and Anxiety disorders, adhd, addiction, addictions, ptsd, psychosis, personality disorders, and more. So in this book, one of the things that you talk about is how when you stop learning, your brain starts dying and you're talking about retirement. And I thought that was really interesting because once you kind of end your schooling years, which could be at different stages for different people, but it could be 18, it could be 22, it could be 28. You know, it could be into your 30s. I do think that there's really nothing that compels you much to actually learn. So. And then there was a sentence in memory rescue. It's like, well, some stuff can start deteriorating at 30. What do you ex. What do you suggest for people to do to continue learning, hobbies, knitting, or like, different types of programs? All of the above.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Well, one of the reasons I like knitting is it's cerebellar exercise where you have to get that sort of back bottom part of your brain. It's a coordination exercise and you do it over and over again. I also love table tennis because you have to get your eyes, your hands and feet all working together while you think about the spin on the ball. As a podcaster, you're always learning, and I love how prepared you are. But it's when you stop learning, your brain starts dying. And so always be engaged, but it's learning new and different things. When I see a scan, because we've done almost 300,000, I know the pattern almost immediately. That's not learning. So whether it's writing or speaking or doing a research project or cooking or a new language, always push your brain to do more, but not in a stressful way, in a joyful way. And we just published a huge, like 2000 person study on negativity and how bad negativity is for your brain. So like you said earlier, I start every day with, today is going to be a great day. And I go to bed at night going, what went well today? And I go hour by hour looking for what I liked about the day. And I'm pushing my brain to look for what's right rather than just focusing on what's wrong.

[Jenny Ertz]

And you talk about, even on the

[Podcast Host]

really hard days, there was a story.

[Jenny Ertz]

I can't remember, and I don't think I put it in my notes. But there was a day when your brain was like, are you kidding me? You're gonna try of this? Of all days, you're gonna try and find something that went right. And you did. You know when you really thought about it?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Yeah. Today my dad died. Yeah. And I think it was the worst day of my adult life. And I was in the bathroom getting ready to take him to the doctor, and I got a call from my mom. He stopped breathing. And I'm on the phone with her while she's pounding on him and on the other line calling 91 1. And then I get to her house, and by the time I got there, he was gone. And it was an awful day.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

And. But because I have done this practice for about 15 years, you know, I, as I laid down to bed that night, super sad.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yeah.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

I went, what went well today? And I'm like, really? We're doing this today? But because it's your habit, the brain is very lazy. It's habitual. Whatever you let it do, it's going to do more. You know, if you let it get angry, it's going to be angry. If you let it get negative, it's going to be negative. If you go, what went well? Every day, even on bad days, I went, so what went well today? And then immediately my mind went to my mother's interaction with a police officer, which was just hysterical. She's like, you know, I was doing a program, brain health program with the Newport Beach Police Department. And so he knew me and he's like, I'm so sorry, Mrs. Amen. Because he died at home, we have to do an investigation. And she goes, you think I killed him, don't you? You think I'm having an affair. This is my 89 year old mother. It was just hysterical. And then I remembered all the texts and you know, from my dad's friends and my friends and just an outpouring of love and that made me feel better. And then I remember just holding his hand, which was so soft before the mortuary took him away. And then I went to sleep because the training, and you need to train your brain for when the hard times come, that it knows what to do. And you know, and that was six years ago. And it doesn't mean I don't miss him. I still miss him. It doesn't mean I didn't love him. It meant I'm managing my grief by managing my mind and my brain.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yeah. What a protective measure. What a story. So people can read that one in your books and we don't have time to talk really about. Your brain is always listening. But this one's got really cool pictures in it. So if you got like a preteen heading into teen, you got all these dragons in there and also the ants, which are the automatic negative thoughts and all these different types of ants. And so I think, you know, like guilt beating ants and just the bad ants and less than ants if you feel abandoned or invisible or insignificant. So this is a great one to read as a family. So I love it. So thank you, thank you for talking, talking about the ones I have. I know it's not all of them, but it is a decent stack and they've really been very impactful. In my own life, we always end our show with the same question. The question is, what's a favorite memory from your childhood?

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

That was outside being with my grandfather because he was my best friend and picking plums of all things. He had this great plum tree in the back and we were always outside, always playing, which is one of the big differences in the generations for sure. It wasn't inside on a device, it was outside playing, being with people I loved.

[Jenny Ertz]

Yeah, I love it. A plum tree. What a memory.

[Podcast Host]

Thank you.

[Jenny Ertz]

Thanks for all you're doing for this good neighbor day America. It's so exciting for all these incredible books that you've written. People can learn more at your incredible podcast, which I wrote down. The is a change your brain podcast so people can go to Change your brain podcast.com but it's change your brain every day. It's a weekly podcast, new episodes every Monday with your wife. So so many resources. There's even a music program so I'll put a link to that too. Your brain is always listening music program. Dr. Amon, I've been looking forward to this for like two years. You didn't even know. Thank you so much for being here.

[Dr. Daniel Amen]

Thank you Jenny. What a joy. No time for full TV shows. TikTok has endless short dramas you can watch anytime. Fast paced, easy to follow and hard to stop. Download TikTok now and start watching.