THE ED MYLETT SHOW

Episode: Change Your Brain with Dr. Daniel Amen
Date: February 3, 2026

Episode Overview

In this edition of The Ed Mylett Show, Ed welcomes back Dr. Daniel Amen, renowned brain health expert, psychiatrist, and founder of Amen Clinics. The discussion centers on Dr. Amen’s latest book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain, which explores the intricate connections between emotional and physical pain, the pathways in the brain responsible for suffering, and practical strategies to rewire the mind for healing and resilience. The episode is densely packed with science-based insights, actionable tools, and candid dialogue about trauma, brain health, supplements, trauma therapies, and controversial subjects like psychedelics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pain as a Brain Story, Not Just a Body Signal

[02:29 – 03:20]

• Dr. Amen reframed pain as not only a physical signal but as a story the brain tells itself, impacting both emotional and physical states.
• Quote:

  “Pain … ultimately comes to live in your brain. And if your brain isn’t healthy, you’re in a lot of pain. The same circuits that create emotional pain are also involved in physical pain.” — Dr. Amen [02:29]

2. Brain Pathways of Pain

[03:20 – 07:06]

• Lateral Pain Feeling Pathway: Originates in the thalamus and parietal lobes, localizes pain (“My back hurts”).

• Medial Pain Suffering Pathway: Involves deep emotional centers (anterior cingulate, insula, basal ganglia); when overactive, it transforms pain into suffering (“dread, awfulness, angst”).

• Calming Pathway (Prefrontal Cortex): Calms pain by inhibiting overactive circuits; damage here makes turning pain off difficult.

• Notable Research:

  • Overactivity in thalamus and emotional brain links depression and physical pain.
  • Medications and supplements that work for depression often relieve pain as well.

• Quote:

  "[The] thalamus and your emotional brain are overactive in depression. If you’re depressed, you’re more likely to have physical pain."
  — Dr. Amen [03:52]

3. Epigenetics: How Stress Alters Genes Over Generations

[08:13 – 10:22]

• Chronic stress, trauma, toxins, and sleep deprivation can flip genes on/off, affecting not just you but your descendants.

• Aspartame example: Dr. Amen’s personal recovery from pain by quitting aspartame—a habit shown to create generational anxiety in mice.

• Quote:

  “Our habits are not about us. They’re literally about generations of us... our behavior every day is impacting us, but also our children and grandchildren.”
  — Dr. Amen [09:32]

4. Supplements for Brain & Mood: Saffron, Zinc, Curcumin

[10:22 – 12:07]

• Saffron’s efficacy rivals several antidepressants, enhances mood, boosts memory, decreases pain, and increases sexual health.

• Combining saffron with zinc and curcumin amplifies benefits.

• Quote:

  “Saffron is pro-sexual, enhances memory, decreases pain… I added zinc and curcumin to saffron for exactly that reason.”
  — Dr. Amen [11:55]

5. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the Hijacked Brain

[13:27 – 15:08]

• High ACE scores (exposure to trauma in childhood) robustly increase the risk for major illnesses and premature death.

• However, healing is possible through targeted trauma treatment and self-care.

• Personal relevance: Both Ed and Dr. Amen share histories touched by family addiction and trauma.

• Quote:

  “If you score [a] six or more [on the ACE scale], you die 20 years early, but you don’t have to... My wife’s an eight and she’s not going to die early because she’s had treatment for trauma.”
  — Dr. Amen [14:15]

6. The Pain HQ Doom Loop & The Healing Loop

[17:10 – 22:33]

• PAIN HQ Doom Loop:

  • Pain: Any source—physical, emotional, relational, spiritual.
  • Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)
  • Nervous Tension: From negative thoughts and repressed emotion.
  • Harmful Habits: Alcohol, sugar, drugs; attempts to self-soothe but increase pain.
  • Quagmire/Quicksand: The spiral deepens.

• The Healing Loop:

  • Recognize pain, get curious, calm the suffering pathway (e.g., through saffron, curcumin, omega-3, havening).
  • Positivity Bias Training: Start and end your day with positive focus: “Today is going to be a great day,” and “What went well today?”

• Quote:

  “Negativity is bad for you... Start every day with ‘Today is going to be a great day.’ End every day with ‘What went well today?’”
  — Dr. Amen [21:26]

7. Unpacking & Releasing Repressed Rage

[22:33 – 27:32]

• Chronic pain often relates to unexpressed rage.

• ISTDP Therapy and Emotional Freedom Journaling: Write a five-year timeline of your life, noting joys and wounds, to locate and process deep emotions.

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is recommended for childhood trauma.

• Quote:

  “If the rage could come out, where would it go? ... in your mind, you have to be able to express the rage. Otherwise it’ll come out in neck pain, back pain.”
  — Dr. Amen [25:05]

8. Triggers, Diaphragmatic Breathing, and Bodily Relaxation

[29:06 – 35:02]

• Identify and “covet” your triggers; they point you to work needing to be done.

• Diaphragmatic breathing: Four seconds inhale, 1-2 second hold, eight seconds exhale—shown to double HRV (heart rate variability), indicating better heart and brain health.

• Progressive Relaxation: A guided hypnotic technique for body-wide tension release.

• Quote:

  “Diaphragmatic breathing is so powerful… my HRV is 40, it’ll often go to 80 right afterwards.”
  — Dr. Amen [31:27]

9. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

[40:43 – 41:35]

• Increases brain blood flow, decreases inflammation, helps prefrontal cortex activity, and acts on major pain pathways.

• Shown effective for brain injury and emotional crisis recovery.

• Quote:

  “Hyperbaric oxygen lowers [inflammation], and then it increases blood flow, especially to the prefrontal cortex, the calming pathway.”
  — Dr. Amen [41:11]

10. Psilocybin, Ibogaine & Psychedelic Risks

[42:45 – 47:59]

• Dr. Amen warns against the growing casual use of psychedelics, citing increases in ER visits and psychosis, especially among unsupervised youth.

• Differentiates potential, supervised benefit from widespread recreational use, which is dangerous without proper screening or guidance.

• Points out famous failures (Will Smith’s experience) and remains skeptical until more imaging and research confirm who benefits and who’s at risk.

• Quote:

  “For some people it’s helpful… But visits to emergency rooms for psilocybin psychosis has skyrocketed. ... We’re taking something that under good supervision could be helpful, and now everybody’s doing it. That is the prescription for huge trouble.”
  — Dr. Amen [44:27]

11. The Ultimate Brain Health Question

[48:32 – 49:03]

• Dr. Amen’s key question to guide daily choices:

  “Is what I’m doing now good for my brain or bad for it?
  And if you can answer that with information and love ... you just make better choices.” — Dr. Amen [48:45]

Notable Quotes

• “Don’t believe every stupid thing you think.”
  — Dr. Amen [02:54]

• “You recognize, and then you get curious about it. How did I sleep last night? What are my relationships? Am I blocking some of my emotions?”
  — Dr. Amen [19:12]

• “Your body was created or evolved to heal. You just have to put it in a healing environment.”
  — Dr. Amen [27:12]

Segment Timestamps

• [01:34] – Warm welcome and book introduction
• [02:29] – The brain’s role in pain
• [03:52] – The lateral and medial pain pathways
• [08:13] – Epigenetics and the impact of habits
• [10:24] – Saffron and supplement strategies
• [13:27] – Adverse Childhood Experiences research and personal stories
• [17:10] – The Pain HQ doom and healing loops
• [22:33] – Rage, journaling, and therapy for release
• [29:06] – Identifying triggers, diaphragmatic breathing explained
• [36:24] – Progressive relaxation and hypnotic aids
• [40:43] – Hyperbaric oxygen and brain healing
• [42:45] – Psychedelics: psilocybin and ibogaine, Dr. Amen’s skepticism
• [48:32] – The guiding brain health question

Memorable Moments

• Dr. Amen’s confession of personal struggles: quitting aspartame, and the epiphany around his own repressed rage and emotional pain ([08:13], [22:33]).
• Candid warning about the normalization and casual use of psychedelics, grounded in clinical observation and a sense of medical and societal responsibility ([42:45]).
• The practical, everyday tools: journaling timelines, daily breathing routines, positivity training.

Takeaways

• Your brain health determines your experience of pain and resilience.
• Trauma and stress shape not just your present but your genetic future.
• Healing is possible and practical, through awareness, supplementation, evidence-backed therapies, and self-directed daily habits.
• Be careful with new trends; seek healing methods with solid safety and science behind them.
• Ask daily: “Is this good for my brain?”

For deeper strategies, protocols, and personal stories, Dr. Amen’s book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain, comes highly recommended by Ed and is available now.

End of Summary