Change Your Brain, Change Your Life (Revised and Expanded): The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Lack of Focus, Anger, and Memory Problems

Dr. Amen has written a very readable, almost-500 pages long, book explaining his research and methodologies for helping ordinary people with brain related health issues. By training he is an MD with a specialty in psychiatry. However, he makes it very clear that, in most cases, historically psychiatrists have been prescribing medication often based on pure guess-work up till now. He has developed a novel approach to scanning a patient's brain to determine which particular areas appear to be receiving either too much input, or too little. Currently he has five clinics across America (Costa Mesa, Ca, Brisbane, Ca, Bellevue, Was, Reston, Va and Atlanta, GA). With over twenty years of using his approach to guide teams of medical doctors, psychiatrists and nutritionists they have thousands of brain scans illustrating almost all types of challenging brain-related issues. Dr. Amen has also collaborated with Faith groups, Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, to create The Daniel Plan to use Faith, Food, Fitness and Friends to help the world get healthier, in collaboration with well-known health advocate, Dr. Mark Hyman (p. xv). His brain scan, SPECT, is a nuclear medicine study that looks at blood flow and activity of areas in the brain. It will also show whether a person has had injuries from accidents or sports. The methodology and the treatments that have evolved have helped an increasing number of people, among them parents with children who suffer from learning disorders related to ADD/ADHD, children who have had head injuries and subsequent notable changes in behavior, couples who have been brought to the brink of divorce due to behavior and perception struggles, and people with severe depression challenges (p. 23). Dr. Amen cautions that, as in all cutting edge research, not all scientists agree with his findings, but notes that their evolving treatments are based on more than two decades of clinical data and observations. He states that a follow-up study with patients suffering from a combination of ADD, depression, anxiety and addiction, 84% reported that they functioned better after the Amen treatment (p.43). From an Education Profession perspective of watching an increasing number of our students appearing with attention-deficits disorders and autism spectrum issues most educational professionals would probably agree that, for many such parents, a consult and a brain scan might be preferable to watching their child face a life with diminishing skills and joy. For an increasing number of elderly people who are facing diminishing lives due to escalating incidents of Alzheimer brain incapacity, a consult and a brain scan might be worth an ounce of prevention. For people with a life history of taking responsibility for their own health, a consult and a brain scan may also become as useful as an annual heart and blood pressure exam. Dr. Amen and his teams have developed a well balanced paradigm and treatment protocol that includes both traditional medication as well as health based remedies such as 5-HTP, inositol, green tea, rhodiola, L-tyrosine, DHEA, SAMe, vitamin D, GABA, B6, magnesium, huperzine A, acetyl-L-carnitine, vinpocentine, and ginko biloba for issues related to addiction, depression, cravings, impulsivity and learning disabilities (p.292). The book was made endearing to readers by the inclusion of many case-narratives; it's not an intimidating 500-page medical research paper. The book may become a comforting go-to encyclopedic reference tool that is further extended by back-up website materials for many struggling parents, individuals and couples who have failed to find practical medical help for themselves, their family or their children.

This book is good. Dr Amen has sought to find physical evidence - within brain scans - of mental illness and of some awful states of mind such as depression. From the pictures of the scans, it's possible to see areas of the brain inflamed or inactive -in certain states- followed by the pictures of the same brain after treatment (medicine). As a mental health professional, and a sufferer of depression and ADD (inattentive type) this book has been extremely interesting and thought provoking. It actually convinced me that I need to treat my depression. I never let this affect my work, it's always been there is the background haunting and hounding. Depression is an insidious and awful illness of the brain which affects every aspect of the lives of those who suffer from it. Before reading this I had been insistent on fixing my depression through psychological means only, believing that I should be able up fix myself by changing the way that I think. Maybe this is a part of my perfectionist tendency, the idea that I should not NEED a medicine to make me feel normal. However I now know that that's probably wrong. I do need a medicine, to get my brain to a more normal state, after the changes done to it throughout years of (relatively mild) neglect during my childhood. I now see that certain parts of my brain will be either overactive or underactive permanently, which of course affects the brain chemistry and serotonin levels etc. This also had the effect of ADD, however I can live with this more easily. Anyway back to the book. Apparently this book is controversial and psychiatrists don't support the claims he makes. I don't know the details of this and why, however no psychiatrist (I work with them) has ever provided such a solid reason as to why anyone should use medicine to treat these illnesses as Dr Amen has. Seeing the physical proof is extremely beneficial and helpful. THe debate about ADD / ADHD is a complex one and I'm less convinced about the purpose of treating such illnesses - i think there is a factor of trying to force people to fit in to a society that is skewed already, but that's another story. Anyhow I'd like to see more debate about this subject and the reasons why these types of scan are not more routinely used to see which areas are over our under active. If you are having battles within yourself about whether medicine can help you, you may find this book very interesting and helpful, and it can help you find the right medicine within a group (eg antidepressants) rather than wait and see which one your doctor will be favoring this week.

I saw this doctor on PBS TV and decided to buy his book to learn more about his work in this new field. The book is very interesting with Dr. Amen giving a lot of firsthand information about a beautiful complicated mess-- the human brain. His insight to the way things work make more sense than what medical science offers. The book is filled with images of brain scans which show the troubled areas inside the brain according to problem behaviors. Dr.Amen also offers advice in regards to brain tests, diet, treatments drugs and supplements relative for a healthy brain. Dr Amen's examples gave me a good understanding what causes people to act the way they do. I learned a lot of new facts about the human brain and glad I bought the book. However, this is not my first encounter with an unconventional approach to changing the brain. My loved one suffered from ADHD and had an extremely difficult time focusing. Conventional medical science offered stimulants which in my opinion, was a band aid solution with side effects.I took young loved one to a clinic much like Dr. Amen's where he had brain mapping. The spect showed excess activity in his frontal lobe. After 60 or more sessions working with a doctor who had tailored a neuro- feedback computer program, his brain found new pathways. The new pathways were fine tuned to areas of his brain where activity was needed to speed up and to reduce speed in the frontal lobe. I was astonished with the results of my loved ones' progress. For the first time in his life was able to focus and get A's and B's in his schoolwork.People remarked that he had changed remarkably well! He no longer got stuck in his thought process and was so enjoyable to sit down with and have a nice conversation.His treatment was expensive and not approved by the medical profession or insurance. I believe Dr Amen's work and doctors who use this approach are on the tip of the iceberg in healing many children suffering from the several forms of ADD and ADHD. I firmly believe this book is very informative, helpful and will give hope to many people who need help.

amazing book. a little sciency thought

Excellent resource! Very practical and inspirational information. And for the people who say that this is a giant infomercial, they're missing the gist of it. The idea is that there are things you can do to improve your life. You can start now. You could improve your sleep, and start to exercise. You can put better foods into your body. You can improve your moods. Taking better care of yourself will improve your relationships. The idea behind the book is that you can take control of your neurological health, improve current conditions, and prevent future neurological issues. There is science to back this up. In doing so, you'll likely improve your health, your longevity, the quality of your life. You don't have to buy Dr. A's supplements. Fish oil and phosphotidyl choline and B vitamins and such are all available from a variety of sources. I have used this book with a young client. He's very bright. As he enters middle school, he has gobbled up this book like you wouldn't believe! This book is empowering him to make smarter choices about what he eats, how he engages with others, what he does when he has negative thoughts. I appreciate that there are resources like this to empower not only adults, but also young people. People need to know that they can make lasting and significant changes to their health! There is such a push for pharmaceutical remedies. But your health is in ***your own hands.*** This book has the science, experience, and research to prove it. Thank you, Dr. Amen and colleagues!

Really really good well spoken well easy to understand not overly complicated and you actually get value and learn something from it I enjoyed reading it and implementing some of the step-by-step suggestions really made a difference in changing daily tasks and daily goals and the way we think I do recommend this book

One of the most informational books I have ever read. Highly recommend it.

The information in this book is really good. Unfortunately the book is difficult to read because of the quality of the materials. The ink used is dark gray rather than black. If you’re older like me, skip the paperback and go for either the hardcover or the Kindle version. I prefer print copies for books I’m likely to refer back to and wish I had known about the poor quality of the materials used for the paperback version.

まず英文が読みやすい。簡潔明瞭で、難解な専門用語が最小限度に抑えられているので、辞書を引く回数が少なくてすらすら読み進めます。 患者の具体的治療例が問題部位とそれに対する使用薬剤とを紹介してくれている事で、現在問題を抱えて病院に行こうか迷ってる人、実際通院している人両者にとって、とても心強いアドバイスになると思います。 著者や、彼の実子の問題についても率直に書かれてあり、同じ問題を持つひとや親の立場からも励まされる情報が得られる嬉しさがあります。 薬剤を使用したくない人にとっても、薬剤を上手に使用するメリットの説明とともに、薬剤なしの自助的治療法も具体性があってとっても実行しやすいのが有難いです。

Quizás un poco enfocado a su imperio comercial.

Coruscating, insightful and indeed an inspirational book from Dr Daniel. I thoroughly recommend it to everyone,patients,parents,and doctors,alike. The missing link to a better,more productive and happier life is undoubtedly through greater understanding of our wonderful brain and it's multi modal functioning. Dr Amen's pioneering work on brain function and behaviour has come at an important time in our evolution.Now, more than ever, we have the tools and methods to look closer at human behaviour and see greater possibilities and solutions for healing and optimal working of our brains and ultimately our behaviour. No longer does the internal workings of our grey matter have to be shrouded in the cloak of obscurity and ignorance.The guessing games, the blind faith, the conjecture can now be pushed to one side.The doors of understanding and awareness have been well and truly opened. And,this book is just the beginning, tip of the iceberg, in brain research.But what a great start from Dr Amen and who better to lead the way and show us how to change our brains and ultimately change our lives, for the better.For all of us. Also,if you haven't see any of Daniels videos on YouTube,do so now. You will be inspired, moved and engaged in so many ways, he's a fantastic speaker!

best book!!! Helps you to understand your brain and tackle with its problems like depression, anxiety and many more. ❤️ it.

One of the rare books I have read that actually helps me get healthy in all areas of life