Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" is by Dr. Daniel Amen, a clinical neuroscientist, child and adolescent psychiatrist, and medical director of the Amen Clinic for Behavioural Medicine. In his work helping people apply mental health principles to their lives, he began to wonder why some people experienced positive change and others, none at all.

The answer came to him when he was introduced to brain SPECT imaging (imaging that detects blood flow and activity in the brain). These images showed functional differences in the brains of people with dementia, depression, schizophrenia, and head injuries as compared to "normal" brains. Also, before and after images showed how treatment with medication actually changed the physical functioning of the brain.

Dr. Amen started using SPECT studies to treat his patients and soon realized that treating patients according to the "abnormalities" in their brains could improve their lives. He used a combination of "prescriptions" depending on the area of the brain being targeted including exercise, nutrition, positive self-talk, changes to interactions with others, music, Biofeedback, and medication and witnessed positive changes in people's brains and in their lives.

His motivation to share the work that was being done at his clinic came from seeing many children, teenagers, and adults who had clear brain abnormalities whom society was just writing off as bad human beings.

To quote Dr. Amen:
"Seeing these scans caused me to challenge many of my basic beliefs about people, character, free will, and good and evil that had been ingrained in me".

"I believe it benefits almost everyone to know as much about how his or her own brain works as possible...Since the brain controls our behaviour, optimizing its function can help nearly anyone's ability to be more effective in life."

"We are far too quick to attribute people's actions to a bad character when the source of their actions may not be their choice at all, but a problem with brain physiology."

"The actual physical patterns of our brain have a dramatic impact on how we think, feel, and behave from moment to moment."

Dr. Amen makes the point that he is not encouraging everyone to get a brain scan, although this may be helpful for some people. What he is suggesting is that by understanding how our brain works, we can gain a deeper understanding of our feelings and behaviour and the feelings and behaviour of others.

Brain Education is a program created to help us understand and, as Dr. Amen says, "optimize the functioning" of our brains. First by sensitizing ourselves to our brain and body, we develop a greater awareness of the condition of both.

With this awareness, we can choose from a variety of "prescriptions" such as exercise, energy meditation, Brain Wave Vibration, and even laughing, that results in positive changes in our brains and in our lives.