Transcripts

Daniel Amen, M.D.:
How you think (moment-by-moment thoughts) have a huge impact on how your brain works.

Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen, author of the book Change Your Brain Change Your Life…

Whenever you have a bad thought, a negative thought, a horrifying thought your brain releases chemicals that cause certain parts to work too hard and put you at more risk for depression or anxiety. Most people don't know it's a choice - they just think thoughts are what happens and they're victims to them but when you understand that you can change your thoughts and you can actually change your brain function you begin to pay attention. We've scanned six thousand people at this point - we know what a healthy brain looks like and we scan people who sit and brood, who think awful things and we see the negative impact it has on their limbic system. How it over-activates it and puts them at much more risk for depression.

But what about when something bad really does happen - like you lose your job?

If you sit and brood and focus on all the awful, terrible things that are likely to happen because you lost your job, not only will you have lost your job you will now be depressed. What you want to do is find what's the reality, "I lost my job - this is really awful and terrible" and then take it to the next step - "What can I do about it?"

For our free online newsletter visit our website: somethingyoushouldknow.net I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.