It’s spring cleaning week at The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast, and Dr. Daniel and Tana Amen are here to help you clean not only your environment, but your mind and your life, too. In this episode, the Amens introduce a powerful technique that’s an absolute game-changer in terms of how you think about yourself. It’s a surefire way to help you psychologically distance yourself from the daily whirlwind in your head.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Welcome to the Brain Warrior’s Way podcast. I’m Dr. Daniel Amen.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
And I’m Tana Amen. In our podcast, we provide you with the tools you need to become a warrior for the health of your brain and body.
Daniel Amen, MD:
The Brain Warrior’s Way podcast is brought to you by Amen clinics, where we have been transforming lives for 30 years using tools like brain SPECT imaging to personalize treatment to your brain. For more information, visit amenclinics.com.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
The Brain Warrior’s Way podcast is also brought to you by Brain MD, where we produce the highest quality nutraceuticals to support the health of your brain and body. To learn more, go to brainmd.com.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Welcome back. We’re talking about spring cleaning your mind and today I’m going to give you a very fun technique I think you’ll like a lot. But, you have [inaudible [00:01:04].
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
I have a review. It says wonderful by J and S Hillman. This podcast has been wonderful. I’ve only been listening for a short time only because I just found it, but I fully intend to binge it. I’ve been struggling for years, now I’m trying to find a way to make a scan happen for me. I’ve bought the cookbook and I’ve just started reading Your Brain is Always Listening. I came across Tana and Daniel Amen listening to Robin McGraw’s I’ve Got a Secret. I’m trying the happy saffron now. I’m hoping with this and working on my part, I can clear the 10 years plus of brain fog, as my grandmother would say. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
That’s so awesome. Our friend, Robin McGraw. That’s so cool.
Daniel Amen, MD:
I love that. We should let her know.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah.
Daniel Amen, MD:
All right, spring clean your mind. There, I’m just finishing actually this week, my book for next year, you’ll hear all about it.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
You say that like it’s normal to write a book a year.
Daniel Amen, MD:
It’s normal for me. And I just, I love Your Brain is Always Listening. It was really one of my favorite books.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
It’s a really good book.
Daniel Amen, MD:
But, the world is unhappier now than it has been in our lifetime.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah.
Daniel Amen, MD:
And I wanted to see, is there a way to be happy in unhappy times? And so the new book is called You Happier, the Neuroscience of Feeling Good Based on Your Brain Type. Now you’ll hear all sorts of things about it. It’s not out until next March, but there’s one technique in the book. And I actually got it from this podcast when we interviewed Dr. Stephen Hayes and we interviewed him about acceptance and commitment therapy act. And, he had this idea of give your mind a name. And the name he gave his mind was George. And as we were doing the podcast, I’m, “Well, what name would I give my mind?”
And. It’s based on a concept called psychological distancing. If you can separate yourself from the noise in your head, you’re happier that you just don’t have to believe the storms that come through, like you were talking at the beginning of the week on, you wake up in the middle of the night and there are the negative thoughts.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
I’ve got twins fighting in my head.
Daniel Amen, MD:
And, you get the broom and sweep the thoughts away. Well, another way to do that is to give your mind a name. And I gave my mind in the name of Hermie, who was my pet raccoon when I was 16. And, I loved this raccoon. I loved [inaudible [00:04:07].
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
But she was a troublemaker?
Daniel Amen, MD:
Oh my God. She was so beautiful and so cute. But she-
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Sounds like our cat. Beautiful, cute and just a troublemaker.
Daniel Amen, MD:
She would TP my mom’s bathroom.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
She ate your sister’s goldfish. She pooped in your shoe.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Whenever…
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
HE, HE came back pregnant. That’s how you realized he was a she.
Daniel Amen, MD:
He was a she, right. And I raised her Catholic. We’d say prayers, and then she’s a hussy. She’s just loose. Really disturbing for me. And, that’s my mind.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Not the loose part.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
I don’t know about that, but anyways.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Well, it’s my mind in that it just causes trouble. I mean it’s adorable.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
See, I think that’s so funny. Cause yours is cute and funny mine are just evil. Mine are just…I got twins fighting in my head.
Daniel Amen, MD:
As I’ve been playing with this concept, I realize Hermie holds up signs all the time about your bad CEO or someone else’s book is better than yours, or you’re going to get sued or you’re going to die.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
That’s funny. Both of mine have a foul mouth. Detective Mullins and Beth. So, and they’re there constantly just fighting.
Daniel Amen, MD:
And, so you named your mind and as you’re listening to this, what name would you give your mind?
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Mine is Detective Mullins from The Heat. I just, I think she’s so funny, but she’s not all that nice.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Melissa McCarthy.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Oh, my God, I love her. I love her so much. But, then Beth from Yellowstone, I mean, she’s pretty twisted, but she’s kind of awesome, but she’s pretty twisted. So yeah, those two are constantly and they’re very foul mouthed and that’s my mind content to do that.
Daniel Amen, MD:
So when Hermie’s acting up, I can metaphorically put her in her cage because I can choose to listen to her or not. And, what I’ve been thinking about recently, I mean, I really love this raccoon. I used to put her on a cat leash and we’d go to the beach.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Oh, I know where this is going. Oh, geez. It’s like walking a puppy only worse.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Hermie is the best way to pick up girls.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah.
Daniel Amen, MD:
And, but she loved to be stroked. She loved to be tickled.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah, and you’re going to try and tell me that you’re not loose like Hermie?
Daniel Amen, MD:
I’m not.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Well, you’re not now.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Not now. In college I was actually voted biggest slut.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah.
Daniel Amen, MD:
But that was then. When my mind acts up, rather than put Hermie in the cage, I metaphorically put her on her back and tickle her.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Oh, that’s funny.
Daniel Amen, MD:
And, I just don’t have to take it seriously. And if you don’t have to take yourself seriously, you’re going to be so much happier. And it’s just a wonderful, simple yet profound.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
I need to figure out what I’m going to do with Detective Mullins and Beth. I can’t put them on their backs and tickle them. What am I going to do with them?
Daniel Amen, MD:
Well, you can choose to ignore them.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah. They’re not really ignorable. They had to rename my mind. Something I have a bit more control over.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Yeah. Those two, you would have no control.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
No hope of controlling.
Daniel Amen, MD:
When Detective Mullins would upset, she would just be so hard on other people.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Oh, I love her so much. Oh my God. She’s so great.
Daniel Amen, MD:
For those of you who have not seen The Heat, that will make you happy.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
She’s so funny. She’s hilarious.
Daniel Amen, MD:
It’s just two hours of insanity and fun. So, spring clean your mind by psychologically distancing yourself from the whirlwind. So, we’ve talked about please don’t believe every stupid thing you think. When you feel sad or mad or nervous or out of control, write it down, ask yourself if it’s true. If you absolutely know that it’s true, you’re going to spring clean your mind. You have to move more. It sort of gets the cobwebs.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
Yeah, and you’ve got to-
Daniel Amen, MD:
It’s so true with you.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
It’s one of the fastest ways to change your mood is to change your physiology. So, but you got to move. How you move matters. So, move like you mean it.
Daniel Amen, MD:
Coordination exercises seem to be super helpful. Eating right. There’s a linear correlation between the number of fruits and vegetables you eat a day and your level of happiness. So, Brain MD makes something called Neuro Grains. They’re actually not just grains, it’s grains, it’s powder from healthy organic green foods and red foods and blue foods and purple foods, orange foods, it’s just really great. We put it in our shake every morning. All of these things can just be so helpful for you.
When we come back, we’re going to answer several of your questions, stay with us.
Tana Amen, BSN RN:
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Daniel Amen, MD:
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