Rating: 
Summary: One of the Most Important Books I have Ever Read
Review: This book shows you that there is hope for everyone! Though the title is a little silly, it is appropriate. This book actually shows you pictures of brains with different emotional/chemical imbalances. Give it to anyone who questions whether diet or medication really affect their feelings and relationships. Many people believe that medication is for weak people and that they should be able to conquer their problems through sheer will. I have known countless people who have tried everything to overcome emotional issues but actually changing their physiology. This book gives indisputable evidence that problems like depression, aggression, ADD and Alzheimers are physically based. The changes in patients' brains before and after treatment (often, but not always medication-based) are phenomenal. It demonstrates with the SPECT series brain scans that our brain chemistry rules our emotions. I learned that even minor bumps to the head can change people's personalities and ability to learn. Dr. Amen shows pictures of brains with little or no activity in areas that have been injured, mirroring the patients' emotional or intellectual difficulties. Amen is very clear that he always uses talk therapy and teaching communication skills before he contemplates having a SPECT series done. His point is that many people can benefit from learning new skills and ways of looking at life, but some are truly stuck because their brain activity keeps them looping on negative thoughts, reacting with extreme anger, obsessing about limited situations, or shutting down when they try to concentrate. When medication is used these patients can finally put the communication and coping skills they have learned to good use. This book helped me understand people in my life who have seemed hopeless, shallow and even vicious. It showed me that there is hope for everyone who is willing to open their mind, get proper treatment, and challenge how they have viewed the world up until now. The exercises he gives the reader are very specific and helpful. If another reviewer thinks that there is nothing concrete in the book, then they aren't willing to look at their diet, their habitual way of thinking, and herbal and medical treatments. The prescriptions are plentiful and very specific. It is an easy read, very accessible, with fascinating stories that pull you in. It is not academic or inaccessible. Quite the opposite. It's a great book for anyone who wants to know more about themselves and how their body works.
Rating:
Summary: Psychiatry of the next century!!
Review: This book was fascinating to read. Dr. Amen's work is cutting edge, but also very practical. Readers will be surprised to read that they can positively change their brain by what they think, what they eat, and how they relate to others. The brain images in the book were fascinating and easy to understand. He shows what depression, anxiety, ADD, temper problems and obsessiveness look like in the brain. Checklists are given so that readers can identify their own problems, and then Dr. Amen gives clear, easy to follow prescriptions for optimizing each part of the brain. Many people will benefit from reading this book.The Amazon.com reviewer says "Shame on Dr. Amen for showing brains with holes in them," but why not. People need to know that there are things they can do to damage their brains and their are things they can do to help their brains. This book shows you how!
Rating: 
Summary: doesn't tell u how to change your brain
Review: this book was terrible. It doesn't tell u how to change your brain. Good book for doctors, but normal people, please.
Rating: 
Summary: After I read this....
Review: This book will make you want to change your brain! Surrendering caffeine was my answer. I would consume coffee or even caffeine pills to get going in the morning. I have surrendered these after reading the good doctor's book. I still consume it in lower doses but have reduced my gross intake considerably. I feel it has made a considerable difference for me. Perhaps it will for you as well. The book presents the results of what was groundbreaking scanning techniques for studying brain function. Dr. Amen compares the brain function of ADHD, chemical abusers and "normal" brains. The images create a visable difference and that is where the Dr. develops his conclusions.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book on Drug Treatment
Review: This is a book on drug treatment. It seems like a good one. Since the author
uses SPECT scans. SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography)
makes a lifelike version of the brain. Unfortunately, the author adds some cognitive
therapy and meditation to his program. He changes the names of the exercises
(thereby cutting out Beck, Burns, Ellis, and the Buddha). But this is what you must remember if you buy this book: He never does a follow-up SPECT scan after one
uses just cognitive therapy or meditation. Just drugs. This makes the whole book invalid. Chapters 14 and 15 are good on alcohol and pollutant use.
Rating:
Summary: A Book on Drug Treatment
Review: This is a book on drug treatment. It seems like a good one. Since the author
uses SPECT scans. SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography)
makes a lifelike version of the brain. Unfortunately, the author adds some cognitive
therapy and meditation to his program. He changes the names of the exercises
(thereby cutting out Beck, Burns, Ellis, and the Buddha). But this is what you must remember if you buy this book: He never does a follow-up SPECT scan after one
uses just cognitive therapy or meditation. Just drugs. This makes the whole book invalid. Chapters 14 and 15 are good on alcohol and pollutant use.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging exploration of the brain-personality link
Review: This is a fun book, easy to read and very thought provoking. The book recounts a wide variety of case studies. Each story begins with a patient coming for help. After inquiring about the problem, the wise doctor does a SPECT scan (like a CAT scan) and discovers over-active or underactive brain regions. Based on the diagnosis, drugs and/or therapy are prescribed. Most stories have a happy ending. As a whole, the book constructs a fascinating link between behavior and brain 'health.' By presenting at least 50 SPECT images (black and white to keep costs down), Amen describes brain health in terms of 'normal activity' levels. Hyperactivity and underactivity in localized areas of the brain cause behavioral problems. At the end of the book is a section on drug abuse and brain health. The pictures of what drugs do to the brain ought to scare many. The material is somewhat controversial. Dr. Amen's definition of brain health is not universally shared. Rather than dwell on the controversy, the book sticks with the case study review, including conflicts with doctors favoring 'talk' therapy along the way. In one case, he has to go all over the country to find a surgeon willing to remove the cyst causing a patient problems. The story telling style keeps the politics to a minimum and lets the reader draw their own conclusions.
Rating:
Summary: Change your brain for the better
Review: This is a pretty good book that appeals to the broad audience of just about anyone who has suffered from at least mild mental distress, and that includes about everyone. I agree with the doctor's philosophy that most mental disturbances can be attributed to metabolic abnormalities in different regions of the brain, though there's nothing too earthshaking about this idea. Many of the cognitive therapy excercises seem to be derived from ideas that Aaron Beck and David Burns have had, though the doctor does a good job summarizing and presenting these ideas in a practical, easy to use manner. This book also is not anti-medication, in spite of presenting these non-medication methods for improving mental health. Overall, a good read for anyone suffering from any type of mild mental distress. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".
Rating:
Summary: Change your brain for the better
Review: This is a pretty good book that appeals to the broad audience of just about anyone who has suffered from at least mild mental distress, and that includes about everyone. I agree with the doctor's philosophy that most mental disturbances can be attributed to metabolic abnormalities in different regions of the brain, though there's nothing too earthshaking about this idea. Many of the cognitive therapy excercises seem to be derived from ideas that Aaron Beck and David Burns have had, though the doctor does a good job summarizing and presenting these ideas in a practical, easy to use manner. This book also is not anti-medication, in spite of presenting these non-medication methods for improving mental health. Overall, a good read for anyone suffering from any type of mild mental distress. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting and insightful.
Review: This is a well written book and did not bog me down like some self-help books that I have read in the past. The information seems very practical and pertinent.
| 
