Reframe Mental Health as Brain Health
Hi, I’m Liz Moser and I’m Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach.
I have a question for you…
If, prior to a medical procedure, practically every single body part is subjected to X-rays, MRI’s, or some other scanning technology, then why isn’t the brain scanned prior to a mental health diagnosis?
Well, Dr. Daniel Amen has been doing precisely that for 30 years.
Dr. Amen is a board-certified psychiatrist, professor, and brain health expert. He is a pioneer in brain SPECT imaging, which stands for single-photon emission computerized tomography, and he introduced a whole new way of looking at the brain.
His research on brain imaging was ranked 19th out of the top 100 stories in science in 2015 by Discover Magazine.
What is personally exciting about his work is that Dr. Amen recommends eliminating sugar, alcohol, and processed foods from your diet, which is how I eat. While I chose that lifestyle for general health dr. Amen recommends it for brain health.
Dr. Amen stresses the direct link between sugar and alcohol consumption, even moderate amounts, and Alzheimer’s disease. I don’t know about you, but I can gladly give up dessert and cocktails if it means I’ll never spend even one night in a memory care unit.
Also, Dr. Amen has no qualms talking about food addiction and particularly sugar addiction and that’s one of the many things he treats at his clinics in addition to ADD/ADHD, drug and alcohol addictions, depression, PTSD, OCD and concussion and traumatic brain injuries just to name a few.
Dr. Amen reframes mental health as brain health. I love that concept!
His message is that through SPECT imaging, he can discover which parts of the brain are perhaps overactive, under-functioning, or even injured. Dr. Amen reiterates how fragile our brains are and the potentially disastrous mental health effects of undiagnosed and untreated brain injuries.
Also, so fascinating to me is his SPECT scan research that shows how multiple people may have the same symptoms such as compulsive overeating, alcohol addiction, anxiety or depression; however, their brain scans might appear quite different, and most importantly, their treatment needs to differ as well.
That’s right, same symptoms, yet different brain patterns AND different treatments. Makes sense, right? Think about how anti-depressants may work for one person and be ineffective for another.
If you want more information, check out his website here, and he’s written many books. I read The Brain Warriors Way and Feel Better Fast and Make It Last and I can recommend them both.
I'm Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach, and if you have any questions about this bog or about health or wellness or wellness coaching please email me at lizm@lizmosercoaching.com
Bye for now! -Liz
