How to Protect Your Brain Before It's Too Late | Dr. Daniel Amen – EP 802

**John R. Miles** (0:00)
Everyone treats summer like it owes you happiness.
Long days, pool parties, your best life on a loop. So what does it mean when you feel worse?

**SPEAKER_2** (0:10)
The summer blues are real.

**John R. Miles** (0:12)
It's why summer is one of the busiest stretches of the year for people starting therapy. Therapy is not only for when you're in crisis.
Growth therapy is for all the moments when you decide you want more.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:24)
More support, more clarity, more tools.

**John R. Miles** (0:28)
Mental health isn't a destination you reach. It's something you build. And Grow makes that easier. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality licensed therapists across the US., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity or availability, and get started in as little as two days. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. The therapist you want takes your insurance on Grow. Grow accepts over 125 insurance plans. Sessions average $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com/book now today to get started. That's growtherapy.com/book now.
growtherapy.com/book now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.
Today on Passion Struck, Dr. Daniel Amen issued a warning about modern culture that stopped me in my tracks.
Take a listen to this.

**Dr. Daniel Amen** (1:40)
If I was an evil ruler and I wanted to create mental illness, I have this thought experiment in my book, The End of Mental Illness.
I'd create American society. Every commercial is online gambling, alcohol, fast food, pharmaceuticals. We are being brainwashed in such a bad way and is stealing the brain health of America.

**John R. Miles** (2:19)
Hey, it's your friend John and welcome to Passionstruck. I'm so glad you're here. Whether you're a longtime listener or someone who just discovered the show, thank you for pressing play today.
Maybe you've built the life you were supposed to want, but you've quietly wondered why it still doesn't feel like enough.
If that's you, you're in the right place. Every week, I sit down with the world's top scientists, researchers, and thinkers to uncover what it actually takes to build an intentional life that matters.
Thanks for joining me. Let's get into it.
Hey, it's your friend, John, and welcome back to Passion Struck. I am so glad you're here. Today is episode 802, and the beginning of a brand new series we're calling The Adaptive Brain, how your mind learns, changes, and heals. Over the next month, we're going to explore one of the most remarkable discoveries in modern neuroscience, that your brain is not fixed. It's constantly adapting, learning, and changing. And understanding how it works may be one of the most important investments you ever make in yourself. Let me ask you something. Have you ever wondered why change can feel so hard, even when you know exactly what needs to change? Maybe you tried to break the same habit over and over again. Maybe you promised yourself this time will be different. Or maybe you've done the work. You've read the books, listened to the podcast, gained incredible insight into why you think and behave the way you do. And yet you still find yourself slipping back into the same patterns. What if that problem is a lack of motivation? What if it isn't a lack of discipline? What if we've been asking the wrong question all along? Because understanding yourself isn't the same as changing yourself. And that's exactly where today's conversation begins. By the end of today's episode, you'll understand why lasting transformation requires more than willpower. How chronic stress, loneliness, trauma, and even our daily habits reshape the brain. Why our automatic thoughts become powerful architects of our future. And most importantly, why Daniel Amen believes no one is ever too damaged or too late to build a healthier brain.
Our guide for this conversation is Dr. Daniel Amen, someone who I've always wanted to have on this podcast and someone you have requested time and time again. Dr. Amen is a physician, psychiatrist, founder of Amen Clinics, best-selling author and one of the world's leading authorities on brain health. After studying hundreds of thousands of brain scans over more than three decades, he's challenged the way we think about mental health, arguing that before we can change our lives, we need to understand and care for the brain that creates every thought, emotion, decision, and relationship we experience. But here's what stayed with me long after we stopped recording. This wasn't really a conversation about brain scans or even neuroscience. It was a conversation about hope. Because so many people walk through life believing they're broken, that they're simply wired this way, that this is just who they are. Daniel challenged that belief. He reminded me that if the brain can adapt, then our future doesn't have to look like our past.