Change Your Brain Change Your Life

I'll admit this is a funny title. There are many times we have all wished we could do something with our brains! This book is about dealing with emotions that are actually caused by a part of our brain working too hard or too little. It is one of the most interesting, and yet simple, books I have ever read. The brain works (this is super simplified because that is how I think) like the tongue. Instead of tasting on different parts our brain feels in different parts. I'll give an example. The deep limbic system is way down inside our brains. It controls much of how we feel about love and depression. So not only does the author, Daniel Amen, explain what happens when it is working too much or too little, he gives very practicial step by step instructions on how to stop negative thinking. I'm going to reread these instructions and go over them with my son. He calls the 9 basic negative thoughts ANTs. Automatic Negative Thoughts. In other words, thoughts that automatically pop into a persons head when someone says something or an event occurs. Some people have automatic negative thoughts most of the time. So I made a picture on the computer of 9 ants and labeled each with a negative thought. I will teach them to my son and help him learn to identify when he is having one. I'm not saying if a person tends to be negative that you can turn them into a Pollyanna type person. But who wouldn't want to see the world more positively and to have a better outlook? Other chapters deal with anxiety and panic, anger, impulsiveness and focus and worrying. Great Book!