 "Excellent book" | 2008-09-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: ATKG9MJRR1O4F |
| I purchased this book after seeing Dr. Amen on PBS. I read it straight through and found it extremely insightful and informative. Both of my kids have ADD and I am encouraging them to read it. |
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| "Readable Information about Your Brain" | 2008-09-21 |
| - Reviewed By User: AKPT6ND1KQ9X1 |
| Dr. Amen's book brings together in highly readable terms the biological and psychological factors so important to mental health. It offers patients a guilt-free perspective on what has gone awry. |
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 "Don't make it Personal" | 2008-09-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1XV0ZGRUJ097K |
| Actually, this is a review of the reviewers. But a little about myself. For 9 years I performed failure analysis for safety related systems in nuclear reactors. Safety related systems are those used to safely shut down a reactor when it needs to be. When a part doesn't work as expected, you have to know why. Why? Because you can't fix it unless you know what it is you need to fix. I'll end it here, but I'm sure the reader can now appreciate all the arguments, pointing fingers, investigations, test, communications, travels, lies, stories and pressure (you have to have a reason and solution in 72 hours or the NRC will force you to shut down the reactor) you get hit with. It has taught me to look at things differently.br /br /I see two groups of people here: those that are for and those who are against. I see the writing style. Before you even hit the keys, you have decided what you want to say. Bias.br /br /For those of us that think Dr. Amen's approach is the best thing since sliced bread.....beware. This is new. It has some valid points. I myself relied on a vast army of tools, including the electron microscope. Yes, EM. I was able to do in two days what General Electric took to do in one month. Once you have all the data you can possibly secure and boiled it down into information (very important concept here) only then can you sit back and form a conclusion. At no time can you be bias before the conclusion phase. And you are asking for trouble in your conclusions if you base everything on one experience.br /br /For those of us that think Dr. Amen's approach is akin to snake oil.... beware. The world does revolve around the sun. In nuclear, you can have the best program running in a computer and it won't work if the computer hardware is at fault. You can have the best computer in the world but it won't work if the program is faulty. You can imagine the complexity if both are at fault. And both won't work properly if the operator doesn't understand what the results mean (Three Mile Island). Having said that, I get a little edgy when a person says it has nothing to do with the hardware or the hardware couldn't possibly contribute to the faulting net system results. Then resort to personal attacks to ensure the validity of his conclusions. As soon as I see personal attacks to boost a conclusion, all bets are off. There are emotions here and emotions have a way of tainting data. Many of you have done this in your reviews of Dr. Amen's book. You proved you were bias and as a result your data, information and conclusions are corrupt.br /br /Now for something we all wanted to know. If a tree falls in the forest, and no one was there, did it make a noise? Most of you will remember this in high school or college and no one had a solution but boy did it entertain!! br /br /First, what is noise. You need an energy source and a transducer. Energy is fed to a transducer and the transducer vibrates. A transmitter. Second, we need a receiver, which is our second transducer. It receives the vibrations and converts it to.... on the part of a human, sound. A tape recorder can also produce the same results. The third part, and this is the part that everyone forgets, the transmitting media. You have to transmit those vibrations from the source transducer to the receiving transducer. In air, it's air. In water, it's water. Or wood, teeth and bone in the case of Beethoven.br /br /Lets test. I talk to you, you hear. I stop talking to you, you do not hear. You leave the room, you do not hear. We take the air out of the room, you do not hear. br /br /Second test. You and I outside of the space shuttle way up above earth. No radio. I talk, you do not hear. I press my helmet to yours. I talk, you hear. You leave, you do not hear. I stop talking, you do not hear. br /br /Third test. You are in a city. You have a radio. The talk host is talking. You hear the talk host. You walk away from the radio. You do not hear the talk host. The talk host stops talking, you do not hear him. The battery dies on the radio, you do not hear the talk host. Air, in this instance, is irrelevant. The mic can be attached to the person's throat expelling air as he talks in into a vacuum and the headphone is attached to the receiver's cochlear implant (just in case there are those who wish to argue).br /br /What we have: We have identified three elements essential to sound. You must have a transmitter, the transmitting medium, the receiver. Sound relies on these three elements. If we take any one of them away, you do not have sound.br /br /In the woods, you have the transmitter, the falling tree. You have the transmitting medium, air. You do not have a receiver.br /br /What is your conclusion?br /br /The tree did not make a sound in the forest when it fell because no one was around. br /br / |
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| "Very Enlightening" | 2008-09-14 |
| - Reviewed By skyhawk182 |
| Change Your Brain is an extrmely thourough analaysis of the functioning of the brain and the various problems associated any area(s) that are out of sync. Author uses scans to view actual brain functioning and has correlated psychological problems with physical brain disorders/malfunctions.br /br /And, in the "self help" category, he, being a psychiatrist, offers voluminous advice on how to deal with each disorder from the sufferer's perspective and from those close to them. Includes diet, approaches to life, approaches to conflict and possible drug and vitamin solutions. br /br /Would rate it at 5 stars, but it IS a bit detailed and not simply a quick easy read. But if you hang in there, you will get a very good exposure to the mind's workigs and how it relates to behavoir. Highly recommended. |
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| "Understanding" | 2008-09-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1LTPCA1NSY5NY |
"Change Your Brain Change Your Life" offers understanding about our brain from a perspective that is unique.
You gain understanding at an intellectual and emotional level. Intellectually, you gain insights into mental conditions ranging from depression, anxiety to attention deficit disorder. Emotionally, you are better equipped to understand individuals suffering from mental illness.
You become more tolerant and less judgmental if you or someone around you is going through challenges because of the way your or their mind functions.
This is an absolutely fantastic book, which is better read with "Nexus: A Neo Novel." Nexus by Deborah Morrison and Arvind Singh is a must-read about people overcoming psychological barriers at a retreat. It offers a hard-hitting experiential journey into people's lives and gives inspiration that by doing something instead of staying stuck, we can transform our lives.
Nexus: A Neo Novel |
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| "An amzaing resource" | 2008-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2IMP6EN105AVQ |
| This book gives a remarkable overview of how and where certain disorders, like ADHD or anxiety, are manifested in the brain. It helps you understand that these disorders are biological; they are not all in your head as it were. For ADHD and other disorders, it gives excellent ideas to help re-train the brain as well as prescriptions like medicines, supplements, diet, exercise and other steps you can take to help re-train your brain. And it works. |
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 "Not exactly what I expected." | 2008-08-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: A36CWHZJTJ526H |
The claim that this book makes is a little misleading. Sure, the book itself was very informative about the physiology of each part of the brain and their functions. But the suggestions on how to regulate these brain functions were not life changing. 80% of the book was one story after another after another about how Dr. Amen saw a patient, preformed a SPECT study to diagnose their problem. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the validity of these studies and think SPECT studies should gain more credibility, but then all his patients were ultimately prescribed medication for their issues. How does this help me as the reader?
Take the insight you learned about each section of the brain, and use this book as just a stepping stone to finding the answers you're searching for. |
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| "getting unstuck" | 2008-08-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: AXJ93P7X9VJZL |
| Dr. Oz is about as real as it gets. Despite a Masters in Human Behavior and my life-long search to understand my mood swings and how to handle life as it comes, I am once again energized and hopeful that there might be a biopharmacological reason for the unexpected and unwelcome bouts of immobilizing depression that I have struggled with for over 60+ years. I have had little or no success with traditional talk therapy and physician prescribed anti-depressants. I am determined to seek out a "Specto" image of my brain to determine the best course of treatment for a burden that has severely impacted my own and the lives of my family and friends. |
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| "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" | 2008-08-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3FWEPHYU7Z3ZK |
This book(I listened to the cd's.) is an amazing insight into the human brain, how it works, and explains so many misconceptions about thinking in regards to our present mindset about behavior. It explains each part of the brain and behaviors that are represented by each part in a way that is easy to understand and connect to. It also gives great detail and information on behaviors, why we use them, and strategies to help us control or stop them. One very important idea that I appreciate is that the author, Dr. Amen does not believe in a one sided approach. He looks at each person/brain as unique and deserving of an individual prescription whether it be one prescription or a combination of approaches such as therapy, medication, awareness, diet, supplements, biofeedback, and other methods. Dr. Amen also emphasizes that most people do not purposely exhibit odd behaviors/thinking patterns. He shows through specific examples in his book that sometimes no matter how hard we try to make ourselves change/alter a certain behavior, there is often a medical reason why we cannot. Through his brain SPEC images he has shown this to his patients and their family members.
The book has helped me to see others whose behavior I was so frustrated with in a new light and now that I better understand it, I am able to improve my feelings and relationships with them. If there is someone you know that uses certain behavior/ways of thinking that impact their life or yours in a way that makes living very difficult, then reading this book is a must. The brain is an organ in our body, and when things go wrong in it due to genetics, head injuries, childhood trauma, neglect, abandonment... it effects how our brain functions. There are checklists, helpful hints, information, behavior modification techniques, and so much more that can be helpful to anyone whether you think you need it or not. So don't go on thinking that you or a loved one is "crazy" and nothing can be done. Read the book. Though it is filled with loads of information, you will take away from it what you need and can use. |
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| "Chabge Your Brain Change Your Life" | 2008-07-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1XTKSSPVPRRB6 |
| Excellent book! Gives a view on the brain that the typical medical world does not always show. |
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