Change Your Brain Every Day

What if some of the anxiety, fear, relationship patterns, or emotional pain you struggle with didn't begin with you?
In this powerful conversation, Mark Wolynn, author of It Didn't Start With You, joins Dr. Daniel Amen & Tana to explore one of the most important questions in mental health: How much of what we carry was inherited from the generations before us? They unpack the hidden patterns that can travel through families — from unresolved grief and fear to attachment wounds, chronic stress, and behaviors we repeat without understanding why. Mark Wolynn shares how identifying the stories and emotional patterns passed down through our family can become a doorway to healing. Dr. Daniel Amen brings a brain-health perspective to the conversation, exploring how our experiences can shape the brain and influence the way we think, feel, and behave. This isn't about blaming your parents. It's about understanding yourself.
Because when you recognize where a pattern came from, you may finally have the power to stop repeating it.
You didn't choose everything you inherited. But you can choose what happens next.

What if the Gospel is the answer to America's deepest divisions and to our deepest wounds? In this episode, we sit down with Pastor Derwin Gray; former NFL player turned church planter, best-selling author, and founder of Transformation Church — for a raw, hope-filled conversation about faith, identity, healing, and what it really means to follow Jesus in a fractured world.
 
Derwin shares his journey from the football field to the pulpit, why he believes churches aren't optional but essential, and how genuine faith moves beyond Sunday mornings into everyday transformation. We also touch on insights from Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen on the connection between brain health, emotional healing, and spiritual wholeness and exploring how faith and science can work together toward a fully healed life.
 
If you've ever wondered whether faith can survive contact with real life — and actually heal what's broken — this episode is for you.
 
Derwin's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Time-Heal-God-Given-Shattered/dp/B0GQPF3GW8

What if your greatest trauma could literally reshape your brain and your life for the better? After surviving a shark attack that took her arm at just 13 years old, Bethany Hamilton became a global symbol of resilience. But what actually happened inside her brain? In this powerful conversation, Bethany sits down with renowned psychiatrist and brain imaging expert Dr. Daniel Amen, alongside Tana Amen, to explore the science behind her extraordinary post-traumatic growth.
For the first time, Bethany examines her brain through advanced imaging, uncovering how faith, purpose, resilience, and intentional habits may have transformed her mind after unimaginable adversity. Together, they dive into the neuroscience of trauma, healing, grit, motherhood, high performance, and why some people don't just recover—they grow stronger. Whether you've experienced loss, trauma, or simply want to build a healthier brain, this episode offers hope backed by both science and an inspiring real-life story.
In this episode:
Bethany Hamilton's brain scan results with Dr. Daniel Amen

The science of post-traumatic growth

How trauma can change the brain—for better or worse

Faith, resilience, and the mindset behind extraordinary recovery

Practical habits for building a healthier, more resilient brain

Why purpose is one of the brain's greatest healing tools

 
This isn't just a story of survival; it's a masterclass in becoming stronger because of what you've been through.

For decades, medicine has treated memory loss, brain fog, and neurodegenerative disease as inevitable — but what if the real battle is happening at the cellular level, inside your brain's own immune system? In this episode, six-time New York Times bestselling author and neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter joins Dr. Amen & Tana to unpack the findings from his groundbreaking new book, Brain Defenders. We explore microglia — the brain's immune cells that can act as either warriors of protection or agents of destruction, depending on how we live. Dr. Perlmutter breaks down the overlooked role of inflammation in conditions ranging from dementia to long COVID and lays out practical, evidence-based strategies to counter threats such as poor diet, environmental toxins, and lack of restorative sleep. If you've ever wondered whether cognitive decline is truly inevitable — or whether you have more control over your brain's future than you think — this conversation will change how you think about aging, disease, and prevention.
 
Purchase Brain Defenders: https://a.co/d/00qR4E3Y

In this episode, Dr. Daniel Amen sits down with Stanley Cup and NHL champion Erik Johnson for a groundbreaking look inside Erik's concussion recovery. Using advanced SPECT imaging, Dr. Amen scans Erik's brain to reveal the hidden impact of his traumatic brain injury and maps areas of damage, dysfunction, and remarkable resilience that standard imaging often misses.
 
Together, they walk through the results in real time, translating complex brain scans into a clear picture of what TBI actually does to blood flow, activity, and function. Erik gets an unflinching look at his own recovery — the progress made, the challenges still ahead, and what the science says is possible from here.
 
This isn't just a conversation about brain injury. It's a rare, visual journey into what healing looks like from the inside out — offering hope, clarity, and actionable insight for anyone navigating their own recovery.