Is Your Brain Always Listening? [Book Review]

According to Daniel G. Amen's new book - Your Brain IS Always Listening. Using the analogy of Dragons and ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) and after learning from his friend Dr. Sharon May, a world renewed relationship psychologist, Dr. Amen identified 13 Dragons from the Past and illustrates how they can impact our lives.

What Dr Amen wrote in the book is not anything new. Instead he is connecting the dots and putting them into more a 'scientific perspective' by using SPECT (single-photon emission computerised tomography) scan - which is often used by doctors to see how the internal organs function.

You are more likely to able to protect yourself from dragons and ANTs when you have clear goals, a healthy blood-sugar level, plenty of sleep, no alcohol in your system, and you are not hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.

Seems straightforward and ideal but realistically it can be challenging for many of us and even more so now with the COVID-19 pandemic. But we have to start somewhere, we have to start learning about our own thought process and break the patterns. 

While the book provides tons of case studies, photos of past patients' SPECT scans, tips and to-do lists, we have to do the work ourselves. We need to recognise the 'dragons' that are leading our lives before we can 'tame' them. Everything starts from inside of us. The outside is often a reflection of how we feel within us. 

So start by listening to your own stories on replay. Decide what works and what doesn't or no longer fit into your current state. Make shift from there. It will not happen overnight. It will be challenging. You will feel defeated at times and it could be one of your dragons or ANTs at work. This book might just help you to work through it!