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most people are just caught in the stress loop, meaning their nervous system is basically on fire. The experiences of overwhelm, anxiety, frustration, and just franticness is caused by the nervous system being caught in this fight or flight loop. All of these things are overwhelming and they all look like crises. All the fires are caused by these stress loops that we're in because our nervous system can only perceive threats. And so the only way to solve all of these things, relationships with our kids, careers, money, our health, and the never ending to do list is we got to step out of this cycle of stress.

"You're in the same." "If if, you're depressed, you're not deficient in a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, right?" "You you're deficient generally in serotonin." "And serotonin is made in the gut through this process called methylation." "90% of the serotonin in our bodies resides in our gut." "So if you don't have it here, you can't have it here." "Right." "So depression rarely begins in an outside cluster of symptoms." "It usually begins in the gut."

I never realized how focusing on problems can make them worse until I read your book. It's called rumination, obsessing over pain, a key symptom of depression. Doing activities like exercise or running errands can help mental health by breaking this pattern. Cognitive behavioral therapists work to stop this habit, but some therapists encourage it.

"What's very clear is that when you're suffering or you're lazy or you're procrastinating, doing something that's harder than the state that you're in bounces you back much faster. This is all based in the dynamics of dopamine. It's sort crazy if you know how people are procrastinating to write something and they start cleaning the house? Something they normally don't wanna do. Well, it's just something that's easier than the thing that you're supposed to do. Right. If you do something that's even harder than the thing you're trying to avoid, all of a sudden, you're able to do that. And you're like, oh, okay. Well, it's just psychology. Right? No. It's not psychology alone. Once dopamine is deployed at that level, you're a different person."

People are largely trapped in a stress loop, where the nervous system is basically on fire. The experiences of overwhelm, anxiety, frustration, and franticness come from this fight-or-flight loop. Because of this, people focus on every aspect of their life—relationships, children, careers, money, health, and the never-ending to-do list—and perceive each element as an emergency. As a result, they can’t gain perspective on how to start solving these issues. The pattern is: we’re putting out fires, but we don’t realize the fires are being created by the stress loop itself. All of the fires—whether in relationships, careers, money, or health—are caused by these stress loops, because the nervous system can only perceive threats. To solve all of these areas, we must step out of this cycle of stress. This stress cycle is what leads to health issues and ongoing overwhelm. No supplement, no amount of meditation, is going to correct it, because those approaches only help us manage relationships from within the stress loop rather than address the root cause. In other words, managing the symptoms through temporary relief fails to resolve the underlying dynamic driving problems across life domains.

Alcohol is discussed for its effects on the body, with the speaker noting, "Alcohol messes with your kidney. It messes with your liver. It creates the bags." The idea that drinking regularly is normal is challenged: "A lot of people think it's normal to drink alcohol on a regular basis." They describe heavy drinking, saying, "They drink a bottle of wine, two bottles of wine, and they think, Well, that's fine." The speaker asks, "Well, here's the question. Can you give it up?" and concludes, "If you can't give it up, then you're probably addicted."

"If you look at kids if you look at patients with anxiety, okay, and you because ADHD, anxiety, similar, pattern in the microbiome anyways. So if you look at patients with anxiety, and now I'm taking my anxious patient, and I see a signature microbiome. Some microbes are overgrown, some microbes are low, and what I'm gonna do is I'm basically gonna give that patient a drug. That drug is blunting here the anxiety. Right?" "But it doesn't fix the microbiome." "You have a signature microbiome for anxiety." "Well, the drugs are great because they're working up here." "They're not working at the gut level. So this the anxiety problem is still there." "Do you think people who have ADHD don't have ADHD and they actually just have anxiety?" "I think people with ADHD are lacking microbes. That's what I think." "And the medication doesn't help at all?" "I I think it probably cuts down the symptoms, but I don't think it fix The root." "which is the the business model of most drugs, by the way."

Doctors learn nothing about health. They barely learn what impedes health, offering platitudes like 'eat better, exercise more' when asked to make the heart or brain healthier. There is a gap in understanding 'how do you create a healthy functioning human body and particularly brain.' The question becomes: how do we improve our brain health to improve our mood? The first is 'brain envy.' You gotta care about it; nobody cares about their brain, because you can't see it. You can see wrinkles or belly fat, but most people never look at their brain. 'Freud was wrong. Penis envy is not the cause of anybody's problem.' 'I've not seen it one time in forty years.' It's brain envy. You gotta, like, love and care for your brain. Is this good for my brain or bad for it? Which is why I'm not a fan of alcohol or marijuana.

"People who drink regularly, could be just one or two drinks per night, or it could be somebody that drinks just on Fridays or just on Saturdays, or maybe just on the weekend, two to four drinks." "Well, those people experience changes in their hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis that result in more cortisol, more of this so called stress hormone being released at baseline when they are not drinking." "Again, I offer a bunch of different patterns to explain how it could also be two or three drinks on Friday or six drinks only on Saturday." "Well, all of those groups experience increases in cortisol release from their adrenal glands when they are not drinking." "And as a consequence, they feel more stressed and more anxiety when they aren't drinking."

"Stress is created by not being able to predict something that's going to happen in your life. The perception that something's going get worse or you can't control something, right?" "So, when that occurs, we switch on that primitive nervous system called the fight or flight nervous system, and the brain goes into this very alarm state called That means pay attention to the outer world, there's danger out there." "But if it's not a predator and it's traffic, or your co worker, or your ex, this is where it gets to be a problem because it becomes very maladaptive, right?" "And like a lightning storm in the clouds, the brain starts firing very, very incoherently." "And when the brain's incoherent, we're incoherent."

Mike Adams introduces “medication spellbinding,” a concept borrowed from Dr. Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist known for criticizing mass medication. The term, also called Anosognosia, describes patients’ unawareness that they are mentally impaired, which can lead to involuntary violence or suicide and a lack of significant therapeutic efficacy compared to placebo. Drugs mask or hide their harmful mental and emotional effects, causing people to feel better in their own minds while their real-world behavior deteriorates. Some individuals become desperately depressed or violently aggressive without realizing the medication is causing it. Adams notes that the pharmacopoeia of big pharma has historical ties to sorcery, and mentions Ambien as an example some people claim leads to bizarre sleepwalking or even sleep driving. He also cites akathisia and emotional blunting associated with SSRIs, where people lose empathy and feel detached from emotional reality. School shooters are discussed, with links suggested between SSRI use or sudden cessation and violent acts. The central claim is that psychiatric drugs work by disabling brain function; SSRIs are described as inhibitory—selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors—blocking serotonin reuptake and flooding the brain with serotonin, thereby “disabling” brain function and creating spellbinding effects. Dr. Breggin’s theory, articulated in articles in Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry and in his 2008 book Medication Madness, outlines four overlapping effects of these drugs. First, patients fail to recognize the degree of drug-induced mental impairment. Second, they deny that the drug causes any altered state, attributing changes to the underlying illness or personal failure. Third, patients may feel they are functioning better while objective markers—work performance, relationships, judgment—deteriorate. Fourth, severe forms can lead to actions radically uncharacteristic, including self-injury, suicide, or violence, without subjective recognition that the drug drives the behavior. Adams contrasts psychiatric drug intoxication with alcohol intoxication, noting society’s greater cultural recognition of alcohol effects and the relative lack of recognition of medication intoxication. He argues that conventional psychiatry maintains a presumption of benefit for these drugs, insisting they are safe and effective, even as they admit these drugs alter brain chemistry. The speaker questions the reliability of psychiatrists, claiming many are on medications themselves and that the DSM can pathologize normal emotions, leading to more drug prescriptions rather than addressing root causes. He urges extreme caution with psychiatric medications and favors natural approaches: sunshine, good nutrition, exercise, and reducing addictive substances. He emphasizes that these drugs can cause aberrant behaviors and suggest that obtaining proper diagnosis and treatment through conventional psychiatry may perpetuate a cycle of polypharmacy and worsening symptoms. He also touches on broader societal stressors—economic pressures, relationships, and global tensions—that exacerbate mental health concerns. The discussion closes with a brief note that discoveries will be shared regularly, with the aim of presenting both positive and other discoveries, and mentions resources for further information (omitting promotional content as requested).

Tucker Carlson interviews Dr. Daniel Amen about cannabis, brain health, and broader public health trends. Amen cites his 1000-person marijuana study showing lower brain blood flow and activity across all examined regions in users compared with healthy controls, with measurable deficits on SPECT imaging that assess blood flow and mitochondrial function. He explains mitochondria as cellular energy producers and notes that 49% of the tracer in their imaging is taken up by brain mitochondria; thus, low activity on the scan reflects reduced mitochondrial function and blood flow. He also references a separate study from an independent group of 1000 young marijuana users showing reduced blood flow and activity in brain areas involved in learning and memory, aligning with his assertion that marijuana is not innocuous for the brain. Amen lists consequences associated with reduced mitochondrial activity and blood flow: tiredness, low motivation, depression, increased anxiety (due to brain not settling), and, in vulnerable individuals, an increased risk of psychosis. He emphasizes that the connection between heavy marijuana use and psychosis is real and notes a genetic factor: a certain gene abnormality can lead to a sevenfold increase in the risk of psychosis in heavy users, with the general risk estimated at two to four times higher, particularly when use begins in youth. He argues that younger users face more brain development disruption and cites CDC data showing alarming mental-health trends among teens, including 57% of teenage girls reporting persistent sadness, 32% having thought of suicide, 24% having planned to kill themselves, and 13% having attempted it. He suggests marijuana contributes to this “mental mess,” though he acknowledges multiple factors. Carlson pushes back on the view of cannabis as a medicine, prompting Amen to discuss how, while cannabis can help certain conditions (glaucoma, appetite stimulation), it is not universally beneficial and can increase anxiety in some users. Amen describes a “doom loop” in which pain and distress trigger automatic negative thoughts (ANTs), amplifying suffering and potentially leading to relapse or worse mental health outcomes. He argues that cannabis can blunt certain pain pathways but, when used chronically, reinforces dependence and prevents brain rehabilitation. Amen contrasts marijuana with alcohol, describing rumors of “alcohol as health food” as a societal lie, noting recent statements by the American Cancer Society against any alcohol use due to cancer risk. He recounts experiences in psychiatry since the 1980s involving changes in attitudes toward gaming, alcohol, and drug policy, arguing that stimulants and sedatives (opiates, benzodiazepines) have historically created poor outcomes. He claims marijuana industry marketing aims to minimize perceived risk and accuses the industry of funding campaigns to mislead the public, similar to tactics used by historical industry players. In discussing brain imaging, Amen highlights the cerebellum (the “little brain”) as crucial for both movement and cognitive processing. Marijuana’s effect on the cerebellum can slow thinking and impair coordination, which underpins the admonition not to drive high. He explains that cannabis acts on CB1 receptors and modulates dopamine, producing a high but potentially disrupting dopamine in vulnerable individuals, sometimes triggering psychosis. Amen stresses the need to love and protect the brain, arguing that brain health should be prioritized in public policy. He advocates for preventing brain injury, reducing toxin exposure, maintaining sleep, exercise, and a healthy diet, and he introduces the Bright Minds framework: B = Blood flow; R = Retirement and aging (learn new things); I = Inflammation; G = Genetics; H = Head trauma; T = Toxins; M = Materials (personal products); I = Immunity; N = Neurohormones; D = Diabetes; S = Sleep. He explains how each factor affects brain health and how marijuana and obesity harm the brain by decreasing blood flow and increasing inflammation. He cites a study from the University of Pittsburgh showing overweight individuals have smaller brain volumes and older-appearing brains; obese individuals show even greater reductions. He notes that marijuana use lowers testosterone and can contribute to vascular problems, including a reported 600% increased heart attack risk for those over 50 who use marijuana. On ADHD and youth, Amen describes using brain scans to differentiate toxic brains from those with genuine ADHD, emphasizing that stimulants are not the universal answer and that underlying toxicities must be addressed. He recounts a case where a child’s left temporal lobe cyst caused behavioral changes, which surgery ultimately improved after imaging revealed the physical cause. He argues for looking at brain pathology before labeling and treating, and he describes his broader mission to foster a national brain health revolution, encouraging people to ask whether their actions are good for their brain. Amen also discusses psilocybin, kratom, and other substances, acknowledging potential therapeutic uses in specific contexts (psilocybin for PTSD/depression) while warning about risks such as unbalancing effects and the lack of standardized dosing in many studies. He notes a rising trend in mushroom use among youth and increasing emergency-room visits for psilocybin-induced psychosis. He cautions about the lack of regulation for kratom and its potential to worsen brain function, presenting it as another “weapon of mass destruction” in public health discussions. Towards the end, Amen describes his clinical experiences with trauma, epigenetics, and intergenerational influences on mental health, stressing that thoughts, even disturbing ones, do not define character and can be managed through cognitive strategies such as cognitive behavioral techniques and reframing. He closes with a personal call to care for brain health, emphasizing practical steps like sleep, exercise, nutrition, vitamin D optimization, dental health, reducing toxin exposure, and mindful use of technology, including cautions about AI’s potential impact on cognitive function.

Anxiety can actually be driven like a habit. The feeling of worrying can drive the mental behavior of worrying. Thomas Borkevik suggested back in the 1980s that there's enough feeling of control—or at least that we're doing something—when we're worrying, and that that's rewarding to our brain. And then it feeds back and says, hey, next time you're anxious, you should worry. And so we get stuck in these cycles of anxiety and worry that don't help anything and actually just make us more anxious. And if we don't notice that, if we can't see that our minds are doing that, then we just get stuck.