The End of Mental Illness: How Neuroscience Is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping Prevent or Reverse Mood and Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, Addictions, PTSD, Psychosis, Personality Disorders, and More

A master piece of useful information for anyone who has a brain and wants to keep it healthy. I wish this book was available decades ago.

To the many who lovely accommodate the foybils of their significant other or parents, sons and daughters, this book gives you an insight into brain function.For me it opened empathetic avenues I never considered and in turn the forgiveness I had searched for. The knowledge I gleened allowed me to be the compassionate loving person I envisioned myself to ultimately become.

It’s contents have helped me out a lot in my life and understanding my brain

Transformational - IF you make the choice for it to be. People generally know what to do, they just don't do what they know - or do they? In this book Dr. Amen covers a tremendous amount of ground. The title of the book "The End of Mental Illness" may throw off some readers, no spoilers here, but you could change the title to "The End of a Crappy Life", "The End of Unhealthy Lifestyles", "The End of Bad Choices" - it all still applies. The book is well organized and the "tiny habits" summaries throughout the book are game changers. No matter who you are, there have been days when you have felt like you are not 100% - in some cases that's even led to a professional diagnoses and some type of treatment (pill) that can go on for a lifetime; if not yourself, then you've certainly seen this happen to others close to you. But is that the right treatment? - in some cases, yes, but in many I would argue no - but I'm just a layperson and Amen is a MD so perhaps his opinions and thought will go a longer way than mine. Walk into any convenience store in America and you are bombarded with unhealthy choices that are STEALING your life away - we are literally being programmed by corporate America to purchase and consume products that are destroying our health and our lives - generational change - IN A BAD WAY. In addition to a slew of quality advice about healthy lifestyle and food choices that impact your brain and state of mind, Dr. Amen goes the extra step and offers some wisdom on how to expand that impact even further - imagine - a bunch of readers getting excited about getting healthy and taking action to do so - crazytalk! - surely that's someone else's job and my job is to sit back and talk about how bad the status quo is... - no it's not - READ, LEARN, ACT - get off your asses, make good choices, set a good example for your kids, spouse, family, co-workers, everyone. Lots of common sense in this book, not necessarily a lot of common practice (but could be). Preventable death and disease is of major concern to me - the costs are high in our society, and with the current COVID pandemic even more significant - how many people that contracted CV19 on top of pre-existing conditions (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, etc.) immediately wished they would have made better choices in life - for some it has been terminal - there hasn't been much time to wish... In Louisiana where we rank last or 2nd to last in just about every national ranking category related to wellness, this is a big problem. I put off reading this book b/c it's 448 pages long and I was thinking it would take a great deal of time to read, but I sailed through it in a week - it's a page turner. Doesn't matter who you are, young or old, married, single, no kids or kids - there is information in this book that can set you up for success, happiness, and health. Stop the sugar! Eat the veggies! Exercise! Sleep! Eliminate toxins! Highly recommend.

I just got this book after listening to a short clip on Wired (YouTube) about mental health by Daniel Amen. I immediately related to his findings and the questions that he answered that were asked by other people. After opening the book yesterday I couldn't help but think how he "hit the nail" right on the head. I'd recommend this book. Take what you will... But there are many good findings in it.

My brother has been an MD for over 35 years. I have been medically disabled for 17 years. I also have had chronic mental health concerns for about two decades. And, I have a copy of the book now under discussion. Therefore, I feel qualified to post here.First, GREAT progress has been made in mental health Tx over the years. Have you ever heard of DBT? What about ACT? These therapies have saved the lives of many. And, improved the lives of hundreds of thousands – in such significant ways, that once UNEMPLOYABLE people are again able to work.2nd) I have been given many WRONG Dx’s over the last 3 decades, by doctors across many DIFFERENT fields of medicine (so has author Jordan Peterson btw, his case became so critical, that he almost died . . .and over about a year of doctor after doctor ‘guessing’ wrong here in the USA . . . he was finally able 2 get the help he needed . . . in some 2nd world country near the USSR).Due to the ***systemic illness of the US healthcare system*** – most docs have to ‘guess’. Why? Quotas. Let the reader pretend they are a doctor. You currently have 20 patients in your waiting room. It is almost 11am. You now have about THREE minutes with each patient before the office shuts down at Noon . . .for a much-needed lunch/SANITY break . . . before going back at 100pm . . . to your still overcrowded waiting room. Does that sound like an enjoyable ‘pressure-cooker’ to be in – day after day, week after week, y e a r A F T E R Y E A R ?!They are burned-out and most hate their jobs. They are under-paid (I will explain in a minute) and overworked. This trend started about 25 years ago and has progressively gotten worse and worse with each passing year. Insurance companies tell docs what test they can and cannot do (ie. Which ones insurance will pay for and which ones they will not).Big Pharma tells them what dope to push onto people. . . Big Pharma is a monopoly. It engages in price gouging/setting which again, unethically, ties the hands of the doctors who cannot prescribe, with a clear conscience, what they know their patient cannot afford. For example, a friend of mine recently died of cancer. His pills costed him 800 bucks per pill! And, he had excellent insurance! This and many more things, cause docs in the USA (and “YES” it is MUCH, MUCH better in Canada and Europe!) docs to ‘guess’ and/or quit practicing.Do they make a lot of money? Yes. However, it has never been my brother’s desire to be a high-paid secretary. The daily paper load and digital inputting he has to do himself has caused him to have to take a few mental health MONTHS off. He loves biology. He loves science. He loves most of his patients (although I was shocked to my bones when he told me that at least once – EVERY day, someone will address him in a disrespectful manner of some sort).A recent article in JAMA stated that most doctors spend less than 5 minutes per patient per office visit (‘’Dr. Hurry UP” as my brother calls them). Since they do not take the time to actively listen to their patient - they typically mis-Dx them. Wrong Dx, leads WRONG Tx, which sometimes leads to an unnecessary, early. death. ***HEALTHCARE in the USA is broke . . . and unsafe***.The mind is simply too complex (no pun intended) for us mere mortals to ever be able to truthfully state that we have ended “Mental Illness.”I suggest Marsha M. Linehan. Her memoir, titled “Building a Life Worth Living”. As noted on the dustcover of her book, she is the “Developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy”Her is just a little snippet from the backflap of the dustcover: “Dr. Lineham was featured in a special issue of ‘Time’ magazine, “Great Scientists: The Geniuses and Visionaries Who Transformed Our World.”Sidenote: I know nether author personally and was in no way compensated for this review.