America’s healthcare system is broken. We are the most medicated, overweight, addicted, and depressed society in history — and it’s getting worse. Suicide rates are rising. Chronic illness is exploding. Our kids are anxious, distracted and disconnected.
What’s missing from the national conversation? One word: brain.
Our healthcare system is obsessed with symptoms, but it rarely asks the most important question: Is your brain healthy? That question changes everything. Brain health is the foundation of mental health, physical health, decisions, relationships and success. If your brain health isn’t optimized, nothing in your life will be either.
At Amen Clinics, we’ve studied nearly 300,000 functional brain scans over 30 years. The data is both heartbreaking and hopeful. Brain problems often show up as depression, anxiety, learning challenges, addiction or personality disorders. But these aren’t just “mental” problems. They’re signs of trouble in the physical brain.
Yet most of medicine — especially psychiatry — ignores brain function. Psychiatrists are the only doctors who rarely look at the organ they treat. We’d never guess with the heart or lungs. Why do we guess with the brain?
Functional brain imaging like SPECT scans shows patterns of low blood flow, overactivity, trauma or toxins. It helps people understand what’s going on. It removes shame. And it leads to targeted, effective care.
And here’s the part that brings me the greatest hope: the brain can heal. You are not stuck with the brain you have — you can make it better, and I can prove it.
I led the largest brain imaging and rehab study on pro football players. Many had years of head trauma. Their scans showed serious damage. They struggled with rage, memory loss, depression and impulsivity.
You can’t just medicate or talk your way out. You have to heal the brain itself.
That’s why we need a new model. One that treats the whole person. I call it the Whole-4 approach. It focuses on four circles: biological, psychological, social and spiritual. And it can transform how we treat suffering.
You can’t fix what you don’t see. Imaging gives clarity and hope. A damaged prefrontal cortex isn’t a character flaw. It’s a medical condition. Your brain is the hardware of your soul. Poor food, toxins, trauma, sleep deprivation or chronic stress all can hurt it. The result? Bad moods, poor judgement and impulsive behavior.
Our BRIGHT MINDS system targets 11 key brain risks — like blood flow, inflammation, toxins, head injuries, sleep and diabesity. These aren’t luxuries. They’re essential for health. If we treated brain health like heart health, we could cut disease, addiction and school failure.
We’re in a thought crisis. People are overwhelmed by fear and self-criticism. Their minds are filled with ANTs — Automatic Negative Thoughts — that drive anxiety and depression.
Cognitive therapy can help. But it works better when the brain is calm and stable. A hijacked brain can’t think clearly. First, you heal the brain. Then, thoughts change more easily.
The brain is a social organ. Relationships shape your wiring. Loneliness shrinks the brain, raises inflammation and shortens life. Yet people are more isolated than ever. Screens have replaced connection. Social media breeds shame.
Healing starts with human connection — meals, friendships, family and meaningful work. Brain health is contagious. Surround yourself with brain-healthy people and your own brain will improve.
This circle is the most ignored — and maybe the most important. We are more than bodies. We are spiritual beings who need meaning and purpose. People with faith recover faster and live longer.
Faith communities can lead a brain health revival. Churches, synagogues and mosques can offer structure, compassion and accountability. No clinic can match their reach. That’s why we’re partnering with the White House Faith Office. Together, we’re empowering religious leaders with the science and tools to help heal their communities.
Working with the White House Faith Office, we’re launching a National Brain Health Revolution Initiative to shift healthcare from symptom suppression to brain optimization. This includes: public awareness campaigns on how to love and care for your brain; early screening in schools and primary care; brain-based training for clergy, educators, and mental health providers; lifestyle programs in underserved communities; and personalized tools to guide healing across the Whole-4 model
Imagine if America became the first brain-healthy nation. What if every school, home and business asked daily: Is this good for my brain or bad for it? And then answered with love based on great information. The results would be life-changing. We would see fewer suicides, better learning, stronger families and more joy.
ERs are flooded. Suicide is rising. Medications alone aren’t working because no one’s asking the right question: Is your brain healthy?
It’s time to put the brain at the center of healthcare. It’s time to treat the whole person. It’s time to stop managing disease and start building health.
That shift starts with the brain. And it starts now.
Daniel G. Amen, MD, is a double board-certified psychiatrist and founder of AmenClinics, a mental health practice specializing in brain-based approaches to diagnosis and treatment, and author of The End of Mental Illness.
