This Is Your Brain on Joy: A Revolutionary Program for Balancing Mood, Restoring Brain Health, and Nurturing Spiritual Growth
Written by Dr. Earl Henslin, Dr. Daniel Amen and Daniel Amen
Narrated by Tim Lundeen
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
What does your brain have to do with experiencing joy?
A lot more than most of us realize.
In this breakthrough book, Dr. Earl Henslin reveals how the study of brain imaging turned his practice of psychotherapy upside down—with remarkably positive results.
He shares answers to puzzling questions, such as
- Why isn't my faith in God enough to erase my blue moods?
- Why haven't I been able to conquer my anger? Pray away my fear and worry?
- Why can't I find freedom from secret obsessions and addictions?
Using the Brain System Checklist, Dr. Henslin explains what happens to the 5 Mood Centers in the brain when any of those areas are out of balance. This is great news, especially for those tortured by the fear that something is fundamentally wrong with them when the problem actually lies between their ears.
Read this practical, easy-to-understand, and often entertaining book, and you'll know exactly how to nourish your mind, balance your brain, and help others do the same. After all, the capacity for joy is a terrible thing to waste.
Accompanying charts, images, and additional resources are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.
"This Is Your Brain on Joy is a thoughtful, practical, life-changing book that will help you take advantage of the latest neuroscience research—combined with biblical insights—to bring more joy and love into your life." —from the Foreword by Daniel G. Amen, MD Author and speaker for the PBS special Change your Brain, Change your Life.
Dr. Earl Henslin
Dr. Earl Henslin is a licensed counselor and author of six books and numerous professional articles. For the past fourteen years, working closely with brain imaging research pioneer, Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Henslin has been integrating brain imaging in patient treatment.
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Reviews for This Is Your Brain on Joy
16 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is Your Brain on Joy: A Revolutionary Program for Balancing Mood, Restoring Brain Health, and Nurturing Spiritual Growth. By Dr. Earl Henslin. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2008. 243 pp.Dr. Earl Henslin is a licensed counselor who has an obvious passion for restoring joy in the lives of his patients and his readers. He has partnered with Dr. Daniel G. Amen, MD to learn more about how we can combine the science behind the SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography) and a therapeutic understanding of the brain from a counselor’s perspective.I have long been a fan of Dr. Amen and his ground-breaking research into understanding why our brains work the way they do. His works on ADD entitled Healing ADD and Change Your Brain, Change Your Life had a profound impact on me and my wife. As a result, when Thomas Nelson asked me to read and review Dr. Henslin’s latest book, I jumped at the opportunity!Dr. Henslin has divided his book into three primary sections. The first five chapters deal primarily with some background on why the book was written as well as some very technical information on how the brain works, and what areas of the brain impact different areas of our emotional and psychological well being. Herein lies one of the many strengths of this book. Dr. Henslin has written this book in such a way that the very complex information he is relating is done in a very understandable way. I am confident that my 10 year old daughter would have no problem reading this section, and explaining to me what each of the different issues are. Dr. Henslin closes this first section with a discussion on “joy-boosters”. Everything from pharmacology to movies, food to prayer is discussed. It is amazing what a change in diet can do for our emotional well being!In second section of the book the author explains in detail the different sections of the brain he explored in chapter three. In a very clear, entertaining style he talks about very specific things we can do to improve our brain health for each of these brain centers. I particularly enjoyed the discussion about the prefrontal cortex (wrestling with ADD) and the deep limbic system (dealing with depression). It is so refreshing to see a well researched medical book written from a biblical, Christian perspective!Finally, Dr. Henslin concludes his book with a chapter entitled, “An Apostle on Joy: The Real Secret.” In this chapter he does a study in joy in the book of Philippians, uncovering 6 “Secrets to Joy”. A great study, and an excellent capstone to this book.I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who wrestles with finding joy and contentment. Dr. Earl Henslin demonstrates the wisdom in an integrated approach between Psychology and Spirituality. I look forward to sharing this book with my wife, and making some changes as we seek to live life the way God intended – filled with the Spirit, possessing peace and finding joy.Soli Deo Gloria
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Can knowing if your cingulate gyrus is overactive change your whole life?Can the right drug or herb do more than just cover up depression or anxiety, but actually restore & heal the brain?Can physical dysfunction in the brain rob a committed Christian of the joy that is possible in Christ?If you read this book, you’ll discover the answer to all these questions is an unqualified YES. This Is Your Brain on Joyis a highly readable introduction to cutting edge concepts of brain function in health and emotional disorders. The author, Dr. Earl Henslin, is a practicing psychologist who has collaborated for ten years with Dr. Daniel Amen, a pioneer in the field of brain imaging. They treat people suffering from depression, anxiety, panic, rage, “ADD” and other problems not by labeling them with a disease, but by considering what anatomic part of their brain is malfunctioning, and then helping them through supplements, therapy, medicine, & other supportive & healing measures.This is not the typical paradigm that was taught to most physicians, including me. ”Business-as-usual” medicine is to fit a person’s symptoms to a standardized diagnosis, then use a drug recommended for that diagnosis. That approach was formalized decades ago, when we had few tools to see function & dysfunction within the living brain.There is a better way. Physicians like Dr. Amen are performing advanced brain scanning on tens of thousands of patients and seeing the correlations between symptoms and brain function, and seeing how different therapies targeted toward specific areas of the brain can bring radical improvements in people’s lives.This book starts out with an introduction to the relationship of a biochemically healthy brain to a joy-filled life, and how damage or dysfunction within the brain will sabotage any effort to live a fulfilling life. The second section of the book details what dysfunction in each of the brain’s mood-related centers (prefrontal, cingulate gyrus, basal ganglia, deep limbic, and temporal lobes) look like, and details specific therapies to help each area. There is a final chapter which draws on the New Testament book Philippians to list six ways to increase joy in your life. The book’s only major weakness is that it largely overlooks the spiritual components to a life of joy such as freedom from sin & the new birth, but it is understandable that this book’s focus be on the physical/biochemical, while there are many other fine books to read dealing specifically with the spiritual.If you or a friend or family member struggle with any emotional or mood disorder, this book will give you new insight, new hope, & new ideas on how your brain & your life can be all that it can be. Highly recommended.