How to Have a Better Brain with Entrepreneur Billy Carson

Entrepreneur and author Billy Carson didn’t grow up having it all. In fact, his upbringing was filled with stress and trauma—the stuff that can negatively impact your brain and contribute to depression, resentment, and anxiety. He experienced the type of trauma that can cause changes in the brain that make you more likely to turn to alcohol, drugs, sex, or video games for relief from painful memories. But not Carson. He used the childhood trauma he faced to fuel his ambitions and turned his pain into purpose. But even though he’s reached a high level of success, he wanted to know if he could be performing at an even higher level if improved his brain health. That’s why he visited Amen Clinics to get a brain SPECT scan.

HOW CHILDHOOD TRAUMA IMPACTS MENTAL HEALTH

When you grow up with childhood trauma or in a stressful environment, it can play a major role in shaping your mental health as an adult. In many cases, adverse childhood experiences have a negative impact on brain function and mental health.

For Carson, the odds seemed to be stacked against him. His dad was an alcoholic and drug addict. In an effort to get away from that negative influence, his mom moved the family to a town in Florida that, unfortunately, turned out to be so crime-ridden the police wouldn’t even go there. “They called it the Bermuda Triangle,” Carson says in an episode of Scan My Brain.

By age 6, Carson was seeing people getting stabbed or being killed in the neighborhood. “It was a normal everyday event,” he says. At night, he would grab a butcher knife, push over the dinette table, put his siblings behind it, then stand guard all night to protect them. The town was so tough the school crossing guards would try to rob the kids on the way to school. The junior high school he attended got closed down because kids were murdering each other.

With that start in life, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Carson had fallen into the same negative behaviors as the other neighbor kids. But something about Carson was different. He told his mother, “I don’t belong here.” And he started looking for a way out.

FROM TRAUMA SURVIVOR TO ENTREPRENEUR

Carson’s entry into the world of entrepreneurship came at age 7 courtesy of an ice cream truck. As a youngster, he desperately wanted something from the ice cream truck but didn’t have any money. He decided to sell his toys door-to-door and ended up with a handful of cash that he used to buy some Bazooka bubble gum. Success! At that moment, he came to a life-changing realization: “Nobody’s coming to save me. I’m gonna have to save myself.”

With this understanding, he knew he was going to be okay in life. And that simple yet powerful shift in mindset changed everything. From that point on, he worked to build his own success, which now includes books, music, a television network called 4biddenKnowledge, and more.

However, like many successful people, he wondered if his brain could be better.

HIDDEN BRAIN ISSUES THAT CAN HOLD YOU BACK

As an entrepreneur, business owner, or executive, your brain is your greatest asset. Some high achievers manage to excel in business despite challenges involving brain function that can affect focus, moods, anxiety, memory, and more.

When Carson saw his brain scan, he could clearly see evidence of a mild traumatic brain injury stemming from a car accident that occurred at age 22. Carson was in the passenger seat when his friend who was driving fell asleep while going about 75 mph. The impact from the accident jettisoned Carson through the window, leaving him with nerve damage around his right eye. He also says his memory isn’t as good as it could be.

On his brain SPECT scan, which measures blood flow and activity in the brain, Carson could see damage to the left temporal lobe, a brain region involved in memory.

Another finding on his SPECT scan was too much activity in the brain’s emotional centers in a pattern that is commonly seen in people who have experienced trauma. In some people with this diamond pattern, it leads to negativity and blaming others for their lot in life. But not for Carson. With a positive, optimistic attitude, he exhibits resilience and focuses on problem-solving, which provides him with a sense of peace.

This is something Daniel Amen, MD, refers to as posttraumatic growth, a process that occurs in some people that allows them to turn pain into purpose. For Carson, that comes in the form of helping others live more fulfilling lives.

OPTIMIZING BRAINPOWER FOR BETTER SUCCESS

For Carson, there is still some room for improvement in terms of brain health. To help optimize his brain, Dr. Amen’s recommendations include:

• Make sleep a priority
• Take nutritional supplements that are targeted for his brain
• Try hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to accelerate the healing process
• Play table tennis to improve brain activity in some brain regions

By following a brain optimization plan, Carson is hoping to see increments of improvement in certain areas of his life. For any entrepreneur, achieving peak performance requires optimal brain function. Getting a brain scan to assess and identify brain regions that could benefit from optimization can be the key to reaching the next level of success.

Optimizing brain health for peak performance can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, clinical evaluations, and therapy for adults, teens, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.