Can a childhood infection change your life?
For 14-year-old DJ, everything changed after a series of bad ear
infections he had at age 4. Before that, he was a sweet, loving kid. But after, he could explode in an uncontrollable violent rage out of nowhere or when he didn’t get his way. He made national news when he was just 5 years old when he stabbed 3 people in his family over a juice box!
As a teen, DJ has bitten, kicked, and punched his family members. He broke his mother Victoria’s nose. One time, while in the car, DJ’s mom said they couldn’t go to McDonald’s and DJ went ballistic, grabbing the steering wheel and trying to run them off the road. On other occasions, he’s tried to jump out of a moving car if he doesn’t get his way. His mom says that when DJ isn’t enraged, he’s a wonderful, loving teen who is highly intelligent. Why can’t he be like that all the time, and why does he fly out of control?
To find out, Dr. Phil recently invited Daniel G. Amen, MD, to join him on the Dr. Phil show to get to the root of DJ’s
anger issues. According to Dr. Amen there are 4 Circles of health or illness—biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. On the Dr. Phil show, he delved into some of these areas and how they are contributing to DJ’s issues.
The 4 Circles in DJ’s Life
In the biological circle, it all starts with the brain. After reviewing over 170,000
brain SPECT imaging scans at Amen Clinics, Dr. Amen says it has become clear that mental health problems are really brain health problems that steal your mind. SPECT is a functional imaging tool that measures blood flow and activity in the brain and shows 3 things: areas with healthy activity, areas with too much activity, and areas with too little activity.
What did DJ’s brain scans reveal? It’s interesting to note that a previous MRI of his brain showed
“normal” results. MRI and CT scans show the physical structure of the brain whereas SPECT shows how the brain functions. DJ’s SPECT scans showed signs of:
- Head trauma—DJ’s father viciously abused him, strangling him and smashing his face into a car door when he was 8 years old
- Decreased blood flow in the left medial temporal lobe—the temporal lobes are associated with mood and anger issues
- Overall increased activity—often seen in a particular type of ADD/ADHD called the “Ring of Fire” and in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Too much activity in an area called the anterior cingulate gyrus—associated with getting stuck on thoughts and actions
(DJ’s Surface SPECT scan and Active SPECT scan)
DJ had other biological issues as well. Labwork showed that he had previously had a strep infection, and he tested positive for mycoplasma pneumoniae, a bacterial infection commonly referred to as “walking pneumonia.”
Infections in children can sometimes lead to
PANS/PANDAS, a common cause of mental health issues in kids, such as
obsessive compulsive disorder,
anxiety, tics, personality changes, and more. He also experienced anoxia (lack of oxygen) when he crowned for 2.5 hours before birth, which is bad for overall brain health. And he had a genetic vulnerability to violence based on his father’s violent tendencies.
In the psychological circle, DJ had dealt with abandonment after his father left and stopped communicating with him. In general, the teen feels unwanted, has low
self-esteem, and is highly emotional.
In the social circle, DJ experienced
trauma vicariously by seeing his mother being abused, being abused himself by his father, and being “farmed out” by his mother to others—including his grandmother and treatment centers—to parent him. He grew up witnessing his father model violent behavior. Children learn by exposure and when they are exposed to violence, they often learn that this is the way to deal with the stresses and problems in life. When DJ was living with his grandmother, he was incident-free, so his environment was likely playing a role in his aggressive behavior.
What’s DJ’s Diagnosis?
Based on DJ’s scans as well as a full evaluation at Amen Clinics that included psychological testing, a clinical history, and lab work, DJ was diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder, ADHD (the
overfocused and
temporal lobe subtypes), traumatic brain injury (TBI), anoxia at birth, PTSD, PANDAS, restrictive
eating disorder (he only likes eating potatoes), and video game
addiction (he plays Grand Theft Auto from the time he wakes up until 2 am).
Can DJ’s behavior change? YES!
Tens of thousands of patients at Amen Clinics have shown that you can change your brain and change your life. With the proper treatment and by addressing all of the contributing factors in the 4 circles of his life, DJ is improving his brain health and his overall behavior is much better.
Violence, anger, OCD, TBIs and other brain health conditions can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.
