Override

Discover Your Brain Type, Why You Do What You Do, and How to Do it Better

Connell Cowan, David Kipper

• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9780806541198
• eBook ISBN: 9780806541211
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Personal Success
• Index: Psychology

Based on today’s breakthrough science into neurotransmitters, Override reveals a clear path to overcoming bad habits that sabotage our success in career, love, and healthy living.
 
Why, when we all want to live healthy and vital lives, do we so often botch it up? Why do we make decisions that negatively impact our work, relationships, and lifestyles? Why do our brains always seem to get in the way of our goals? The answer lies in our brain chemistry.
 
Virtually all of us suffer from an imbalance in either serotonin or dopamine—neurotransmitters that send signals through our nervous system. Shields, deficient in serotonin, unconsciously seek to avoid the discomfort of an over-stimulated nervous system, while Swords, deficient in dopamine, tend to feel under-stimulated and look for ways to create sensation.
 
The coping styles we revert to under stress, depending on our type, have evolved to help us survive. But they are also the root cause of our most destructive and stubborn behaviors, from risk aversion to gambling. The good news is that these behaviors can be modified. In this illuminating book, readers will first identify their personal neurotype through an easy and accurate test. Then, through focused strategies, they’ll learn how to understand their vulnerabilities and break out of self-defeating patterns to make meaningful change.
 
Combining groundbreaking research with inspiring real-life stories of struggle and transformation, Override provides a practical, easy-to-grasp, yet revolutionary framework for achieving the life you really want.
 
Connell Cowan, PhD, is a clinical psychologist practicing in Los Angeles, California. He co wrote Smart Women/Foolish Choices, a runaway bestseller that spawned an entire genre of books dealing with male/female dilemmas. The book spent nearly a year on the New York Times bestseller list, sold millions of copies, has been published in twenty-three different languages, and was made into a hit musical in Japan. His second book, Women Men Love/Women Men Leave, also became a New York Times bestseller. Husbands and Wives completed the relationship trio. He has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows and his writings have been published in a number of journals, magazines, and newspapers internationally. Dr. Cowan also established the Human Sciences Center in Los Angeles––a non profit center for research and treatment, and has taught at the University of Houston and in UCLA’s School of Public Health. Along with his writings and clinical practice, Dr. Cowan has created and produced a number of television and video projects for syndication and cable blending both psychological information and drama.
 
David Kipper, MD, has practiced internal medicine in Los Angeles for over three decades. He has appeared as an expert commentator on all major networks, has produced numerous programs on health and health care, and contributes to the Huffington Post. For over a decade, he co-hosted The Medical Show, a syndicated call-in radio program that provided advocacy for people who had limited access to healthcare. Callers were connected to resources related to their medical problems and the show provided up-to-date information about diagnostics and therapeutics. He cofounded the California Institute for Behavioral Medicine, and a mind body approach to managing stress and incorporating conventional and homeopathic therapies that Time magazine described as “groundbreaking.” Dr. Kipper’s book The Addiction Solution reflected a paradigm shift in the treatment of this disease from a behavioral malady to a chronic medical illness, determined by one’s unique brain chemistry and triggered by stress.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION - Comfort—Too Much of a Good Thing
• CHAPTER ONE - The Irresistible Push and Pull of Arousal
• CHAPTER TWO - The Roller Coaster of Emotional Regulation
• CHAPTER THREE - The Tug-of-War That Drives How You Think
• CHAPTER FOUR - Work—Examining Obstacles to Ambition, Success, and Decision-Making
• CHAPTER FIVE - Brain Types: Adaptation to Shifting Workplace Demands
• CHAPTER SIX - Managing Down, Up, and Across
• CHAPTER SEVEN - Romantic Love: Lust, Longing, and All That Jazz
• CHAPTER EIGHT - Marriage: What’s Running the Show?
• CHAPTER NINE - Calming: A Parent’s Central Organizing Task
• CHAPTER TEN - Bring Your Brain Type to the Table
• CHAPTER ELEVEN - Moving and Resting: Gaining Greater Control
• CHAPTER TWELVE - Navigating the Tightrope of Stress
• Acknowledgments