The Dr. Leaf Show

YAP Media
YAP Media
  • 4.7 (3.1K)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Hi! I’m Dr. Caroline Leaf. I’m a cognitive neuroscientist, author, & mental health expert. Whether you are struggling in your personal life or simply want to learn how to understand and use your mind to live your best life, this podcast will provide you with practical & scientific tips and tools to help you take back control over your mental, emotional, and physical health. Visit: https://drleaf.com*DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your personal physician if you have any personal medical questions. For ad inquiries, please reach out to: Network+DLS@yapmedia.com

  1. 3d ago

    When Life Feels Like Too Much: A Neuroscientist's 63-Second Reset

    When life feels like too much, you need something you can do right now. Here's what I do in the first 63 seconds, before the stress takes over. In this episode, my daughter Dominique and I get practical about the weight of too much: the moment everything piles up at once and you're about to snap, shut down or walk away. Dominique shares a real moment when a small comment set off a reaction far bigger than the comment, and I walk you through what to do right then and afterward. 🔬 What you'll learn:     •    The 3-7 breathing pattern I use to get my body back under control in about a minute     •    Why breathing alone won't fix it, and the statement that gives you your power back     •    How fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses are signals you can use, and how fight can become assertiveness     •    Why a small comment can trigger a reaction way out of proportion, and what's been piling up underneath     •    How to run a fast Neurocycle in the moment, then deal with the pattern over 63 days 📚 Resources mentioned: Help in a Hurry (Chapter 18, "Help, Everything's Going Wrong," including Visualize Your Tunnel) : https://a.co/d/08P2TyDu Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess (the 63-day Neurocycle process): https://a.co/d/0eQrqSsM Neurocycle app, now with Neurocycle Prescriptions: https://neurocycleapp.com (https://neurocycleapp.com/) Books, research and resources: https://drleaf.com (https://drleaf.com/) 💛 Thank you to this episode's sponsors: ElevenLabs: see a demo of Eleven Agents at https://elevenlabs.io/leaf Hans: $30 off your first month at https://hansfordogs.com/leaf Shopify: start your free trial at https://shopify.com/leaf Ritual: 25% off your first month of Magnesium+ at https://ritual.com/leaf 🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 New episodes every Wednesday. #DrCarolineLeaf #Neurocycle #MentalHealth #Neuroscience #StressManagement If this conversation supported you, tap follow and subscribe so you stay connected to each new episode. Share this with someone who wants to build a stronger, more adaptable mind. Try the 21-Day Brain Detox Challenge: https://drleaf.com (https://drleaf.com/) Connect with me: Instagram: https://instagram.com/drcarolineleaf TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@drcarolineleaf Facebook: https://facebook.com/drleaf Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrCarolineLeaf Website: https://drleaf.com (https://drleaf.com/) YouTube Tag String when life feels like too much,what to do when everything is too much,Neurocycle,how to deal with stress in the moment,how to stop overreacting,why do I snap at my husband,mental health podcast,Dr Leaf,how to stop panicking,3 7 breathing,fight flight freeze fawn,emotional regulation,stress vs anxiety,mind vs brain,stress for moms,overthinking,Help in a Hurry,Dr Caroline Leaf,triggered,disproportionate reaction,mental load,burnout,anxiety attack,overstimulated

  2. Sep 24

    A Neuroscientist's Near Death Experience: What I Saw When I Died

    A neuroscientist's near death experience: six years ago, after a long surgery, my heart stopped for three to five minutes. Here's what I saw, and what the science says. I flatlined in the ICU, left my body, and watched my husband Mac bang on the door shouting that something was wrong. In this episode, my daughter Dominique and I talk through that experience, a shared death experience I had years later, and why so many researchers now say a dying, oxygen-starved brain can't explain what people report. 🔬 What you'll learn:     •    What happens when you die, from someone who came back and studies consciousness for a living     •    Why the oxygen deprivation and hallucination theories don't match what experiencers describe     •    How nearly dying can take away the fear of death for good     •    What a shared death experience is, and why the reports are so consistent     •    How your mind drives your brain, and why that gives you more power than you realize 💛 THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS 🛍️ Shopify: Start your free trial at https://shopify.com/leaf 🎧 ElevenLabs: See how Eleven Agents can handle customer support. Book a demo at https://elevenlabs.io/leaf 🐶 Hans: Get $30 off your first month of the canine longevity chew at https://hansfordogs.com/leaf (90-day money-back guarantee) 🌙 Ritual: Save 25% on your first month of Magnesium+ at https://ritual.com/leaf *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Betterhelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf 📚 Research mentioned: Dr. Raymond Moody, Life After Life Dr. Bruce Greyson, After Dr. Michael Egnor, The Immortal Mind Dr. Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven Dr. Sam Parnia, AWARE-II study (Resuscitation, 2023) 🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 🧠 Neurocycle app, books, certification and more: https://drleaf.com (https://drleaf.com/) New episodes every Wednesday. #DrCarolineLeaf #NearDeathExperience #Consciousness #Neuroscience #MentalHealth

  3. Sep 16

    How to Stop Fearing Other People's Disappointment

    Do you say yes when you mean no? My daughter Dominique and I open up about the fear of disappointing people, and why it runs so many of our decisions without you even noticing. In this episode, I break down where the fear of disappointing people actually comes from, why it feels so physical in the moment, and how to start telling the difference between genuine kindness and people pleasing driven by fear. 🔬 What you'll learn:     •    Why saying yes when you want to say no leaves you grieving a part of your identity     •    The difference between being kind and being afraid of someone's disappointment     •    How to spot your own pattern before guilt and resentment take over     •    A simple in-the-moment test for deciding when to say no     •    The 5-step Neurocycle process for working through the fear of disappointing people, step by step 📚 Resources mentioned: The Neurocycle app, for the full step-by-step walkthrough of the process discussed in this episode: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app 🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 Sponsors making this epsiode possible: Momentous: Try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine — pharmaceutical-grade, third-party tested, 10x fewer impurities. Get up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com with code DRLEAF. Granola: Granola turns your meeting notes into clean, organized summaries automatically — no bots, no new tools to learn. Try it free at granola.ai/DRLEAF. Shopify: Start your business with Shopify — the platform I use to run my own store, checkout and all. Start your free trial at shopify.com/leaf. ElevenLabs (ElevenAgents): ElevenAgents is the AI voice and chat platform helping businesses fix broken customer service. See how it fits your workflow — get a demo at elevenlabs.io/leaf. Betterhelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf HANS: Go to HANSforDogs.com/Leaf to get $30 off your first month. Plus, every order is backed by a 90-day money-back guarantee, so you can try HANS completely risk-free. HANS™. Tested on humans, perfected for dogs. New episodes every Wednesday. #DrCarolineLeaf #FearOfDisappointingPeople #PeoplePleasing #Neuroscience #MentalHealth #BrainScience

  4. Sep 9

    How to Hit Any Goal When You Have Zero Motivation

    Up to 92% of long-term goals never stick, and it has nothing to do with willpower. A neuroscientist breaks down the real, brain-based reason and the exact steps to fix it. What you'll learn: Why up to 92% of long-term goals never stick, and why it's not a discipline problem How your non-conscious mind treats an oversized goal as a threat The single trick for shrinking any goal until your brain says yes How to update the identity story that keeps predicting you'll quit Why a vague first step kills follow-through, and how to make it visible The two-minute daily habit that locks a new pattern into your brain What the Neurocycle is and how it gets to the root of the pattern  Resources: Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.com 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 Neurocycle App: https://neurocycle.app Support the sponsors: Momentous: Try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine — pharmaceutical-grade, third-party tested, 10x fewer impurities. Get up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com with code DRLEAF. Granola turns your meeting notes into clean, organized summaries automatically — no bots, no new tools to learn. Try it free at granola.ai/DRLEAF. Start your business with Shopify — the platform I use to run my own store, checkout and all. Start your free trial at shopify.com/leaf. ElevenAgents is the AI voice and chat platform helping businesses fix broken customer service. See how it fits your workflow — get a demo at elevenlabs.io/leaf. Betterhelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf  Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes every Wednesday. Which of the 5 steps do you think you're skipping? Tell me in the comments.

  5. Sep 2

    I Had an Eating Disorder. So Did My Daughter. Here's How We Found Healing.

    Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf and her daughter Dominique Leaf sit down to talk about something neither has discussed this openly before: their own eating disorders, and how one was handed to the other.Caroline counted calories at university, down to 500 a day, until her sister picked up an apple and asked whether she was working out the number in her head. Dominique was diagnosed with anorexia at 13, spent over a year in therapy, and says plainly that she blamed her mother and grandmother for years. What follows is how that pattern moves through a family, what broke it in both cases, and the two exercises Dominique's therapist gave her that still work when the old thinking comes back.They also get into whether we should ever comment on another person's body, what GLP-1s have done to the culture around thinness, and why "she was trying to protect me" changed how Dominique understood her grandmother.Content Note: This episode discusses eating disorders and related topics. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available:• National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline: 1-866-662-1235• Crisis Text Line: Text “NEDA” to 741741• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): call or text 988• International Association for Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp): iaedp.com for provider directories• Outside the US: findahelpline.com has country-specific listingsDr. Leaf is not an eating disorder specialist and says so up front. She is a clinical and research neuroscientist, and what she offers here is the mind side: spotting the trigger, questioning the thinking underneath it, and building a new pattern over 63 days with the Neurocycle. If you are struggling, please also speak to a qualified eating disorder professional.Special guest: Dominique Leaf What you'll learn:• Why the calorie number takes up so much mental space that nothing else fits• The difference between an eating disorder and disordered eating• How a pattern passes through a family, and what epigenetics actually means• The eulogy exercise, and what it tells you about what you actually value• Why "I am struggling with anorexia" beats "I am anorexic"• When to say something about someone's body, and how to do it with kindness• Where GLP-1s help, and where the real risk sits  Resources: Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.com Neurocycle Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 Neurocycle App: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app Momentous  Try Momentous Signature Spec Creatine — pharmaceutical-grade, third-party tested, 10x fewer impurities. Get up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com with code DRLEAF. Granola  Granola turns your meeting notes into clean, organized summaries automatically — no bots, no new tools to learn. Try it free at granola.ai/DRLEAF. Shopify  Start your business with Shopify — the platform I use to run my own store, checkout and all. Start your free trial at shopify.com/leaf. ElevenLabs (ElevenAgents) ElevenAgents is the AI voice and chat platform helping businesses fix broken customer service. See how it fits your workflow — get a demo at elevenlabs.io/leaf. Betterhelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf  Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes every Wednesday.Have you ever had someone ask you the question that made you see it? Tell me in the comments.

  6. Aug 26

    Is Your Apple Watch Making You Anxious? A Neuroscientist (and Her Daughter) Explain

    Is your Apple Watch making you anxious? Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf is joined by special guest Dominique Leaf, her daughter and the show's producer, to ask whether we are over-tracking and over-optimizing our health to the point where health anxiety is rising.Dominique wore an Apple Watch for years and took it off. She talks openly about how the numbers fed her eating disorder struggles, and how tracking pulled her away from how she actually felt in her body. Dr. Leaf explains what happens in the mind and brain when a number on a screen hijacks your nervous state, and why the fix is never the device. One phrase runs through the whole conversation: observe, do not merge. What you'll learn:• Whether a fitness tracker causes health anxiety or reveals anxiety that was already there• Why anxiety is data and a signal, not a disorder to be eliminated• The four warning signals to read before you reach for a device• What merging with a tracker does to your brain on a physical level• Why your mind is 99 percent of who you are and your brain and body are 1 percent• The seven-day exercise that shows you how often you really check• Three questions that reveal whether tracking has turned compulsive  Support the sponsors: Quince: free shipping and 365-day returns at https://quince.com/leaf Ritual: 25% off your first month at https://ritual.com/leaf Shopify: free trial at https://shopify.com/leaf Veracity: up to 65% off with code DRLEAF at https://veracityhealth.co Resources: Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.com Neurocycle Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com  1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 Neurocycle App: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes every Wednesday. Do you track your health, and does the data leave you calmer or more worried? Tell me in the comments.

  7. Aug 19

    The Girlboss Trap: Why Ambition Became Burnout

    Girlbossing is making us mean, exhausted, and unhappy. A neuroscientist and her daughter on what hustle-culture ambition did to us, and what healthy ambition looks like.Dr. Caroline Leaf and her daughter Dominique take apart the girlboss era: how ambition turned into a glorified way of running from ourselves, why the self-care backlash is just as performative as the hustle, and how the companies built on "boss babe" branding collapsed. Then they get practical, walking the Neurocycle through identity and self-worth so ambition comes from self-trust instead of fear. What you'll learn:• Why chasing ambition can quietly become burnout and resentment• How the girlboss era sold individual grind as the fix for a system problem• Why "self-care" often just performs wellness instead of doing it• The identity work underneath ambition, and why copying others backfires• How to tell healthy ambition from fear-driven ambition• What it looks like to build a life you don't need to escape from  Support the sponsors: Quince: free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/leaf Ritual: 25% off your first month at ritual.com/leaf Shopify: free trial at shopify.com/leaf Veracity: up to 65% off with code DRLEAF at veracityhealth.co Resources: Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.com Neurocycle Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 Neurocycle App: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes every Wednesday. Where has ambition cost you more than it gave you? Tell me in the comments.#Girlboss #Ambition #DrCarolineLeaf #HustleCulture #Neuroscience

  8. Aug 12

    When Botox Becomes Body Dysmorphia: The 30% Rule

    Dr. Caroline Leaf and her daughter Dominique go past the beauty debate into what happens in your mind when you consider a cosmetic procedure. It is for anyone who has asked "should I get Botox?", felt judged for it, or worried a friend is going too far. You will learn to tell self-improvement from body dysmorphia, why the injections won't fix your life, and how to decide from self-worth, not comparison.  What you'll learn:• How to tell healthy self-improvement from body dysmorphia• The 30% rule: how much thinking about your looks is too much• Why fillers and injectables can't fix what you are missing• The six signs a cosmetic habit is tipping into obsession• Why commenting on a woman's body says more about you• What preventative Botox in your 20s really trades off• How to raise it with someone you love without shaming them  Support the sponsors: -Quince: free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/leaf  -Ritual: 25% off your first month at ritual.com/leaf - Shopify: free trial at shopify.com/leaf - Veracity: up to 65% off with code DRLEAF at veracityhealth.co  Resources: Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.com Neurocycle Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 Neurocycle App: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes every Wednesday. Where is your line between self-improvement and going too far? Tell me in the comments.#Botox #BodyDysmorphia #DrCarolineLeaf #MentalHealth #Neuroscience

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About

Hi! I’m Dr. Caroline Leaf. I’m a cognitive neuroscientist, author, & mental health expert. Whether you are struggling in your personal life or simply want to learn how to understand and use your mind to live your best life, this podcast will provide you with practical & scientific tips and tools to help you take back control over your mental, emotional, and physical health. Visit: https://drleaf.com*DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your personal physician if you have any personal medical questions. For ad inquiries, please reach out to: Network+DLS@yapmedia.com

Information

  • Channel
    YAP Media
  • Creator
    Dr. Caroline Leaf
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    732
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © ab9c51a0-d486-11f0-b48d-8148efd2dd1c
  • Show Website
    The Dr. Leaf Show

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