Take Control of Your Mind: Scientific Ways to Manage Stress and Anxiety (feat. Dr. Caroline Leaf)
Stressful situations are a part of life, but doing nothing about it or using the wrong coping techniques could diminish our mental health. Without the right mindset and practices, we may find ourselves struggling with anxiety and other mental health challenges.
My guest today, Dr. Caroline Leaf, emphasizes that it's not the stressful situations we face that are important but rather our reactions to them. She’ll share insights into the root causes of our responses and techniques to foster healthy and lasting changes in our lives.
Dr. Caroline Leaf is a communication pathologist, audiologist, clinical and research neuroscientist with a Masters and PhD in Communication Pathology and a BSc Logopaedics, specializing in psychoneurobiology and metacognitive neuropsychology. Since the early 1980s she has researched the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory. She was one of the first in her field to study how the brain can change (neuroplasticity) with directed mind input.
In our conversation, Caroline explains why you have more power over our minds than you realize. She presents science-backed concepts and strategies to help you handle stressful, toxic, and intrusive thoughts, transforming them into positive thoughts that can lead to personal growth, self-awareness, and enriching experiences.
interview timestamps:
05:16 ︳Dr. Leaf shares what drives her passion for empowering people to take care of their mental health
08:10 ︳A biomedical model of how the human mind functions
10:30 ︳The harms of self-diagnosing our mental health issues
14:00 ︳Why feeling anxious or depressed doesn't mean we have a 'disease' or that we are somehow flawed
17:30 ︳Dr. Leaf's views on the tendency for psychiatrists to overmedicate and not look at patients from a holistic perspective
25:54 ︳How to deal with stress effectively and escape a negative thought loop
33:30 ︳The five steps of the Neurocycle that can help rewire your brain and foster lasting transformation
38:40 ︳How to implement the Neurocycle process in your life 39:31 ︳Dr. Leaf's advice for those who are going through a difficult time in their life
47:40 ︳How to teach kids to develop healthy mental habits
