The Dr. Leaf Show

Sunday scaries creeping in? This bonus episode is for the night before the week starts, when your mind keeps replaying last week and rehearsing the next one.

I'm bringing back one of our most-requested episodes so you can learn how to stop overthinking before Monday arrives. I walk you through the difference between overthinking and deep thinking, plus simple tools from Chapter 4 of my book Help in a Hurry that you can use the moment the replay starts. I also share what happened when I caught myself running the same painful scenario 17 times in 10 minutes, walking through an airport on my way to speak at a conference.

🔬 What you'll learn:

How to catch overthinking early, from the replaying to the worst-case scenarios to the panic that keeps building

Why going over and over the plan for a meeting or a busy week keeps you stuck

Overthinking vs deep thinking, and why deep thinking gets you to a resolution you can act on

The four questions I use to break a thought loop in the moment

A 10-second breathing reset you can do anywhere, and how to give your mind something new to think about

📚 Resources mentioned: Help in a Hurry, Chapter 4 Neurocycle app, courses and certification: https://drleaf.com

💛 If you're having thoughts of suicide, please reach out for support. In the US, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Outside the US, find a helpline near you at https://findahelpline.com

🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1

New episodes every Wednesday.

#DrCarolineLeaf #SundayScaries #HowToStopOverthinking #Overthinking #MentalHealth

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.

Connect with me:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/drcarolineleaf

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrCarolineLeaf

Website: https://drleaf.com

People pleasing and peacekeeping can look identical from the outside. One comes from fear. The other comes from strength. Which one are you running on?

We're re-airing this episode because so many of you told us it changed how you see yourself in your relationships. In it, I pull apart the fear of judgment underneath both, explain why disapproval can hurt like physical pain, and walk you through a 7-step process to stop caring what people think by understanding your mind well enough that outside opinions lose their grip.

🔬 What you'll learn:

How to tell the two apart, and why it matters for your relationships and self-worth

Why rejection and physical pain share overlapping pathways in the brain

How to spot the approval loop that makes you edit yourself around certain people

Why separating your identity from your performance takes the sting out of criticism

A simple "danger or data?" question to ask the next time you feel judged

A real-time technique for holding your ground when the old fear spikes

💛 THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

📚 Resources mentioned:

Neurocycle app: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app

🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1

New episodes every Wednesday.

#DrCarolineLeaf #PeoplePleasing #Neuroscience #MentalHealth #BrainScience

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.

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

AI and your brain: what happens to your memory, focus, and judgment when a machine does the hard thinking for you? We first aired this last year. It's worth a second listen.

In the year since, AI has moved into almost every part of daily life: work email, homework, health questions, even the late-night conversations people used to have with a friend. In this episode, I walk through what cognitive offloading does to your mind and brain, why confident-sounding AI is so easy to believe, and how to use these tools while keeping your own voice and judgment.

🔬 What you'll learn:

Why you remember less when you know you can look it up later (the Google Effect)

How automation bias makes AI feel right even when it gets the facts wrong

Why AI emotional support can't replace another person in the room

Three practical ways to let your mind manage AI, so you keep your memory, voice, and discernment

What's at stake for kids growing up with chatbots before they learn to trust themselves

💛 Thank you to our sponsors:

Hans: https://hansfordogs.com/leaf (code LEAF for $30 off your first month)

Shopify: https://shopify.com/leaf

Primal Queen: https://primalqueen.com/leaf

Granola: https://granola.ai/drleaf

ElevenLabs: see a demo of Eleven Agents at https://elevenlabs.io/leaf

Ritual: 25% off your first month of Magnesium+ at https://ritual.com/leaf

Betterhelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf

📚 Resources mentioned: Sparrow, Liu & Wegner (2011), Google Effects on Memory, Science Help in a Hurry: https://helpinahurrybook.com

🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1

New episodes every Wednesday.

#DrCarolineLeaf #AIandYourBrain #CognitiveOffloading #Neuroscience #MentalHealth #BrainScience

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.

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

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

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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