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The Dr. Leaf Show

The Dr. Leaf Show

By: Dr. Caroline Leaf
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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.comab9c51a0-d486-11f0-b48d-8148efd2dd1c Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Photographic Memory Is a Myth + Your Inner Critic Isn't the Enemy

    Photographic Memory Is a Myth + Your Inner Critic Isn't the Enemy
    Jun 24 2026
    Your mind doesn't record. Tt builds meaning. In this episode, Dr. Caroline Leaf breaks down why photographic memory is a myth, what your inner critic is actually trying to tell you, and why understanding a problem and restructuring it are two completely different things. Plus: the real difference between self-worth, self-confidence, and self-love — and why you can have all the achievements and still feel hollow. 📚 Resources: 🔗 Dr. Leaf's Newsletter: https://drleaf.com 🔗 Neurocycle Strategist Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com/certified-strategist 🔗 Neurocycle Mental Health Professional Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com/clinical-certification 🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 🔗 Neurocycle App: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app Help in a Hurry book: https://store.drleaf.com/collections/books/products/help-in-a-hurry-simple-tips-for-finding-peace-when-youre-overwhelmed-anxious-or-stressed Sponsors: Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.com/leaf OSEA: Get a spring-worthy glow with clean, clinically tested skincare from OSEA. And right now we have a special discount just for our listeners. Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code LEAF at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠ Veracity Health: So make the switch to GLP-1s the natural way. Head to VeracityHealth.co and use code DRLEAF for up to 60% off your order. Quince: Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com/leaf for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns — now available in Canada, too. Visit quince.com/leaf for free shipping and 365-day returns. HelloFresh: Go to HelloFresh.com/drleaf10fm to get 10 free meals plus a FREE Zwilling Knife — a $144.99 value — on your third box. Offer valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. BetterHelp: Find support and feel lighter in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf. 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one — new episodes every Wednesday.
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    45 mins
  • "Mogging" Is Quietly Destroying Your Self-Worth + How to Rebuild It

    "Mogging" Is Quietly Destroying Your Self-Worth + How to Rebuild It
    Jun 17 2026
    "Mogging" is everywhere right now — and it's quietly reshaping how a whole generation sees themselves. Born in the manosphere from the acronym AMOG ("alpha male of the group"), mogging means outdoing or outshining someone on looks and status. It's spreading through Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and it's colliding with the most fragile years of self-worth development. In this episode, Dr. Caroline Leaf breaks down what mogging actually does to the developing brain, why self-worth isn't a feeling but a physical architecture you build, and how to rebuild it using a step-by-step Neurocycle Prescription you can do with yourself or your teen. Plus a Pick My Brain Q&A on why self-worth feels so hard to build and so easy to lose, and whether low self-worth is genetic or learned. 🔬 What you'll learn: - What "mogging" and the manosphere are really teaching kids — and why hypercompetition runs against how your brain is actually wired - Why self-worth is not a feeling but a physical thought structure — and how false values get wired on top of your true identity - The 4 signals (emotions, body, behaviors, perspective) that reveal how low self-worth is showing up in you or your child - The full 5-step Neurocycle Prescription for self-worth — gather, reflect, write, recheck, active reach - Why rewiring takes at least 63 days — and how this work gives you up to 81% control over the side effects of low self-worth - Why self-worth feels so easy to lose — and how to catch and keep a compliment instead of letting it slide off - Whether low self-worth is genetic or learned — and what epigenetics says about your power to change it 📚 Resources: 🔗 Dr. Leaf's Newsletter: https://drleaf.com 🔗 Neurocycle Strategist Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com/certified-strategist 🔗 Neurocycle Mental Health Professional Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com/clinical-certification 🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 🔗 Neurocycle App: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app Sponsors: Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.com/leaf OSEA: Get a spring-worthy glow with clean, clinically tested skincare from OSEA. And right now we have a special discount just for our listeners. Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code LEAF at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠ Veracity Health: So make the switch to GLP-1s the natural way. Head to VeracityHealth.co and use code DRLEAF for up to 60% off your order. Quince: Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com/leaf for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns — now available in Canada, too. Visit quince.com/leaf for free shipping and 365-day returns. HelloFresh: Go to HelloFresh.com/drleaf10fm to get 10 free meals plus a FREE Zwilling Knife — a $144.99 value — on your third box. Offer valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. BetterHelp: Find support and feel lighter in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf. 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one — new episodes every Wednesday. 💬 Had you heard of "mogging" before this? Tell me in the comments.
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    48 mins
  • Why horror movies can be healing, breakups feel like drug withdrawal, & attachment styles can be dangerous

    Why horror movies can be healing, breakups feel like drug withdrawal, & attachment styles can be dangerous
    Jun 10 2026
    Why do breakups hurt so much? Because neurologically, heartbreak looks almost identical to drug withdrawal. In a landmark 2010 fMRI study, Helen Fisher and her colleagues showed that the brains of the recently rejected lit up in the same reward and craving circuits — the VTA and nucleus accumbens — that drive cocaine addiction. In this episode of The Dr. Leaf Show, Dr. Caroline Leaf unpacks the neuroscience of heartbreak and why it can take at least 63 days to rewire, plus two more segments: why horror movies might actually be good for your brain (and when they're not), and a Pick My Brain Q&A tackling self-love, the attachment styles myth, unconditional love, and how to reignite the spark in a long marriage. 🔬 What you'll learn: - Why a breakup activates the same craving circuitry as drug addiction — and what Helen Fisher's 2010 brain-scan study actually found - The 63-day rewiring timeline for heartbreak — and why day 36-40 feels worse right before the breakthrough - The breathing technique (in for 3, out for 7) that interrupts the conscious-mind loop in 60 seconds - Why horror movies can boost emotional processing, problem-solving, and intimacy — and the 4 signals that tell you to stop watching - What "loving yourself first" actually means neurologically — and how self-criticism triggers your immune system - Why Dr. Leaf urges caution with attachment styles — and what to do instead of labeling yourself - How to reignite a long-term relationship by retraining your brain to notice 📚 Resources: 🔗 Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.com 🔗 Neurocycle Certification (opens September): https://drleaf.com/certified-strategist 🔗 1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1 🔗 Neurocycle App: https://theswitch.app 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one — new episodes every Wednesday. 💬 Which segment hit hardest — heartbreak, horror movies, or the attachment styles myth? Tell me in the comments. Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.com/leaf OSEA: Get a spring-worthy glow with clean, clinically tested skincare from OSEA. And right now we have a special discount just for our listeners. Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code LEAF at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠ Air Doctor: Head to ⁠AirDoctorPro.com⁠ and use promo code DRLEAF to get UP TO $300 off today! Veracity Health: So make the switch to GLP-1s the natural way. Head to VeracityHealth.co and use code DRLEAF for up to 60% off your order. HelloFresh: Go to HelloFresh.com/drleaf10fm to get 10 free meals plus a FREE Zwilling Knife — a $144.99 value — on your third box. Offer valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. BetterHelp: Find support and feel lighter in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf.
    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
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