The Dr. Leaf Show

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

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

In this episode I sit down with Dr. Nicole LePera, The Holistic Psychologist, to talk about her new book Reparenting the Inner Child: The New Science of Our Oldest Wounds and How to Heal Them.We get into why your nervous system will choose what is familiar over what is good for you, even when familiar means the same relationship pattern that hurt you as a child. Nicole explains the question underneath so much of adult behavior: when I reached for comfort or connection as a child, what happened? The answer your body learned back then is still running your relationships, your stress response, and the moments you shut down or overreact today.We cover why attachment theory alone stopped being enough, how fight, flight, freeze, and fawn show up in a grown adult who looks fine on the outside, why a healthy relationship can feel like danger to a body trained for chaos, and what the new science of stress and epigenetics says about how much of this is actually changeable. Nicole also explains why reparenting does not require blaming your parents. The real work is understanding the capacity they actually had, and building the capacity you never received as a child.This is one of my favorite conversations we have had, and it is our fourth time together for a reason.

Get Dr. LePera's book here: https://theholisticpsychologist.com

Work with me:Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.com

Neurocycle Certification, Clinical: https://drleaf.com/clinical-certification

Neurocycle Certification, Strategist: https://drleaf.com/certified-strategist

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

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

SPONSORS Making this show possible:

AG1: Don't let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf

Betterhelp: Visit drinkag1.com/LEAF and for a limited time get a free AG1 Travel Case with 7 free AG1 Travel Packs in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order while supplies last.

Shopify: start your free trial: shopify.com/leaf

Quince: Upgrade your everyday. Go to quince.com/LEAF for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.

Veracity: Get up up to 65% off GLP-1 support: VeracityHealth.co (code DRLEAF)

A clinical neuroscientist breaks down the two things that actually make you happy, a quest and a crush, and the brain science behind why a little whimsy is so good for you.

Dr. Caroline Leaf sits down with her daughter and producer Dominique to unpack Dominique's theory of happiness: to feel happy, you need a quest and a crush. It sounds playful, but the neuroscience runs deep. Dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, cortisol, theta waves, and the resilience networks that form every time you choose a bit of whimsy over the grind.

If you have felt flat, stuck in hustle mode, or like the fun drained out of ordinary days, this one is for you. It is a warm, funny, science-backed conversation about how to be happy again by bringing whimsy back on purpose.

What you'll learn:- Why a quest and a crush flip your brain into its healthiest, most efficient state- What actually happens in your brain and body when you have a crush (dopamine, norepinephrine, and those butterflies)- Why early infatuation shows serotonin levels that look almost identical to OCD, and why that is completely normal- How to read anxiety as useful data when a quest starts to tip from healthy toward toxic- Why your mind is in charge and your brain carries out its instructions, and what that means for how you feel- How small whimsical moments wire lasting resilience into your brain- Simple ways to turn errands and mundane days into a quest

Resources:Dr. Leaf's Website: https://drleaf.comNeurocycle Certification, Clinical: https://drleaf.com/clinical-certificationNeurocycle Certification, Strategist: https://drleaf.com/certified-strategist1:1 Coaching with Dr. Leaf: https://drleaf.com/coaching-1-1Neurocycle App: https://drleaf.com/neurocycle-app

SPONSORS Making this show possible:

AG1: Don't let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf

Betterhelp: Visit drinkag1.com/LEAF and for a limited time get a free AG1 Travel Case with 7 free AG1 Travel Packs in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order while supplies last.

Shopify: start your free trial: shopify.com/leaf

Quince: Upgrade your everyday. Go to ⁠quince.com/LEAF⁠ for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK, too.

Veracity: Get up up to 65% off GLP-1 support: VeracityHealth.co (code DRLEAF)

Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes every Wednesday.What is one quest or one crush you could give yourself this week? Tell me in the comments.

Why do we gossip, and is it actually bad for you? Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf unpacks the science of gossip with special guest Dominique Leaf, her daughter and the show's producer: the difference between the kind of gossip that bonds us and the kind that damages us.

Gossip carries a lot of guilt for most people. It also has a long history. Gossip is one of the oldest social tools humans have, and a large part of how our species learned to cooperate in groups far bigger than a family. It can do real harm too. The intent behind it decides which way it goes.

You'll learn why gossip isn't automatically toxic, what actually decides whether it helps or harms, and what a back-and-forth conversation physically does inside your brain and body. Dr. Leaf walks through Yuval Noah Harari's argument that shared stories built civilization, Dunbar's 150 rule, and why the three-person "triad" is the most unstable and most damaging shape a conversation can take. Dominique brings the questions most of us are too embarrassed to ask.

🎙️ Special guest: Dominique Leaf

🔬 What you'll learn:
- Why do we gossip at all, and how gossip helped humans survive and cooperate
- The clear line between functional gossip and toxic gossip, and how to tell which one you're in
- The warning signals in your body that tell you you've crossed from one into the other
- What gossip physically wires into your brain and body, for better or worse
- Why the "triad" is the most unstable and dangerous shape gossip can take
- Whether gossiping about celebrities is really as harmless as it feels
- One question to ask yourself the next time you feel pulled into a conversation

📚 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
🔗 Neurocycle Clinical Certification: https://drleaf.com/clinical-certification
🔗 Neurocycle Certified Strategist: https://drleaf.com/certified-strategist

💸 Support the sponsors:
Veracity: up to 65% off Metabolism Ignite at VeracityHealth.co (code DRLEAF)

OSEA: 10% off your first order sitewide at OSEAMalibu.com (code LEAF)

Shopify: start your free trial at SHOPIFY.COM/leaf

Air Doctor: Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code DRLEAF to get $250 off select AirDoctor air purifiers, including the 3500, 4000, and 5500 models. Plus, you'll receive a free 3-year warranty, an $84 value, and AirDoctor's 30-day money-back guarantee.

AG1: Visit drinkag1.com/LEAF and for a limited time get a free AG1 Travel Case with 7 free AG1 Travel Packs in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order while supplies last.

Betterhelp: Don't let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/drleaf Subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode. Which of the 4 signs hit closest? Tell me in the comments.

🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. New episodes every Wednesday.

💬 Which kind of gossip do you catch yourself in most? Tell me in the comments.