Episode Highlights With Dr. Leaf

• The problem with how we take care of depression, anxiety, and mental health
• How the mind can influence the brain and vice versa
• Why the brain isn’t the cause, it is the responder, and why this reductionist approach has been a disservice to those who struggle with mental health
• The problem with labeling conditions based on just looking at the brain and a better approach
• What mind management is and how to help our kids have a good foundation of this
• The neurocycle as a tool to help kids work through struggles
• How suppression creates imbalances in the brain and the body
• The most important thing we can do for our child’s mental health (hint: it starts with the parents)
• How to model mental health skills to our children
• The neurocycle approach to helping children become aware of and process things that happen to them and their interpretation of these events
• Why children can interpret body language so well and how to manage our own minds in a way that helps them
• How to model the neurocycle for your kids and make it part of your family culture
• You can’t make your children happy and you can’t fix them
• Safety net parenting vs. helicopter parenting 
• Most kids are only getting 7-10 minutes a day of free play, but they need 3-4 hours optimally
• Why to let your child be upset and cry when they are experiencing big emotions
• How giving your child space to struggle will help them work through their feelings safely and shape their own identity
• You can’t change what has happened to you but you can change what it looks like inside of you

Resources We Mention

• How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health by Dr. Caroline Leaf
• Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking by Dr. Caroline Leaf
• Switch on Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health by Dr. Caroline Leaf
• Caroline Leaf - website
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien