Welcome back to the Build Your Best Brain podcast — and to a new chapter of the show, where we're diving into a timely and powerful topic: fear and your brain.

This episode isn't here to scare you — it's here to empower you.

For a long time, I struggled to shift some of my most stubborn fear circuits. Not because I didn't understand them. Not because I lacked the tools. But because I didn't realize how many subtle, sneaky ways my fears were being activated every single day — without my awareness.

When you start seeing these hidden activators, everything changes. Awareness makes your ability to shift fear exponentially more powerful.

In this episode, we cover:

• How fear circuits are formed in the brain

• 5 sneaky ways your fears may be activated daily

• What this activation actually means

• How to build awareness and begin shifting it

Choose just one of these sneaky activators to observe each day. Give your brain space to process and integrate. You can use this alongside the table from the previous episode (linked below).

As always, I'd love to hear from you — message me with reflections, questions, or breakthroughs.

And stay tuned for the next episode, where we'll go deeper into the education, integration, and real-life application of these ideas — so you can feel truly empowered by your brain.

• Episode 17: Brain FUNdamentals

• Episode 31: How Fear Hijacks Your Attention (and How to Take It Back)

• If you're looking to improve your stress regulation, take my free quiz to understand where your brain currently sits — and how to move to the next level.

• If you're in Montreal and want to dive deep into the neuroscience of stress, breathwork, and how to build a practice that actually works, check the link here for upcoming dates.

• If you're interested in my 1:1 brain training program, Fire & Rewire — which uses at-home EEG devices to jumpstart your rewiring journey — fill out the form and I'll send you all the details.

📱 Instagram & TikTok — @synaptic.sylvie 🎥 YouTube — Synaptic Sylvie 🌐 Website — synapticsylvie.com

Welcome to the Build Your Best Brain podcast — and to a new chapter of the show where we're diving into a very timely topic: fear.

Before you worry — this episode is not here to scare you. It's here to inform, educate, and ultimately empower you.

We'll explore fear on multiple levels, starting with how fear impacts — and often hijacks — our attention. Understanding this process is a powerful first step toward working with your brain instead of against it.

• Intrinsic vs. extrinsic fears

• How fear unconsciously hijacks our attention

• The fear centers in the brain and where they project

• A daily fear analysis you can use in your own life (link to the tool here)

This can feel like a lot of information, so feel free to listen more than once and apply the concepts in small, manageable chunks. Every time you do, you're supporting your brain — and I promise, you're doing it a huge service.

Engaging with the material, asking questions, sharing reflections, and finding ways to apply what you're learning will deepen your understanding significantly. So don't be shy — leave a comment below, send me a message, or share this episode with a friend to explore it together.

I'm really looking forward to the next episode and to watching you learn and grow along the way.

• Episode 17: Brain FUNdamentals

• Episode 13: Stress Is Not Bad for You

Want to Go Deeper?

Join me live for a free webinar by joining my newsletter and staying tuned for the next Pick My Brain session.

If you're looking to improve your stress regulation, take my quiz to discover where your brain is currently at—and what steps can help you move to the next level.

Let's Connect

📱 Instagram & TikTok — @synaptic.sylvie

🎥 YouTube — Synaptic Sylvie

🌐 Website — synapticsylvie.com

Welcome back to Building Your Best Brain 🧠✨

As we close out the final days of 2025, today's episode dives into the neuroscience behind how to actually enjoy the journey toward your goals—not just push through it.

So many of us struggle to stay motivated and consistent. Not because we lack discipline or desire, but because of how our goals are set up and because no one ever taught us how the brain really works in the process.

These struggles often show up as familiar pain points—and in this episode, we unpack them together so you can start shifting them as you move into 2026.

In this episode, we explore the science behind—and practical ways to shift—these five common pain points:

• Feeling like you don't have enough time

• Being overly focused on the end goal

• Believing you're not making progress

• Fearing it won't happen

• Never feeling like you've "made it," even when you have

✨ Your homework: Choose one of these pain points (alongside your current goal) and begin gently working with it as you head into 2026.

If you'd like support, or if anything felt unclear, feel free to leave a comment or send me a DM. It would truly be an honour to support you in moving closer to your goals—because you are an incredible human and more than capable of creating what you want.

Free Resources

Before, During and After Exercise

Ep 24 - From Thought Spiral to Stillness: The Neuroscience of Neutrality

Ep 13 - Stress is not BAD for your brain and here is WHY

Ep 28 - Your Brain Doesn't Like Your Goals

Ep 25 - The 6 Levels of Stress Regulation: A Neuroscientist's Framework for Stress Management Mastery

If you'd like to be added to the waitlist for 1:1 neurofeedback coaching or get more details on my group offers, you can leave your email here.

—

Let's connect: 📱 Instagram & TikTok – @synaptic.sylvie🎥 YouTube – Synaptic Sylvie🌐 Website – synapticsylvie.com🧘‍♀️ Insight Timer – Synaptic Sylvie

Welcome to the Building Your Best Brain podcast!

I'm so happy you're here—learning how to rewire your brain for resilience and feel empowered by your own biology.

As someone who loves a good goal (finishing my PhD and building a business over here 🙋‍♀️), I realized something was missing from traditional goal setting. Most approaches don't actually help your brain build the circuits needed to support goals from a productive, sustainable, and regulated place.

In this episode, I share a new way of structuring goals—building on powerful work from neuroscience and psychology—that helps create real momentum, both internally and externally. And I didn't want to wait until the new year to share it with you.

If questions or curiosities come up as you listen, drop them in the comments. I'm always happy to support you in guiding your brain to build circuits that support your goals while actually enjoying the process.

If you're interested in my 1:1 brain training program, Fire & Rewire, designed to jumpstart your rewiring journey, fill out the form and I'll send you all the details.

— Let's connect: 📱 Instagram & TikTok — @synaptic.sylvie🎥 YouTube — Synaptic Sylvie🌐 Website — synapticsylvie.com

Welcome to the Building Your Best Brain podcast!

I'm so happy you're here — learning how to rewire your brain for resilience and feel empowered by your own biology.

In this episode, we dive into the missing piece of stress regulation — the piece that helps your brain build positive momentum, instead of feeling like you're stuck in a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. (You know… addressing one stress symptom only to have another pop up a few moments later.)

We explore:

· What core circuit is linked to MOST of your stress symptoms

· The neuroscience behind shifting this core circuit and how it affects your brainwaves

· How this circuit shows up in your day-to-day life

· How to start identifying which core circuit is running your system

If you're ready to identify your own core circuit, click here to download your worksheet and begin noticing which patterns are running your day.

If questions or curiosities come up — reach out. This is a HUGE part of rewiring your brain, and you absolutely do not have to navigate it alone.

Want to go deeper with me? If you're interested in my 1:1 neurofeedback program, Fire & Rewire, to jumpstart your rewiring journey, fill out your info here and I'll send you all the details.

—

Let's connect: 📱 Instagram & TikTok — @synaptic.sylvie 🎥 YouTube — Synaptic Sylvie 🌐 Website — synapticsylvie.com

Welcome to Building Your Best Brain podcast!

Today's episode we dive into the science behind why when we try to make a change in our brain (example – regulate your stress, rewiring a limiting belief) that you may start to feel WORSE.

If I knew this information 5 years ago it would have saved me so much time and energy! The stage that most people give up and think the tools aren't working is usually when you brain is making massive change and you don't even know it.

In this episode we discuss;

- How circuits form and why changing them can make you feel worse.

- Stories of brain training program clients and what their EEG brainwave recordings look like during this stage.

- How to know if you are in this camp or if the tool you are using is simply not working.

- How to motivate yourself (and your brain) to keep going.

I would LOVE to hear how this practise goes for you – drop your reflections/questions below in the comments or reach out to me on IG @synaptic.sylvie

And if you want to explore brain training with at home EEG devices to take the guesswork out of how your brain can become more resilient to stress, overwhelm, and negative thought-loops – fill out this form to get more information.

---------------------

Other Episodes Mentioned

Ep 25 — The 6 Levels of Stress Regulation: A Neuroscientist's Framework for Stress Management Mastery

Ep17 - The Brain FUNdamentals

---------------------

Let's connect:📱 Instagram & TikTok – @synaptic.sylvie🎥 YouTube – Synaptic Sylvie🧘‍♀️ Insight Timer – Synaptic Sylvie

Welcome back to Building Your Best Brain!

In this episode, I'm sharing something brand new — a 6-level framework I developed to measure and improve stress regulation, based on neuroscience, behavior, and emotional awareness. 🧠

As a neuroscientist, yoga and meditation teacher, and someone who has personally navigated mental health challenges, I've spent years studying what it really means to regulate your stress. This scale bridges the science of the nervous system with the lived experience of emotion, showing you where you are, and how to gently move toward greater calm, clarity, and control.

Here's what we cover in this episode:

• The 6 levels of stress regulation — from reactive to resilient.

• The neuroscience behind each level and how it shows up in your thoughts, body, and behaviors.

• How to identify where you are on the scale in different areas of your life.

• A personal story of how I used this framework to shift from survival mode to self-trust.

• A simple practice to "reward" your brain for small wins and accelerate emotional rewiring.

Your homework: Pick one area of your life (work, relationships, health…) and notice what level you're currently in. Then, track your "wins" — moments where you regulate faster, react less, or recover with more grace. This tells your brain: this is the path to safety and success.

✨ Want to go deeper with me? If you'd like to be added to the waitlist for 1:1 EEG Brain Training Coaching or get more details on my group offers, you can leave your email here.

—

Let's connect: 📱 Instagram & TikTok – @synaptic.sylvie🎥 YouTube – Synaptic Sylvie🌐 Website – synapticsylvie.com🧘‍♀️ Insight Timer – Synaptic Sylvie

Welcome back to Building Your Best Brain!

Today, we're diving into the neuroscience of thoughts — what actually happens in the brain when you get caught in a spiral, why your emotions can take over so quickly, and how to bring your brain back to balance. 🧠

Here's what we cover in this episode:

• What happens in the brain during a thought spiral.

• How emotions create feedback loops that keep you stuck.

• The science (and magic) of bringing neutrality to your triggers and desires.

• A guided exercise to rewire your stress response through thought awareness.

• A real-life example of how neutrality created clarity and momentum in my life.

If you've ever felt trapped in overthinking or emotionally reactive loops, this one's for you.

If you'd like to be added to the waitlist for 1:1 EEG Brain Training Coaching or get more details on my group offers, you can leave your email here.

—

Let's connect: 📱 Instagram & TikTok – @synaptic.sylvie🎥 YouTube – Synaptic Sylvie🌐 Website – synapticsylvie.com🧘‍♀️ Insight Timer – Synaptic Sylvie

Welcome back to Building Your Best Brain!

Today, we're getting the science behind our WORDS when it comes to building circuits in our brain. A topic that has A LOT of nuance that is often not explained or overlooked. Once you get these subtle differences, you'll see rather quickly how your brain shifts and changes in the direction you desire 🧠✨.

• What happens to the brain when we say things out loud?

• Why affirmations don't work.

• The dangers of venting.

• Two tools that help you use your words to build what you want in your brain!

If you'd like to be added to the waitlist for 1:1 neurofeedback coaching or get more details on my group offers, you can leave your email here.

—

Let's connect: 📱 Instagram & TikTok – @synaptic.sylvie🎥 YouTube – Synaptic Sylvie🌐 Website – synapticsylvie.com🧘‍♀️ Insight Timer – Synaptic Sylvie

Welcome back to Building Your Best Brain!

Today, we're getting into a poorly understood and explained topic "Mental Rest". Where I take both my knowledge in neuroscience, meditation and neuroplasticity to unpack what is truly is and why it is the key to happy and healthy brain 🧠✨.

• What it means to be well-rested mentally?

• What it looks like to not be mentally rested?

• How this impracts your brain and body long term?

• Three tools that help you integrate more mental rest today!

If you'd like to be added to the waitlist for 1:1 neurofeedback coaching or get more details on my group offers, you can leave your email here.

—

Some of the previous podcasts that would be helpful

Ep 13 - Stress is not BAD for your brain and here is WHY

Ep 18 - The Brain's Secrets for Changing Memories

—

Let's connect: 📱 Instagram & TikTok – @synaptic.sylvie🎥 YouTube – Synaptic Sylvie🌐 Website – synapticsylvie.com🧘‍♀️ Insight Timer – Synaptic Sylvie