For most people, the brain feels like a mystery. It runs the show, but rarely do we understand why it does what it does. When anxiety flares up or intrusive thoughts take over, we assume we’re broken. We feel stuck in our heads, exhausted by our own inner dialogue, and unsure what to do about it.
But what if your brain isn’t in control? What if you are?
That’s the perspective Dr. Caroline Leaf wants to reintroduce to a generation caught in cycles of stress, burnout and shame. A cognitive neuroscientist who’s spent nearly four decades studying the relationship between the brain, mind and body, Leaf is on a mission to help people untangle their “mental mess” and reclaim their thought life.
“I’ve spent these years working out how to capture thoughts or bring those thoughts into captivity and renew our minds,” she said, “using all the science that God has given us.”
For Leaf, faith and science aren’t enemies.
“Science comes from scientia, meaning knowledge,” she said. “God is the source of all knowledge. So science and spirituality are two sides of the same coin.”
That integrated view forms the basis of her mental health work. She’s not just talking about people with clinical diagnoses. According to Leaf, everyone is dealing with mental health struggles in some form — some just hide it better than others.
“All of us, since the beginning of time, have been battling with our mental health,” she said. “Anxiety, depression, frustration, even things like psychotic breaks or dissociation — these are not illnesses in and of themselves. These are responses to life. They’re symptoms, not the problem.”
That may be a surprising idea for those who have always viewed depression or anxiety as a disease to be fixed. But Leaf said that mindset can be harmful, causing people to suppress what they’re feeling instead of engaging with it.
“Anxiety and depression are warning signs,” she said. “They’re messengers telling us to pay attention, to find the root cause. When we learn how to interpret those signals, we can begin to heal.”
And here’s where it gets personal. According to Leaf’s research, your brain is not the center of who you are. In fact, it’s only a small part of the equation.
“You are not your brain. You control your brain,” she said. “Your brain and body make up about one to 10 percent of who you are. Your mind makes up the other 90 to 99 percent.”
That’s a major shift in how most people think. We tend to believe our thoughts are automatic, out of our control. But Leaf argues that we have far more power than we realize.
She defines the mind as our ability to think, feel and choose. From the moment we wake up, our minds are interpreting the world around us — conversations, circumstances, emotions — and sending those interpretations to the brain, which responds by building neural pathways. Over time, those pathways become habits. But they can also be rewired.
That’s the heart of Leaf’s work: helping people understand that they’re not powerless. They can learn to manage their thoughts. And it starts with paying attention.
“We need to become thought detectives,” she said. “Instead of fearing or suppressing anxiety, panic or frustration, we need to examine them. These patterns are telling you something.”
She describes what she calls the “wise mind,” an inner sense of knowing rooted in our spiritual design.
“It’s the core of who we are, made in God’s image,” she said. “It recognizes that there’s a better way, even when we don’t know the details.”
Tuning into that inner wisdom, according to Leaf, allows us to step back and observe our own thinking. And that observation — the simple act of noticing our thoughts without judgment — can trigger real change in the brain.
“You shift the power balance. You become kind to yourself. You activate hundreds of neurophysiological responses in your body that begin to work for you, not against you,” she said.
This isn’t just a spiritual practice. It’s a physiological one. Leaf points to the way trauma gets stored not just in the brain, but in the body.
“When we re-experience trauma, we feel it. Our bodies react,” she said. “That’s because memory is stored in the body, too.”
That’s why healing isn’t just about changing your mind. It’s about connecting with your body, creating space for reflection, and letting your nervous system know it’s safe to rest.
“We can’t change the past,” she said. “We can’t change the trauma. But we can change how it plays out in our future.”
That begins by rejecting the idea that you are broken. Instead, Leaf suggests viewing every difficult emotion as a messenger.
“You’re in the arms of God,” she said. “You’re not alone. These feelings aren’t evidence of failure. They’re signals that something needs attention.”
Rewiring your brain isn’t instant. It’s a practice. But it’s possible — and for Leaf, it’s also sacred.
“You don’t have to be controlled by the past. You don’t have to live in chaos,” she said. “Your mind is powerful. And it’s wired for renewal.”
In other words: You are not stuck. You are not your mess. You are not your thoughts. You’re the one observing them, which means you’re the one with the power to change.
