Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf and her daughter Dominique Leaf sit down to talk about something neither has discussed this openly before: their own eating disorders, and how one was handed to the other.Caroline counted calories at university, down to 500 a day, until her sister picked up an apple and asked whether she was working out the number in her head. Dominique was diagnosed with anorexia at 13, spent over a year in therapy, and says plainly that she blamed her mother and grandmother for years. What follows is how that pattern moves through a family, what broke it in both cases, and the two exercises Dominique's therapist gave her that still work when the old thinking comes back.They also get into whether we should ever comment on another person's body, what GLP-1s have done to the culture around thinness, and why "she was trying to protect me" changed how Dominique understood her grandmother.Content Note: This episode discusses eating disorders and related topics. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available:• National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline: 1-866-662-1235• Crisis Text Line: Text “NEDA” to 741741• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): call or text 988• International Association for Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp): iaedp.com for provider directories• Outside the US: findahelpline.com has country-specific listingsDr. Leaf is not an eating disorder specialist and says so up front. She is a clinical and research neuroscientist, and what she offers here is the mind side: spotting the trigger, questioning the thinking underneath it, and building a new pattern over 63 days with the Neurocycle. If you are struggling, please also speak to a qualified eating disorder professional.Special guest: Dominique Leaf What you'll learn:• Why the calorie number takes up so much mental space that nothing else fits• The difference between an eating disorder and disordered eating• How a pattern passes through a family, and what epigenetics actually means• The eulogy exercise, and what it tells you about what you actually value• Why "I am struggling with anorexia" beats "I am anorexic"• When to say something about someone's body, and how to do it with kindness• Where GLP-1s help, and where the real risk sits
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
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