The Christian Mind Reset blends Scripture, psychology, and neuroscience to help you renew your thoughts and break mental strongholds. Hosted by April Joy DNP, APN-C (@thechristianpsychnp), each episode explores real struggles, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and how God’s Word rewires the brain. Learn how to feed truth instead of strongholds and walk in the peace Christ promises.
Your Gut Is Talking To Your Brain: Why Anxiety Can Make You Feel Sick & What Psalm 23 Teaches Us About Peace
Saison 2 · Épisode 1
jeudi 10 septembre 2026 • Durée 39:23
Bonus Episode
Season 2, Episode 1
Show Notes
Why can anxiety make the stomach hurt? Why do some people feel nauseated, lose their appetite, experience digestive changes, or feel a pit in their stomach when they are stressed?
In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, Dr. April Joy explores the fascinating connection between anxiety, the gut-brain axis, the nervous system, and gastrointestinal symptoms—and brings the conversation back to one of Scripture's most familiar passages: Psalm 23.
As a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, psychotherapist, Bible teacher, and student of neuroscience, Dr. April Joy explains how the brain and gut are constantly communicating through a complex bidirectional system involving the central nervous system, enteric nervous system, autonomic nervous system, stress-response pathways, immune and endocrine signaling, the vagus nerve, and the gut microbiome.
She explains why anxiety is not experienced only as worried thoughts. Stress can also show up physically through nausea, appetite changes, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, muscle tension, changes in breathing, and other bodily sensations.
The episode also explores interoception, the brain’s ability to sense and interpret signals coming from inside the body, and how physical sensations can sometimes become part of an anxiety cycle. A person notices a racing heart, tight stomach, nausea, or another uncomfortable sensation, interprets it as threatening, becomes more anxious, and then experiences even stronger physical sensations.
Dr. April Joy also discusses emerging research on the gut microbiome and brain, including why intriguing findings from animal studies should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that gut bacteria cause human psychiatric disorders.
But the heart of this episode returns to Psalm 23:5:
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
Dr. April Joy considers this verse through the lens of anxiety and the nervous system. The table is prepared while the enemies are still present. The circumstances have not necessarily disappeared, yet David describes the Shepherd's provision and presence in the middle of them.
For someone whose anxiety makes eating difficult, that image carries special meaning.
The episode connects this truth with Jesus calming the storm, Isaiah 26:3, Philippians 4:6, Matthew 6:34, taking thoughts captive, biblical meditation, neuroplasticity, and prayer. It also examines an fMRI study of committed Christians that found personal, improvised prayer recruited brain regions involved in social cognition, offering an interesting neuroscientific window into the relational experience of prayer without using neuroscience to prove theological claims.
Listeners will also learn about research in people with generalized anxiety disorder showing that 91.4% of the worry predictions recorded in one study did not come true, illustrating how often anxiety can pull the mind into feared futures that never arrive.
In This Episode
Dr. April Joy discusses:
* The gut-brain axis and anxiety
* Why anxiety can cause nausea and loss of appetite
* The enteric nervous system or “second brain”
* The vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system
* Stress, the HPA axis, and gastrointestinal symptoms
* Neuroplasticity and repeated patterns of thinking
* What neuroscience can—and cannot—tell Christians about prayer
* Psalm 23 and God’s presence during anxiety
* Why worry often pulls the mind into the future
* Scripture-based breath prayer using Psalm 23
* Biblical declarations for anxiety, fear, and uncertainty
The episode closes with declarations from Psalm 23, a guided prayer, and a reminder that Christians can pray, renew their minds, and trust God while also receiving appropriate medical, psychological, and pastoral support.
Persistent nausea, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain, appetite changes, changes in bowel habits, or other unresolved gastrointestinal symptoms should not automatically be attributed to anxiety. Appropriate medical evaluation is important.
For more conversations at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, mental health, Scripture, anxiety, and renewing the mind, follow The Christian Mind Reset Podcast and subscribe to Dr. April Joy’s Substack.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and on Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, which is a companion to Season 1, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
Haug, T. T., Mykletun, A., & Dahl, A. A. (2002). Are anxiety and depression related to gastrointestinal symptoms in the general population? Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 37(3), 294–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/003655202317284192
Haug, T. T., Mykletun, A., & Dahl, A. A. (2002). The prevalence of nausea in the community: Psychological, social, and somatic factors. General Hospital Psychiatry, 24(2), 81–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-8343(01)00184-0
LaFreniere, L. S., & Newman, M. G. (2020). Exposing worry’s deceit: Percentage of untrue worries in generalized anxiety disorder treatment. Behavior Therapy, 51(3), 413–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2019.07.003
Schjoedt, U., Stødkilde-Jørgensen, H., Geertz, A. W., & Roepstorff, A. (2009). Highly religious participants recruit areas of social cognition in personal prayer. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 4(2), 199–207. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsn050
Zhao, Z., et al. (2023). Effectiveness of probiotic/prebiotic/synbiotic treatments on anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Affective Disorders.
Zheng, P., Zeng, B., Liu, M., Chen, J., Pan, J., Han, Y., Liu, Y., Cheng, K., Zhou, C., Wang, H., Zhou, X., Gui, S., Perry, S. W., Wong, M.-L., Licinio, J., Wei, H., & Xie, P. (2019). The gut microbiome from patients with schizophrenia modulates the glutamate-glutamine-GABA cycle and schizophrenia-relevant behaviors in mice. Science Advances, 5(2), eaau8317. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau8317
Zhu, F., Guo, R., Wang, W., Ju, Y., Wang, Q., Ma, Q., Sun, Q., Fan, Y., Xie, Y., Yang, Z., Jie, Z., Zhao, B., Xiao, L., Yang, L., Zhang, T., Liu, B., Guo, L., He, X., Chen, Y., … Ma, X. (2020). Transplantation of microbiota from drug-free patients with schizophrenia causes schizophrenia-like abnormal behaviors and dysregulated kynurenine metabolism in mice. Molecular Psychiatry, 25(11), 2905–2918. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-019-0475-4
Biblical References:
NIV
Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978). YouVersion Bible App.
ESV
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001). YouVersion Bible App.
NKJV
Holy Bible, New King James Version. (1982). Thomas Nelson. YouVersion Bible App.
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or changing your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. Do not use these methods for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thechristianmindreset.substack.com
The Neuroscience of Renewal: What the “Batman Effect” Can Teach Us About Putting On the New Self
Saison 1 · Épisode 29
vendredi 4 septembre 2026 • Durée 01:25:40
Episode 29, Season 1
In the final episode of Season One of The Christian Mind Reset, Dr. April Joy brings together the neuroscience, psychology, and biblical practices explored throughout the past 28 days and looks at what it actually means to renew the mind.
The brain is capable of change. What people repeatedly think about, focus on, practice, and return to can strengthen patterns in the brain and make certain responses more automatic over time. But Romans 12:2 is not simply a lesson in neuroplasticity, and Christian renewal cannot be reduced to “rewiring the brain.”
So what does renewal actually look like?
Dr. April Joy explores that question through Scripture and also through the life of Jesus. If Christians are called to have the mind of Christ and to walk as He walked, it matters how Jesus actually lived. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus prayed, fasted, knew and spoke Scripture, withdrew to be alone with the Father, gave thanks, gathered with others, lived in community, served, showed compassion, and remained dependent upon and obedient to the Father.
This episode looks at some of those practices alongside what neuroscience and psychology have found about attention, repetition, meditation, self-talk, gratitude, emotional regulation, relationships, and repeated behavior.
Dr. April Joy also returns to the biblical language of putting off the old self and putting on the new.
Colossians 3 does not simply tell believers what to stop doing. It tells them what to put on instead: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, and gratitude.
This is where Batman comes in.
Research sometimes referred to as the “Batman Effect” found that young children who approached a difficult task from the perspective of an exemplar character, such as Batman, showed greater perseverance and were better able to resist distraction. Researchers have studied this in the context of self-distancing, the ability to create some psychological distance from an immediate thought, feeling, or impulse.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
The Neuroscience of Hope: Why What You Believe About Tomorrow Matters Today
Saison 1 · Épisode 28
jeudi 20 août 2026 • Durée 45:02
Episode 28, Season 1
Show Notes
What happens in the mind and brain when we have hope? Why can hope change the way we experience the present, even when our circumstances have not changed? And how is biblical hope different from optimism, wishful thinking, or simply trying to “think positive”?
In Episode 28 of The Christian Mind Reset, Dr. April Joy explores the psychology and neuroscience of hope alongside the biblical understanding of what it means to place our hope in God.
The episode begins with C. R. Snyder’s Hope Theory, which describes hope through two important processes: agency, our perceived ability to move toward a goal, and pathways, our ability to identify ways forward when obstacles arise. We review research exploring the relationship between hope, anxiety, brain function, and meaning in life.
But psychology and neuroscience only take us so far.
The Bible presents a deeper picture of hope.
Biblical hope is not pretending that everything will work out the way we want. It is not denial of suffering, and it is not positive thinking with a Christian vocabulary. Biblical hope is confidence in God's character, promises, and faithfulness, even when the outcome is still unknown.
Through Psalm 130, Romans 8, and Hebrews 6:19, we explore what it means to hope while waiting, suffering, grieving, and facing an uncertain future. We also look at the lives of Abraham, David, Joseph, Jeremiah, Job, and Paul, people who experienced seasons when God’s promises and their present circumstances did not appear to match.
Their stories remind us that hope does not require us to ignore what is happening around us.
Hope does not mean everything around you is steady. Biblical hope gives your soul something steady to hold onto when everything else is not.
In the final portion of the episode, we move from understanding hope to practicing hope through Scripture-based declarations, grounding, reflection, and prayer. The goal is not simply to learn something about hope, but to begin training our minds to remember where our hope is anchored.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Self-Talk: What the Bible Says About Complaining
Saison 1 · Épisode 27
dimanche 9 août 2026 • Durée 54:15
Episode 27, Season 1
Show Notes
Can gratitude really change your brain? Why does the Bible repeatedly tell us to “give thanks,” while also warning us against grumbling? In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, we explore what psychology, neuroscience, and Scripture reveal about gratitude, complaining, and the way repeated thought patterns shape our minds.
Together, we’ll examine research on gratitude, neuroplasticity, negativity bias, emotional regulation, and stress while walking through some of the Bible’s richest passages on thanksgiving. We’ll look at David in the Psalms, Israel in the wilderness, and the moments Jesus gave thanks—even in the face of rejection, grief, scarcity, and the cross.
You’ll discover why biblical gratitude isn’t pretending life is easy or denying suffering. Instead, it’s intentionally remembering God’s faithfulness and bringing your attention back to what is still true, still good, and still worthy of praise.
In this episode, we discuss:
* What gratitude does in the brain
* The neuroscience of neuroplasticity and negativity bias
* Healthy lament versus chronic complaining
* Why God repeatedly commands thanksgiving
* What Jesus thanked the Father for
* Psalm 107 and the power of remembering God’s faithfulness
* Practical ways to cultivate biblical gratitude in everyday life
If you’re struggling with anxiety, discouragement, stress, or simply want to renew your mind through Scripture, this episode will encourage you to see gratitude as more than a feeling; it is a spiritual discipline that shapes both the heart and the mind.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
Your Brain on Hope: The Psychology, Neuroscience, and Bible Study of Perseverance
Saison 1 · Épisode 26
mercredi 5 août 2026 • Durée 01:02:51
Episode 26, Season 1
Show Notes
What does it mean to “strengthen yourself in the Lord,” and what can David’s life teach us about persevering through suffering?
In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, Dr. April Joy explores perseverance through the life of David, with a particular focus on 1 Samuel 30:6 and the Psalms. Throughout David’s life, readers see a consistent pattern of returning to God through prayer, worship, gratitude, remembering God’s faithfulness, and fixing his hope on the Lord, even in seasons of fear, betrayal, grief, and waiting.
Drawing from Scripture alongside current research in psychology and neuroscience, this episode examines how practices woven throughout David’s life align with what is known about hope, attention, memory, metacognition, worship, and emotional resilience. Rather than placing confidence in psychological techniques, the episode points listeners back to the biblical truth that lasting perseverance is found by continually returning to God, who is the source of our hope and strength.
Whether listeners are walking through disappointment, suffering, uncertainty, or simply finding it difficult to keep going, this episode offers biblical encouragement and practical insight for persevering while keeping their eyes fixed on Christ.
In This Episode
* What it means to strengthen yourself in the Lord
* Perseverance through the life of David
* Hope through the lens of psychology and neuroscience
* Remembering God’s faithfulness
* Metacognition and biblical self-talk
* Worship, music, and the brain
* Gratitude, prayer, and redirecting attention
* Fixing our eyes on Jesus
* Persevering through difficult seasons with hope anchored in God
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
When Obedience Is Hard: What Nathan Teaches Us About Following God | Psychology, Neuroscience & the Bible
Saison 1 · Épisode 25
mardi 28 juillet 2026 • Durée 36:43
Episode 25, Season 1
Show Notes
Most people remember David’s repentance after his sin with Bathsheba. Far fewer pause to consider the man who made that repentance possible.
Before David confessed, Nathan obeyed.
In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, Dr. April Joy explores one of Scripture’s most overlooked examples of courageous obedience. Through the story of Nathan confronting King David in 2 Samuel 12, listeners will discover what it looks like to obey God when the outcome is uncertain, the cost feels high, and remaining silent would be far easier.
The episode examines the biblical meaning of obedience through the Hebrew word shāmaʿ, revealing that throughout Scripture, hearing God has always been inseparable from responding to Him. It also explores how Jesus fulfilled the Law, why obedience is the evidence of a transformed heart rather than a means of earning salvation, and how love, not legalism, has always been at the center of God’s commands.
Drawing from psychology and neuroscience, the episode explains why obedience can feel so difficult, how fear influences moral decision-making, and what research reveals about agency, cognitive control, and the courage to do what is right even when it comes at a personal cost.
Whether facing a difficult conversation, a call to speak truth with grace, or a season requiring costly faithfulness, this episode offers both biblical encouragement and practical insight for following God with courage and conviction.
In This Episode
* Nathan’s role in David’s repentance and why his obedience matters
* What the Hebrew word shāmaʿ teaches about hearing and obeying God
* Why biblical obedience is rooted in love rather than legalism
* How Jesus fulfilled the Law and summarized God’s commands
* The psychology and neuroscience of obedience, fear, and moral courage
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
Psalm 23 Explained: The Neuroscience and Psychology of Rest
Saison 1 · Épisode 24
mercredi 22 juillet 2026 • Durée 54:11
The Christian Mind Reset | Episode 24, Season 1
Show Notes
Psalm 23 is one of the most beloved passages in all of Scripture, but what if we’ve only scratched the surface of what David was teaching?
In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, we take a deep dive into Psalm 23, verse by verse, through the lens of both Scripture and neuroscience. Together, we’ll discover how the Good Shepherd leads us from fear to trust, from striving to surrender, from survival mode to soul rest.
We’ll explore why sheep will only lie down when they feel safe, why they’re led beside still waters, what it means for God to restore our souls, and how every verse of Psalm 23 paints a beautiful picture of the rest Jesus later offers in Matthew 11 when He says, “Come to Me... and I will give you rest.”
Along the way, we’ll examine what chronic stress does to the brain, nervous system, immune system, heart, and body, and why modern neuroscience confirms what Scripture has been teaching for thousands of years: we were never designed to live in constant survival mode.
You’ll also learn about allostatic load, the body’s stress response, secure attachment, and how the presence of the Good Shepherd provides the safety our minds and bodies were created to experience.
If you’ve been feeling anxious, overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, burned out, or simply weary, this episode is an invitation to slow down, lift your eyes to the Shepherd, and discover the kind of rest that reaches far deeper than sleep.
Because Psalm 23 isn’t simply about comfort.
It’s about learning to trust the One who leads us beside still waters, restores our souls, walks with us through every valley, prepares a table in the presence of our enemies, and faithfully leads us all the way home.
In This Episode
• Psalm 23 explained verse by verse• What sheep teach us about anxiety, trust, and rest• The neuroscience and psychology of chronic stress and survival mode• Why your brain and nervous system need safety to truly rest• Matthew 11 and Jesus’ invitation to find rest for your soul• The Good Shepherd, secure attachment, and emotional resilience• How Scripture renews the mind and calms the anxious heart• Practical ways to rest in God’s presence this week
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
Episode 23: The Neuroscience of Trust: Why Betrayal Hurts and How God Restores
Saison 1 · Épisode 23
jeudi 16 juillet 2026 • Durée 37:42
Episode 23, Season 1
Show Notes
Have you ever wondered why betrayal hurts so deeply—or why it can feel so difficult to trust again?
In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, we explore what psychology, neuroscience, and Scripture reveal about trust, betrayal, and healing. You’ll learn how God designed the brain to learn from repeated experiences, why broken trust affects both the mind and body, and how the Psalmist's example in the Psalms points us toward lasting hope.
We’ll discuss attachment, neuroplasticity, predictive processing, emotional memory, and the neuroscience of social pain, while keeping Scripture at the center of the conversation. Rather than using science to validate God’s Word, we’ll see how studying God’s creation helps us better appreciate His design.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
* Why trust is built through repeated experiences of faithfulness.
* How attachment shapes our earliest understanding of safety and relationships.
* Why betrayal feels physically painful and what neuroscience says about social rejection.
* How the brain updates its expectations after relational wounds.
* The role of neuroplasticity in healing after betrayal.
* Why remembering God’s faithfulness is one of the most powerful biblical practices for renewing the mind.
* The difference between biblical forgiveness and rebuilding trust.
* Practical encouragement for learning to trust God while exercising wisdom in relationships.
Key Scriptures
Psalm 9:10
Psalm 77
Proverbs 3:5–6
Lamentations 3:22–23
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
Praise Is Spiritual Warfare: What David Knew About Worship, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind
Saison 1 · Épisode 22
samedi 11 juillet 2026 • Durée 43:38
Episode 22, Season 1
Show Notes
Can praise actually change the way we experience a battle?
What if God commands us to praise not only because He is worthy, but because He designed worship to strengthen His people?
In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, we explore the powerful connection among praise, worship, prayer, singing, and the renewing of the mind, drawing on both Scripture and neuroscience. Looking at the lives of David, Jehoshaphat, Paul and Silas, and Samuel, we’ll discover why praise is far more than an emotional response to victory. It is a spiritual discipline that helps us remember God’s faithfulness even as the battle is still before us.
We’ll examine the neuroscience of attention, attentional bias, emotional memory, and the brain’s attentional filtering system, including the Reticular Activating System (RAS), to better understand why fear naturally captures our focus. We’ll also explore what research reveals about prayer, worship, singing, gratitude, lifting our hands, embodied cognition, and how these practices influence attention, emotional regulation, stress, and resilience.
Finally, we’ll unpack the biblical meaning of an Ebenezer, why God repeatedly commands His people to remember, and how praise becomes an act of spiritual warfare that shifts our attention from fear to God's faithfulness.
Whether you’re walking through anxiety, disappointment, unanswered prayers, grief, spiritual warfare, or a season of waiting, I pray this episode encourages you to remember that praise is not pretending your pain doesn’t exist. It is choosing to worship the God whose character never changes.
In This Episode
* Why praise is spiritual warfare
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
Why Disappointment Hurts: What the Bible and Neuroscience Reveal
Saison 1 · Épisode 21
dimanche 5 juillet 2026 • Durée 24:56
Episode 21, Season 1
Show Notes
Why does disappointment hurt so deeply?
Whether it’s an unanswered prayer, a broken relationship, a diagnosis you never expected, or a dream that feels out of reach, disappointment has a way of shaking not only our hearts but also our understanding of God.
In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, we explore what happens in the brain when our expectations collide with reality, and how God’s Word offers hope amid unmet expectations. Together we’ll look at the neuroscience of disappointment, including prediction error, dopamine, the lateral habenula, hopelessness, neuroplasticity, and the brain’s remarkable capacity for resilience.
We’ll spend time in Psalm 22, where David cries out with complete honesty, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” We’ll see why Jesus quoted those very words from the cross and what they teach us about bringing our disappointment to God without losing our faith.
We’ll also discover how Psalm 34 reminds us that God’s goodness is not determined by our circumstances, but by His unchanging character. Finally, we’ll explore how Scripture and neuroscience beautifully agree that our repeated thoughts shape how we experience life, and how the Holy Spirit renews our minds as we continue to bring our disappointments back to the Lord.
If you’ve ever wondered where God is in your waiting, this episode is for you.
In this episode, we’ll discuss:
• Why disappointment affects both the brain and the heart• The neuroscience of prediction error, dopamine, and unmet expectations• The role of the lateral habenula in disappointment and hopelessness• David’s honest prayer in Psalm 22• Why Jesus quoted Psalm 22 from the cross• How hopelessness changes our thinking—and how Scripture corrects it• Psalm 34 and trusting God’s character over our circumstances• Neuroplasticity, perseverance, and renewing your mind• Biblical declarations and a guided prayer for seasons of disappointment
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
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Dr. April Joy looks at what this research can teach us about pausing long enough to consider a different response and then connects it to the biblical picture of putting off and putting on.
For the Christian, this is obviously not about pretending to be Batman, or even pretending to be Jesus. It is about remembering who Scripture says believers are, what they are called to put off, what they are called to put on, and then practicing a response consistent with that truth.
The episode also explores why thoughts and feelings are important without automatically treating them as facts, how repeated responses can become more automatic over time, why gratitude is not the same as denying pain, the importance of Christian community, and how prayer, fasting, Scripture, meditation, and speaking truth can become regular rhythms of renewal.
Neuroscience can help explain mechanisms involved in attention, learning, memory, emotional regulation, repetition, and behavior. It can study what happens in the brain during practices such as meditation and prayer. But it cannot measure the work of the Holy Spirit, tell people the meaning of their suffering, or explain away spiritual transformation as brain activity.
Ultimately, Christian renewal is not about becoming better at optimizing the brain.
It is about becoming more like Christ.
And that brings the episode back to one of the most important practices of renewal: abiding.
Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
The goal is not to manufacture renewal or the fruit of the Spirit by trying harder. Fruit grows from connection to the source. Christians participate through obedience, practice, prayer, Scripture, community, and continually bringing the mind back to truth, but Jesus remains the source.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and on Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
In this episode:
* What neuroplasticity can, and cannot, tell us about renewing the mind
* How attention, repetition, and practice shape patterns in the brain
* Why thoughts and feelings are important but are not automatically facts
* Biblical meditation and repeatedly returning attention to God’s Word
* Self-talk and speaking truth rather than simply repeating positive affirmations
* Gratitude and the brain
* Prayer, fasting, solitude, and community
* Looking at the practices and rhythms seen throughout the life of Jesus
* Identity in Christ and why the past does not have to become identity
* Putting off the old self and putting on the new
* What the “Batman Effect” teaches us about self-distancing, perspective, and behavior
* Colossians 3 and intentionally “putting on” compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love
* The armor of God as another biblical picture of intentionally putting on what God has given
* Having the mind of Christ
* Why Christian transformation is more than brain change
* Abiding in Christ and the fruit of the Spirit
Key Scriptures
Romans 12:2; Colossians 3:1–17; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5; 1 John 2:6; Joshua 1:8–9; Psalm 1:1–3; Psalm 46:10; Proverbs 18:21; Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 4:1–11; Matthew 6:5–18; Luke 5:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18; Ephesians 4:22–32; Ephesians 6:10–18; Galatians 5:22–25; John 15:4–5.
References
Cascio, C. N., O’Donnell, M. B., Tinney, F. J., Lieberman, M. D., Taylor, S. E., Strecher, V. J., & Falk, E. B. (2016). Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(4), 621–629. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv136
Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U. (2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(6), 537–559. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691611419671
Kini, P., Wong, J., McInnis, S., Gabana, N., & Brown, J. W. (2016). The effects of gratitude expression on neural activity. NeuroImage, 128, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.12.040
Schjoedt, U., Stødkilde-Jørgensen, H., Geertz, A. W., & Roepstorff, A. (2009). Highly religious participants recruit areas of social cognition in personal prayer. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 4(2), 199–207. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsn050
White, R. E., & Carlson, S. M. (2016). What would Batman do? Self-distancing improves executive function in young children. Developmental Science, 19(3), 419–426. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12314
White, R. E., Prager, E. O., Schaefer, C., Kross, E., Duckworth, A. L., & Carlson, S. M. (2017). The “Batman Effect”: Improving perseverance in young children. Child Development, 88(5), 1563–1571. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12695
Yeung, A. W. K., Wong, N. S. M., Tsui, I. S. Y., & Lee, T. C. P. (2025). Neural correlates of religious behavior related to Christianity: An ALE meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1557796. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1557796
Bible References:
NIV
Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1978). YouVersion Bible App.
ESV
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001). YouVersion Bible App.
NKJV
Holy Bible, New King James Version. (1982). Thomas Nelson. YouVersion Bible App.
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Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. Do not use these methods for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and on Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
In This Episode, We Explore:
* The psychology of hope and Snyder’s Hope Theory
* The difference between agency and pathways
* What neuroscience can tell us about hope
* The relationship between hope, anxiety, and meaning
* Why hope is more than optimism or positive thinking
* What the Bible means by hope in God
* What it looks like to hope while waiting
* Hope in seasons of suffering, uncertainty, and grief
* Lessons about hope from Abraham, David, Joseph, Jeremiah, Job, and Paul
* Why Christian hope is ultimately anchored in God rather than circumstances
* How Scripture can help us renew our minds when hope feels difficult
* Scripture-based declarations, grounding, and prayer
Scriptures We Explore
Psalm 130Romans 8Hebrews 6:19
References
Coan, J. A., Schaefer, H. S., & Davidson, R. J. (2006). Lending a hand: Social regulation of the neural response to threat. Psychological Science, 17(12), 1032–1039. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01832
Edwards, M. E., Booker, J. A., Cook, K., Miao, M., Gan, Y., & King, L. A. (2025). Hope as a meaningful emotion: Hope, positive affect, and meaning in life. Emotion, 25(6), 1365–1380. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001513
Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T., Yoshinobu, L., Gibb, J., Langelle, C., & Harney, P. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(4), 570–585. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.570
Wang, S., Xu, X., Zhou, M., Chen, T., Yang, X., Chen, G., & Gong, Q. (2017). Hope and the brain: Trait hope mediates the protective role of medial orbitofrontal cortex spontaneous activity against anxiety. NeuroImage, 157, 439–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.05.056
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. Do not use these methods for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
References
Cheng, S.-T., Tsui, P. K., & Lam, J. H. M. (2015). Improving mental health in health care practitioners: Randomized controlled trial of a gratitude intervention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(1), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037895
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377
Fox, G. R., Kaplan, J., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. (2015). Neural correlates of gratitude. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1491. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01491
Froh, J. J., Sefick, W. J., & Emmons, R. A. (2008). Counting blessings in early adolescents: An experimental study of gratitude and subjective well-being. Journal of School Psychology, 46(2), 213–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2007.03.005
Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S. M., Gard, T., & Lazar, S. W. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191(1), 36–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.08.006
Kini, P., Wong, J., McInnis, S., Gabana, N., & Brown, J. W. (2016). The effects of gratitude expression on neural activity. NeuroImage, 128, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.12.040
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
References
* Chanda, M. L., & Levitin, D. J. (2013). The neurochemistry of music.Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
* Fleming, S. M., Dolan, R. J., & Frith, C. D. (2012). Metacognition: Computation, biology and function.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
* Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects.Psychological Inquiry.
* Koelsch, S. (2014). Brain correlates of music-evoked emotions.Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
* Kross, E., et al. (2014). Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: How you do it matters.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
* Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2017). Self-distancing: Theory, research, and current directions.Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.
* Müller, T. H., et al. (2021). Dissociable neural systems for recoverable versus unrecoverable effort.Nature Communications.
* Roediger, H. L., III, & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention.Psychological Science.
* Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind.Psychological Inquiry.
* Vickers, J. N. (2016). Origins and current issues in Quiet Eye research.Current Issues in Sport Science.
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
References
Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0303_3
Blass, T. (1999). The Milgram paradigm after 35 years: Some things we now know about obedience to authority. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(5), 955–978. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1999.tb00134.x
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)
Burger, J. M. (2009). Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today? American Psychologist, 64(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0010932
Caspar, E. A., Christensen, J. F., Cleeremans, A., & Haggard, P. (2016). Coercion changes the sense of agency in the human brain. Current Biology, 26(5), 585–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.067
Caspar, E. A., Vuillaume, L., Magalhães De Saldanha da Gama, P. A., & Cleeremans, A. (2018). The influence of (dis)belief in free will on immoral behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 20. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00020
Caspar, E. A., et al. (2020). Coercion reduces the neural processing of victims’ pain. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15(11), 1184–1194. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa148
Crone, E. A., & Steinbeis, N. (2017). Neural perspectives on cognitive control development during childhood and adolescence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(3), 205–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2017.01.003
Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69–97.
Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2006). Rethinking the psychology of tyranny. Scientific American, 295(6), 68–73.
Hollander, M. M. (2015). The repertoire of resistance: Non-compliance with directives in Milgram’s “obedience” experiments.British Journal of Social Psychology, 54(3), 425–444. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12099 (PubMed)
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040525
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority: An experimental view. Harper & Row.
Seyll, L., et al. (2025). When the brain says “No!”: An MRI study on the neural correlates of resistance to immoral orders.Cortex. (PubMed)
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress signaling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 410–422. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2648
Bar-Haim, Y., Lamy, D., Pergamin, L., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2007). Threat-related attentional bias in anxious and nonanxious individuals: A meta-analytic study. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.1
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). Basic Books. (Original work published 1969)
Coan, J. A., Schaefer, H. S., & Davidson, R. J. (2006). Lending a hand: Social regulation of the neural response to threat. Psychological Science, 17(12), 1032–1039. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01832.x
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310
Dhabhar, F. S. (2014). Effects of stress on immune function: The good, the bad, and the beautiful. Immunologic Research, 58(2–3), 193–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-014-8517-0
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377
Grupe, D. W., & Nitschke, J. B. (2013). Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety: An integrated neurobiological and psychological perspective. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(7), 488–501. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3524
Harvard Health Publishing. (2022). The gut-brain connection. Harvard Medical School.
https://www.health.harvard.edu
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Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
McEwen, B. S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. The New England Journal of Medicine, 338(3), 171–179. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199801153380307
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. Guilford Press.
Newberg, A. B., & Waldman, M. R. (2009). How God changes your brain: Breakthrough findings from a leading neuroscientist. Ballantine Books.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130(4), 601–630. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601
Southwick, S. M., & Charney, D. S. (2018). Resilience: The science of mastering life’s greatest challenges (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Yao, Y., et al. (2024). Immunology of stress: A review. Journal of Translational Medicine. (Review article on stress, inflammation, and immune function.)
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christiand Min Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
References
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Berg, J., Dickhaut, J., & McCabe, K. (1995). Trust, reciprocity, and social history. Games and Economic Behavior, 10(1), 122–142. https://doi.org/10.1006/game.1995.1027
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). Basic Books. (Original work published 1969)
Carter, S C. (2018). Oxytocin and Human Evolution. Current topics in behavioral neurosciences, 35, 291–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2017_18
Clark, A. (2013). Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36(3), 181–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X12000477
Eisenberger, N. I. (2012). The neural bases of social pain: Evidence for shared representations with physical pain. Psychosomatic Medicine, 74(2), 126–135. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182464dd1
Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003). Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion. Science, 302(5643), 290–292. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1089134
Freyd, J. J. (1996). Betrayal trauma: The logic of forgetting childhood abuse. Harvard University Press.
Friston, K. (2010). The free-energy principle: A unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2787
Hancock, P. A., Kessler, T. T., Kaplan, A. D., Brill, J. C., & Szalma, J. L. (2023). How and why humans trust: A meta-analysis and elaborated model. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1081086. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1081086
Kandel, E. R., Koester, J. D., Mack, S. H., & Siegelbaum, S. A. (2021). Principles of neural science (6th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435(7042), 673–676. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03701
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, having thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), or contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christiand Min Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
References
Bar-Haim, Y., Lamy, D., Pergamin, L., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2007). Threat-related attentional bias in anxious and nonanxious individuals: A meta-analytic study.Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.1
Beck, R. J., Cesario, T. C., Yousefi, A., & Enamoto, H. (2000). Choral singing, performance perception, and immune system changes in salivary immunoglobulin A and cortisol.Music Perception, 18(1), 87–106.
Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. (2004). Neuroplasticity: Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427(6972), 311–312. https://doi.org/10.1038/427311a
Fancourt, D., Williamon, A., Carvalho, L. A., Steptoe, A., Dow, R., & Lewis, I. (2016). Singing modulates mood, stress, cortisol, cytokine and neuropeptide activity in cancer patients and carers. ecancermedicalscience, 10, 631. https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2016.631
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
Kreutz, G., Bongard, S., Rohrmann, S., Hodapp, V., & Grebe, D. (2004). Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 27(6), 623–635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-004-0006-9
Thomas Nelson. (2017). The NKJV Study Bible (2nd ed.). Thomas Nelson.
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, having thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), or contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately
Liu, R. T., Kleiman, E. M., Nestor, B. A., & Cheek, S. M. (2015). The hopelessness theory of depression: A quarter-century in review.
Matsumoto, M., & Hikosaka, O. (2007). Lateral habenula as a source of negative reward signals.
Schultz, W., Dayan, P., & Montague, P. R. (1997). A neural substrate of prediction and reward.
Touroutoglou, A., Andreano, J. M., Dickerson, B. C., & Barrett, L. F. (2020). How the anterior mid-cingulate contributes to achieving goals. Cortex, 123, 12–29.
If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Resetfor more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.
Listen to The Christian Min Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.
My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.
References
Schultz, W., Dayan, P., & Montague, P. R. (1997). A neural substrate of prediction and reward. Science, 275(5306), 1593–1599. Link
Matsumoto, M., & Hikosaka, O. (2007). Lateral habenula as a source of negative reward signals in dopamine neurons. Nature, 447(7148), 1111–1115. Link
Liu, R. T., Kleiman, E. M., Nestor, B. A., & Cheek, S. M. (2015). The hopelessness theory of depression: A quarter century in review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 22(4), 345–365. Link
Thomas Nelson. (2017). The NKJV Study Bible (2nd ed.). Thomas Nelson.
Touroutoglou, A., Andreano, J., Dickerson, B. C., & Barrett, L. F. (2020). The tenacious brain: How the anterior mid-cingulate contributes to achieving goals. Cortex, 123, 12–29. Link
Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.
If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.
Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, having thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), or contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately
