Welcome back to the Inspired
Living with Autoimmunity podcast.
I'm your host, Julie Michelson.
And today we're joined by Dr.
Haley Nelson, neuroscientist, tenured
psychology professor, international
speaker, and founder of the Academy of
Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience,
where she is passionate about
making neuroscience approachable.
In today's conversation, we're
talking about neuroplasticity
and our ability to create change
in our lives and in our health.
Dr.
Haley shares about the importance of
mind health and how, with intention,
we can surpass the roadblocks to
creating new, healthier habits.
Dr.
Haley, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm really excited for
this conversation, Julie.
I am as well.
And I'm, I'm such a geek and I, I love,
I love brain health and neuroscience
and, and we were talking before I
hit record about, you know, just,
there's always new knowledge, right?
And we're always learning more
about this amazing human body.
That's what I always, when I, I always
instill that with my students to just
some people can get so intimidated by
neuroscience and the brain in general.
It's like you can get
lost in the universe.
And, you know, I call it this beautiful
chaos because it's complicated.
It is right.
But.
That inspires me and it excites me because
there are so many unknowns and so I'm
constantly learning and growing and I
love it when people ask me questions
that I don't know the answer to because
then it gets me back into researching
and finding the answer and really
understanding and comprehending it.
So I actually get.
excited and thrilled when I don't know
the answer to something because that
means that either nobody knows it and
that's something that we're going to
learn soon or it's something that I
can maybe start researching and try
to figure out the answer to as well.
So, or inspire future students
to be able to do that as well.
well, definitely you have that,
that lifelong learner personality.
absolutely.
As do you.
When people call me a geek
or a nerd, I say thank you.
Exactly.
I'm like, Oh, my people,
Yeah,
I love it.
So I, I would love for you to
share with listeners and me.
I'm anxious to hear, um, a little
bit about your, your story.
How did you get into neuroscience?
oh my gosh.
How long do we have on this podcast?
I'll try to keep it short and sweet.
It is kind of a long story, but
it started, I mean, I was always,
as you mentioned, just a curious
person and a lifelong learner.
So I knew after graduating from high
school, I was going to go on to college
and probably grad school, but I didn't
really know what I wanted to do.
I thought that I wanted
to be a medical doctor.
So, of course, when I went into
undergrad, I had my blinders on.
I was like, I'm bio pre med, bio pre med.
That's all I want to study.
I don't want to take any electives
that aren't going to get me
into medical school, right?
But unfortunately that first semester of
freshman year, I, I actually was assaulted
and I ended up getting post traumatic
stress disorder as a result of it.
And I mean, my whole life just, it, it.
everything changed and the way I was
thinking, the way I was feeling, the
way I was processing information, I was
still able to go to classes and to, you
know, keep up with my studies, but I
really wanted to understand more about
what was happening to me personally.
And so when it was time to pick an
elective, I picked intro psychology
because I just wanted to learn
more about the brain and how we
are and why we do what we do.
And really more from a, you know, just
selfish personal perspective, I wanted
to know what the heck was going on with
me, so I took it and literally after that
first lecture, I was the rest is history.
I was kind of like, Oh, my gosh, I need
to learn everything that I can about this.
So changed my major started focusing more
on psychology and the biological basis
of behavior so I could mix a lot of that.
Really more quote unquote, hardcore
science with more of this touchy feely,
you know, kind of social science, um, and
what but when I graduated from college,
I wasn't really sure exactly what field
of psychology I wanted to go into.
And because I went to a small liberal arts
college, I know I needed more research.
So I ended up doing research with
the National Institutes of Health.
So down at the National Institutes
of Mental Health and National
Institute on Drug Abuse.
Um, for two years I was a research
fellow there, and that was really
eye-opening to me to be able to satisfy
that curiosity that I always had, but
be able to find those answers in a lab.
So I knew I wanted to continue studying,
you know, experimental fields of
psychology and biology, and when I
applied for graduate school, I got into
the Johns Hopkins University to earn my
PhD in psychological and brain sciences.
So that was really at that
point when I said, okay, I'm
going to be a neuroscientist.
So did I always know I wanted
to be a neuroscientist?
No, but because I was.
I think my curiosity honestly saved me.
I easily could have gone down that
path of, you know, letting the trauma
consume me and destroy my life, which
unfortunately it does for so many,
but I use that curiosity to actually
empower me to learn more about the brain.
And then now as an educator with,
you know, at universities, as well
as my college and with my academy, I.
And helping to empower other people
with that knowledge to really understand
what's going on inside their brain, as
well as their clients or their loved
ones, family, friends, things like that.
Uh, which I love and is why I'm so
grateful that you're here because,
you know, working, especially, I
think all of us, whether you have
autoimmunity or, you know, big T
trauma or not, like, we all have.
Have trauma.
Um, and, and that was one of the reasons
I really was like, Oh, you know, come
talk to my audience because I there.
It's that staying stuck like we
don't have to stay stuck and and
especially in my line of work.
You know, there's such a connection to
To, you know, trauma that and sometimes
people aren't even aware of, you know,
it's stuff that they haven't dealt with.
Um, and, and I think that's why
I fell in love with your message
because so many people still don't
know that we can create change.
Absolutely.
And yeah, and I think a lot of people
get stuck on the word trauma as well.
They think that when they hear the
word trauma, I think they think
you have to have been assaulted or
be a war veteran or have survived
a fire or some catastrophic event.
Which absolutely can lead to
trauma, but you can also have
chronic stressors in your life.
Like, hello, a pandemic
that's happening, right?
All the social unrest that's happening.
I mean, you can't turn on the TV
without getting those negative emotions.
over time, all of those stressors,
if you're not processing them
correctly, it can make the same brain
changes that you would experience
if you had experienced one of those
catastrophic events, life events.
So I think that, you know, it almost
does a disservice when people, I
mean, I don't want to lessen the
experience of people who have undergone.
severe adversity like that.
But at the same point, neurologically,
what can happen looks very
similar, which means that the
healing process is also similar.
Um, you know, but everybody's different.
Some people are more
resilient than others.
Some people are, you know,
Are more motivated for change.
And, you know, also based on genetics and
everything else, we're all individuals.
And so how one person heals their
healing journey can be vastly
different from somebody else.
It's not cookie cutter.
And I think people want to be able to
just take that pill or go do counseling
or just do this or, you know, and
Give me the instructions.
Exactly.
And it's not a paint by
number type situation.
Um, so I think people need to understand
that so they're not scared or push
away from their healing journey
if it takes them a little longer.
Just know that any progress is
progress and our brains can change.
They can rewire themselves and
you can get out of that situation
and take tragedy to triumph.
I love that.
Tragedy to triumph.
I know it's so true.
So let's talk about neuroplasticity,
you know, because I am old enough that
I remember being told, you know, the
brain, you know, only dies and shrinks.
And so, and that, you know,
it's, uh, We, we really didn't
know a lot back when I was
And I always remember being taught
to that you're born with a certain
number of neurons, and then they
just go away as you get older.
And it's like, wait a second,
we've discovered neurogenesis, the
creation of new neurons, and we know
in different species as well as in
humans, and that's relatively new.
But this term neuroplasticity, I
think a lot of people They hear it,
but they don't really understand it.
One thing about us neuroscientists is we
try to scare people with big, long, scary
words, but really we're not creative when
we come up and coin some of these terms.
So let's break down the
word neuroplasticity.
So neuro, neurons, they're the cells
that make up our nervous system,
make up our brain and spinal cord, as
well as the, all the cells throughout
the body that Converge with organs
and, you know, glands, all of that.
Um, so we have the neurons as part
of the neuro, and then plasticity
literally means plastic, right?
So it's plastic, it's moldable.
And one of the beautiful things that
we have known for a long time is the
capacity of children to be able to learn
and grow through their environment.
From the moment they're born,
they're starting to learn
things, even before they're born.
In utero, they're creating these networks
and these connections, these meaningful
connections within their nervous system to
automate processes so that you don't have
to every single time you approach that red
thing with dots on it on the ground, you
don't have to relearn every single time.
Oh, that's a strawberry that tastes yummy.
I can eat it.
You try it once and now
you can generalize out.
That's why little kids are constantly
putting things in their mouth, right?
They're learning, they're
growing, they're experiencing
things through their environment.
And we've known for a very long
time that that's how children learn.
And they're actually creating
these connections, these synapses,
which is this, the connections
between neurons, that space between
them, where they actually connect
and release neurotransmitters.
That the more you engage those
connections, the stronger
those connections become.
And then so by the time you're an
adult, a lot of those connections
are pretty formalized, right?
So things that you've learned,
things that you've been able to
do to cope and to manage adversity
and stressors in your life.
that you learned as a child are
pretty much really ingrained
by the time you're an adult.
And then all of a sudden you say,
well, wait, I want to change.
I want to start working out more.
I want to start journaling more.
I want to change the way that I think.
I don't want to have
these addictions anymore.
I don't want to have whatever
it is, these thoughts that I'm
having, and I want to change them.
So you have that.
goal and that purpose, but then you start
hitting roadblocks and those roadblocks,
it becomes an uphill battle because you're
working against millions of years of
evolution that have automated your nervous
system to protect you and to save you.
And so to make things faster, to
process the information faster.
So now all of a sudden you're
saying, wait a second, I want
this stream to flow uphill.
Instead of to continue to go
down the mountain and take
the path of least resistance.
I want to change.
So now you will hit that resistance
because you're no longer going
along the path of least resistance.
You're going along the
path of most resistance.
So it makes sense that you
will hit those roadblocks.
But if you continue to repeat those
behaviors and those thoughts and
those patterns, they become habits.
And the more and more you do them,
then those synapses become stronger
and you can have new connections that
are constantly happening all the time.
Every time you learn something new,
every time you try to do something
new, you're changing the shape and the
function of your brain that in turn can
change the function of your mind and
your emotions as well and your behaviors.
Which is so incredible and so powerful.
Um, and I want to highlight
that last piece because.
I think it's so often overlooked
that you said one of the things you
can change is your emotions, right?
Like we think like people tend
to really think like the emotion
is the thing that comes first.
And if you think of that incredible
power to, you know, change emotions,
change behaviors, change thought
patterns, change, change the things.
Um, I mean, wow.
Yeah.
And in a lot of these things, you don't
have to spend a penny to do right.
It's what are you, we're always
focused on what we're feeding our
body, but I always challenge people.
What are you feeding your mind?
Not just what are you
feeding your brain, right?
Not just talking about the supplements
and all of those wonderful things that can
lead to brain health, but another thing
that leads to brain health is mind health.
What are you feeding your mind?
What are you consuming on a daily basis?
What are you watching?
What are you
Well, you already
are you speaking with?
I'm sorry, say that again?
And you mentioned already like news.
I was like, I don't,
don't even don't watch.
I don't even turn it on most of the
time because it just brings my whole
energy level down and that's not the
person I want to present to the world.
I want to be this inspiration for people.
So if I'm not consuming inspirational
messages and meanings, then What
am I trying to put out there?
I'm being fake, right?
So I want to, I think it's very important
about not only what we're watching
that's external, but internally, what
are we feeding ourselves as well?
What are the thoughts that we're
allowing ourselves to think?
And it's never too early
to start this practice.
I have a 10 year old and a six year old.
And every night before bed, when we're
brushing our teeth, I always say I
may have them look in the mirror and
I have them repeat after me, you know,
these affirmations and at first they
thought I was being really silly, right?
And I'm just like, Oh, mommy, come on.
And then so I had to make it fun for him.
I said, well, let's
pretend to be superheroes.
I'm going to be Captain Marvel,
of course, like strong, powerful
woman, you know, hear me roar.
And then I was like,
who do you want to be?
They love the Marvel characters.
So I had a Captain America and
then I had a Spider Man, right?
So I said, okay, so let's
be these characters.
What would they say to themselves,
how, before a fight or before they're,
you know, taking on the world?
And they say, well, I'm strong.
People like me.
You know, people listen to
me, all of these things.
I said, okay, so let's
start saying these things.
Pretend you're Captain America.
You're strong, you're smart, you're
powerful, all of those things.
And then eventually we didn't, I didn't
have to say pretend to be Captain America.
They started saying these
things out of habit.
And then I still remember that it
was so touching and I still get like.
tingles up my spine
when I think about this.
The first day of my oldest son, who's
now in fourth grade, but when he was
going into second grade, the very first
day of school, you know, I'm doing
what every other parent in America
is doing and taking the silly photos
that nobody cares about to post on
social media out front of the door
before school, the first day of school.
And I said, okay, smile, pose for me.
And he goes, mommy, I want to
do my captain America pose.
And he goes, I'm Charlie, I am loved.
And I'm just like, of all of the
affirmations to say, and if every single
child in America or around the world could
go to school and know that they're loved.
I mean, how incredible is that?
And it just, it's free.
It's just your feed, what you're feeding
your mind is that that's going to set
the precedent for the rest of the day.
And he came home from school that
day, happy and feeling loved.
And you know, it's just, it's, it's,
it's really easy to do those things,
but you do have to be mindful.
You have to force yourself to do it.
You will feel silly at first
when you're just talking to
yourself in the mirror, right?
But it really can start
making those changes.
And he was literally changing.
The synopsis, those connections in his
brain and changing the chemistry of
his brain to set him up for success.
So if a second grader can do it.
Why can't we
Right.
Yeah.
Well, and I, I just think of how blessed
your, your children are because so much
of, of what I do with my clients who are,
you know, in their thirties, forties,
fifties, sixties, even I have some in
their seventies as well is undoing, you
know, it's unraveling decades of patterns
of negative thoughts, negative, you
know, the mean voice, all the things.
And so.
Uh, your kids aren't going
to have to do that work.
Well, I hope not.
I'm sure that I'm sure I'm going
to be spending lots of money on
therapy for them at some point,
but I am not adverse to that.
I
no,
is a wonderful
why not?
against it.
Right?
So.
Um, I'm, I'm trying, I'm doing my
best, but we all have faults and
we all have those moments where you
want to pull your hair out, right?
We're all human, um, but just giving
them the tools, and that's something
that I really try to teach, not only
my kids, but anybody, really, is when
you face those stressors in your life,
because we can't avoid stressors,
no.
but we can Change and we can learn
to change how we respond to them.
And if you practice these techniques
when you're not under stress and when
you're not in that activated state, then,
and you build those habits and those
neural connections, then the automatic
responses are going to be those healthier
choices and those healthier options.
So, um, you know, I think it's, I
think it's important to practice them.
When it's hard and to practice them
also when there's nothing really going
on and there's nothing triggering
you so that when you are in that
the heat of the moment, that's a
tool right there ready for you, you
what I
your breathing, you can practice your
meditation, whatever it is that that helps
you kind of calm your nervous system.
that I love that you said that.
That's what I tell my clients with the,
the breathe that, you know, like first you
have to intentionally, you've got to get
the tool into the toolbox or, you know,
people try to tell me in the beginning
and I'll do it when I'm stressed.
And I'm like, well, no, cause you don't
have the, you don't have the tool yet.
Yeah.
And and I think I what I the angle
that I come at it from is I don't
know, I'm a geek, so I love to
understand the science behind it.
So, understanding actually how the
brain works, and how those connections
work, and say, it's not just me telling
you to do these things, because I
read a book somewhere, I'm telling
you to do these things because...
By doing them now, you're
actually rewiring your brain.
You're changing the neurochemistry,
you're changing these connections.
And so it's not just this
metaphor of a tool in a toolbox.
You're literally changing
the structure of your brain.
Just like if you, you know, have a broken
leg, you're going to put a cast on it.
You're going to heal it, right?
So if you want, I would never say
anybody's brain is broken, but if
there's a connection that you want to
change and you want to heal it and fix
it, then you have to stop using it.
And you have to create a new
pathway for it to be able to get
that end result that you want.
So you have to work on it.
It's not, it doesn't take over, you
know, it's not going to happen overnight.
You have to put in the
effort, but it will work.
And there's.
neuroimaging studies to
show that it does work.
So it's not just behavioral studies.
It's also, you know, through neuroscience
which is so it's so beautiful that we
get to get to do the imaging now and
really see the changes in the brain.
Um, you mentioned breathing and meditation
and another one that I love that.
I tell people specifically to to help.
I think pretty quickly for.
The human body anyway, create those
new neural pathways is gratitude
journaling, you know, there's the,
and with, and I'm always like with
a writing utensil, not on your
I know a lot of times people,
they just want to type it
yeah,
it, you know, and that's
better than nothing, right?
It's
right.
But if you can have, there's nothing
that can replace pen to paper, that
physical act of doing it and then
physically holding it in your hand.
And It's very, very powerful.
And another thing that you might
want to challenge people is to
write with their non dominant hand.
So once they've mastered the act
of writing their gratitudes, right?
If you get them to actually write
it, then say, okay, now put the
pen in your left hand and write it.
Because what you're doing is
now you're creating a novelty
and our brains love new things.
It, they care more about a change
in our environment than, than.
The same old regular things.
And if you think about it from
evolutionary perspective, it doesn't
matter if you know, the weather
is beautiful and sunshiny and
it's consistent every single day.
What matters is when it starts raining,
you need to seek shelter or if there's
thunder or if it's really hot and you
need to take off some clothes that so our
nervous system doesn't really care about
the same old same old it's I shouldn't say
it doesn't care about it, but it pays more
attention to a change in your environment.
And that actually can
speed up neuroplasticity.
So it's going to help really strengthen
those connections, especially when
the intention behind it is gratitude.
So you're forcing them to do something
new and novel from it, even though
what they're doing is the exact same
thing, but they're doing it in a new
way so that they can, you know, really
help strengthen those connections.
And another thing that I think is
really overlooked is aerobic exercise,
Ah,
and of course, if it's medically
appropriate, right, and so this isn't
even just for your cardiovascular health
and the health of your body, but just
looking at your brain, there's certain
chemicals that are released when you
engage in these aerobic activities.
One in particular is known as BDNF.
It stands for brain
derived neurotropic factor.
I gotta put my door cat on
every once in a while, right?
So, so
and yeah, all the biohackers listening are
like, yeah, yeah, yeah, we know, we know.
my language.
But BDNF is released and what can, so
what BDNF does, it's a neurotropic factor
that actually protects brain cells.
And it helps with neuroplasticity.
So even if the habit or the change
that you're trying to make in your life
has nothing to do with your physical
health or physical well being, if you
can get out and exercise, I mean, at
least three times a week, 30 minutes,
I mean, the more the better, right?
Um, but anything, even just parking
a little further away at work so that
you're getting, even if it's just
five minutes here and there, that's
better than nothing, but you're
actually going to be strengthening
that neuroplasticity process.
It's very simple for kids
to have neuroplasticity.
There are cases where people have
actually removed half of their
brain and they're able to function.
almost perfectly fine
as if nothing happened.
Whereas with adults, there's
that old saying, you can't
teach old dogs new tricks.
And that's not necessarily true.
You can, it just takes
a little longer, right?
So if any of these tools can help
speed up that process, then, and if
it's medically appropriate for you,
then definitely try to incorporate
more exercise into your life.
And not only is it going to
help your brain health, but
obviously it'll help your physical
health and wellbeing as well.
absolutely.
Absolutely.
And, and yeah, and I love
the, the qualifier, right?
Is, is when it's medically appropriate,
as it's medically appropriate.
Um, and, and typically, yeah, absolutely.
When we're careful and intentional,
then we can end up eventually
doing more than we think.
So,
Exactly.
yeah,
And then, you know, if you can
practice your gratitude and mindfulness
while you're going for that walk.
I mean, kill two birds with one stone.
Yeah, exactly.
Habit stacking is great
I love
it doesn't take any more time.
You don't have to do five
things back to back to back.
You can get them all done in that one
30 minute, uh, you know, walk around
your neighborhood, get out in nature.
It's another wonderful
thing for brain plasticity.
you know, the barefoot in
the grass while you're like,
Yeah.
like, how many things I always
love anything you can do in nature.
You're already stacking like,
then any other good thing.
yeah, going for a hike.
I mean, how many, whether you're with
family or friends, like, how many
more things can you stack onto that?
Yeah, it's wonderful.
exactly.
Uh, I love the, I never thought about
the, the using your non dominant hand.
Um, when you first started to talk about
it, I was kind of cringing on the inside.
I broke my right shoulder about
six years ago and I had recently
come across my client notes.
I'm right hand dominant from when I
could not use my right hand at all.
And I'm laughing because
I couldn't even read.
I it's my, it's me and I
can't read what I wrote.
Um, so, but I am very well aware
that learning, you know, learning
something new helps keep your brain
young and, and, um, keep us healthy.
And so I'm like, Oh, challenge accepted.
I am going
Try it and then report back.
Give yourself, you know, a month
or something of trying and who
cares if you can't read it.
It's the act of the gratitude that is
what's important and then you're doing
something new, your brain, it doesn't
matter if you can read it or not, you
never need to go back to your gratitude
journal and read those notes ever again.
Right now, client notes, yes, you
want to make sure that you can read.
that information.
So use your right hand for that.
But, um, yeah, when it's something
that's personal and it's really not
to be shared with other people, and I
mean it can be if you want it to be,
but just try, try switching it up.
Brush your teeth with your left hand.
I keep talking about brushing
teeth, but you know what?
Drink water with your left hand.
Do you see?
Try kicking the ball with your
kids out in the yard with your non
dominant foot and just try it and
see if you notice a change, um, in
other aspects of your life other than
just that task that you're doing.
I love that.
It's so fun.
And if
easy and it's
of those other again, and you don't start
to start, if you're not already doing
a gratitude journal, start just by, you
Yes.
Yes.
starting
so important.
And I think just having like a routine,
a nighttime routine can really, you're
training your brain that it's time to
rest, it's time to rejuvenate, and you
know, as long as your routine isn't like
mine, no, I'm pretty good, but sometimes
I do, you know, I want to veg out in
front of the TV sometimes too, and then I
wake up at like 3 o'clock in the morning
with my glasses still on and I'm like,
oh no, what did I just do to myself?
Everyone has their vice every once in
a while, but if you can create that
bedtime routine because sleep is so,
so important for just everything, but
also our mood and our mindset and our
brain health as well, we need that
sleep, not only the restorative sleep.
With the deep sleep, but also that active
sleep with the REM and consolidating our
dreams and are sorry, consolidating our
memories and having those dreams, it's a
very sometimes called paradoxical sleep
because your brain is just as active
during those moments of sleep as it is
when you're fully conscious and awake.
So, um, it's it both aspects
of sleep are so important.
And if you're not, if you don't have
good sleep hygiene, it can wreak
havoc on So many aspects of your life.
Um, so that's definitely something
that I think having a good nighttime
routine, gratitude is wonderful to
end the day, but it's also great to
start the day with gratitude as well.
Um, and you know, have that tea or,
you know, listen to some nice calming
music, whatever it is, but try to get
that routine so you can train your body
into saying, okay, it's time for bed.
Even though I just got in that
fight with my kids, or even though
I have this really difficult.
Challenging task at work with a deadline
approaching, you have to be able to
shut that off so that you can give
yourself all of the resources that
you have within you with your body
and your mind and your brain to be
able to tackle those challenges with
as much power and energy as you can.
And so you have to get sleep far too often
people, that's the first thing that they
cut out and it should be the last thing
and people like, I see two different,
you know, people, it's almost like
I'm so busy, you know, the like they
wear a badge of I'm the busiest or,
you know, I don't have time for sleep.
Um, and I've met so many people
who think they are trans.
Transcribed The super sleeper who
really only needs a few hours.
And while we know that's a
thing, it's extremely rare.
And if you're listening,
it's probably not you.
But I love that you talk about the, I
talk about nighttime routines all the
time, because anybody who has children,
like we know like kids thrive on routine.
Well, guess what?
So do adults.
You know, really, even though we like
the, yes, the brain likes the unusual and
the changes, but you know, those signals.
Um, and, and so I love,
your circadian clock.
You don't want to have it shift.
And especially if it's not consistent,
I mean, there are plenty of people
who are night shift workers, right?
We need them in our world.
We need those overnight nurses and the
delivery people and you know, all of those
amazing jobs that have to be overnight.
Right.
But.
It's very challenging for them, uh, to, to
have that night work because all of these
cues, these environmental cues are telling
their body it's time to go to sleep.
But then for them, they're
saying no it's time to be active
and awake and functional so.
If you can think about how challenging
that would be, you know, that's
almost an extreme, but you're really
doing that every single time that
you're watching TV right before bed.
You're telling your brain with
all this blue light stimulation
coming in or you're on your phone,
Wake
you're telling them it's time to wake up
when in actuality you want to tell them
it's time to settle down and go to sleep.
It's time to rejuvenate.
So
Ah, amazing.
Trust me.
I get it.
I get, I get
Well, people, I, I always am
saying, you know, like I, I, I
wasn't born a health coach, right?
Like I, I didn't used to eat the rainbow
and, you know, like I ate garbage.
I had bad habits.
I, you know, Oh my gosh, I don't
think I've ever said this on the
podcast when I was younger, I smoked.
Ooh.
you know, I mean,
Yeah.
but, and even now, like you said,
No.
Yeah.
Still human and, and I do have to
remind myself of like, Oh, what
would you tell a client right now?
Or, you
get it.
I mean, I think it's important
to know that you're real.
Right?
I mean, sometimes I look at some of
these influencers and they're just, they
seem to have everything together, but in
actuality, they probably are some of the
most loneliest, you know, sad people.
And it's just like, wait a second,
I want to see some of that.
Right?
And there's some people who are open and
can share their mistakes and their flaws.
And they're the people that I
personally resonate more with
because I want to learn from people
who are more like me and I mess up.
All the time.
So I want to be around people who
mess up, can own it, and say, okay,
that was a learning experience.
Let's grow.
And what can we do next time differently?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I was, I was just at a conference a couple
of weeks ago and one of the speakers was
talking about, um, he was referencing, um,
uh, uh, like the 1st female billionaire.
And every morning when she was a
little girl, her dad would say, you
know, make lots of mistakes today.
And so her whole life, she was
trained to see the opportunity
and the learning and the growth.
And of course she was the first female
billionaire, because that was, you know,
so yeah, we're just real, like we're all.
We're all figuring it out as we go.
Um, and I love, um, and we won't
go down the rabbit hole because
I want to honor your time.
But, but we had mentioned before
this, you know, there's the woo
and then there's the science.
And really for me, like neuroscience
is where they meet, like, like the, you
know, the, I remember the first time,
you know, creating your reality and your
thoughts, you know, your cells, hear your
thoughts and, and all of those things.
And I, you know, that was like,
I thought that was, I live
outside of Boulder, Colorado.
Like, I thought that was woo and,
you know, and I'm like, oh my
gosh, this is actually old science.
Like this isn't even, you know,
We just speak different languages, right?
So neuroscientists were trained more
with, we have to use these fancy terms
and, but really at the end of the day,
we're saying the exact same thing.
I would never say a neuron
hears something because, right?
I mean, when I think of hearing, I think
of audition and your ears and, right?
So I, my training would say, okay,
this is how you would explain that.
But then if I'm trying to be that bridge,
if I'm trying to be that connector
between these two worlds and say, Hey,
what you're actually teaching your
clients and what you're actually doing
and promoting is rooted in science.
We just speak different languages.
So let me be that translator for
you to now you can have more buy
in from your clients and say, Hey,
oh, this is actually scientifically
shown what you're telling me to do.
It's not just woo woo.
It's not just some.
random person sitting on a rock
somewhere dreamed of this idea and
we're just all supposed to follow suit.
No, it's actually rooted in science.
It's empirically tested and, and
there's evidence to back it up and
use whatever language you want.
And it doesn't matter to me.
But just know that there
are different languages.
And so sometimes we say the same thing.
And we're not against each other.
I think a lot of times people think
that, well, you say this, but I say
this and I'm, and I'm sitting there
like you're saying the exact same thing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's just applied and utilized
differently as well sometimes.
So I think it's important to.
To have that connection and bridge that
gap because not everything can be solved
with woo woo and not everything can be
solved with a more, you know, Western
philosophy and, you know, modern science
and modern technologies and things.
And so being able to have those hard
conversations with people who have
been trained differently than you,
um, I think is, it's enlightening
for both sides and being able to
create that connection and that
communication is, it's very important.
To heal anybody in a holistic way.
I agree because we are whole humans.
Um, that's the perfect segue.
Can you share a little bit
about your certification program
Sure, absolutely.
Thanks for asking.
Um, so I do offer a certification program.
It's geared towards wellness
professionals and coaches and
helping professionals, right?
I'm using that term vaguely.
My marketing team would hate me
for doing that only because really
anybody can benefit from this.
So What I do is I break down the brain
and how it works in a series of modules
that start very fundamental brain basics.
And then we work all the way through
different trauma, addiction, learning,
memory, habits, sex, gender, and
sexuality, even go into psychological
disorders and treatment options.
And they all build upon each other
so that when you are done and you've
completed the certification, you
have this breadth of knowledge.
That also has a lot of details
within there that you can use on a
day to day basis and especially for
practitioners and coaches who are
working with clients who might have
those roadblocks who are saying, I
know I should do this, but I don't or
I can't or they stop seeing you right.
This gives them that added buy in
saying, okay, let's look at the
science behind these tools that I'm
giving you, how they actually work.
And it empowers the, the coaches also
to be able to find their own research
and to understand how to read the
scientific literature and feel empowered
to be able to, to do that as well.
So I am super passionate and proud of it.
Um, it is a certification program.
Um, so you will become certified
in cognitive and behavioral
neuroscience upon completion of
it, that you can proudly stamp that
all over your resume and marketing.
And, um, I'm, I'm very proud of it.
And, uh, we have a great
cohort of students.
Yeah.
And it's self paced as
well, because I know that.
A lot of your busy working professionals.
And so if you have to study at
11 o'clock at night, then that's
when you have to study, right?
Um,
I would have to study
early in the morning.
11 o'clock at night.
do that, right?
If they're working nine to
five, or they have kids, they
got to get out the door, right?
So I wanted it to be flexible
for anybody's schedule.
So there is a self paced option, but for
people who want more handholding, There
is also an individualized, uh, program
as well where I will teach the lessons
to you personally live so that you can
ask all those questions that you want.
So, um, yeah, if you want to
learn more about it, um, you
can go to academyofneuro.
com and check out the Academy of
Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience.
And then for people who don't
necessarily want the certification,
I also have individual consultations.
I do speaking engagements,
one on one or group sessions.
So there's definitely ways to
reach out to me and connect.
And I would love to be, to help
empower you with that knowledge so
that you can help yourself, help
your clients and help the community.
Which is, is amazing.
And you do, you do such an incredible
job of a, I just, I've always, I was
drawn to your positivity, you know, and
using all of this knowledge you have
in a way to really help empower people.
Um, and so, yeah, you're, you're
taking it out of the Johns Hopkins
classroom and lab and, and really,
um, making, making a difference.
And so I'm just so grateful
that you were able to take
the time to, to be here today.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much.
And it's always one of those things when I
hear people say, Oh, but I can't do that.
I'm not smart enough.
Or, you know, neuroscience or just
science in general is intimidating.
I could barely pass high school biology.
I can't learn from you.
You went to Johns Hopkins
and it's, that's really.
What I wanted to put out there is an
approachable accessible way to learn
this knowledge so that you can be
empowered and you can stand out with this
knowledge to understand what is going
on, how it works in your brain and why
it happens so I'm very passionate about
making it accessible and approachable
for People of all walks of life.
So, um, thank you so much for having
me on being able to, to talk about it
and to share some of my knowledge and
keep spreading that positivity around.
I love seeing people with big
smiles like yours and mine and,
um, you know, just everybody you
meet, have a good smile on for
you go.
There you go.
So before I can let you leave, I
have to ask because my listeners
are trained to listen for it.
What is 1 step that listeners
can take starting today?
two.
Improve
health, life, whatever.
Usually I say
think it's the mindset.
I think it's just not to get out of
your own way that there is hope that
you can change even though it's hard.
Nobody's going to say it's easy,
but you absolutely can do it.
And there are tools and techniques to help
you to make it easier to once you learn
more about motivation, what's actually
going on in the brain, how you can get
people to overcome some of those things.
boundaries and roadblocks, it
absolutely can be so powerful.
So just know that there is
hope you can change your brain.
You can change your health and you
can change your mindset as well.
So I think that it's a nice big circle.
They all help feed each other.
And, um, yeah, so I think that
would be the changes to, to get
out of your own way and know that
there is hope and possibility.
I love it.
Oh, thank you so, so
much for people that are
Thank you.
If people are listening on the run,
which is usually how I listen, where's
the best place for them to find you?
So the easiest and best
place would be on my website.
So academyofneuro.
com I have a little chat bot down
at the bottom that you can reach
out and I will receive it and I
will reach out to you personally.
I'm also on social media.
My tag is at be well with Dr.
Haley and that's Hayley with two Y's.
So I'm on Instagram,
Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok.
X slash Twitter, whatever
All the
it.
And yeah, and clubhouse.
So people who like to hear me
speak live, you can jump on.
I'm occasionally in clubhouse.
You can find me over there and I
talk about lots of different things
and that's a really fun app as well.
Um, but yeah, just search for me.
Um, so that's at be well with Dr.
Haley on social, and then my
website is academyofneuro.
com.
Amazing.
Dr.
Haley, thank you so, so much
You're very welcome.
Thank you.
for everyone listening.
Remember you can get the transcripts and
show notes by visiting inspiredliving.
show.
We'll have all those links
in there for you as well.
I hope you enjoyed this
episode as much as I did.
I'll see you next week.