The Observer Effect Problem: Why Focusing on Your Problems Makes Them Worse [With Neurosurgeon Dr. Lee Warren]

What if the very thing mental health culture tells you to do—focus on your trauma, honor your feelings, explore your pain—is actually reinforcing the patterns that are keeping you stuck? In this episode, Dr. Lee Warren and I tackle one of the most controversial (and most important) truths about how the brain works: where you put your attention literally shapes your reality. What you focus on expands. And if you're spending years focusing on your trauma, your pain, your "broken" parts, you're training your brain to keep running those patterns. We talk about the observer effect from quantum physics, how the ACC (the social-emotional brain) operates at the subconscious level, and why your beliefs have to align with what Scripture says about you—not just intellectually, but at the deepest level where your brain is automating your identity. This isn't about toxic positivity or pretending the pain isn't real. It's about understanding that constantly rehearsing "I AM anxious, I AM broken, I AM not enough" is literally giving your brain permission to keep being that. And there's a better way. If you've ever felt like you've been "working on yourself" for years but you're still stuck in the same patterns, this episode will show you why—and what needs to shift. GUEST: Dr. Lee Warren // wleewarrenmd.com // @drleewarrenListen to Dr. Warren's Podcast here.Order Dr. Warren's New Book, The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery. HOST: Leanne Ellington // StresslessEating.com // @LeanneEllington // @theteenagerbrain To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.