Dr. Lee Warren

✨ Imagine this: every night a thief sneaks into your house. They don’t steal, but they replace one part of your TV. Circuit board. Screen. Power cord. Night after night, until every piece has been swapped.

At that point, is it the same TV hanging on your wall? 🤔

🧠 Neuroscience says that's literally what happens inside of you. Every day millions of your cells die and are replaced. Your skin renews in weeks, your bones in years, even your brain’s proteins and receptors are constantly rebuilt. You are literally wired for renewal.

✝️ Faith agrees:
“Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Cor 4:16)

👉 The only reason you feel stuck is if you keep thinking the same thoughts with all those brand-new cells.

💊 Prescription: Direct your renewal. Start thinking new thoughts. Start building the “you” God designed you to become.

🔥 You’re not stuck. You’re being rebuilt every single day.

➡️ Read the full letter on my Substack (subscribe so you get them every week): bit.ly/4nOShmR

#selfbrainsurgery #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #neurosurgery #neurosurgeon #mindsetmatters #faithandneuroscience

1 week ago | [YT] | 10

Dr. Lee Warren

💔 The Hole In Your Chest Where Love Was

It’s been a tough week. From the murders of Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk, to 9/11 and more, many of us are hurting.

Loss doesn’t just hurt emotionally; it feels physical. Neuroscience shows the same brain regions light up in heartbreak as they do in a broken bone. That’s why grief feels like a literal hole in your chest.

But here’s the hope: just like wounds in your body, your brain and heart are designed to heal. Healing doesn’t erase the scar, it makes you stronger, wiser, and able to love again.

🧠 In my latest letter, I unpack:

Why heartbreak feels like physical pain

The four stages of wound healing (and how they apply to grief)

How faith and neuroscience together show us a path toward hope

✝️ “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)

➡️ Read the full letter on my Substack (subscribe so you get them every week): bit.ly/46988GV

Friend, if you feel that hole in your chest today, remember, it’s proof that you loved deeply. And you are designed to heal.

#selfbrainsurgery #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #neurosurgeon #grief #healingjourney #faithandscience

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 18

Dr. Lee Warren

✨ Imagine this: You’re walking peacefully on a sunny day when suddenly a massive security guard appears, holding back a snarling dog on a tight leash. 🐕‍🦺

That’s exactly what anxiety feels like. One second you’re fine, and the next, your peace is gone.

🧠 Neuroscience Nugget:
In your brain, the amygdala is the barking guard dog; fast, fierce, always ready to react. The hippocampus is the security guard, holding the leash, checking context, and deciding if the threat is real.

When your hippocampus is healthy, it calms the dog and keeps you safe. But under stress, the leash slips. The dog attacks every shadow, and anxiety takes over.

Here’s the good news: gratitude strengthens your hippocampus. Brain scans show gratitude lights it back up, bringing peace and resilience.

✝️ Faith Fact:
Paul nailed it centuries before fMRI scans:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds” (Philippians 4:6–7).

Gratitude isn’t just spiritual advice, it’s brain science. 🙌

💊 Prescription:
Catch the bark. Speak one thing you’re grateful for, out loud. Repeat Philippians 4:8 and focus on what’s true, noble, pure, and lovely.

Peace grows where gratitude flows. 🌱

👉 Follow ‪@drleewarren‬ for weekly #selfbrainsurgery tools to renew your mind and rewire your brain and read this week's newsletter here: bit.ly/4p0lAnP.

#thedrleewarrenpodcast #selfbrainsurgery #neuroscience #neurosurgeon #faithandneuroscience #anxietysupport #gratitude

1 month ago | [YT] | 7

Dr. Lee Warren

The best language I've heard to explain why we need to use neuroscience as apologetics- people are inherently interested in the brain and how it works, and we need to teach how its design supports our minds and our spiritual lives. This is perfectly articulated by Dr. Curt Thompson.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Dr. Lee Warren

💔 Grief can lock your brain into a loop, replaying loss, pain, and what you can’t change. But neuroplasticity means that loop isn’t permanent.

🧠 Neuroscience Nugget:

Functional MRI scans show that in complicated grief, brain regions like the anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens stay hyperactive, replaying pain and blocking healing. But when you redirect your attention toward gratitude, prayer, and hopeful practices, your brain begins to rewire.

✝️ Faith Fact:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Your story isn’t over. One step at a time, you can retrain your mind, reshape your brain, and rediscover joy.

👉 Friend, if you’re hurting, you don’t have to see the whole path, just take the next faithful step. Healing starts today.

🧠✝️ Read the full letter here: drleewarren.substack.com/p/when-your-brain-is-stuc…

Subscribe to my weekly letter for more neuroscience+faith prescriptions for flourishing in your life!

#selfbrainsurgery #neuroplasticity #grief #healingjourney #faithandscience #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #neurosurgeon

1 month ago | [YT] | 14

Dr. Lee Warren

💔 Grief hurts more than just your heart, it can feel like it’s breaking your body too.

When we lost our son Mitch, it didn’t just crush my spirit. It showed up in my body: shingles, broken teeth, gray hair overnight. Trauma doesn’t stay “in your head,” it rewires your brain and floods your body with stress.

🧠 Neuroscience Nugget: Emotional pain lights up the same brain circuits as physical pain. The more you focus on how bad you feel, the deeper those patterns get wired in. But here’s the good news: attention is the key. Where you direct your thoughts, your brain will follow.

✝️ Faith Fact: Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Healing doesn’t start when you feel better. It starts when you think differently, when you remember that God is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), even when it feels like He’s far away.

➡️ You can’t change the loss, but you can change your focus. And over time, that choice can change everything.

If you’re carrying emotional pain that feels physical, you’re not broken, you’re becoming. Healing doesn’t erase the grief, it builds something beautiful around it.

🧠✝️ Read the full letter here: bit.ly/4mQ4cQT

#selfbrainsurgery #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #neurosurgery #neurosurgeon #mentalhealth #grief #healing #faith #neuroplasticity #hope

1 month ago | [YT] | 11

Dr. Lee Warren

🧠 Your brain is the interface, but your mind is YOU.

A reader asked me:

“If we’re not just our brains, why do concussions cause so many mental and emotional problems?”

Here’s the truth:
When your brain gets hurt, your chemistry changes. Neurotransmitters- the messengers that regulate mood, memory, and motivation- get out of balance. You might feel foggy, down, anxious, or disconnected.

That’s not your fault. And it’s not your identity.

💡 Your mind can still lead the way back to healing. Through intentional thoughts, healthy habits, and focused attention, you can help your brain rebuild its chemistry. This is directed neuroplasticity, and it’s real hope.

📖 “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

You’re more than your symptoms. You’re more than your diagnosis.
You are a resilient, neuroplastic, Spirit-empowered person.

✨ Start today:
1️⃣ Name the disruption
2️⃣ Refuse false identity
3️⃣ Redirect attention
4️⃣ Rebuild the chemistry
5️⃣ Practice spiritual truth

Your mind is still in charge. And with God’s help, you can come back stronger. 💪🏼

👉 Read this week's Self-Brain Surgery Letter here: drleewarren.substack.com/p/draft-physical-injury-m…

#selfbrainsurgery #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #neurosurgery #neurosurgeon #brainhealth #concussionrecovery #mindsetmatters #mentalhealth #faithandscience #neuroplasticity #healingjourney #christianneuroscience #braininjuryrecovery #hopeandhealing

1 month ago | [YT] | 7

Dr. Lee Warren

🧠 Every day, you’re making choices, whether you realize it or not.

💭 What you think about
👀 What you focus on
💬 How you talk to yourself
🙏 What you believe is possible

You’re not just choosing what to do, you’re choosing who you’re becoming.

🧠 The truth is, your brain follows your mind. And your mind is powerful. It can rewire your thoughts, reshape your reality, and rebuild your hope.

You don’t have to stay stuck. You don’t have to be the victim of your feelings or circumstances.

📖 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

That’s self-brain surgery.
And you can start today.

🛠️ Ready to change your mind and change your life?

Read the full post here: drleewarren.substack.com/p/choosing-how-and-who-yo…

And share it with someone who needs this message today. 💥

Follow me for more self-brain surgery tips!
#selfbrainsurgery #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #faith #neuroplasticity #mentalhealth #christianneuroscience #transformation #renewyourmind #brainhealth #mindsetmatters #choosehope #rewireyourbrain #neurosurgeon

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 14

Dr. Lee Warren

🧠 Your brain is always changing. The question is, who’s doing the surgery? If you’re not directing your thoughts on purpose, your brain is wiring itself by default based on fear, trauma, or the loudest voice in the room.

But here’s the good news: You can create the brain you want.

💡 You can literally rewire it with focused attention, intentional thoughts, and hope-fueled faith.

This is the heart of Self-Brain Surgery:

🧠 Harnessing neuroplasticity

🔍 Choosing what to focus on

⬆️ Believing in something better

🔪 Letting your mind be the scalpel that reshapes your brain

🛠️ You’re not stuck. You’re not broken. You’re not alone. But you do have work to do. And it starts with your next thought.

Let’s go to work. 🙏

#selfbrainsurgery #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #neurosurgery #neurosurgeon #brainhealth #neuroplasticity #faithandscience #hopeisnotpassive #renewyourmind #mindoverbrain #thoughtsbecomethings

2 months ago | [YT] | 9

Dr. Lee Warren

The Bible makes it clear (no pun intended) that what we see with our eyes and perceive with our brains isn’t always what it seems. Paul puts it plainly in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (KJV)

He’s telling us that the things we think we know aren’t clean-cut, left-brain facts. Everything we see, feel, and believe is filtered through past memories, emotions, assumptions, fears, and expectations. It’s not objective, it’s interpreted.

So what do we do if we want something real to hold onto?

Click here to read Reality Isn’t Just What You See, It’s What You Do: bit.ly/3IBC2dv

#selfbrainsurgery #thedrleewarrenpodcast #neuroscience #neurosurgery #neurosurgeon #brainhealth #mentalfitness #faithandscience #retrainyourbrain #renewyourmind #hope

2 months ago | [YT] | 12