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The Christian Mind Reset

The Christian Mind Reset

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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.

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Episodes
  • Episode 23: The Neuroscience of Trust: Why Betrayal Hurts and How God Restores

    Episode 23: The Neuroscience of Trust: Why Betrayal Hurts and How God Restores
    Jul 16 2026
    Episode 23, Season 1Show NotesHave 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 ScripturesPsalm 9:10Psalm 77Proverbs 3:5–6Lamentations 3:22–23Hebrews 10:23Malachi 3:6Hebrews 13:8John 2:24Psalm 147:3Connect with Dr. April Joy:Connect with Dr. April Joy:Substack: The Christian Mind ResetIf 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 Reset for 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.ReferencesAinsworth, 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.1995.1027Bowlby, 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_18Clark, 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/S0140525X12000477Eisenberger, 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.0b013e3182464dd1Eisenberger, 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.1089134Freyd, 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/nrn2787Froemke, R. C., & Young, L. J. (2021). Oxytocin, neural plasticity, and social behavior. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 44, 359–381. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-102320-102847Hancock, 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.2023.1081086Kandel, 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/nature03701Lancaster, M. E., & Anbar, R. D. (2024, March 30). How oxytocin affects our relationships. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-hypnosis/202402/how-oxytocin-affects-our-relationshipsMcGaugh, J. L. (2004). The amygdala modulates the consolidation of memories of emotionally arousing experiences. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 27, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.27.070203.144157Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health ...
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    38 mins
  • Praise Is Spiritual Warfare: What David Knew About Worship, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind

    Praise Is Spiritual Warfare: What David Knew About Worship, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind
    Jul 11 2026
    Episode 22, Season 1Show NotesCan 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* Why God commands us to sing* The neuroscience of praise and worship* Prayer and focused attention* Singing, stress, mood, and the immune system* Why lifting our hands matters* Embodied cognition and worship* David’s pattern of remembering God’s faithfulness* The neuroscience of attention and attentional bias* The Reticular Activating System (RAS) and the brain’s attentional filtering system* The amygdala, hippocampus, and emotional memory* Neuroplasticity and renewing the mind* Jehoshaphat and praising before the battle* Paul and Silas worshiping in prison* Ebenezer: Remembering God’s faithfulness* Practical ways to worship while you’re still waitingScriptures ReferencedPsalm 27Psalm 34Psalm 63Psalm 77Psalm 103Psalm 134Isaiah 26:3Colossians 3:2Romans 12:2Hebrews 13:81 Samuel 7:122 Chronicles 20Acts 16Neuroscience & Psychology ConceptsAttentional bias • Reticular Activating System (RAS) • Attention networks • Emotional regulation • Neuroplasticity • Amygdala • Hippocampus • Emotional memory • Focused attention • Prayer and the brain • Singing and worship • Embodied cognition • Gratitude • Secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) • Cortisol • Christian psychology • Faith and neuroscienceConnect with Dr. April Joy:Connect with Dr. April Joy:Substack: The Christian Mind ResetIf 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 Reset for 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.ReferencesBar-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/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.1Barsalou, L. W. (2008). Grounded cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 617–645. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093639Beck, 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/10.1038/427311aFancourt, 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.2016.631Fredrickson, 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.56.3.218Kreutz, G., Bongard, S., Rohrmann, S., Hodapp, V., & Grebe, D. (2004). Effects of choir singing ...
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    44 mins
  • Why Disappointment Hurts: What the Bible and Neuroscience Reveal

    Why Disappointment Hurts: What the Bible and Neuroscience Reveal
    Jul 5 2026
    Episode 21, Season 1Show NotesWhy 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 disappointmentKey ScripturesPsalm 22Psalm 34Psalm 30:5Psalm 62:5Romans 5:3–5Romans 8:28Romans 12:2Lamentations 3:22–23Philippians 1:6Matthew 27:46Mentioned ResearchLiu, 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.Connect with Dr. April Joy:Connect with Dr. April Joy:Substack: The Christian Mind ResetIf 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 Reset for 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.ReferencesSchultz, W., Dayan, P., & Montague, P. R. (1997). A neural substrate of prediction and reward. Science, 275(5306), 1593–1599. LinkMatsumoto, M., & Hikosaka, O. (2007). Lateral habenula as a source of negative reward signals in dopamine neurons. Nature, 447(7148), 1111–1115. LinkLiu, 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. LinkThomas 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. LinkDisclaimer: 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. ...
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    25 mins
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