Dear Dr. Charryse

Dr. Charryse Johnson
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Dr. Charryse Johnson is a nationally recognized expert in women’s mental health, nervous system regulation, and mind-body resilience. She is the creator and host of Dear Dr. Charryse, where she explores how women experience emotional and physical change across the lifespan. Known for translating neuroscience into relatable insight, she helps women decode anxiety, burnout, and hormonal shifts. Her message: your body isn’t failing you — it’s speaking to you.

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 34 - Jenifer Ortiz: Reclaiming Your Voice — Healing People-Pleasing, Trauma & Self-Worth

    On this powerful episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson welcomes Jenifer Ortiz, a licensed social worker, speaker, content creator, flight attendant, and host of the She Roars Podcast, for an honest conversation about trauma, people-pleasing, identity, faith, and the journey from survival mode to authentic living. Drawing from her personal experiences and 12 years of working with individuals affected by deep trauma, including survivors of human trafficking, Jenifer explores how childhood experiences and painful relationships can shape the way we show up in the world. She explains how people-pleasing, perfectionism, overworking, hyper-independence, and constantly trying to be useful can become protective strategies for avoiding rejection, conflict, or disappointment. Jenifer shares how growing up in Harlem, New York, in a single-parent household influenced her relationship with her emotions and her fear of rejection. She also opens up about navigating toxic relationships, codependency, depression, and struggles with alcohol before finding a path toward healing through her faith in Jesus Christ, self-forgiveness, and healthier boundaries. The conversation explores why leaving an unhealthy relationship or environment is only one part of healing. Rebuilding a sense of self also involves recognizing emotional triggers, examining childhood and generational patterns, grieving unmet expectations, and discovering personal values and preferences beyond the identity formed through survival. Dr. Charryse and Jenifer discuss the hidden costs of constant busyness and performance, particularly for high-achieving women, entrepreneurs, and caregivers who may use productivity to avoid emotional pain. They emphasize the importance of slowing down, listening to internal needs, accepting support, and recognizing that personal worth does not have to be earned through perfection, productivity, or approval. Coaching Session Highlights: • Understanding People-Pleasing and Survival Patterns: Explore how childhood experiences, fear of rejection, and the need for belonging can contribute to people-pleasing, overexplaining, perfectionism, and hyper-independence. • Healing Beyond Survival Mode: Jenifer shares why healing involves more than physically leaving difficult situations. It also requires reconnecting with personal values, establishing boundaries, and rediscovering who you are outside of survival. • Breaking the Cycle of Performance: Learn how constant busyness, overworking, and being overly useful can become ways of avoiding unresolved emotional pain and why slowing down can create space for meaningful change. • Faith, Self-Forgiveness, and Healthy Boundaries: Discover how faith, self-compassion, supportive relationships, and the willingness to seek help can support a journey toward greater confidence and emotional well-being. • The Permission Audit: Reflect on where you may be waiting for approval, changing yourself to avoid disappointing others, or measuring your worth through performance instead of recognizing your inherent value. This episode is an invitation to stop shrinking to make others comfortable and begin living with greater courage, confidence, and intention. Jenifer and Dr. Charryse remind viewers that healing is not about becoming more useful or perfect. It is about releasing the patterns that once protected us and making room for a more authentic, grounded, and purposeful life.

  2. Oct 14

    Episode 33 - Juliana Vocca: Midlife Nutrition — Fueling Hormones, Muscle & Healthy Aging

    On this empowering episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson welcomes Juliana Vocca, a registered dietitian and founder of Prime Women Nutrition, for an essential conversation about nutrition, perimenopause, menopause, and the changes women experience during midlife. As women move through perimenopause and menopause, nutritional needs and body composition can change. Juliana explains why eating less and following restrictive diets may work against long term health goals. Instead of fearing food or trying to shrink the body through deprivation, women can focus on nourishing themselves to support energy, muscle mass, bone health, and metabolic function. The conversation explores the importance of protein, fiber, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and quality carbohydrates. Juliana explains why carbohydrates remain an important energy source, particularly for women managing fatigue and maintaining an active lifestyle. She also discusses distributing protein throughout the day and fueling the body before and after workouts to support recovery and strength. Exercise is another major focus, with an emphasis on incorporating resistance and strength training two to three times per week. Preserving muscle mass supports glucose regulation, metabolic health, weight management, and the ability to remain physically independent as we age. Juliana also discusses creatine supplementation, including its potential role in supporting muscle and brain health, and the importance of choosing independently tested supplements. Dr. Charryse and Juliana also explore the connection between chronic stress, sleep, cortisol, and midlife health. Rather than searching for a quick fix, women are encouraged to consider the bigger picture, including daily habits, stress management, sleep quality, nutrition, and individual medical needs. Coaching Session Highlights: • Rethinking Midlife Nutrition: Understand why restrictive eating may not support women's changing needs during perimenopause and menopause, and why adequate nourishment matters for long term health. • The Protein and Fiber Foundation: Learn how protein, fiber, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and whole food carbohydrates can support energy, muscle maintenance, and overall wellness. • Strength Training and Muscle Health: Explore why resistance training two to three times per week can help preserve muscle, support metabolic health, and maintain physical independence. • Fueling Workouts and Understanding Creatine: Discover practical considerations for pre and post workout nutrition, protein intake, and creatine supplementation, including the value of third party tested products. • Managing Stress and the Midlife Plate Check: Dr. Charryse introduces a practical way to evaluate daily protein distribution, plant and fiber intake, and whether food choices are helping fuel strength and energy rather than being driven by fear of body changes. This episode is a valuable resource for women navigating midlife who want to feel stronger, more energized, and better informed about their nutritional needs. Juliana and Dr. Charryse encourage women to move away from restriction and toward a sustainable approach that supports strength, nourishment, and healthy aging.

  3. Oct 7

    Episode 32 - Keith Crossley: Beyond Emotional Resistance — Healing, Anxiety & Inner Freedom

    On this insightful episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson sits down with Keith Crossley, a speaker, author, coach, and spiritual teacher whose work explores the psychology of suffering, emotional healing, relationships, and human transformation. After building and losing a multimillion-dollar business, Keith began a deeply personal search to understand the roots of suffering. His journey led him through years of intensive meditation and psychological exploration and ultimately transformed the way he understood the mind, emotions, and the patterns that shape our lives. Keith explains how emotions exist on a broad spectrum, from love and joy to fear and heartbreak. When people try to suppress or numb difficult emotions, they may unintentionally reduce their ability to fully experience positive emotions as well. Rather than eliminating painful feelings, true healing involves increasing our capacity to experience them without resistance or accumulating additional emotional baggage. The conversation introduces a practical two-step approach to processing emotions: first, identify and accurately label what you are feeling, then become curious about how that emotion feels in the body without judgment or resistance. Keith also discusses the commonly referenced 90-second emotional response and explains why emotional experiences can feel much longer. While an unresisted neurochemical response may move through the body relatively quickly, the mind can repeatedly recreate emotional distress by cycling through memories, thoughts, and interpretations. Major experiences such as grief may also unfold through longer emotional waves. The discussion explores anxiety, OCD, depression, and other protective patterns from a different perspective. Keith describes how the mind can develop sophisticated strategies designed to protect us from deeper fears such as rejection, abandonment, inadequacy, or loss of control. Dr. Charryse and Keith also examine avoidance, acceptance, breathwork, and the importance of expanding our capacity to tolerate emotional discomfort. Instead of running from difficult feelings, learning to stay present with them can help create greater resilience, self-awareness, and inner freedom. Coaching Session Highlights: • Understanding Emotional Numbing: Keith explains how suppressing painful emotions can also limit access to positive emotions and narrow our overall emotional range. • The Two Steps to Process Emotions: Learn to identify the exact emotion you are experiencing and explore its physical sensations with curiosity rather than judgment or resistance. • Expanding Emotional Capacity: Healing is not about changing the past but developing a greater capacity to experience difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed or running away from them. • Reframing Protective Patterns: Anxiety, avoidance, perfectionism, hyper-independence, and emotional distancing can develop as protective strategies that may eventually interfere with healthy relationships and emotional freedom. • The Resistance Check: A practical reflection tool for identifying what you are feeling, recognizing how you attempt to escape or suppress it, and choosing your next step without allowing the emotion to control the entire response. This episode offers a powerful perspective on emotional healing and the ways our minds attempt to protect us from pain. Keith and Dr. Charryse invite viewers to become more curious about their emotions, recognize the protective patterns behind their reactions, and develop the capacity to experience difficult feelings without letting them dictate their lives.

  4. Sep 30

    Episode 31 - Mini Rattu: Beyond Burnout — Nervous System Regulation, Sustainable Success & Self-Worth

    On this transformative episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson sits down with Dr. Mini Rattu, a licensed clinical psychologist, executive wellness coach, and nervous system and leadership expert, for a powerful conversation about burnout, achievement, self-worth, and what it truly takes to create sustainable success. As the founder of UNSTUCK™, Dr. Mini helps high-achieving professionals move beyond burnout, over-functioning, and survival-driven success. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, somatic regulation, and contemplative wisdom, she explains how patterns such as perfectionism, people-pleasing, hyper-independence, and overfunctioning can develop as protective responses early in life. The conversation explores how family expectations, culture, and workplace environments can shape the way people respond to stress and achievement. While these patterns may contribute to professional success, they can also make rest feel unsafe, create an identity around being indispensable, and ultimately lead to self-abandonment and burnout. Dr. Mini introduces the PAUSE practice, a simple somatic tool designed to interrupt autopilot and help regulate the nervous system. Through pausing, arriving in the body, unwinding physical tension, seeing the environment, and exhaling, individuals can create space between a trigger and their next response. The episode also examines the difference between exhaustion and burnout. While exhaustion may improve with adequate rest, burnout is cumulative and often requires deeper changes involving workload, boundaries, roles, delegation, and the way success is defined. Dr. Mini and Dr. Charryse also explore the powerful connection between achievement and self-worth. High achievers may unconsciously believe that slowing down, making mistakes, receiving help, or disappointing others threatens their value. Learning to cultivate self-compassion and separate personal worth from productivity can create a healthier foundation for success. Coaching Session Highlights: • Understanding Nervous System Patterns: Dr. Mini explains how perfectionism, people-pleasing, hyper-independence, and overfunctioning can function as protective responses rather than simply personality traits. • The PAUSE Practice: A practical somatic exercise for interrupting autopilot, grounding in the present moment, releasing tension, and signaling safety to the nervous system. • Burnout vs. Exhaustion: Understanding why temporary fatigue can improve with rest while chronic burnout may require systemic changes, delegation, boundaries, and a shift in responsibilities. • Uncoupling Worth from Productivity: Exploring how to separate personal value from performance and create space for rest, receiving help, and making mistakes without losing a sense of self-worth. • Achievement or Protection Check: Reflecting on whether high achievement is driven by genuine purpose or by fear, protection, approval, or the need to remain indispensable. This episode offers an insightful look at the hidden patterns behind high achievement and the cost of constantly operating in survival mode. Dr. Mini reminds us that sustainable success is not simply about doing more, but about building the capacity to rest, receive support, stay connected, and succeed without abandoning ourselves.

  5. Sep 23

    Episode 30 - Beyond “Normal” — Understanding Hormones, Root Causes & Women’s Health with Lindsay Simone

    On this empowering episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson sits down with Lindsay Simone, FNP-C, a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and founder of Simone Medical, for a revealing conversation about perimenopause, women's healthcare, hormone optimization, and why “normal” lab results do not always mean a patient is truly healthy. Lindsay brings a root-cause, patient-centered approach to functional and integrative medicine. As a provider specializing in hormone health, she explains why conventional healthcare can sometimes miss the deeper reasons behind symptoms when standard laboratory testing falls within general reference ranges. The conversation explores the difference between basic and comprehensive lab testing. Lindsay explains how deeper evaluations, including markers such as ferritin and iron levels, can help healthcare providers investigate potential contributors to symptoms like extreme fatigue, anxiety, and other changes that patients may experience during perimenopause and beyond. Lindsay also shares why functional medicine often takes more time with patients. Rather than rushing through a short appointment, comprehensive care can involve longer consultations, detailed health histories, advanced diagnostics, lifestyle assessment, and personalized wellness strategies designed to address multiple factors at once. The discussion goes beyond hormones to explore the connection between gut health, nutrition, stress, sleep, metabolic health, and mental well-being. Lindsay emphasizes that hormone health does not exist in isolation and that addressing foundational health factors can be an important part of a personalized approach. Coaching Session Highlights: • Beyond “Normal” Labs: Lindsay explains why being within a standard laboratory reference range does not always explain how a patient feels and why additional evaluation may sometimes be appropriate. • The Root Cause Approach: The conversation explores how providers can look beyond individual symptoms and consider nutrition, gut health, stress, sleep, metabolic health, and hormones as interconnected factors. • Understanding Comprehensive Testing: Lindsay discusses how more detailed testing can provide additional information for licensed healthcare providers when investigating persistent symptoms. • Whole Body Hormone Health: Rather than treating hormones as an isolated issue, Lindsay highlights the importance of understanding how hormones interact with other systems throughout the body. • Becoming an Informed Patient: Dr. Charryse encourages viewers to pay attention to changes in their bodies, communicate their concerns clearly, and work with qualified, licensed medical professionals who can help them understand their individual health needs. This episode is an important conversation for women navigating perimenopause, hormonal changes, unexplained symptoms, or frustrating “normal” test results. Lindsay and Dr. Charryse invite viewers to ask deeper questions, understand their bodies, and become more informed participants in their healthcare journey.

  6. Sep 16

    Episode 29 - Jordan Smith: Living Your Values — From Personal Beliefs to Purposeful Action

    On this thought-provoking episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson sits down with Jordan A. Y. Smith, professor, poet, filmmaker, mental health advocate, and Executive Director of the Always Be Kind Way Foundation, for a powerful conversation about values, identity, relationships, and making choices that reflect who we truly want to be. Jordan Smith brings a unique perspective shaped by his work in Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA, poetry, film, psychology, mental health, and cross-cultural education. He shares how our values can move beyond abstract ideas and become practical guides for the decisions we make every day. The conversation explores how making a decision forces us to confront what matters most. Jordan introduces a reflection exercise that encourages people to identify three qualities they want to embody, such as being patient, present, or positive, and then use those qualities as a compass for making calmer and more intentional choices. Jordan also opens up about returning to Los Angeles with the hope of rebuilding his 25 year marriage. Although he and his wife ultimately chose to part ways amicably, he reflects on the experience without bitterness and shares how accepting life's unexpected turns can become part of living according to your values. Rather than creating a rigid vision of the future, Jordan encourages listeners to see life as a process of co creation. Through his pottery wheel analogy, he illustrates how we continually balance our intentions with the realities of the world around us. Coaching Session Highlights: • The Values Check: Jordan encourages listeners to examine their options and identify which personal values each decision puts into practice, helping bring clarity to difficult choices. • The Three Qualities Exercise: Choose three qualities you want to embody and use their deeper essence as a guide for responding to everyday situations with greater intention. • From Fear to Possibility: Dr. Charryse explores how people can place themselves inside protective emotional boxes because of fear or the desire for safety, and encourages listeners to recognize when those self imposed limits are holding them back. • Hope Over Envy: Instead of comparing ourselves to people who appear to be living the life we want, Dr. Charryse encourages a mindset of possibility by asking, “If they can have it, why not me?” • Practicing Value Alignment: The conversation explores how repeatedly making choices that reflect our core values can help create new patterns and make those choices feel increasingly natural and secure. Dr. Charryse closes the conversation by encouraging viewers to reflect on whether their daily choices truly align with the person they want to become. This episode is a reminder that purpose is not only found in major life decisions—it is built through the values we practice every day.

  7. Sep 9

    Episode 28 - Dr. Prudence Hall: Beyond Menopause — Reclaiming Your Hormones, Health & Vitality

    On this powerful episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson sits down with Dr. Prudence Hall, a Los Angeles based gynecologist and leading authority on menopause and holistic hormonal health, for an eye opening conversation about hormones, aging, stress, and women's health. Traditionally trained as a gynecologist and surgeon, Dr. Hall transitioned into integrative and regenerative medicine after seeing firsthand how conventional approaches to menopause were leaving many women struggling with depression, anxiety, weight gain, fatigue, and changes in sexuality. Her approach focuses on understanding the root causes behind symptoms and looking at the body as an interconnected system. Dr. Hall shares how hormone therapy has evolved throughout her career, including the shift toward bioidentical and natural hormones. She explains why estrogen and other hormones can play an important role in healthy aging and discusses the relationship between hormonal health, cardiovascular health, diabetes, brain health, and overall well being. The conversation also explores how chronic stress can trigger a domino effect throughout the body. Dr. Hall discusses the connection between adrenal health, thyroid function, blood sugar, and hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause. Coaching Session Highlights: • Understanding the Hormone Shift: Dr. Hall explains why perimenopause and menopause can affect everything from energy and mood to weight, sexuality, and overall quality of life. • Looking Beyond One Hormone: Healthy aging requires looking at the body as a connected system. The conversation explores how stress, adrenal function, thyroid levels, blood sugar, and hormones can influence one another. • Advocating for Your Health: Dr. Charryse encourages women to be honest about their symptoms and become active participants in their healthcare journey by asking questions and seeking appropriate professional guidance. • Reframing Perimenopause: Dr. Charryse reminds women that perimenopause is a biological transition, not a personal expiration date, and encourages viewers to approach this stage of life with awareness rather than fear. Dr. Hall also discusses her book Radiant Again and Forever, which shares patient stories and explores topics including PMS, perimenopause, thyroid health, and female sexuality. This episode offers an empowering look at what it means to age with vitality and why understanding your body can be the first step toward feeling like yourself again.

  8. Sep 2

    Episode 27 - Rachel Medina: Beyond the Hustle — Redefining Success, Faith & Peace

    On this powerful episode of Dear Dr. Charryse, host Dr. Charryse Johnson sits down with entrepreneur, top-rated podcast host, and TEDx speaker Rachel Medina to unpack the hidden costs of success and what happens when achievement comes at the expense of peace.Rachel shares her journey from scaling a remote marketing and media business to consistent six-figure months and generating millions in revenue—only to realize that the success she built had left her deeply unhappy and disconnected from the life she actually wanted.After experiencing the devastating loss of her son and navigating the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rachel made a profound decision to realign her life around peace, purpose, faith, and what truly mattered.Together, Rachel and Dr. Charryse explore the pressure female entrepreneurs face to constantly hustle, scale, and pursue more, while questioning whether those definitions of success actually serve them.The conversation dives into the neuroscience behind achievement, the addictive cycle of chasing the next milestone, and why sustainable success must include the health of your body, relationships, nervous system, and spirit.Rachel also shares how she is now using her experience to support other women through her podcast, community, and programs designed to help women explore entrepreneurship without sacrificing themselves in the process.During the episode, Dr. Charryse introduces a powerful framework for evaluating whether your version of success is actually creating the life you want.Coaching Session Highlights:• The Hustle Trap: Constant opportunity and comparison can keep entrepreneurs chasing growth without asking whether the lifestyle actually feels good.• Success & Self-Abandonment: Building a successful business around someone else's definition of achievement can leave you disconnected from yourself.• The Dopamine Cycle: Accomplishments can provide temporary motivation and excitement, but the feeling fades, encouraging people to immediately chase the next milestone.• Redefining Success: Success doesn't have to mean doing more. Peace, sustainability, relationships, health, and purpose can also be measures of achievement.• Faith Over the Flex: Rachel and Dr. Charryse explore how faith can reduce the pressure to prove yourself or project an image of success.• Purpose After Loss: Rachel shares how profound loss changed her priorities and ultimately pushed her toward a more purpose-driven life.• The "Peace Profit Audit": Dr. Charryse challenges listeners to ask:– What does my current definition of success require from my body, relationships, and spiritual life?– Which goal is truly mine, and which am I pursuing because I'm comparing myself to someone else?– What would I choose differently if peace, stewardship, and sustainability were also measures of success?This episode is a powerful reminder that you can be ambitious without abandoning yourself. True success isn't just about what you build—it’s about whether you can experience peace while living inside the life you've created.

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About

Dr. Charryse Johnson is a nationally recognized expert in women’s mental health, nervous system regulation, and mind-body resilience. She is the creator and host of Dear Dr. Charryse, where she explores how women experience emotional and physical change across the lifespan. Known for translating neuroscience into relatable insight, she helps women decode anxiety, burnout, and hormonal shifts. Her message: your body isn’t failing you — it’s speaking to you.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Charryse Johnson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dr. Charryse Johnson
  • Show Website
    Dear Dr. Charryse

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