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Welcome to ”The Black Woman’s Stress Solution,” the podcast for ambitious black women who are navigating the complexities of success while striving for balance and well-being in their lives. Brig Johnson, your host and go-to coach for stress management, brings you insights, strategies, tools and a little bit of neurobiology to master mindfulness, self-improvement, confidence, and personal growth. With Brig’s guidance, you’ll learn how to become unstuck and manage stress effectively while pursuing your goals and dreams to create your EPIC shit. Each week Brig dives deep into the world of self-care, mindset shifts, and empowerment strategies tailored specifically for Black women in business and leadership roles. With a focus on self-awareness, confidence-building, and goal-setting, this podcast provides the tools and guidance needed to navigate the challenges of work, health, relationships, and modern life with grace and resilience. Whether you’re an experienced women boss or just starting your journey of self-discovery, this podcast is your go-to resource for becoming the empowered, confident woman you were meant to be. Brig addresses common questions and challenges faced by high-achieving black women, offering practical advice and actionable steps to help you unlearn and unleash to live a more balanced and fulfilling life. Examples of these questions are: *How can Black women effectively manage stress while juggling multiple responsibilities? *What are some mindfulness techniques specifically tailored for Black women? *How can Black women develop a positive mindset in the face of challenges and setbacks? *What strategies can Black women employ to boost self-confidence and self-esteem? *How can Black women set achievable goals for personal and professional growth? *What are some practical self-care practices that Black women can incorporate into their daily routines? *How can Black women navigate imposter syndrome and overcome feelings of inadequacy? *What role does self-love play in stress management and personal empowerment for Black women? *How can Black women overcome barriers to seeking help and support for their mental health? *What are some effective techniques for boundary-setting and prioritizing self-care in a demanding work environment? *How can Black women cultivate resilience and bounce back from triggers stronger than before? *What resources are available for Black women seeking mentorship, coaching, or community support? *How can Black women leverage their unique experiences societal bullshit and perspectives to excel in their careers and personal lives? *What are some common misconceptions about stress management and self-improvement for Black women, and how can they be addressed? *How can Black women balance ambition and self-care to achieve sustainable success and fulfillment? * How can Black women become unstoppable and unf*ckwithable being their absolute best self…no matter what the situation—not allowing outside things to impact how they think and feel about themselves, what they do, or how they show up in the world? *Health and relationships and societal bullshit that create stress for black women *Why stress is the biggest block to your confidence, keeping you stuck. *Why is creating safety one of the first things we must address as black women? *Why is stress hindering the growth of our relationships? Subscribe to ”The Black Woman’s Stress Solution” today and embark on a journey of empowerment, resilience, and growth. Visit https://brigjohnson.com/ to learn more about Brig Johnson and her coaching services.
Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
Queen, you were never the problem. You were just given a tool that wasn't built for you — and then blamed when it didn't fit.
In this episode, I want to introduce you to Bob. Bob is fine. Bob starts every attempt at growth from baseline — neutral, stable, rested, regulated. You? You start already carrying. And that changes everything. This is the conversation bro self-help has never been willing to have.
What You'll Learn
- Meet Bob — and finally understand why the starting line was never equal and what that actually means for your goals
- Identify the real loads you've been carrying that no productivity system ever accounted for: hyper vigilance, allostatic stress, emotional labor, generational history, and more
- Understand the Capacity Gap — why pushing harder on an overloaded nervous system doesn't build capacity, it depletes it further
- See the three gaps keeping high-achieving women spinning: the Capacity Gap, the Authority Gap, and the Belief Gap
- Learn why the goal was never to become more disciplined — and what to aim for instead
- Discover the difference between resting and actually recovering — and why it matters for your next attempt
Why It Matters
Every program you've ever tried was an app running on an outdated operating system. The OS was installed for survival in a world that no longer exists — and the apps keep crashing. It was never your discipline. It was never your mindset. It was never you. You just ran out of capacity that was never replenished, because you started so far behind the start line Bob never even knew existed. This ends now.
Take Action
Next time you quit something, don't ask what's wrong with me. Ask: what was I carrying that I never accounted for?
Then take the free CAGES Self-Assessment — it takes five minutes and will show you exactly which of the 5 survival programs has been quietly running your life: 👉🏾 assessment.brigjohnson.com
Have a topic you want me to cover? Reach out: brig@brigjohnson.com
Visit my website: brigjohnson.com
Monday May 18, 2026
Monday May 18, 2026
Queen, you didn't give up — you just stopped seeing yourself as the one who gets to create.
In this episode, I'm getting into something that almost slipped past me completely — because it doesn't look like giving up. It looks like being responsible. Mature. Realistic. But here's the truth: at some point, protection becomes a prison. And if you've been living in the middle ground — no big dreams, no big risks, no big disappointments — this episode is for you.
What You'll Learn
- Recognize the four ways women respond to disappointment — and identify the sneakiest one: the woman who looks like she recovered but never really got back in the game
- Understand why you stopped dreaming — and why the dream was never actually the problem
- See the critical difference between the outcome and the desire, and why lumping them together is keeping you stuck
- Discover what a Loyalty Contract is and how to use it to protect yourself when things get hard — without shutting down
- Learn the four steps to rebuild your relationship with wanting, dreaming, and creating again
Why It Matters
The quiet cost of not dreaming isn't just personal. Every person who needed you fully — your clients, your kids, your community — got the version of you that was playing it safe. The world was never designed for us to see ourselves as creators and builders. So when disappointment hits, we don't just lose the round — we lose our sense of ourselves as someone who gets to be in the game at all. This episode is about getting that back.
You didn't get too old for the dream. You just stopped believing you were the one who could make it real. And that is a completely different problem — with a completely different solution.
Take Action
Start with one small thing. One thing you stopped doing because it made you want something. Email me or DM me and tell me what it is.
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnsonbrig
Find out which cage has been keeping you in the middle ground — take the free Kage Assessment (just 5 minutes): 👉🏾 assessment.brigjohnson.com
Visit my website: brigjohnson.com
Monday May 11, 2026
Monday May 11, 2026
Queen, you've been a foreigner in your own life for long enough — and it's time to come home.
After a real, unfiltered season away, I'm back. In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on what actually happened: the financial reality of my coaching business, the decision to return to anesthesia, the inner battle I fought for six months, and the hard-won clarity that came out of it all. This isn't just a comeback — it's a full OS upgrade.
What You'll Learn
- Understand why silencing your inner critic doesn't work — and what to do instead: listen with respect
- Recognize how fear compounds and shrinks your energy, making it even harder to move forward
- See the difference between "putting your feelings in a corner" and actually processing them
- Discover what the Unkaged Method really is — not a program, but an operating system upgrade for your life
- Identify the 5 survival programs most high-achieving women are running without knowing it: Cultural Program, Armor of Achievement, Giving Until Gone, Energy Depletion, and Silencing the Self
Why It Matters
The systems were never going to protect us — and the current political climate is making that clearer than ever. But what's also clearer is this: we have tools available now that didn't exist in 1930, or the 50s, or the 60s. We can build our own. We can serve our own. But to do that, we have to be able to lead ourselves — and that means getting out of your own way, upgrading the OS, and becoming truly Unkaged.
I spent nine months not just teaching this work, but living it. I'm back clearer, stronger, and with more to say than ever.
Take Action
Find out which of the 5 survival programs has been running your life — take my free Kage Assessment (just 5 minutes):
Visit my website: brigjohnson.com
Monday Sep 22, 2025
Monday Sep 22, 2025
Queen, let's talk about the elephant in the room: that exhausting dance you're doing in your relationship where you're solving his problems before he even names them, managing his emotions while yours get pushed aside, and wondering why love feels like a second job. If you're tired of performing for love instead of receiving it, this episode is your wake-up call.
It's time to stop auditioning for partnership and start demanding the real thing. Because what society calls "devotion" is actually just patriarchy in a hoodie—and your nervous system is paying the price.
What You'll Learn
• Discover how "overfunctioning" elevates cortisol and creates adrenal fatigue in your body
• Recognize performance partnership vs. true partnership—and why one is just patriarchy in disguise
• Transform your understanding of safety: why regulating his emotions will never regulate yours
• Notice how overfunctioning prevents your partner from developing emotional accountability
• Shift from emotional babysitting to creating space for genuine co-regulation
Why It Matters
High-achieving Black women are conditioned to carry everyone's emotional weight—and it's literally breaking down our bodies. This pattern of self-abandonment doesn't just show up in romantic relationships; it's how we operate with bosses, children, and friends. Breaking free from performance partnership is about reclaiming your worth, your energy, and your right to be fully supported instead of always being the one doing the supporting.
Take Action
Take my free quiz to discover how your nervous system and survival patterns may be blocking your clarity:
👉🏾 brigjohnson.com/stress-quiz
RESOURCES
- Join my Newsletter, Unlearn and Unleash
- Share Your Takeaways With Me at brig@brigjohnson.com
- Stress Quiz
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Queen, let's talk about the mindfuck breakup that's been keeping you stuck—the one with Mr. "Perfect on Paper" who left your soul starved despite checking every box society told you mattered. You know the type: well-dressed, well-traveled, well-paid, and wildly unavailable emotionally. This episode is your permission slip to finally name what you've been feeling and stop gaslighting yourself into believing something was wrong with you.
It's time to get the closure you didn't get and claim the healing you absolutely deserve. Because when perfection masks a project, high-achieving Black women like you end up performing emotional triage instead of experiencing real partnership—and that ends today.
What You'll Learn
• Discover why your nervous system was screaming "something's off" even when everyone else thought you hit the jackpot.
• Reclaim your reality by learning to identify "high presentation, low intimacy" men who look like prizes but function like emotional projects
• Transform the cognitive dissonance that keeps you ruminating by naming the real problem: you weren't dating a high-value man, you were managing an undercover emotional fixer-upper.
• Shift from self-blame to self-empowerment.
• Notice how societal programming taught you to override your instincts and perform "low maintenance" just to keep the peace.
• Repair what got damaged in the process: your trust in yourself, your joy, your hope, and your ability to love without shrinking.
This isn't just about one relationship—it's about breaking the cycle of self-abandonment that keeps high-achieving Black women trapped in situations that look good on paper but leave us emotionally starved. When you've been conditioned to prove your worthiness of love, your nervous system starts mistaking anxiety for attraction.
Take Action
Take my free quiz to discover how your nervous system and survival patterns may be blocking your clarity:
👉🏾 brigjohnson.com/stress-quiz
RESOURCES
- Join my Newsletter, Unlearn and Unleash
- Share Your Takeaways With Me at brig@brigjohnson.com
- Stress Quiz
Monday Sep 08, 2025
Monday Sep 08, 2025
Queen, let's talk about the confusion that nobody prepared you for: when your high-value man checks every box society told you mattered, but your nervous system is screaming that something ain't right. You're not crazy, and you're not asking for too much—you're just dealing with an emotional project disguised in designer suits and six-figure success.
In this episode, I'm breaking down why status doesn't equal safety and how to stop carrying the invisible emotional load that's draining your peace. It's time to trust your instincts and reclaim your power.
What You'll Learn
- Discover the five clear signs that your successful man is actually an emotional project in disguise
- Shift your understanding of what "high value" really means beyond bank accounts and status symbols
- Notice how cognitive dissonance shows up when someone looks like a catch but feels like chaos
- Reclaim your self-trust by understanding that asking for your needs wasn't "too much"—it was necessary
- Transform your approach to relationships by recognizing emotional availability as the true flex
Why It Matters
This conversation addresses what so many high-achieving black women experience but rarely discuss—the psychological confusion that leaves you questioning everything about yourself. We've been conditioned to endure instead of express, especially when society celebrates our "good man." Through mindset coaching and understanding neurobiology, I'm here to empower you to stop diminishing yourself and break free from self-abandonment patterns. Your peace isn't negotiable.
Take Action
Take my free quiz to discover how your nervous system and survival patterns may be blocking your clarity:
👉🏾 brigjohnson.com/stress-quiz
RESOURCES
- Join my Newsletter, Unlearn and Unleash
- Share Your Takeaways With Me at brig@brigjohnson.com
- Stress Quiz
Monday Sep 01, 2025
Monday Sep 01, 2025
Hey, it’s Brig! In this episode, I’m diving into de-centering men without dismissing them. This isn’t about being anti-men but becoming "pro-you." I unpack the stress women carry when our worth is tied to relationships with men, and how we can reclaim sovereignty.
What You'll Learn:
- Historical Conditioning: How laws and culture, like credit restrictions until 1974, mandated centering men.
- Everyday Conditioning: How childhood, church, media, and dating advice push us to prioritize men.
- Reasons to De-Center: I share five powerful reasons to de-center men: your worth is inherent, not tied to a man; centering men causes health-damaging stress, especially for Black women; prioritizing men isn’t true connection if it erases you; de-centering lets men be whole, fostering healing; and it means choosing love from truth, not panic.
Remember that de-centering isn’t about rejecting love but reclaiming your power to choose it freely. Let’s build a life where love is a choice, not a chain, and step into true sovereignty together.
Take Action
Take my free quiz to discover how your nervous system and survival patterns may be blocking your clarity:
👉🏾 brigjohnson.com/stress-quiz
RESOURCES
- Join my Newsletter, Unlearn and Unleash
- Share Your Takeaways With Me at brig@brigjohnson.com
- Stress Quiz
Monday Aug 25, 2025
Monday Aug 25, 2025
In this powerful episode, I sit down with a special guest, CJ, who recently completed the UNKAGED™ six-month coaching program. CJ shares her transformative journey from feeling unsafe and overwhelmed in her high-powered career to reclaiming her sovereignty and creating space for her passions.
What You'll Learn:
- How feeling "unsafe" in professional spaces is a common experience for Black women that drains our capacity
- Why the "strong Black woman" trope and self-sacrifice mindset limits our potential
- The power of validating your own thoughts and feelings with "this makes sense" instead of questioning yourself
- How to create more capacity by reducing stress and emotional labor
- The difference between culturally-rooted coaching and traditional coaching approaches
- Why recovery is essential for high-achieving Black women
I’m so grateful to CJ for sharing her story and insights with us. Her journey is a powerful reminder that we don’t have to settle for survival mode—we can choose recovery, reclaim our capacity, and live life on our own terms.
Take Action
Take my free quiz to discover how your nervous system and survival patterns may be blocking your clarity:
👉🏾 brigjohnson.com/stress-quiz
RESOURCES
- Join my Newsletter, Unlearn and Unleash
- Share Your Takeaways With Me at brig@brigjohnson.com
- Stress Quiz
Monday Aug 18, 2025
Monday Aug 18, 2025
Today, I'm talking about a pattern that's silently robbing high-achieving Black women of money, joy, and energy: self-abandonment.
What is Self-Abandonment?
Self-abandonment happens when you leave yourself emotionally, mentally, or physically to secure someone else's comfort, approval, or validation. It's when you side with others over yourself.
We do this because somewhere along the line, we learned being fully ourselves wasn't safe. For Black women, this is compounded by generations of being told our bodies, voices, and desires needed to be managed to avoid backlash.
5 Signs You're Abandoning Yourself:
- You override your "no" - Agreeing to things that make you dread your calendar
- You need a "good reason" to rest - Otherwise, you feel guilty
- You shrink your joy - Speaking less, dimming your shine, or even stopping yourself from laughing
- You defer your decisions - Letting others decide for you, even on things that deeply impact you
- You gaslight yourself - Downplaying your needs or telling yourself you're overreacting
The Cost Is Too High
Studies show:
- The APA found that suppressing authentic self-expression is linked to higher cortisol and inflammation levels
- Harvard Business Review reports Black women face the steepest emotional tax in professional settings, leading to earlier burnout
- Chronic self-abandonment is associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and stress-related illness
For high earners, this shows up as:
- Emotional: Loss of self-trust, chronic resentment, burnout
- Physical: Sleep disruption, weight fluctuations, immune issues, hypertension
- Relationship: Surface-level connections, resentment in partnerships
The Path Forward
Ask yourself: "What would I choose if I didn't need anyone's approval?"
Take Action
Take my free quiz to discover how your nervous system and survival patterns may be blocking your clarity:
👉🏾 brigjohnson.com/stress-quiz
RESOURCES
- Join my Newsletter, Unlearn and Unleash
- Join the Next Breakthrough Master Class here
- Register for the Next Melanin Hour here
- Book a Breakthrough Call here
- Share Your Takeaways With Me at brig@brigjohnson.com
- Stress Quiz
Monday Aug 11, 2025
Monday Aug 11, 2025
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “Something about me is just… wrong”?
In this episode, I’m getting real about internalized wrongness — that quiet, exhausting belief that your identity is a defect to fix instead of something to celebrate. I’ve lived this, and I know how sneaky it is. From code-switching until you don’t recognize your own voice, to chasing every receipt and title just to feel “enough,” it’s a cycle that drains your energy, creativity, and self-trust.
We’ll talk about how this shows up in our daily lives, why overachieving can be a mask for internalized wrongness, and the exact process I use to help Black women reset their nervous systems so authenticity feels safe again. I’ll share a client story, practical steps you can start today, and the one truth that changes everything: you were never the problem — you are the blueprint.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
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How to recognize the signs of internalized wrongness
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Why over-preparing and over-performing never bring self-trust
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The “safety scripts” that keep you editing yourself to fit in
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Small, low-risk experiments to prove to your body it’s safe to be you
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How to start stacking evidence for your worth and identity
If you’ve been shrinking, editing, or collecting receipts just to feel worthy, it’s time to reset.
Take Action
Take my free quiz to discover how your nervous system and survival patterns may be blocking your clarity:
👉🏾 brigjohnson.com/stress-quiz
RESOURCES
- Join my Newsletter, Unlearn and Unleash
- Join the Next Breakthrough Master Class here
- Register for the Next Melanin Hour here
- Book a Breakthrough Call here
- Share Your Takeaways With Me at brig@brigjohnson.com
- Stress Quiz
keywords: internalized wrongness, self-trust for Black women, authenticity and nervous system, identity and self-worth, overcoming self-doubt, black women empowerment, authenticity coaching, nervous system reset, abandoning yourself for approval, self-safety practices, stop code switching, how to be your authentic self, allostatic load and stress, signs of identity suppression, Black women leadership mindset, building self-trust, cultural and historical stress, women’s empowerment podcast, emotional safety and authenticity, breaking free from people-pleasing