The Art of Managing Your Brain with Dr. Charlie M. Hornes Podcast By Dr. Charlie M. Hornes DMin BCC MCPC cover art

The Art of Managing Your Brain with Dr. Charlie M. Hornes

The Art of Managing Your Brain with Dr. Charlie M. Hornes

By: Dr. Charlie M. Hornes DMin BCC MCPC
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 What’s Your Burnout Personality Type? Find out before it takes you down: https://www.charliehornescoaching.com/quiz If your brain won’t shut up, your calendar won’t slow down, and your confidence disappears in high-stakes, difficult moments—this podcast is your survival map and your forecast. Hosted by Dr. Charlie M. Hornes, DMin, BCC, MCPC - doctorate-level certified clinical spiritual counseling provider and Master Certified thought work strategist, The Art of Managing Your Brain™ gives high-functioning women tools to stop the spirals, decode burnout before it breaks you, and interrupt the storm system driving perfectionism, self-doubt, and people-pleasing. Every episode delivers neuroscience-backed strategies, identity rewiring insights, and sharp, system-aware truth-telling that cuts through noise and helps you take your power back—without fluff, fake positivity, or burnout bandaids. New episodes weekly. Thought work that actually works.The Charlie Hornes Coaching Studio, LLC Career Success Economics Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • The 5 Hidden Forces Driving Women Out of Leadership | Survival Framework for High Achievers

    The 5 Hidden Forces Driving Women Out of Leadership | Survival Framework for High Achievers
    Jul 3 2025
    The 5 Hidden Forces Driving Women Out of Leadership | Survival Framework for High Achievers | E54 Throwback Thursday Summer Edition: Original E25 Replay Why This Episode Still Matters You’re not unraveling—you’re being sideswiped by systems that were never built to support you. In this replay of one of our most downloaded episodes, Dr. Charlie M. Hornes walks you through the original 5-part framework she developed during her doctoral research. If you’ve ever felt like something is off in your work environment but you can’t explain why—this is the map you’ve been missing. This episode breaks down the hidden architecture of sabotage women face in male-dominated workplaces—and how to name it before it takes you out. What You’ll Learn in This Episode Core Concepts Covered The 5 elements of systemic dysfunction that derail high-performing women What “coffee pot problems” really are—and how they camouflage identity-level bias How chronic exposure to microaggressions affects your brain chemistry Why burnout is not a starting point—but a final signal your system’s been breached What This Framework Gives You A forensic lens to assess your workplace dynamics A trauma-informed leadership map to stay grounded under pressure Tools to name, track, and defuse systemic sabotage before it fractures your clarity Practical Takeaways Start journaling with precision to decode emotional patterning Run stress audits to track threshold breaches before they spiral Apply predictive resilience and interview differently for future roles Use the “aerial view” tool to see the storm system, not just the lightning strike Questions Answered in This Replay How do I know if I’m dealing with sexism or just overthinking? Why do I feel emotionally disoriented even when I haven’t failed? What’s actually happening in my nervous system under repeated microaggressions? How do I make sense of the disproportionate reactions I get at work? Related Resources Take the Survival Pattern Quiz: https://charliehornescoaching.com/quiz Join the list for tools + masterclass invites: https://charliehornescoaching.com/subscribe Primary Keyword survival framework for women in leadership navigating systemic bias Chapters 00:00 – The “Perfect Storm” Overview: Why This Framework Exists 01:05 – What This Episode Will Help You Do 02:16 – If You’ve Ever Felt Blindsided, This Is Why 03:59 – The Five Elements of Systemic Breakdown in Male-Dominated Workplaces 04:32 – Element 1: Camouflaged Misogyny (The Coffee Pot Problem) 08:26 – How to Name the Bias Without Internalizing It 10:55 – What Happens When You Solve the Problem But They Stay Mad 13:22 – Activating Your Prefrontal Cortex Under Attack 17:39 – Why 18 Months Is the Common Limit 18:02 – Journaling as a Tactical Brain-Management Tool 20:22 – Element 2: The Surprise Factor (Systemic Dysfunction Hidden During Hiring) 23:14 – Predictive Resilience and System-Level Betrayal 25:48 – How to Track Systemic Patterns in Real Time 26:56 – Element 3: The Gender Bias Gap (Trust Deficit + Double Standards) 30:35 – Cortisol, Cognition, and the Cost of Proving Yourself 32:40 – Building a Mental Reservoir of Wins 33:25 – Element 4: Threshold Transgression (The Point of No Return) 35:27 – Cognitive Dissonance and Gaslighting Defined 38:19 – Memory Loss and Emotional Dysregulation from Systemic Stress 39:11 – The Stress Audit Tool + Pausing With Power 40:42 – “It’s Not You. Even If It Is, It’s Not.” 41:25 – Element 5: The Believability Factor (What Happens When You Finally Speak Up) 42:53 – Why You’re Not Overreacting—You’re Overexposed 43:49 – The Bingo Card Moment + Laughing at the Pattern 44:53 – Recap: The Five-Point System You Must Know 45:16 – Final Thoughts + Free Tools to Help You Name the Storm 46:02 – You Are Not Defined By the System. You’re Defined By Your Response Clarifications This episode is a summer replay of E25, pulled forward by listener request. All concepts remain fully applicable and are foundational to Dr. Hornes’ Survival Systems™ coaching structure. No affiliate links or promotions are embedded in this episode. Keywords women in leadership, systemic bias at work, camouflaged sexism, burnout prevention for high achievers, emotional disorientation at work, how to handle passive aggression, thought work tools for executives, how to set boundaries under pressure, coffee pot problem workplace, high-functioning women therapy alternatives, toxic workplace map, aerial view of burnout
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    46 hrs and 16 mins
  • When Saying Yes Feels Safer Than Saying No | E53 | Throw Back Thursday Re-air

    When Saying Yes Feels Safer Than Saying No | E53 | Throw Back Thursday Re-air
    Jun 26 2025
    Why You People Please (Re-Aired) CH Ep 3 | Episode 53: Throwback Thursday Edition

    Why Your Brain Is Like a Terrible Teenage Horror Flick

    Summary

    This remastered throwback to Episode 3 revisits one of the most requested and most misunderstood topics in modern neuroscience-based coaching: the real reason behind people pleasing. Dr. Charlie Hornes breaks down why your survival brain misfires in the workplace, how dopamine hijacks your decision-making, and why your need for validation is not a personal flaw—it’s a glitch in your brain’s outdated operating system. If you’ve ever spiraled after a withheld compliment or bent over backward to avoid being “the problem,” this episode shows you what’s really happening and how to intercept it.

    Why This Episode Still Matters

    People pleasing isn’t a personality trait—it’s a survival reflex. But because it's systemically reinforced and neurologically rewarded, your brain doesn’t know how to stop.

    This episode is your decoder ring.

    What You’ll Learn Core Concepts Covered
    • Why people pleasing isn’t conscious—it’s chemical
    • The role of dopamine in seeking safety, not success
    • How your brain mistakes social danger for survival threat
    • What reward prediction errors are—and why they wreck your confidence
    • Why some bosses trigger a stress loop your brain can’t exit
    Clarifications & Key Vocabulary
    • Dopamine: Seeking hormone that rewards anticipated pleasure and safety
    • Reward Prediction Error: What happens when your brain expects affirmation and gets silence (or criticism) instead
    • Prefrontal Cortex vs. Lizard Brain: Where judgment gets hijacked by survival reflexes
    • Neuroplasticity: Your ability to rewire these patterns over time with precision—not willpower
    Questions Answered
    • Why do I keep trying to prove myself to people who won’t be pleased?
    • What’s really happening in my brain when I feel like I messed up socially?
    • Can I stop people pleasing without becoming cold or combative?
    • How do I get out of a rumination loop after a hard conversation?
    • Is people pleasing ever really about the other person—or is it my wiring?
    Timestamps (Chapters)
    • 00:00 — Cold Open: People pleasing isn’t what you think
    • 00:36 — The biological reason the phrase “stop people pleasing” backfires
    • 02:15 — Why we only recognize people pleasing after the fact
    • 03:45 — Feel-good hormones vs. actual threat: the confusion begins
    • 06:00 — What dopamine actually does in the brain
    • 08:50 — The motivational triad and the myth of laziness
    • 12:20 — Rewiring the brain: why habits get so sticky
    • 15:00 — Reward prediction error: the science of getting blindsided
    • 17:30 — The boss story: anticipating affirmation and getting silence
    • 19:15 — Why your brain can’t tolerate uncertainty
    • 22:40 — Chainsaw shed metaphor: horror movies and neurological confusion
    • 25:10 — Neurons that fire together wire together—only if rewarded
    • 28:00 — Why nothing offends me anymore (and what that means for you)
    • 30:30 — The dangerous loop of chasing affirmation
    • 32:45 — Final truth: what your brain is doing, and how to interrupt it
    NEXT STEPS Listen now on your favorite podcast platform

    Apple: https://charliehornescoaching.com/apple

    Spotify: https://charliehornescoaching.com/spotify

    Explore the full STORM System Strategy

    Get the Burnout Prevention Toolkit Now: https://charliehornescoaching.com/burnout-playbook-beta-offer

    Subscribe

    https://charliehornescoaching.com/subscribe

    Copyright

    © 2025 Dr. Charlie M. Hornes | The Charlie Hornes Coaching Studio, LLC All rights reserved. Commercial reproduction prohibited.

    Keywords

    why do I people please in the workplace, how to stop overthinking after meetings, neuroscience of validation seeking, why your boss triggers your stress loop, burnout prevention for high achievers, women and people pleasing, dopamine social behavior, reward prediction error neuroscience, freeze fawn response in meetings, approval addiction brain chemistry, survival instinct and social behavior
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    35 mins
  • When You Keep Saying Yes | The Fawn Reflex Is the System Running You | E52 Part 2

    When You Keep Saying Yes | The Fawn Reflex Is the System Running You | E52 Part 2
    Jun 19 2025
    When You Keep Saying Yes | The Fawn Reflex Is the System Running You What This Episode Is Really About

    You are not agreeable. You are adaptive.

    If you have ever caught yourself saying yes while your body was screaming no, this episode shows you what hijacked that moment—and how to take it back.

    We decode the fawn reflex for what it actually is: a system-installed override that rewires your voice, clarity, and sense of choice under social pressure.

    What Survival Pattern Is Actually Running You Questions This Episode Answers
    • What is really happening in your brain during a fawn reflex response
    • Why high-functioning women keep defaulting to social survival mode
    • How the Fox archetype shows up in leadership, motherhood, and social pressure
    What You Will Learn
    • The real-time neuroscience of the fawn reflex
    • Why your brain confuses rumination with responsibility
    • How compulsive compliance becomes a conditioned reflex
    • The hidden cost of staying nice in unsafe systems
    • Tools to intercept social threat rehearsal and return to grounded clarity
    What This Episode Clarifies

    Your brain is not dysfunctional. It is executing an old script.

    The Fox instinct is not weakness or overthinking. It is a fast-twitch protection pattern that activates when belonging feels threatened.

    You can learn to intercept it without betraying yourself or blowing up your relationships.

    Chapters

    Follow along or jump to the part that hits hardest for where you are now:

    00:00 – The 2am Overthinking Spiral

    02:29 – Rumination vs Responsibility

    04:17 – Why Social Media Triggers Your Nervous System

    06:59 – What Cognitive Overload Does to Your Brain

    08:02 – The Comparison Trap and the Emotional Gap

    11:38 – Pattern Recognition, Not Personal Failure

    14:28 – Questions to Rewire the Fox Instinct

    16:43 – The One Reframe That Changes Everything

    Resources Mentioned

    Burnout Archetype Quiz

    https://charliehornescoaching.com/quiz

    The Burnout Equation Masterclass

    https://charliehornes.com/store https://charliehornescoaching.com/masterclass/waitlist

    VIP Vault All-Access Membership

    https://charliehornescoaching.com/vipvault

    Related Episodes to Watch

    Why You Can’t Stop People-Pleasing (And What to Do About It) | E51

    https://youtu.be/ZlzlQ8T9sQE?si=Pb2izVsiMkTkXaYJ

    Why High-Functioning Women Freeze Under Pressure | E49

    https://youtu.be/VEt4LKeTWEk?si=K9xWcXJcB8GmnSuz

    Where to Listen or Watch

    YouTube (Full Video Episode)

    https://www.youtube.com/@charliehornescoaching/podcasts

    Apple Podcasts

    https://charliehornescoaching.com/apple

    Spotify

    http://charliehornescoaching.com/spotify

    #fawnreflex

    #nervoussystemresponse

    #peoplepleasingrecovery
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    53 mins
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