About You're Drugging Yourself: And You Don't Know It
What if you're unconsciously operating a 24/7 pharmacy inside your body, dosing yourself with chemicals that control your mood, health, and happiness?
Dr. C and Professor Rona Barret reveal the shocking truth: Every thought triggers a chemical. You're not HAVING emotions—you're MAKING them. Your gut produces 95% of your serotonin. Your "thinking body" and "feeling body" speak different languages—one uses words, the other only understands chemistry.
Discover:
• Why worry = cortisol = physical damage
• How gratitude = dopamine = healing
• The 90-second chemical reset that changes everything
• How negative thoughts literally scar your tissues
• Your personal "chemical menu" and how to order better
Based on 200-year-old discoveries by anatomist Xavier Bichat and modern neuroscience, this episode proves you're the chemist of your own experience. Stop mixing poison. Start creating medicine.
How Consumerism Shapes the Future of Young Black Girls | Part 3
What happens between the little Black girl sitting in a classroom and the woman she eventually becomes?
Our girls spend much of their formative time in school and engaging with social media. In both places, they encounter messages about beauty, success, womanhood, relationships, money, motherhood, and what they should desire. Those messages do not simply disappear. They can influence the direction of a girl’s life.
In Part 3 of this series, Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Howard examines consumerism through a trajectory-based lens. The purpose is not simply to become alarmed by what our girls see. It is to recognize what may be shaping them, identify where intervention is needed, and ask what we are intentionally preparing little Black girls to know, do, and become.
This conversation explores:
• How school and social media influence identity
• How repeated messages can become normalized
• Why consumerism is more than a spending issue
• What can happen between childhood and womanhood
• Where parents, educators, families, and communities can intervene
• How trajectory thinking can help us prepare girls for the futures they deserve
This episode is part of the Growing Happiness with Dr. C. podcast and the continuing series on consumerism and its influence on young Black girls.
Join the conversation in the comments:
4 Aug 2026
Why Little Black Girls Are Losing Their Hair (And What We Can Do About It)
Episode Title: Why Little Black Girls Are Losing Their Hair (And What We Can Do About It)
Description:
In this episode of Growing Happiness with Dr. C., we explore a deep internal literacy dive into the biological cost of cultural expectations. We trace where our sustained thoughts go in our bodies, examining the connection between media messaging, traction alopecia, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) suppression.
Discover how to move your focus from hair care to brain care and help the young Black girls in your life build true emotional resilience.
📥 Download the Free Workbook:
Access your companion workbook to support your journey:
👉 https://cynthia-howard-2.kit (https://cynthia-howard-2.kit)
Book: Alchemy of Emotions find on Amazon
Website: rootsrhythmandrhyme.com (http://rootsrhythmandrhyme.com)
Be sure to follow the show so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to let us know how this conversation impacted you!
19 Jul 2026
Are Black Women Buying Back Their Own Exploitation? | The Body Debate
Is getting a BBL racist? We actually debated it. From Sara Baartman to the modern beauty industry, two hosts dig into whether Black women are buying back their own exploitation, or exercising real agency. The data, the risks, the history — no easy answers. #TheBodyDebate #GrowingHappiness #DrC
15 Jul 2026
The Happiness Equation: Turning the Equation Into a Daily Practice
You've learned the Happiness Equation. Now learn to live it. This finale
brings Soul, Spirit, and Body together into one Daily Happiness Protocol —
Awareness, Action, Accountability. Download the free workbook and start
practicing today. #HappinessEquation #GrowingHappiness #DrC
28 Jun 2026
The Happiness Equation Part 2: Roots, Rhythm, and Rhyme — The Hot Plate Method
This is Episode 2 of the Happiness Equation series, and we're going deeper.
Last episode introduced the equation: Soul + Spirit + Body = Whole Body Happiness. This episode brings it to life by grounding each variable in the language of nature. Your Soul has Roots. Your Spirit has Rhythm. Your Body has Rhyme. When all three are aligned, happiness isn't something you chase, it's something you grow.
This episode also introduces one of our most practical tools: the Hot Plate. When a low-frequency thought lands, whether it comes from inside you or gets thrown at you from the outside, the Hot Plate teaches you to drop it immediately and reshape it into the spiritual chemistry you actually want to cultivate.
To bring it all home, we run the life of NBA point guard Jalen Bronson through the equation and examine what it looks like when all three variables are working together, including how he converted public doubt into personal fuel.
Your step-by-step recap is waiting at the end. Take what helps you, and share it with someone who needs it today.
13 Jun 2026
Why You Feel Off Even When You're Doing Everything Right| The Happiness Equation
Have you ever felt like you were doing all the right things — eating better, praying, thinking positively — and something still felt missing? That doesn't mean you're broken. It may mean you're fragmented.
In this introductory course episode, Dr. C steps into the classroom to teach the Happiness Equation: Soul + Spirit + Body = One Whole Happy Body. You'll learn why happiness is a whole-person system rather than a single fix, how the Soul writes your story, the Spirit translates it into chemistry, and the Body lives it out in real time — and why ignoring even one variable causes the entire equation to break.
Then the equation meets the real world. We examine the case of Dr. Latoshia Daniels, a clinical social worker trained in anger management, and the 2019 shooting of Pastor Brodes Perry — running her story through the equation to find exactly where the leak was, and why professional knowledge can never override unhealed emotional patterns. This case is discussed for educational purposes, with respect for everyone affected.
You'll leave with a three-question reflex you can use the next time stress hits, plus this week's assignment: run one real-life story through the equation, then turn it on yourself and find your leak — before it costs you anything.
Remember: happiness isn't something you find. It's something you grow.
26 Apr 2026
Lose Weight in 16 Hours — Why Fasting Alone Won't Do It | The Two-Prong Reset
You clicked because you want to lose weight. Here's the truth: 16 hours of fasting without the right eating window is doing half the work. Dr. C breaks down the Two-Prong Health Reset — how time-restricted eating and whole-food nutrition work together to actually make your fast count. In this episode, Dr. C walks through the Two-Prong Health Reset — a framework that pairs time-restricted eating with whole-food nutrition to reduce chronic inflammation at the cellular level.
You'll learn:
- Why fasting alone isn't enough
- The four pathways of inflammation fasting actually targets
- What the 2019 NIH trial found about ultra-processed foods
- How autophagy works — and why 16 hours is the sweet spot
- Why ultra-processed foods can completely undo the cellular repair your fast just created
- How a Mediterranean-style eating window multiplies your results
Want to go deeper? A free Listener Lab (quiz, flashcards, reflection) and a paid Companion Workbook are available for this episode. Search "Growing Happiness Dr. C" or visit the podcast home page for links. YouTube: Growing Happiness with Dr. C.
16 Apr 2026
The Kidney Protection Plan: Your Master Control Center
Your kidneys are your body's master control center, processing 25% of your
blood every second. Learn the Kidney Protection Plan: food strategies,
nephron health, and how protecting your kidneys protects your heart & brain. Discover the Chinese Culture Connection that provides herbal health for kidneys.
#KidneyHealth #InternalLiteracy #DrC
27 Mar 2026
The Blood Cell Menu: Feed Your Immune Army
Your immune army works 24/7 to protect you. Learn which foods feed neutrophils, lymphocytes, NK cells & more. Get a free 7-day meal plan to optimize immunity through Soul, Spirit & Body. #ImmuneHealth
#InternalLiteracy #HolisticWellness #DrC
6 Mar 2026
What's Happening Under Your Hood | White Blood Cells Explained
What's Happening Under Your Hood | White Blood Cells Explained
Most people spend more time picking out their daily outfit than they do checking on their cells. If you don't know what's happening under the hood, you're just a passenger in a car you don't know how to drive.
Today we're going inside. Way inside. To the Body School, where you'll meet the three pillars of your immune defense: The Factory, The Highway, and The Army.
THE EQUATION: Soul + Spirit + Body = One Whole Happy Body
Your immune strength isn't just about germs. It's about movement, stress chemistry, spiritual grounding, and what you feed the system.
WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER:
✨ The Factory: How your bone marrow manufactures defense cells 24/7 ✨ The Highway: Why your lymphatic system needs YOU to move ✨ The Army: Meet the specialized white blood cells protecting you right now ✨ Neutrophils - Your front-line responders (60% of your defense force) ✨ Lymphocytes - The planners and memory keepers at Clearwater Creek ✨ Monocytes - The cleaners who grow stronger in the tissues ✨ Basophils - The specialists who open highways for backup ✨ Eosinophils - The parasite fighters with toxic packets ✨ Why internal literacy changes everything
THE THREE PILLARS:
🏭 The Factory: Bone Marrow Production Where every single defender is built and trained before deployment
🛣️ The Highway: The Lymphatic Network The back roads and immune command centers running beneath your skin
⚔️ The Army: Specialized Leukocytes The diverse 1% elite squad patrolling your body right now
KEY INSIGHT: When you understand that your lymphatic system has no pump—that it moves only when YOU move—exercise stops being punishment and starts being communication with your defense network.
WHY THIS MATTERS: Internal literacy means knowing your biology well enough to support it instead of fighting it. When your body feels defended, your nervous system can relax. When your nervous system relaxes, your spirit can expand. When your spirit expands, your soul has room to grow.
That's whole body happiness.
24 Feb 2026
Why You Feel Heavy, Puffy & Anxious: And What Your Body Is Really Saying | Internal Literacy Ep. 5
We don’t chase happiness — we build the conditions for it.
If you’ve been feeling heavy, puffy, inflamed, anxious, or just “off” — this episode is for you.
Today we explore two of your body’s most powerful systems — the vagus nerve (your internal phone line between gut and brain) and the lymphatic system (your body’s cleaning crew). You’ll learn how they work together, why calming one changes what the other carries, and how simple daily practices like breathwork, humming, cold exposure, and gentle movement can reset your entire internal environment.
This is Internal Literacy — learning to read what your body is saying before it sounds an alarm.
In this episode:
✓ What the vagus nerve actually does — and why it’s your body’s most powerful calming tool
✓ How your gut and brain talk to each other — and what happens when inflammation disrupts that signal
✓ Why lymph fluid has no pump — and the gentle movements that get it flowing
✓ A guided breathwork practice — we do it together, right here in the episode
✓ Your simple daily Vagus Hygiene Routine (morning, stress check, evening)
Your action step today:
One long exhale. Then a short walk. You’re already building the conditions.
Connect with Dr. C:
🌐 Website: www.rootsrhythmandrhyme.com (http://www.rootsrhythmandrhyme.com)
📚 Book — Alchemy of Emotions: Amazon
⚠️ This content is for educational purposes. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new wellness practice.
25 Jan 2026
How Your Thoughts Shape Cell Water: And Why That Matters for Happiness
Your thoughts physically shape the water in your cells—creating either stress chemistry or purpose chemistry. Learn the science behind emotions & cellular structure, plus 4 tiny actions that shift your biology from survival to growth.
19 Jan 2026
Why Thoughts Feed the Body | And How to Stop Feeding Them
What if your thoughts aren’t just mental events —
but instructions your body is responding to?
In this episode of Growing Happiness with Dr. C., we explore how attention acts like nutrition inside the system.
Where attention goes, internal energy follows.
And whatever you consistently feed with your attention… grows.
This episode introduces a core Internal Literacy principle:
Thoughts don’t stay in the mind.
They are metabolized by the body.
You’ll learn:
• Why attention is not passive
• How sustained thoughts create lingering bodily states
• Why fear is an internal alarm system — not an enemy
• How attention feeds emotional and physical environments
• Why fighting thoughts strengthens them
• How to withdraw attention without force
• How to restore internal order naturally
This is not mindset training.
This is internal literacy.
In the next episode, we’ll explore what happens inside the body when internal environments lose their natural coherence —
and how cellular water reflects emotional order.
13 Jan 2026
Thoughts Are Chemicals
Discover how your thoughts become chemistry—and why that changes everything. In this first episode of the Internal Literacy series, Dr. C reveals the biological pathway from thought to cellular response, showing you how to take control of your internal chemistry and grow happiness from the inside out.
2 Dec 2025
You'r Drugging Yourself: And You Don't Know It
What if you're unconsciously operating a 24/7 pharmacy inside your body, dosing yourself with chemicals that control your mood, health, and happiness?
Dr. C and Professor Rona Barret reveal the shocking truth: Every thought triggers a chemical. You're not HAVING emotions—you're MAKING them. Your gut produces 95% of your serotonin. Your "thinking body" and "feeling body" speak different languages—one uses words, the other only understands chemistry.
Discover:
• Why worry = cortisol = physical damage
• How gratitude = dopamine = healing
• The 90-second chemical reset that changes everything
• How negative thoughts literally scar your tissues
• Your personal "chemical menu" and how to order better
Based on 200-year-old discoveries by anatomist Xavier Bichat and modern neuroscience, this episode proves you're the chemist of your own experience. Stop mixing poison. Start creating medicine.
4 Nov 2025
How To Make A Happiness Soul Sauce
Learn how to tranform pain and find the power of happiness while creating your Soul Sauce.
5 Oct 2025
Grow Happiness
Growing Happiness should be a goal for everyone. Some people are unsure about how to begin this process. If that is the case, you don't have to worry. This podcast will inspire you to take control of your life. We are all entitled to happiness and joy, and that includes you.
Host of You're Drugging Yourself: And You Don't Know It?
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