Episode 18

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Published on:

9th Sep 2026

What Code Switching is Doing to Your Body

You pick the outfit an hour early. You practice the intro. You decide how much personality is safe to bring in the room. You spend an hour networking while constantly self-editing.

Then you get in the car afterward and you can barely keep your eyes open.

You call it a long day.

Your body would call it something else.

This episode is about what all that editing is actually doing to you. Not just the mood. Your brain. Your nervous system. And eventually your business.

I get into three pieces of research, a client who can't turn it off at night, and the networking group where I showed up every month in a gray blazer being the only Black girl in the room, calling it strategy.

The funny part is, code switching works. That's exactly why it's so hard to stop. But at what cost?

Research I mentioned:

The Costs of Code-Switching (Harvard Business Review) → https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-costs-of-codeswitching

To be, or not to be…Black: racial codeswitching and perceived professionalism → https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104199

Do US Black Women Experience Stress-Related Accelerated Biological Aging? (Dr. Arline Geronimus) → https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2861506/

The Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire (Dr. Cheryl Woods-Giscombé) → https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7220093/

Ready to stop performing?

Start With Self is a self-guided identity process. Six modules, one weekend. Go back to who you were before the degrees, before corporate, before you learned how to shrink. Introductory rate: $97 → mellynated.com/self

What does your body do after a long day of being "on"? Come tell it on Substack, where we go deeper on every episode: substack.com/@mellynated

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp4tHH05phcnjPgkXdhP1uDtcFaydNPbz

More: codeswitchrebellion.com

Your identity is the strategy.

Timestamps:

1:40 The only Black girl in the room

3:14 It was never just how you talk

3:47 The work underneath the work

4:22 What the research says it's costing you

4:52 It works. That's the trap.

6:08 She can't turn it off

7:25 Your body is keeping receipts

8:31 Build a transition ritual

11:02 Superwoman Schema

12:04 I was cosplaying white ladies

13:14 Your degrees are not the differentiator

14:18 Say it how you'd say it to your sister

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About the Podcast

Codeswitch Rebellion
For the ones who are done performing professionalism
Codeswitch Rebellion is a thought-provoking podcast for Black women who are tired of editing themselves to be seen, heard, or taken seriously.

Hosted by personal branding strategist, Melanie L. Denny, this show explores authenticity, identity, visibility, and personal branding without the pressure to perform professionalism, dilute your voice, or shrink your presence.

Through raw solo reflections and conversations with bold thinkers, creators, and leaders, Codeswitch Rebellion challenges the myths we’ve been taught about credibility, success, and what it means to “sound professional.”

This is a space for reclaiming your voice, honoring your rhythm, and building a brand rooted in who you actually are.

If you’re done code-switching for comfort and ready to show up whole, you’re in the right place.

About your host

Profile picture for Melanie L. Denny

Melanie L. Denny

Melanie L. Denny, also known as Melly D, is a personal branding consultant who helps Black women stop performing professionalism and start showing up with bold authenticity.

Her core belief is simple: your identity is the strategy.

With over a decade of experience guiding professionals and entrepreneurs through visibility, messaging, and positioning, she is known for helping her clients build brands rooted in who they actually are, not who they were conditioned to be.

As the host of Codeswitch Rebellion, Melanie leads truth-telling conversations unpacking identity, authenticity, visibility, and storytelling...and what it means to show up with integrity, authority, and bold authenticity so you can attract better clients and bigger opportunities.