Shows
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 100: Behind the Scenes with Salima as the journeys of untold stories are uncovered and discoveredCan you believe it? We have reached the 100th episode milestone, with the opportunity to celebrate and honour brave guests who have come forward, take stock of how it all began and where we are headed. Salima takes the daring seat to share the journey to the 100th episode. She openly shares thoughts she entertained as well as what she didn’t even think about as she kept her focus on spreading the word about breaking down the barriers of mental stigma and embracing the concept of ‘mental beauty’. In this episode she shares how she believes the intention of her...2024-09-111h 05
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 98: Desperate for a pause, with no break in sight, & she didn’t even know it was burnout!Living in Toronto, Ontario, Gladys spoke about a particular time in her life during 2020/2021 where she faced extra demands in her work role, as well as marital discord as the relationship with her now ex-husband had taken a toll on her. Flooded with demands at work and on the go in her multifaceted work role and then only to return home to a negative and intense environment dealing with some tough interactions. She describes that there wasn’t really a place for her to really think she can sit down and breathe. Her mind was racing, between tasks, and th...2024-07-1046 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 97: The Identity Crisis Beyond Colour of a Queer South Asian Man Who Learned to Set Himself FreeAs a child Farhan was always told that he would be a failure and that he didn’t have potential. He faced resistance from family; however, he forged a pathway forward to becoming the helping professional he is today. His story includes himself, his family and society at large. Being a first- generation South Asian queer male, growing up in Canada, he realizes that his family was doing the best that they could, though they had specific expectations that resisted the pathway. Farhan described how he consistently felt he must work harder than most, he ha...2024-06-2655 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 96: A Chaotic Way through Burnout, while Uncovering Unfelt Emotions during Political UnrestOlga dives in to share that even when she was on the brink of burnout, initially she could only see it as a stress leave from work. Her story unravels her experience of her lost sense of self while battling through burnout as she worked with students and clients in the international students and immigration sector. It was September 2022 when she identified there was a shift in her energy, feeling frustrations and irritability, simultaneously the political unrest that continued forward with the invasion of Russia on Ukraine. The events of this war further perpetuated another lost piece of her...2024-06-1258 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 95: A Cumulative Grief Experience – Teenage Sexual Assault, Shame and Regrets, Tragedies Experienced and Losing loved ones.Funmi shares the impact of an unfortunate teenage sexual assault, immigrating to Canada, marital challenges, the loss of both her parents within the span of 18 months, shame, and regrets along the way and how it all has forged her character and identity of who she has become today. She details that it took her a decade to work through the trauma of sexual assault and violent rape endured at age 17, which robbed her of her virginity and her innocence. This led to further impact of her sense of loss and mistrust, and amplified negative perspectives she held about men...2024-05-2957 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 94: Entrenched in Struggle and Vulnerability, a Victim’s Journey through NarcissismPhoenix grew up in East Germany, still communist in 1972 with an enabling father, growing up being parented with a narcissistic mother she explains. Phoenix shares that she grew up in darkness, and her mother was lost within herself, not knowing her own identity, Phoenix slowly started to get to know herself, and as she did this, she felt she was shedding light on herself. Phoenix expressed that she really struggled to sort out who she was and what she wanted to be and felt that she was not lovable. Her childhood experiences led her to feel unworthy, insignificant, and...2024-05-1554 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 93: The Dark Times, from Momentum to Chaos, ensued a Lost Sense of SelfIn his early 20’s, Sergio was living his best life, while performing well in secure employment that was inclusive of salary, pension, benefits, vacation time and all the bells and whistles. Sergio was excelling in his career, landing achievements and promotions, and studying part time. His life took a sharp turn after he sustained severe injuries following a car accident as a passenger coming home from his birthday celebration. Given the driver went into shock, Sergio was the one to make the 911 call to get help, realizing that he was unable to move his body. Sergio shares details of th...2024-05-0145 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 92: Learning that her Identity is not the CrownSarah delves into a moment when she was 10 years old experiencing her very first panic attack, not knowing what it was at the time. Growing up in a Christian faith, Sarah believed that she would get the support she needed given her belief that God helps to overcome the sensations of panic – the promise of faith. She later experienced depression in her first year of university when she experienced 3 losses in her life from suicide, heart disease and cancer. The latter was her maternal grandmother whom she saw go through it and then was unable to attend the funeral af...2024-04-1752 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 91: The Important Reminder of Showing up for Others, Just as You’d like them to Show up for YouSonia’s untold story revolves around her breast cancer diagnosis starting in 2017. She experienced physical and emotional trauma combined with heightened feelings. She had to work hard to overcome overwhelming thoughts and emotional pain when dealing with relationships during her cancer journey. This experience has been eye-opening, particularly in learning who she can rely on as her backbone and who she felt she still needed to support while under-going her own duress. Outwardly, Sonia was perceived to be a strong individual even during her time of challenge, she repeatedly heard the comment, “you got this”, from those around her. She ec...2024-04-0352 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 90: The Torment of Workplace Harassment in a Highly Toxic WorkplaceHer untold story reveals the levels of toxicity and bullying Stephanie experienced as she entered the workforce in a professional capacity, the way in which she tolerated workplace harassment, and how she eventually learned to handle the distress she endured. Stephanie shared that while her work role was at an established organization and she was not doing any physical labour, she found that the emotional and mental toll she experienced because of the workplace toxicity and negative environment was a great deal of physical impact. She describes feeling extreme fatigue and burnout, headaches...2024-03-2048 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 89: He Started from the Ground up and the Unworthiness Cycle kept Repeating ItselfAnthony dives right in to share how what he experienced from childhood to adulthood greatly influenced his present-day life. It began at the tender young age of six and carried forward until adulthood with multiple and continuous experiences of how he was impacted and influenced in his achievements and failures. When he arrived in Canada, he provided details of how he felt he had to start from the ground up again. After he retired, he developed an illness that kept him wheelchair bound, he later endured a wheelchair accident, where he was struck...2024-03-0647 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 88: The Journey of Unlearning, Undoing, Adapting, and Unleashing her Core IdentityFatima’s untold story is about being raised by her grandmother from 18 months, in Barbados after being born in Canada, and then returning to Canada at the age of 8, not knowing that her scheduled visit after so many years was going to become a permanent life change for her. She speaks about themes like navigating relationships, abandonment, grief, and loss, being stripped of everything that was familiar to her, learning to adapt to new situations, encountering racism that was not experienced back home, and connecting to her cultural identity. As Fatima grappled with learning who she was, she also ha...2024-02-2152 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 87: From Survivor of Circumstance to Warrior of FlowInga’s story begins at a time when she immigrated to Canada at the age 16 on her own, with minimal knowledge of English, and this didn’t stop her to pursue her education, which is when she decided to commit to the idea, the need to prove herself. She operated under the narrative that of things she must overcome, the harder life shows up for her, even though she unlearned this narrative later in her journey. Inga also highlights she experienced fear of judgement by others, which resulted in comparing herself to others, spent money she didn’t have, and en...2024-02-0751 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 86: A Shifted Narrative: Flourishing Flowers Beneath the TrenchesKarima dares herself for a second round on the podcast, to share further developments on her mental well-being journey. She speaks about how she currently manages and copes with her diagnoses of borderline personality disorder and bipolar 1 and her process of daily coping. Karima takes time to share what it’s like identifying as a neurodivergent woman of colour, what tasks, or actions she finds difficult doing, unlearning certain habits, and learning boundary setting within her household as well as out in the world. Karima contended with her identity and feeling like her id...2024-01-2445 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 85: His Financial Setbacks is what Plotted a Path to his Future SuccessLeon immigrated to Canada when he was 10 years old unexposed to the world of financial challenges and this continued to follow him when he reached post-secondary education. During his time enrolled in university, he met credit card representatives where he was encouraged to sign up for high value credit cards, not knowing that he could go into credit card debt or understanding the implications of making high ticket purchases he couldn’t afford. Leon shared it got to the point where interest accumulated on his amount owing on payments and eventually, he was left with his only option, to decl...2024-01-1048 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 84: The Independent Child Separated from Family & the Impact of Deep-Rooted UnworthinessBorn in Korea, Jackie shared that culturally, emotions are not discussed with the family, it’s still taboo to address mental health related issues. The way issues were dealt with in the home were not dealt with in a healthy way, she was exposed to explosive reactions or not speaking about it at all. At the age of 12, she travelled to Canada alone to study internationally and resided with a homestay family. She describes her story as a life-or-death battle with herself, where for three years of her life she was preoccupied contemplating thoughts of suicide daily. Jackie felt de...2023-12-2050 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 83: Her story unravelled as she commenced the de-layering process of unworthiness stemming from childhoodThroughout Tara’s life, she struggled with feelings of unworthiness, never feeling like she fully fit in, coming from a mixed background and being the only girl in a family of five. Growing up, Tara learned to attach her worth to her achievements and based on other external factors. Tara got used to supporting others and being present for others, prioritizing them and it always trumped her own worth and what she kept within her. She desperately looked for love, but the men she attracted didn’t value her worth or treat her with respect. When she started to work...2023-12-0650 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 82: A Mother learning to effectively parent children with mental health and addiction challengesMaureen tells her story of learning to be an effective parent to four children with mental health and addiction struggles, and her own recovery process from codependent parenting styles. She shares details of three of her children who all grappled with their mental health in different ways. One child engaged in self-harm, another suffered drug-induced episodes with suicidal tendencies, and a third child hiding out in her room isolated, hiding from everything and everyone. Maureen expressed each time she was hoping for a break to catch her breath, there was another crisis, which gradually took a great toll on...2023-11-2252 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 81: Self-determination was his Catalyst which Led him to Embrace his own Process of Success on his Own Terms Despite the Internal StruggleDennis’s story is rooted in being raised in a sheltered Asian household, while feeling immense pressure to perform academically. Dennis articulates that as a child growing up, he had difficulty understanding others, and experienced a great deal of confusion over emotions he experienced. Dennis describes feeling caged in from parents whom he felt were overprotective, in addition to his siblings. His path was defined by focusing on academics and he was discouraged to take time to cultivate friendships, participate in extracurricular activities and engage in daily socialization. He highlights a moment in his final year of high school wh...2023-11-0848 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 80: From Multiple Mental Health Diagnoses to a Flourished Mental Health AdvocateAlly takes a deep dive to express and share when mental illness began to take hold of her, and her emotional literacy and self-awareness were highly compromised. She indicates that she didn’t have the ability to ask for what she needed in times of crisis, in the process her family had to engage in a great deal of guess work of what she needed and while they were in several crises of their own, her parents were trying their best even if it wasn’t the best or most effective method for Ally. After self-injurious behaviour that Ally was e...2023-10-2550 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 79: Through Addiction, International Drug Trafficking, & even Incarceration she Made her Comeback!Emily dives into her story that began in 2013, turning to substance use, she met someone through work, a close person she trusted. She embarked on a vacation with this friend and a few days into the trip, she was informed that they had to both bring drugs back through the border and this left her feeling trapped. Emily was coerced into strapping drugs to her body on the return flight, followed by her arrest at the airport, plead guilty on charges for importing drugs and spent four years in federal prison. Emily expressed feeling devastated, stupid, and regretted missing...2023-10-1147 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 78: The overbearing feeling of “limitation” and its detriments to his mental health, combined with griefDawson unpacks how he was in survival mode in his third year of university, impacted by academic stressors, resuming in-person learning post COVID restrictions and a simultaneous process with his ailing grandmother who passed away from a long battle with Alzheimer’s. For Dawson, the impact of the various stressors meant a fierce contest with depression, lots of uncomfortable emotions, enduring lots of crying, a difficult encounter with a university professor and the considerations brought to Dawson’s attention to pause academics. Through this journey, he was struck with lack of motivation and imposter syndrome. When he was contending with...2023-09-2746 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 77: The Entrepreneurship Struggle: Unspoken Hardships he didn’t know How to RevealAs a first-time entrepreneur, Ethan struggled to recognize his own self-worth and would tie it to the success of his company’s revenue. He speaks about how self-doubt played a role, where in the past he would think that others can persevere and take the leap of faith, but not him, leaving him to stick to predefined ideas of what he thought other people wanted him to be. At the time, the internal dialogue he entertained is that whatever he struggled with is what he just had to endure. Any mistake that he encountered tampered with his self-worth. Ethan he...2023-09-1349 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 76: The Destruction of Perfectionism, Parenting + DivorceJagdeep dives right in to share some integral parts of her life that gave her a wakeup call to pivot and take charge of her life in a different way. She delves into the perfectionism within her and how this impacted her ability to parent as she started to see how controlling it was on external parts of her life. She examines the damage that perfectionism had on her marriage, and expressed feeling she was destroying her life unknowingly and putting herself to feel unnecessary grief. Jagdeep converses about her process in uncovering unconscious choices she was making and...2023-06-2856 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 75: Triggered by his wife’s Mental Health Journey, Led him to Uncover his OwnHeld back by fear and core beliefs, Faizan was brought to his vulnerability to face his own truth, despite his deep knowledge and understanding of human behaviour. After reflecting on his own belief systems, he expressed that approximately 5 years ago things started to change for him when he dealt with his own financial failure and experiencing the intense feeling of almost losing his wife to the darkness of depression. Faizan talks about fear he experienced keeping him from being able to help his wife during the fragility of her ailments. He admits that while he had the knowledge and...2023-06-1448 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 74: She Found her Mother’s Dead Body + Began the Emotional TurmoilPaige’s untold story is predominantly about finding her mother dead at their familial home at the young age of 17, and the impact her mother’s death had on her during such a developmental age and fundamental time. Paige takes us through her journey highlighting changes she experienced personally and professionally resulting from this devastating life event. Paige willingly uncovers the impact it had on her mental health as well as all other aspects of her life. Following this incident, she was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She explains that being diagnosed with PTSD was quit...2023-05-3148 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 73: Oh… It’s OCD, but she’ll grow out of itClaire’s parents were told by their family physician when she was just around 4-years- that what Claire had been presenting with was obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), but it was something she would grow out of. This informal diagnosis was not shared with Claire until she was in her mid-20’s nor did she grow out of it. Once she learned about OCD and how it shows up in her life, it took a great deal of healing to even come to terms with it, learn how to cope and manage it, and choose a path that led her to w...2023-05-1758 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 72: Translating the father wound into new meaning for his own childrenJohnny takes us through his journey where he describes the difficulties in growing up without a father and the impact it caused to hunger for acceptance in all other facets of his life. Johnny elaborates on his journey, speaking about the lessons he learned from the absence of a father figure and how he drew from his own difficult experience and committed to giving his children fully what he was deprived of growing up. Johnny talks about feeling emotional emptiness, which led him down a path of drugs and alcohol, feeling abandoned and not evening knowing it at times...2023-05-0353 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 71: Untangling Beauty from the fear webbed chaosGarcia shares her untold story and extracts the two extreme themes of growing up in what was seen as a perfect life on the outside, while feeling broken on the inside. Garcia battled with imposter syndrome, constantly held back due to fear, and openly spoke about the state of her marriage and how fearful she would be to take steps forward in her life as she experienced emotional consequences for actions she took. She expressed how she felt like she was leading a single life while being married and a mother to four children. Garcia longed for attention from...2023-04-1951 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 70: The pressure cooker feeling on repeat + confidence contingent on a faulty narrativeRafiat details her untold story is all about how she followed her own intuition to leave an emotionally abusive relationship and toxic work environment. She explains that by doing so, she is able to live her life on her own terms and has made peace and joy her standard. Rafiat uncovers her mental health is tied to her financial health, when she was about 14 years old, her family lost their home, having to sell to avoid foreclosure, her parents were getting a divorce because of financial constraints and mother learned that father wasn’t paying the mortgage. They were ab...2023-04-0554 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 69: Until She Believed in Herself, the Cycle of Abuse continuedAlexandra taps into being raised with a strict parenting style, where she experienced emotional and psychological abuse, sharing her mother’s parenting style mirrored her grandfather’s style of parenting that Alexandra’s mother experienced. She left her life in France to come to Canada to live a new life and pursue her dreams and goals. Soon after she met the father of her child, she participated in a toxic relationship for several years and experienced emotional, physical, and financial abuse. Alexandra expresses the abuse she endured in adulthood was parallel to her childhood experience. She thought this is what s...2023-03-2248 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 68: She does it messy, transforming fear into fuelRachael dives deep into sharing that part of her untold story where she ignored her inner voice, got married, later divorced, and through the process she gained clarity, courage, and confidence, which permitted her to recommit to herself. She identifies as a supernatural human from a young age, she found it difficult to tame her gifts, given she couldn’t make sense of her experiences. This later led her to feel vulnerable and exposed. Rachael frequently questioned her identity, wondered who she was expected to be, while she had a great deal of awareness as a baby and toddler, it...2023-03-0856 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 67: The Woman who Raised her Parents, herself and Ignited her Flame to a Renewed path of FulfillmentMira starts to share her story by pointing out that problems don’t go away, but it is about how an individual chooses to carry them. She delves into her story as a child of deaf parents, immigrating from Iran to Canada, and the identity crisis that she faced along the way. While growing up in Iran, she didn’t have the same opportunities that her peers had. She struggled to share some of her emotional experiences with her parents, communication was limited, and she took on a large parenting role to her parents and became their eyes and ears...2023-02-2254 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 66: She took Hold of her Story, Named it & Reframed it, with Success Written all Over itAt 17, Melane was hospitalized, fighting leukemia. Through her cancer journey and miraculous recovery, she gained an understanding of her purpose, faith, and the power of a positive mindset, all of which laid the foundation for her business success. She takes the time to delve into the initial career focus starting as a nurse and what prompted her in this endeavour was the substandard emotional care received while she herself was hospitalized. She wanted to ensure that she could positively impact other patients in a similar predicament. She takes time to speak about the backstory of what it took to...2023-02-0851 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 65: The Recovering Perfectionist, Reveals herself, her Truth & her Imperfections Guest: Salima Jadavji the hostess herself, interviewed by Stephanie HanleySalima dares to share for a second time, tying her initial interview revealing herself as a miracle baby, and now expanding on multiple themes that presented in the deep layers of perfectionism. She explores the underlying themes and narratives that have fuelled perfectionism in her lifetime, such as feeling defective resulting from health challenges; contending with the idea of not feeling truly seen because of feeling “defective”; getting consumed by fears and anxieties held by her immediate family members, and some patterns rooted in cultural norms, family dynamics, sibling hierarchy, and facing differential treatment due to gender. Perfectionism didn’t alwa...2023-01-2555 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 64: The Contrast: He Climbed out from Under the dark Mental Space that only High Achievers ever get intoKwasi’s story unveils the struggle he experienced with his deep desire to be successful, the immense pressure he put on himself, and the mental toll he endured as a result of his process. He expressed that he was desperate for approval, and no matter what success he captured, it never seemed to be enough. Kwasi shared the many barriers he faced which put additional stress on his desire to perform with high standards he set for himself to meet goals he set out. Kwasi shared that being alone with his thoughts was detrimental to his self-esteem and confidence, he...2023-01-1145 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 63: A Traumatic Brain Injury + the 1% Medical MarvelDr. Burger shares her story based on true determination as her driving force to recover from a car accident which resulted in sustaining numerous physical injuries, some of which required surgeries, in addition to a traumatic brain injury. She lived by a mantra that she told herself repeatedly, “I will work, and I will get better”, which is exactly what transpired. She indeed worked extremely hard and battled many rough patches, even on some of the toughest days she kept going, and she did get better and found a way to build a life that she thrives in, in the...2022-12-2847 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 62: The Contrast: Losing Hope on the Inside, yet some Could only See the ‘Perfect Life’ she LivedSophia openly speaks about her journey with depression and how she was living a good life that she was grateful for and is exactly the image she portrayed to others. However, Sophia had a great deal of inner turmoil that she combatted with which was kept hidden from her external world. She shares that during her 20’s she started to experience symptoms of depression, though she wouldn’t have known at the time this is what she was experiencing. At that time, she developed feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness, despite having a reputable career, a solid social circle, and...2022-12-1545 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 61: Relationship Toxicity, Red Flags, Abuse, and the Impact of Not even Knowing itShelley brings forward a story where her first deep relationship transformed into marriage, and later a relationship so toxic that even she could not recognize its depth. After giving birth to each of her 3 children, she developed postpartum depression, which gradually shifted into situational depression. She describes how her third pregnancy was tough and the morning sickness she endured was around the clock, not to mention many other factors that she faced. Shelley shared that her husband at the time was absent from the marriage, not there to support her as he himself was overwhelmed with his career, leaving...2022-11-3046 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 60: Since Childhood she Lived with Uncertainty, from Psychological Abuse to Sexual AbuseAs early as 6 years old, Candace recalls experiences of sexual abuse which she openly speaks about, she expresses as a child it was a confusing period for her, knowing it wasn’t right, but not knowing what really to do about it. Candace grew up in a dysfunctional home, and continued to strive to make her mother proud, but felt she could not no matter how much she tried. She was struggling with her mental health at 14, needing time and attention, her father came to recognize her needs which led to relocation to live with her father. The relocation re...2022-11-1646 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 59: Struck with grief. Navigating control. Impacted by choice. Learning Resilience.Sara shares an emotional journey she experienced at the age of 21 when her father died, only 4 weeks after a health diagnosis. She mentioned that her journey of grief started 10 years before that when her parents separated, and she had to learn how to accept not seeing her father every day. Sara explained the relationship with her father growing up had its own challenges and differences, while they both shared the ability to use humour, they didn’t connect with morals and values all the time. She was able to learn from her father distinctly who she wanted and did no...2022-11-0246 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 58: Trauma Accumulated, Misperception of Illness and Finding his way to be ImpactfulMichael openly speaks out about physical, emotional, and sexual abuse he endured from childhood. He has suffered through post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, amoung other painful experiences. Michael emphasized that he was leading a regular life, until an encounter he had with a mental health facility, at a time when he underwent a nervous breakdown, he attempted to seek help, as he sought to make sense of the flashbacks. He shares that his story is deeply rooted in stigma and shame he suffered, carrying the label of ‘mentally ill’. He shares his experienced of being invalidated by the heal...2022-10-1949 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 57: She Simmered in Burnout and Then it Became an Epiphany for HerIn this episode Carla unveils with true vulnerability her experience of burnout that she endured in 2020 simultaneous to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. She came to realize that even though she was doing all the right things to ensure she was engaging in regular self-care, self-care just wasn’t enough to feel better. Carla described that she wasn’t functional, she couldn’t work, she experienced a great deal of confusion, darkness, and she expressed feeling as though her own identity was crumbling. She took time to share how hard she had worked to get to the place she wa...2022-10-0544 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 56: The Exclusion Experience and Emerging out from the Suppressed VoiceTanya takes a deep dive in sharing some delicate parts to her untold story. She explained that she went from being an out-going, full of energy, enthusiastic and bold in personality, to suddenly losing her voice, finding herself with the inability to communicate. Her story dates back more than 20 years ago, where she entered the corporate world as a young female of colour, heavily dominated by alpha males. There were many contributions to the loss of her voice, one of them a term not known to her at the time, but that of microaggression. It got to the point...2022-09-2142 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 55: Shocking Tragedies that Marked + Changed her life’s Perspective ForeverThalia tells her story of the murder-suicide attempt of her grandparents when she was a young teenager, the lives of her grandparents had deteriorated in many ways which led her grandfather through a period of desperation. Her grandparents were later separated and hospitalized for what ended up leading into the loss of her grandparents within the span of a year. Thalia spoke about the differences in her experience with the death by suicide with both of her grandparents and with her high school friend. She described the death of her grandparents as a drawn-out path to the end of...2022-09-0748 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 54: She Smiles, she Empowers, while Simultaneously Grieving and MourningIn Saidat’s story she openly shares about all the inner triumphs which get brushed under the rug while she talks about being a parent to a child with autism, a journey which began 20 years ago. She expresses what it was like to not have the opportunity and not give herself the opportunity to sit with that pain, knowing that it is a grieving of its own kind, to know that she must embark on a different parenting path. Saidat explains that when you are a parent to a child with an exceptionality, it is easy to have all yo...2022-07-2048 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 53: Growing up with no voice & feeling the grief + pain that led her to find her voiceBelinda conveys that initially her story begins with grief and losing her mother to illness, which expands to larger circumstances that were seen from the lens of a minority, a black African woman, raised in a culture where there was no permission to have a voice. Belinda articulates the obligations of this cultural upbringing are some of what her mother endured which Belinda witnessed. The witnessing being about her mother’s bravery and courage to overcome working through a marriage the best that she could, knowing when to exit and not give up on herself; the observing of her yo...2022-07-0645 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 52: Despite the Traumatic Complexities, He Grabbed Hold of the Vision that was Inside of HimJustin expresses the depth of his experiences with trauma, substance abuse issues, cycling through the system, mental health challenges that have been part of his journey, and the recovery process which all led him an opportunity to pave his career successes in the field. He shares what it’s like to be raised in a religious cult led by prominent family members who also met with mental health challenges of their own. Justin mentioned he was not allowed to interact with anyone outside the cult, with consequences of being “harmed by the apocalypse”. He shared that when he was taken...2022-06-2250 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 51: What she did to Thrive and Excel in a Male Dominated FieldShirley identifies herself as an introvert who stepped into a male dominated workspace, and found her way to shine, despite facing barriers as a black woman, facing gender inequities, pay disparities, and finding her voice. She spoke about what it was like to work ten times harder than others for less opportunities, and for whatever did come her way, she needed to be gracious for it, and sacrificed a great deal to get an ounce of what another in the same position would receive. Shirley chose not to speak up at first, out of fear, she internalized majority of...2022-06-0850 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 50: She Healed a Horrifying Childhood and Transformed it into a Beautiful GiftMelissa unpacks details of a childhood that was unpredictable, intense, and full of turmoil. She delved into what it was like to grow up in an alcoholic household that was very abusive, particularly after her mother’s death. She explained that her parents were divorced, and while living with her mother, at 8 years old, mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer suddenly and deteriorated quickly, this led Melissa to return to her father’s care. She spoke about the emotional abuse that she endured, the manipulation she had to take from her father, and though she was the youngest at home...2022-05-2552 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 49 - Moral devastation. Questionable Choices. Shame Untangled. Unimaginable OutcomesJennifer describes what she experienced as an emotional divorce, finding herself in a situation where she made a choice that she would have never thought could be something she would follow through with -- an affair. She speaks about the consequences to her mental well-being and how it affected others. The big change in her life started when she came across the most devastating email. She openly shares that she found herself in the same place of where her husband was a few years earlier, being outside her comfort zone, and being at war with herself with regards to...2022-05-1145 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 48: Fortitude and Beyond – The Courage to Sit with Her PainWynnikka is no stranger at sharing her story of living with a disability since birth, due to a birth injury and having to navigate through life because of the irreparable impact on her overall well-being. She openly speaks about having a wealth of support from her parents, extended family, good friends, and solid mentors, all guiding her to reach her potential and become the woman that she is today. Wynnikka expressed the many difficulties that her parents had to navigate on their own as there was little support available to families who underwent obstetrical (birth) brachial plexus injury. She...2022-04-2753 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 47: Pain, Struggles, Roadblocks + The Road to SuccessBrittany gives us a deep dive into her challenging upbringing as a child and all the disorder that came her way. While facing adversity, she highlights how she drew from a place of strength, resiliency, and perseverance that has shaped her into who she has become today. Some of the odds that Brittany faced included coming from a family of divorce and having a young mother (who is currently a missing persons’ case) who did not know how to parent, instead maintaining her ‘party life’ and leaving Brittany at the age of 6 to take care of her younger siblings, as wel...2022-04-1352 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 46: Stepping into an Unexpected Path of Truths, Leading her to Something IncredibleStephanie takes a plunge into sharing how she has lived her life from a young age, coping with mental illness while learning to hide it from the outside world, including those she is close to. As an individual who has encountered trauma at age 15, worked through suicidal ideations, and combatted diagnoses of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, she openly speaks to what it has been like to navigate the mental health system and how she had to become her own advocate. Stephanie acknowledges that her journey has been long, colourful, and tumultuous, yet it came with numerous lessons along her...2022-03-3044 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 45: Ending the Era of the Uncertainty, the Imposter, & the ‘Infertility Stigma’Alyza pours her heart into sharing how the imposter within her emerged, while successfully masking it for years to her external world. She speaks about the internal struggle of fearing to let her guard and let herself see her true worth. Alyza openly talks about what it is like to grow up in a home where she witnessed her father’s abusive personality take a toll on her mother, while not having any abuse directed to herself. She found she often walked on eggshells as it was unclear what tone her father would be expressing on any given day. Alyza sp...2022-03-1650 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 44: What Happens Behind the Scenes of SuccessReturning guest, Asante speaks about the providence in being vulnerable and nourishing himself with emotional and psychological tools rooted in strength, truth, and honesty. Asante explores what the last two years of his public life experience has been behind closed doors, and how he needed to take a step back to re-evaluate his goals. He also identified what he was working towards by taking a second look at what he truly valued about his successes; and what is truly important to him at the centre of his core. Asante details how his mental energy and stamina would be consumed...2022-03-0250 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 43: The Journey is more About my Death than it is about the CancerHer cancer diagnosis necessitated her to come to terms with facing death and mortality. Rishma elaborates on how her cancer journey ran deeper than just the physical toll, preparation, or adjustment during and after treatments. She gave herself an opportunity to turn inward, connected to herself and did some soul-searching. She identifies with some prominent thoughts that played on her mind in the early stage of her journey and her positioning to get curious, leading up to her own conclusions about death and dying. Rishma shared, in addition to physical pain she endured, she tapped into a deeper meaning o...2022-02-1641 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 42: Finding his inner world, now grounded for lifePeter took the opportunity to dive deep into an area of conversation that he typically doesn't express publicly too often. He shares his journey growing up and coming to Canada as a young immigrant, starting his own businesses from such a young age, and getting caught up in success and living the life he thought would bring him happiness. He shared details of what it was like to experience that level of confusion of what success was meant to be. It took a toll on his mental health and started to rely on alcohol consumption, not having the desire to wak...2022-02-0245 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 41: A Personal Struggle + a Single Decision, led her to Success in the MakingLaimina’s story goes well beyond her journey through taking leaps of faith and entering career success, she took the time to take us down memory lane and share what it was like to find a way to support her young son’s inability to hear from a very tender developmental age. She detailed what it was like to scope out all the possibilities for her son’s future, what decisions had to be undertaken to ensure balance between quality of life, financial stability, the emotional toll, and the trust in the universe for all things that remained unknown. Laimina, sp...2022-01-1940 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 40: The Stay-At-Home-Mom Identity Loss, Now RecoveredIfeoma describes what it was like for her to transition from a highly successful and driven young professional and pausing her career for a decade to raise her four children. She expressed what it was like for her to watch her former classmates progress in their careers and finding herself constantly questioning her life choices, leaving her to feel tormented that she let her education go to waste. During this 10 year gap in her career, much of her interactions and conversations were all about children and children related activities, and she yearned for adult interaction and conversation. Ifeoma also...2021-12-0852 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 39: A Depression + the Trenches followed by Infinite InspirationZak dives right in to talk about how her life had been impacted by depression and how some of it was rooted in fear of how she would be judged or interpreted by others, which resulted in the fear of showing up authentically and being seen. She unveils that the depression brought her to an all-time low point in her life, she recognized that this wasn’t who she was, she continued to seek outwardly the approval of others and really it came down to looking for love externally. Zak reveals that a big ‘ah-ha’ moment for her was tappin...2021-12-0141 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 38: Introduced to the Foster Care System + the Quest for Questions BeganToday's guest openly shares that her upbringing began with a mother who suffered with undiagnosed schizophrenia, and when she was the tender age of 6, one day at school, she met her two older brothers at the school office where they were then taken and placed in foster care. She remained in the foster care system until she was 18 years of age. She connects with difficult moments and unknown feelings, never feeling settled anywhere, in addition to her identity as a mixed-race child, being raised in a predominantly Caucasian area, she carried a great deal of shame, not wanting others...2021-11-2448 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 37: Living in the Present in Full Vulnerability When 9/11 Turned it All Upside DownMarnie’s story is all about bringing her son, Joe, into the world as the dust was settling in New York from the 9/11 attacks which became a transformative experience for her. Her story circles around her experience of getting pregnant and having a scheduled delivery on that same day, while residing in downtown Chicago, where the city was bracing itself to be the next hit after New York. Her experience as she describes it is one of vulnerability and gratitude in the face of fear. Marnie explains that she was supposed to be induced that day, two weeks after he...2021-11-1743 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 36: Dreams Do Come True When You Breakthrough ‘Your’ ShacklesDr. Naira takes the time to convey what it was like to be a child of divorce from the age of three being brought up in Moscow, Russia. Expressing that her mother was busy with her personal life and her father oblivious to her needs, Dr. Naira felt alone from this young age. She grew up having self-doubt, not confident in her abilities, though aspiring to be a perfectionist in anything she put her mind to. She married at the age of 16 where she strongly believes that after marrying her husband this is where the beginning of her personal...2021-11-1041 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 35: Traumatically Segregated on Multiple Levels Due to her Divergent PersonalityKarima voices what it has been like to be caught in a system she believes has failed her by giving her a false mental health diagnosis leading to a life altering narrative, combined with the difficulties that come along with her identity as an ethnically mixed Muslim woman of colour. She shares details about feeling like the odd one out growing up, being bullied not just with appearance but also in her line of thinking and expression. She openly discusses the experience of her first psychosis induced mania episode which she had not been equipped to handle, later bringing...2021-11-0343 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 34: The Devastation + Stigma of a Parent’s Divorce and the Unknown Mental Health CrisisChristine openly shares how she has struggled with depression since her teen years, undiagnosed, with some re-occurrences post-partum. She explains that her parents’ marriage had fallen apart and the narrative that was created in her mind was that her family had fallen apart. The breakdown of the family unit was a major theme in her struggles growing up. Christine shared that at the time of her parents’ divorce was also a time where divorce was uncommon, and there was a great deal of stigma placed on women who divorced. Her parents were both going through their own emotional pain and...2021-10-2749 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 33: Disruption + Chaos Endured, and Now She Soars Above It AllAt around eight years of age, she identifies as the last generation born in Estonia, Maria was raised in the Soviet Union, taught the Russian language, and brought up amidst chaos where the country was re-starting from the ground up, in addition to being abandoned by her father. At the age of fourteen, she watched Western culture on TV, which inspired her to be there one day. During her upbringing there were a great deal of pressures that felt cumbersome at times, feeling in ‘survival mode’, she felt lonely, which led to questioning her self-worth. Maria shares that her stor...2021-10-2040 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 32: A Marriage + Divorce, Both Behind Closed DoorsCindy conveys that no one really understands what a marriage is going through behind closed doors and what it is like to be married to a ‘covert narcissist’. She shares that this is a difficult personality to identify and has a grave impact on a person’s sense of worth and mental well-being. She describes the experience to include gas-lighting, subtle and unseen manipulations, and a great deal of oppression. Cindy mentioned that she was afraid of being alone, she wasn’t in a position of recognizing red flags, and in hindsight is able to now see that there was a pa...2021-10-1348 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 31: Who She Was and Who She Became; Shifting Challenge into Grains of BeautySvetlana’s story begins when she talks about building her first business in Russia, during a time where she had to deal with not-organized Russian Mafia. She claims it was a disaster as the Mafia were forming different groups. As soon as privatization was born in her country, that meant she could own a business, and so she immediately took her first steps to get registered and started her venture. Being one of the first female entrepreneurs in Russia, she learned all her skills from men, she got to know the banking system were boxes of money, there was op...2021-10-0644 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 30: The Now Gregarious Superwoman, Was Once a Victim of BullyingShelly uncovers what it was like to be bullied at school, residing in a small town where there are ‘small town unspoken rules’ to abide by, dating all the way back during her pre-teen and teen years, and the emphasis on one particular year that took a toll on her overall mental well-being. It is from this experience that she believes self-worth has been her core life-long issue in her journey and therefore, she must implement consistent strategies and tools to combat that unwanted voice from showing up. She spoke about her love for life, her extroverted personality and stro...2021-09-2951 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 29: The Breakthrough of a High-Functioning Empath Meets Malfunctioning Mental Health HabitsParul goes all in to talk about what it is like to struggle with anxiety, depression, and insomnia and when all three came to heads with each other -- there was no amount of coping strategies or tools to equip her for what she was facing on her own. She openly shares how much she internalized and protected herself from the outside world and how this translated as showing up as high functioning despite the inner turmoil she faced. She expressed feeling an empty feeling no known to her, she was unable to experience joy, she had given so m...2021-09-2255 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 28: She vowed to take care of herself, be her own power + fight diseaseRish takes time to open up and share aspects of her entire journey which she has not openly shared to others outside her social circle and made some poignant connections with grief literacy. Rish converses about the multi roles that she played being a daughter, caregiver to both her parents while studying in university and now wife and mother. She describes how tragedy she witnessed as very young adult has shaped her outlook on life and how she wants to make a difference for others to persevere regardless of what life might throw at an individual. She recounts her...2021-09-1554 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 27: Healing Trauma, Cancer, and ‘the’ Spiritual JourneyFarahana shares how she has encountered a great deal of emotional pain and suffering through her life and took the time to expose publicly for the first time the traumas of growing up. She discloses being raised in a household where her parents did not get along, there was physical abuse that she witnessed, and she learned to set her own needs aside to become her mother’s referee and protector. With vulnerability, Farahana shares that her parents today are not reflective of who they were while she was growing up and that she has always been protective of th...2021-09-0842 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 26: Failure Redefined: Processing Shame, Self-Blame + WorthShirin’s untold story is mostly a told story at this point; however, she connects deeper to share vulnerable aspects that light is not often shed on. She speaks about two dysfunctional marriages she experienced and how it all started when she became a single mother. She moved to Canada to start her second marriage and quickly learned that this is not the life that was promised to her, while enduring a struggle with facial palsy and battling cancer. She spoke about a core theme of how being a woman is wrong, and how this message showed up intensely in...2021-07-0156 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 25: The Dis-ease of Trauma, Murder & DeathCarys straight away delves into the sharing of her story, where she describes the gruesome night at age 11 where her father was murdered by a stranger who broke into their home, the impact it had on the family dynamics, surviving loss and re-stabilization. She shares that there was an almost immediate dis-ease that entered her body, telling her that she could never be safe or have fun and will need to plan out all parts of her life as she spent a great deal of time worrying. Twenty years later, she pursued the crime aspect of this loss and...2021-06-2358 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 24: The Beauty of Movement Unleashed her True PotentialDr. Shemine Gulamhusein shares that as a young person she struggled to understand the value of reading, writing, along with finding her sense of belonging. It was only after she started to play sports actively in her pre-teen years that she began noticing an increased sense of self-worth and belonging and saw a significant improvement in her academics. She delved right in to share the difficulties that were brought on by expectations to meet certain developmental milestones -- she explains the nuances of differences in development occurs differently, for any individual. She unveils how joy and passion were ignited...2021-06-1646 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 23: Grieving in Gratitude + Sitting with the DiscomfortRishma unveils a heart-wrenching story about losing her husband to cancer and the journey through being his caregiver and knowing that their time together was limited. She described and detailed her husband’s character viewed by many -- he was a magnet towards all people. She portrays that her personal grief journey is like that of peeling and unravelling of an onion, with each grief layer looking unalike, and therefore she embraces ‘grieving with gratitude’. She speaks about what it is like to grieve during the global pandemic, there were no traditional rites and rituals performed or known gatherings of fam...2021-06-0947 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 22: Even adversity could NOT hold him back…‘he chose’ to be the Controller of his narrativeAsante opens up about a childhood that is filled with instability, lack of response, lack of support, and coping in survival mode. He shares his learnings about how life is not linear, it is unpredictable, filled with disappointment and triumphs. He talks about his story through the lens of race, equity, understanding problems and looking for solutions. Asante describes the hope he represented to his family as he had many gifts and talents, how it fell apart when there was no one there to pay attention to his needs and parent him, and how he used his determination to...2021-06-0259 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 21: From Conservative Patriarchy to Sexual Health + EroticismKelly talks about what it was like to grow up in an extremely patriarchal environment, where women were supposed to be a certain way, where they needed to come across as nice, to be not outspoken, to be educated, but to also be geared towards marriage and children as the completion of what all is meant to be for a woman. She shares how it’s hard to constantly be fighting to be acknowledged and to pave her individual path on her own terms. Kelly shares how initially she was studying medicine at first and later quit medical school wh...2021-05-2646 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 20: The Twist of the ‘Imposter’, ‘Racial Trauma Internalized’, + the Mastery of the twoSheliza dives into a conversation where she explores what it is like to consider both surviving and thriving in order to make it in the world. She delves into internalized emotions that she endured along the way like, sadness, anxiety, shame. She balanced many competing identities related to social identities, racial trauma and imposter syndrome. She shares denying her own roots, rejecting her identity, and her big coping mechanism was to shove her experiences aside or hide behind them. She accounts for what imposter syndrome manifested within her, and that knowing she was put together and looked put together...2021-05-1949 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 19: Her Unwavering Faith Conquered the Cancer and every other Wall that came her wayAs Nadia begins to tap into her story, she shares that leading up to her university graduation ceremony, she was feeling incredibly sick for 4-6 weeks, going in and out of medical clinics without any answers, until ended up visiting the local emergency room at age 24, this is where she learned of the cancer diagnoses. She described this part of her story as her degree comes with a diagnosis. Nadia shares the power in her faith to overcome cancer, firmly planted in the roots of her faith and of a higher power -- she speaks about choosing to take...2021-05-1253 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 18: A Journey through Dating, Relationships & finding the ‘One’Mr. X speaks about the initial struggles that his family endured when his family first immigrated to Canada, and as his story unfolds, he unveils what it was like to grow up with being a recipient of both physical and verbal abuse. He shares about how all the emotional pain churned inside him, leaving him confused and second-guessing his actions and pursuits in life. Mr. X shares how his upbringing shaped and influenced his later life when he got married and resulted in his first marriage dissolving. He openly walks us through his journey through dating in what seemed...2021-05-0547 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 18: A Journey through Dating, Relationships & finding the ‘One’Manu speaks about the initial struggles that his family endured when his family first immigrated to Canada, and as his story unfolds, he unveils what it was like to grow up with being a recipient of both physical and verbal abuse. He shares about how all the emotional pain churned inside him, leaving him confused and second-guessing his actions and pursuits in life. Manu shares how his upbringing shaped and influence his later life when he got married and resulting in his first marriage dissolving. He openly walks us through his journey through dating in what seemed like a ‘ne...2021-05-0548 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 17: Getting there - The Limitless Possibilities of Not Knowing Her DiagnosesBarbara authentically shares what it was like growing up with severe learning difficulties, having no known diagnosis at the time. She was pressed to carve and navigate her own path through feeling that she couldn’t fit in, feeling that going to school was meant to ‘feel stupid’, feeling ashamed that she couldn’t learn what others could, that at times it got so emotionally and mentally unruly that she had to fake illness so she could get out of going to school. She never told a soul what she had experienced, endured, and suffered through for decades. Barbara presente...2021-04-2849 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 16: Getting There - An Inner Knowing, Despite the Repressed + Uncovered MemoriesRoss' story began when he was just 5 years old, when his father was arrested for a white-collared crime, and though Ross was witness to this, he has no recollection of this time in his life. Ross openly talks about how this experience manifested into a multitude of emotions and behaviours as a young child. He talks about dysregulated emotions where he would act out physically, destroying all his belongings, developed a speech impediment, and though he was a high performer as he progressed on the academics side, he discloses that he was bullied and struggled throughout elementary school and...2021-04-2138 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 15: Resiliency + Thriving: A Multi-Part Journey Through Grief, Ill Health and ViolenceAmy tells her full journey filled with turmoil and shares what she endured that culminates the story of loss, unknowingly becoming the sacrificial lamb of the family, a marriage filled with uncertainty, battling cancer twice, and reeling in with all her might walking away to start a new beginning. She spoke about how perfectionism kept her stuck in a domestic situation where she endured verbal, emotional and physical abuse, and how she leaned in with bravery to find herself, her inner strength, and looked in the mirror to gain clarity with what she was prepared to do so she...2021-04-1449 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 14: She Learned the True Meaning of ‘In Sickness and In Health’Mary takes the plunge and dives right in to speak about what it is like to go through an already long journey of her and her partner to be together, and then to be hit with a curveball when she least expected. She shares about how she quickly went from being newlyweds with exciting new beginnings, to becoming a 24/7 caregiver to her husband. Mary talked about the devastation of her husband’s illness, and how nothing could stop her from doing whatever it took to fulfill her duties as a partner, and in doing so, not realizing that she pu...2021-04-0744 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 13: Demons Showed Up and they Lit a Path to Her Connection + TruthIn her sit down, Dr. Saira without holding back, shares her story about her journey with depression, the depth and impact of her most recent depressive episode, living through food addiction and how she copes in day-to-day life with it, and how this all showed up in its fullest form after an encounter with her brother, who at the time, was homeless and suffering through addiction of his own, and disconnected from the family. She shares what it is like to be in denial, what it is like to reach out and accept support from close friends and family...2021-03-3149 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 12: The Hidden Truths Came to Light + then ‘Fun’ HappenedRahim shares and details his intimate experience with coming out to his family and identifying himself as part of the LGBTQ community. He took the time to explain that the journey was a long process, it takes time, there are more parts than he realized that are part of the coming out process. He took the time to walk through several elements of his journey, including the parts where he was questioning if who he was was wrong. He identified with feeling displaced and unsafe in social circumstances at school, indicating that he was bullied during his younger years...2021-03-2452 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 11: She Acknowledged Her Turmoil, Took Her Stance, and Then She RoseClarity sits down to talk about the depth of dark times in her journey as she shares about having no healthy memories of her childhood, having endured trauma, physical abuse and patriarchy. She talks about how she was desperate for love, affection and attention. She shares how she felt misunderstood and disconnected from her father, brother and sister, and because her mother was the only person in her life who was not an abuser, Clarity idealized her mother and didn’t see the reality of her mother not showing up in a way that protected her. Through this difficult jo...2021-03-1749 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 10: Transformation Began the Moment She ‘Exposed’ Her SecretReena talks about what it is like to be diagnosed with a skin condition known as psoriasis from the young age of 14, and how it remained unacknowledged for about 17 years. She shares how she lived a life defined with pain, self-hate and denial. Reena shares that for so long, no one knew what she was truly bearing inside of her, she believed that her thoughts were actually just thoughts of vanity and ended up minimizing and invalidating her experienced pain, which remained silenced. Reena shares the life changing experience of attending a silent meditation retreat which she attended with...2021-03-1055 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 9: When a Mother Faces Carrying Life and Death in Her BodyWith vulnerability, Farah shares the unimaginable experience of carrying a twin pregnancy close to full term, learning that one baby passed away and that she had to carry on the pregnancy to keep the other alive. She shares that there is always more to a person’s story than what we may know looking from the outside in. Farah shares her experience of what it was like to connect with her stillborn baby after delivery, and her baby who was quickly taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and then unexpectedly, she was admitted to the intensive care unit wh...2021-03-0347 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 8: Depression Can Appear in Disguise of One’s SmileAndrea provides insights into her journey of depression and how it may not be captured while looking at her from the outside in. For Andrea, it took something of intense caliber to realize that she needed to get the help, and she shares that when a person is faced with depression, they do not have to wait for things to feel so out of control or overwhelming before asking for some help. She shares what it is like to be on antidepressants, what the adjustment was like when she first started on the medication, and how she is grateful...2021-02-2452 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 7: A Mother’s Perspective of Her Teen’s Mental Health VoyageIn this episode we hear from Neilin, who is the mother of one of our earlier guests – Khayali Dhanji who had shared the depth of her own mental health journey. With Khayali’s permission, her mother Neilin shares her own take on this mental health voyage that is parallel to both of them. Neilin describes how scary it was to see her child in that much emotional pain, knowing that it was her daughter’s journey, and there is nothing that Neilin can do to fix it for her daughter. She also recognized through process of relinquishing control, knowing that t...2021-02-1753 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 6: A Heroine’s Journey filled with Grief, Sadness, Discovery and ResilienceGulshan shared the unexpected grief that she encountered after losing her husband, with unexpected turns to follow. She had to take a step back from a life that not only she was thriving in, but she was also deep in her career path and enjoying all parts of her life, particularly spending time with her husband and children. As Gulshan shares and her journey unfolds, she talks about post traumatic growth, how she turned to a holistic means of healing and developed and experienced her own spiritual growth. She talks about how to detach from the pain in order...2021-02-1046 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 5: The Inner Tale of Shifting from Self-Hate to Self-LoveKaren shares her intimate journey of how she captivated love for herself after a dire suicide attempt, and how this became her benchmark for the work she does now as a therapist herself, where she leads the role of guiding people through their ‘dark soul of the night’. Karen talks about how she has worked her path so deeply and intuitively that she is no longer emotionally triggered as she thinks back vividly to such a dark time in her life. Karen expresses that she can feel all her feelings and still feel fully intact - because for her, inte...2021-02-0243 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 4: A Woman’s Single-Handed Journey: A Lawyer, Mother, Daughter & Everything in BetweenJasmine talks about the unique experiences of what she went through as a woman at the start of her law career, what strife she faced, worries she endured, and how she powered through it all. She expressed how community and cultural perception plays a role with judgement, “what will people think”. As a successful lawyer and inspiration to other women, Jasmine shares that not many people know the details of her story, and she talks about her experiences of those not knowing her past and envying her success to date. Jasmine talks about the time she encountered a fork in t...2021-01-2643 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 3: A Teen’s Mental Health Voyage into the Midst of AnxietyAs a teenager, Khayali shares the intimate details of her self-discovery journey through the lens of mental health, and not only sharing about her struggles with anxiety, but that of depression and everything else that tagged along. Khayali, braves with vulnerability and discloses her mental health diagnoses, how things went sideways before they got better, and shares details of the exact moment that things started to shift for her. Through it all, Khayali has been able to find the silver lining in her struggle, she has been able to identify where she feels she sits in this her part...2021-01-2654 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 2: What People Don’t Know About ‘Khatna’, its Secrecy and PropagationFarzana identifies with the Bohra Community that has become known for ‘khatna’, which is a form of surreptitious female genital cutting that happens around the age of seven. As a khatna survivor herself, she speak about her transformation into becoming an activist, breaking the silence of female genital cutting. As Farzana’s personal story unfolds, she uncovers for us how she has moved beyond the traumatic moment, while honouring her process. She talks specifically about how she was impacted as she went through her journey to the activist she is today, what she is grateful for encountering, and the toll i...2021-01-2642 min
Dare To Share Your Untold StoryEpisode 1: A Miracle Baby - She Dares to Share her Imperfect TruthShe leads by example as Salima takes the dare to share her own personal story and journey. At the time of her birth, named and known as ‘the miracle baby’, Salima speaks firsthand from her perspective -- what her life was like after she overcame the odds of survival when she endured a traumatic birth. Her story extends beyond what took place at the time she was born to the unspoken expectations, that led her to experiencing a life filled with anxiety and what contributed to the conditioning for her to show up with perfectionism in all aspects of her...2021-01-2636 min