More In Common

Tina McGuff /// Anorexia is a Shit Disease /// E043

Tina McGuff is the critically acclaimed author of "Seconds to Snap", it is a memoir of the journey she went through as a teenager and early twenties with anorexia, complex mental illness to full recovery and a very healthy happy life.

 In her own words///

"I have been in great physical and mental health now for many years and feel I’m in a confident position to be of huge value and show happiness, recovery, self-awareness and emotional intelligence is completely possible.

 My years of lived in experience as well as working alongside psychologists, eating disorder, mental health charities and supporting families through the hell of these very complex illnesses has given me a huge amount of insight and practical information I bring to the people I'm engaging with. 

 A regular guest and contributor on National TV, Radio and Newspapers. therefore, starting those important conversations with people across the world in schools, universities, private hospitals and workplaces.

 

Topics we cover///

• Stigma around Mental Illness and her mission to break it down

• The difference between mental Illness and mental Health

• Growing up in Scotland and South Africa

• Her parent's situation that lead to her living in poverty and how hard it was growing up

• Her life surviving anorexia for many years as a teenage and how it manifested for her

• How Psychosis manifested in her during this struggle and how she nearly committed suicide multiple times

• Becoming a pilot as a positive focus after getting healthy

• How the perfectionism of Anorexia led to how she parented, lived and managed everything for the longest time

 

References:

• Anorexia

• Psychosis

• Apartheid

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• ACEs - Adverse childhood experiences

  • TED talk Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

• Darren Brown - mentalist, illusionist

• Kevin Briggs - San Francisco police officer, talked over 200 hundred people out of jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge

Kimberly Fe'Lix /// Professional Mother "Shame" /// E042

 Kimberly Fe’Lix, called Fe’Lix by her friends, is a wellness advocate with a passion for education and accessibility. Before creating her blog, Fe'Lix, Inside & Out, Fe'Lix worked within the health + wellness space both in traditional health care settings and within the non-profit board room setting. With a passion for advocacy, Fe'Lix has experience with both grassroots organizing and as a macro-scale strategist. 

 After stepping back from her career to focus on her family, Fe'Lix started her blog; which is a one-stop-shop for all things wellness, Both Inside & Out;  as a way to create a space where she could help people navigate the journey to a healthier lifestyle.  Whether talking about the science behind ingredients, clean beauty, or nutrition and supplements, one thing that remains at the center is motherhood. Fe'Lix, speaks regularly on self-care,  diversity, the importance of representation, and the delicate nature of raising mixed race, multi-cultural children in today's world.

Kimberly Fe'Lix "Moms, I'm giving you permission to take care of yourself first and then take care of your children.  For non-moms if you're any type of care taker of other human beings whether they belong to you or not, you gotta take care of yourself.  Fill your cup with healthy nutritious things."

Topics we cover///

• Lack of Diverse representation in Health and Wellness
• Accessibility of Wellness
• International food comparison
• Her growing up with a highly accomplished Mom
• Preventative Health
• Being a Military kid and having a very successful Mother in the military
• Her identity struggle as a very successful professional and now being a stay at home Mom ultimately balancing the emotional struggle in this decision
• Male/Female cultural expectations
• Her experience growing interracial and how unaware she was
• How her boys are mixed race but white presenting and what that means

 

References:

• EWG
• Think Dirty
• Vani Hari - challenged Kraft to the ingredients in Mac & Cheese
• AKA Sorority
• School Daze
• Chlorella

Credits:

 

Music:

 

Main Theme: "I dunno" by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626 Ft: J Lang, Morusqu

Guest theme: In the clouds by Stefan Kartenberg (c) copyright 2019 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial  (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/JeffSpeed68/59123 Ft: Javolenus

Rachel Gorham /// Always Persevere and Follow your Dreams /// E041

Rachel Gorham is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse with 6 years of clinical experience. She is double board certified and holds national certifications as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and in Advanced Genetics Nursing. Her specialty is in women’s health, gynecological oncology, cancer risk assessment, hereditary cancer syndromes, cancer genetics, managing and developing high-risk breast centers, and cancer prevention.

 She has provided her expertise on two national position statements for NPWH which include Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Assessment and Males with Breast Conditions: The Role of WHNPs Specializing in Breast Care. She recently contributed to Women’s Health in Primary Care: An Integrated Approach 1e, “Breast Health” chapter. Rachel is a National Key Note Speaker for Merck and Myriad Genetics.

Tristan /// Live Your Life Bravely /// E040

Live Your Life Bravely

Tristan’s entire life journey is a testament to trusting the voices in her head, especially when they didn’t make sense” to others. From going to four colleges in four years, to winning a job at Teen People Magazine off the radio, to convincing publishers she could pen a super-fun dating book as a non-writer, to ditching a wildly successful, albeit soul sucking career in pursuit of service, to coming out with her highly controversial #metoo story, and so much more in the lands of love, life and career, Tristan, to the core of her being, believes that to live life wholeheartedly, we have to dare to answer the call of our own wild. This is the foundation for her passion in helping women connect to their inner voice and project it out… loudly!

But if you are looking for hardcore cred, know that Tristan holds a Masters in Psychology from Pepperdine University. She is a licensed psychotherapist (specializing in CBT, Mindfulness, EMDR and narrative therapies) but fancies herself more of a guide since she believes that her clients are the true gurus of their own lives. All that said, her credentials, knowledge and extensive experience getting to the ROOTS of what keep us stuck, definitely come in handy since to truly transform and step into your highest self and brightest light, you gotta heal and release past wounds, effectively. Then… you can be free to identify, explore and create life on your terms.

Prior to becoming a coach/therapist, Tristan was a consumer Trend Forecaster serving in many senior level executive positions at companies including Teen People Magazine, People Magazine, Columbia Records and Creative Artists Agency. Tristan consulted for brands such as Nordstrom, Adidas, Target, Nike, L’Oréal and nearly all of the major motion picture studios and TV networks. She has spoken to thousands on stages globally and has been featured in publications such as Glamour, Cosmo, PopSugar, Brit & Co, Nylon, The Daily Love, Huff Po and Your Tango, as well as on TV/radio such as KTLA and Dr. Drew’s Loveline.

Karyn Kusama /// Race…An American Blind Spot /// E039

Karyn Kusama is an American film and television director. She made her feature film debut with the 2000 film Girlfight,[2] which she wrote, directed, and produced,[3]. She went on to direct the 2005 sci-fi action film Æon Flux, based on Peter Chung's animated series of the same name, and the 2009 cult horror comedy Jennifer's Body. She has recently worked as a television director.[4] In 2017 she directed a segment in the film XX, an all-female horror anthology. Her latest film is the 2018 crime thriller Destroyer, starring Nicole Kidman.

Topics we cover:

• Family and career balance
• Family tragedy and how it shaped her life, her career trajectory and focus on what she needed to do
• The American Blind Spot on Race
• Her experience growing up as the "Japanese Family" and what a school transition did to her perspective
• Dynamics of power struggle in groups fighting power
  • How defining demographics keeps the in group divides
• How words are not necessarily a reflection of our thoughts but our upbringing
• How we have empathy toward people with whom we disagree

Mel Jones /// Make Better Choices /// E038

Mel Jones is a multi-talented producer and director. A Howard University graduate, she earned her MFA at the American Film Institute in Producing. Jones worked in development at Participant Media under producer Jonathan King and marketing guru Ricky Strauss. A Project Involve Fellow, Jones assisted veteran producer and LA Film Festival director, Stephanie Allain – a gig which turned into a five-year stint as producer of Diversity Speaks, one of the festival’s signature programs. She served as Associate Producer on Justin Simien’s Sundance hit, Dear White People, as a Producer on Wade and Jesse Allain-Marcus’ French Dirty, Gerard McMurray’s Burning Sands and Clark Johnson’s Juanita a Netflix Original. She made her directorial debut with Leimert Park, an indie episodic that premiered at Sundance 2018. She is President of Production for Homegrown Pictures.

Jantzen C-S /// Prosperity is For Everybody /// E037

This week get to share a conversation with our guy Jantzen, here’s a bit about him - in his own words:

 I was born born and "half-raised" in Montreal, later moving to the Toronto suburbs as a young teenager.  Was fortunate to have lived in two of the most diverse cities in Canada and in North America having learned from a lot of other cultures.

 My open mindedness and dynamic perspective in life stems from my own anecdotes and also vicariously through the lives of others from around the world. I found myself "tight-rope-walking" the line separating the sides that would have landed me in jail or worse, and the side of prosperity which I continue to live and develop today.

 It's through all of my experiences up until this point that have made me realize many things.  One of which is that the messages which we as a Black community/people have been washing our minds with have a false origin which is  perpetuated through various systemic mediums to keep us boxed in, unaware and blind.  It's by only knowing and loving oneself, as well as our true history, can we work towards a better future for our people and the broader society in which we live as a whole.  (this statement can be applied to anyone in this matter.)

 I've also realized that as loving oneself and having self-pride is important, particularly in the context of race, it's not everything, as there is way more to gain with the love of all people, in the broader scheme that is more important for humanity as a whole.

 It's with all this, a small glimpse of my perspective, that I've founded the WiseMen Collective, to be a person of action, to bring positivity, awareness, education, support and love to our Black people, to have my brothers, sisters and other future members be a part of this journey with me, while making a positive impact within the communities we serve.  

 My aim is for us to have control of our own narrative as a people, through displays of actions that will motivate people to do the same.  

 As we grow, our outreach we will continue to impact the marginalized members of our society including the youth, people with disabilities, the impoverished and others where we can make a difference, through our various  outreach programs.

Kim Anenberg Cavallo /// Stay Curious, Be Present, and Don't Take it Personal /// E036

 Kim Anenberg Cavallo is the founder and CEO of Lilspace, a company that enhances relationships in the digital age. Lilspace elevates real-life events through wellness lounges, a time-tracking app and the social impact incentive Unplug for a Cause™.  

 Growing up with a Mom who was a therapist, Kim experienced the incredible power of relationships and became concerned when technology was clearly interfering with our human to human connections. Her dedication to protecting relationships is Kim’s way to honor her mother, Jane, who died in 2012.  

 After graduating from UCLA in 1988, Kim discovered the mindy/body connection when she began practicing Iyengar Yoga. As technology has expanded its grip on all of our minds, it became painfully obvious to Kim that, specifically, mobile devices were disrupting our relationships. In 2016, between anxious impulses to check her phone, Kim jumped up to protect real-time relationships from the mesmerizing draw of digital devices. It was then that the idea for Lilspace was born.

 With her 25 years experience raising money for NFPs, event planning, community building,  Kim is now focused on what motivates us to put away our phones and practice being present more often.

  

Kim "Don't Take It Personal"

  

Topics we cover:

• Relationship with Technology
• Her mother being a therapist and what that was growing up
• Learning to Connect from Mom and Importance of connection to her
• Managing and understanding emotional responses particularly in relationships
• Impact of Yoga in her life
• Starting Lil'Space
• The unique nature of Lil'Space and how it revolves around Community
• Next Gen Lil'Space
• Addiction to Devices and the design of it

 References:

• Lilspace App
• JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Stand Up Paddling
• Elevation society /// Brittany Chung Episode
• Pomodoro Technique
• Book by Adam Alter: Irresistible
• Real Girl
• "Let it Out" with Katie Dalebout
• Unplug for Wellness
• Al-Anon

 

Credits:

Music – ccmixter.org

Main Theme: "I dunno" by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626 Ft: J Lang, Morusqu

Guest theme:Love Jones by @nop (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Lancefield/50789

Brittany H. /// Anxiety Will Not Kill You /// E035

 Brittany is a Personal Trainer, Group Exercise Instructor, Kindergarten and 1st Grade Teacher.  She has managed through PTSD and Depression as she now tries to raise awareness to Mental Health and promote the impact of health and fitness on mental healing. 

 Join us in this episode as Brittany does an amazing job sharing her story.  Her trauma comes from a hard story to hear and I'm sure harder to tell.  She has managed through with such determination it is inspiring.  How she has come through is a great example of our resilience as people.  We can all learn a lot form Brittany.

Jamil Smith /// Listen To Your Own Breath /// E034

Jamil Smith is a visionary by birth. By training, he is an acupuncturist, herbalist, photographer, writer and entrepreneur.  His life’s work is dedicated to creating viable solutions to social, political and economic challenges facing our societies today.  His path in life has led him from the conference tables of Wall Street through the veins of New York City and beyond.  He has chosen to search for meaning within every experience and show the world its own reflection.

Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Jamil learned early on to embrace the lessons found in solitude.  He learned that before he could understand his surroundings, he first needed to find his own identity.  During his adolescent years, he found comfort in solitude. The loss of life and friendships opened the doors to universal companionship, allowing him to truly capture the moments spent with family, friends and strangers, alike.

When words could not capture the meaning of the moment, it has been his distinct awareness that has enabled him to speak loudly with his expressions of art. As a photographer of 10 years, he brings his burgeoning style and form to lifestyle, documentary, photojournalism and fashion projects.

In 2015, he began his journey towards deeper inner cultivation enrolling in New York’s premier Asian Medical Master’s program. Since attending Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, he has deepened his self-awareness as well as his knowledge of acupuncture, herbal medicine and eastern and western medicine. His work has evolved to preserve traditional healing wisdom across cultures while inspiring new ways of reminding people of our true magic within. Collectively, he seeks to build a foundation necessary for a renewed, sustainable world of true equity among all of its inhabitants.