Iana J. Daniels: “One of my supervisors said, ‘Iana, you take yourself so seriously, you don't have to. Smile a little bit. Everything does not have to be a problem to solve. With some things, you can just let them go’. I've always had laughter in my life. For a while, it was a coping mechanism, instead of crying. When I learned about belly laughing, I realized that's the type of laugh I do when I am truly happy or find something really, really funny. It's not the laugh I do when I'm trying to make myself enjoy something. 

When it comes to suicide, we see things on social media how the person who had just ended their life by suicide was seen just the night before laughing at a party, seeming to be having a wonderful time. 

There was a time in my life where if I wasn't doing something, I didn't feel productive or I felt something was wrong. Nowadays, some days are what I call a pajama day. I do nothing and I even stay in my PJs all day.

I now watch the sunrise and the sunset. I often wonder how many more sunrises and sunsets I have left in my lifetime and how many of them will I miss? How many of those have I missed because I was too busy doing other things? So, sunrises and sunsets happen whether or not we pay attention to them. Watching them is a great way to slow down literally and metaphorically.

I also remember to dance in the rain.”

Have a listen as I interview my special guest, Iana J. Daniels.