Toxic relationships can be emotional and/or physically damaging. On this episode, we'll talk about the emotional side. Being in my mid 20s I’ve unfortunately witnessed friends in toxic relationships, and the sad reality is you don’t always see the signs. You may think you have control of the situation, a sense of guilt, wanting to fix your partner, but actually a lot of this comes down to manipulation. It can make you feel really lonely and trapped being in a toxic relationship because your partner may subtly move you away from your friends/family. 

I really wanted to do an episode to raise awareness of the signs because it’s not like physical abuse where you're more likely to walk away from that relationship.

To respect the identities of the my guest and his ex-partner, I have changed the names in this episode. I’m so grateful that “J” was able to share his story because I also think that sometimes it’s more difficult for males to share such deep parts of their relationship, where they were on the receiving end of the toxicity.

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We experience 70,000 thoughts each day. Do you ever stop to question it? If you have a brain, you have a bias. On this episode i’m joined by Tanvi, a corporate girl by day and lifestyle blogger by night. We explore the topic of unconscious bias. Working with South Asian fashion brands, Tanvi has experienced having biases towards fairer skin, which unfortunately is still prevalent and championed in the culture. She shares her thoughts on why it’s important to call out such biases. A keen sportswoman, Tanvi speaks openly about being the only South Asian girl in many of her sports teams. Finally, we explore the biases that can occur in the workplace and how we can challenge them. 

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Please follow the IG page @chatting_uncomfortably I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode.

Please also hit the follow button on your podcasting platform so you don't miss an episode.

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On this episode i’m joined by Dilan - a Stage 4 cancer survivor. He quotes that this was the wake up call he needed to lead a more meaningful and fulfilling life. After going through chemotherapy and surviving cancer, Dilan states that this was the "best thing" to ever happen to him. Working long hours in Finance and Recruitment, and realising life was too short, Dilan then set up DNA fitness and now makes health his top priority as he mentions, "without your health, you have nothing." 

This episode has some powerful lessons on fitness being more than the physical, the power of habits, and how motivation is overrated. We also discuss the importance of dissecting your life, in order to reflect and think about areas that you wish to change or improve. 

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Please follow the IG page @chatting_uncomfortably I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode or future episodes you'd like to hear. 

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If you like this episode, please rate it 5* on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Thank you!

Divorce is difficult to go through, especially in the South Asian community where the taboo is still prevalent. On this episode I’m joined by Jigna, and we discuss the various struggles of going through a divorce. We delve into the pressure society puts on us to be in a relationship/get married and the consequence it can have on you mentally. Jigna tells an incredible story on her mental struggles of losing herself during her marriage, including her suicidal thoughts that finally triggered her to file for divorce. Now thriving in her 30s, Jigna is living proof that there is life after divorce, and her platform shares this message loud and clear! This episode will reshape the way you think about divorce through Jigna's positive spin and her new outlook on life. 

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Please follow the IG page @chatting_uncomfortably I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode. 

Please also hit the follow button on your podcasting platform so you don't miss an episode. 

If you like this episode, please rate it 5* on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Thank you! 

On this episode i’m joined by Jakk Gerard, who shares his compelling story from suicidal thoughts to taking back control of his life, continuing a remarkable journey of working out in the gym for 1200+ days consecutively.

This episode is very fitting for the current climate - where we’re in lockdown for the third time, there’s a lot of us that have our lives turned upside down, feeling really low.

Jakk and I talk about how to shift your mindset from the victim to the victor, being the architect of your life and not allowing yourself to wait for someone to come and ‘save’ you. let that someone be YOU - the victor.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ep! 

Society imposes expectations and judges people when they’re grieving - by telling them what they ‘should do’, and how they ‘must’ feel.

On this episode, I’m joined by Amber, who’s faced losing many loved ones in a very short space of time. We discuss anxiety over loss and that ultimately it’s almost impossible to predict how you’re going to feel when you lose someone. 

"Unresolved Grief is almost always about undelivered communications of an emotional nature"

I’m really excited to have my first ever guest on this episode, a really good friend of mine, Mohini, who unfortunately lost her sister Bhavi when she was 13 years old. Losing a loved one is never easy at any age, to lose you sister at 13 truly is unimaginable. Losing my mum at 22 it was really interesting to contrast how we dealt with our grief journeys and explore the topic of unresolved grief - an area we we both really wanted to raise awareness of. So we massively appreciate you listening to this episode.

The purpose of this episode is to acknowledge that grief can resurface at any point in your life. For those going through it, face those feelings and don’t downplay them because it’s been 5 years, 10years, or in Mohini’s case 12 years. It truly will eat you up inside. And to those who know someone who’s going through or gone through loss, appreciate that their grieving journey isn’t linear, and grief will resurface. Checkin and be an ear to listen, even if you don’t know what to say, being there is appreciated way more than you know.

Please follow my IG page @chatting_uncomfortably and let me know your thoughts on this episode. 

Whilst death of loved ones is something we all face, it still hits us hard. The void we feel when someone leaves us is unthinkable. How do we find the strength to continue living with such a huge loss? How long are we 'allowed' to grieve? 

After losing my mum at 22, I started my grieving journey, and learnt a lot along the way. In this episode I speak openly and honestly about my experiences, with the hope that it will help anyone going through loss of any kind. 

If you would like to send me any feedback, your thoughts of would like to feature on an episode, please follow the Instagram page @chatting_uncomfortably 

Hi everyone, I’m Serena and welcome to the chatting (un)comfortably podcast, the show that makes the uncomfortable comfortable. I lost my mum in my early 20s and have been on a grieving journey ever since. I do feel vulnerable when I open up about my feelings and thoughts, but i really hope to use this platform to share uncomfortable topics such as grief, mental health and many more in a comfortably way. Please hit the follow button, and follow the IG page @chatting_uncomfortably.