In 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, and how she chose to get back in the 'game' to get herself to where she is today. As a therapist and community leader herself, she was tasked with meeting her obligations to her profession while wearing a mask and attending to her own mental health. Her key message to listeners is to: Shake the idea that you have to do it alone, because you don't and you shouldn't do it alone; it is important to lean on people, so find your people; whatever you are going through, it is not forever, even in the darkest of nights - look for the moon; she has an inspiring mantra which is, "change your story, change your life."

Rahim 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 and kept it a secret all along with all the shame mingled together. He talks about what he turned to in order to cope with the emotional pain and what behaviours he displayed - all parts of what needed to be part of his safety net. He shed some light on what changed for him when he explored what the community that he now belongs to was like for him at the time. His key message to listeners is: Remember that it is a process, it takes time, there are no quick fixes; adversity is your greatest strength; struggles faced do shape who you become for the better; there is a silver lining, even if you can't see it at the start!

Clarity 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 journey, Clarity expresses that she has found the spark in her heart for her inner child. She explains that when she took the time to look at her inner critic, this is when she started to heal, when she took care of her inner child, she was able to feel and experience compassion for herself, and when she allowed herself to expose her wounds, she could actually experience the wound itself and move through it. Her key message to listeners is to: Always have hope; there is always something that we can do; any journey will require strength, and even the little things count -- since small things do add up; the inherent innocence of the inner child spark and heart is beyond all experiences; and we are all more powerful than we think.

Reena 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 the intention to cure her skin condition. When she arrived at the retreat centre, she quickly learned what it meant to meditate, connect with herself, sit in silence, and be with her thoughts. She learned that by acknowledging her suffering it shifted the pain, softened her as a person, and she gained awareness and insight into how she can choose to live her best life. When she completed her retreat, she walked away embracing all parts of herself and owning all parts of who she is, even the psoriasis. Her key message to listeners is to: Recognize that we are our own best teachers; everything each of us need is right in front of us and within us; things change -- so don't give up on yourself, there's hope in a new day; you are okay right here right now, as you are.

With 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 where she was fighting for her life. All these events left her husband on his own to grieve the loss of their twin baby, care for their newborn and keep his faith that Farah would be able to pull through. Farah shares how she had and has been impacted by this stillbirth, along with what she is grateful for encountering on this journey. Farah says that what she wants to remember about this experience is that she is not alone, everyone has their story, she has learned that it is a process and each person's process with healing looks different. Her key message to listeners is to: Be brave, if you are dealing with something, know that it is okay to talk about it -- it doesn't make you less, weak or wrong; it's okay to get help or talk to your employer; give yourself permission to talk about it; you don't know what the other is going through, so be kind, show compassion and cut people some slack, let's not be quick to judge!

Andrea 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 that along with being equipped with a strong support system and healthy coping strategies, the medication has been her lifeline to manage on a regular basis. She shares that it is important for her to remind herself that asking for the help and then doing the work to heal is something she wants to keep in the forefront of her mind, and she doesn't hold and shame for asking for what she needed at the time – and doesn't ever want to forget. Andrea's message to listeners is: don't be afraid to ask for help, it is available, and you don't have to go through it unassisted; when you do ask for help it is a step forward; and attending to basic physiological needs - this is a helpful start to getting you to take time to put the focus back on yourself to get back on track.

In 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 the onus was on her teenager to ask for help, follow through and learn her own triggers, was a big task to take on, but one Neilin knew she had to surrender to and to date is grateful she stuck to it. Her message to listeners, particularly other parents is that: it is helpful to let your child get help, a parent may want to fix everything, however professional help is okay; if your child suffers with mental health this doesn't mean your child is broken; if you are accepting professional help, let them do their job; support your child with unconditional love; relinquishing control actually allows you to feel more in control.

Gulshan 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 to reflect and go inward and experience all parts of herself. She takes the time to share her perception on grief, loss, the death of someone close, and how she found new meaning towards how to keep the loss of her loved one alive. Gulshan's message to listeners is that: grief is not a linear process; there is more than just the medical model to heal; pay attention to your own judgement and socialization of grief; there is a need to shed your past; and there is sweetness even with 'the' bitter encounter.

Karen 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, integration has occurred, and she now has the capacity to talk about the painful experience, remain present in the here-and-now, and not be triggered. Karen unveils how this single experience, the attempt on her life, changed her and with openness towards metaphysical literature, and commitment to life above all else. Karen's message to listeners is to start with a spiritual practice if you don't have one already even if you are not religious; learn to sit in silence and transcend your thought-based way of living; don't waste a good crisis; whatever you do, don't have tea with the monster; invite self-compassion in and really let it kick in.

Jasmine 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 the road and took a firm decision, and she chose to swim, or at least do whatever she could that would lead her to the path to swim. Jasmine imparts her wisdom here to listeners by discussing how the sky is the limit -- and if you want it, you do need to put in the work, it won't come easy, but if you keep at it, it surely transpires.