In today's chat with this extraordinary human being, we talk about  the Steph's journey with their mental health, the journey they've taken  to embrace their true, authentic self and come into their queerness. We  chatted about queer mental  health and what we  need more of and why  community and chosen family is so important to us.

Steph is no  stranger to adversities but has turned every experience into something  beautiful. They have a light in  them and they are using it to help  others. Opening up about their own mental health struggles, their  experiences- this conversation will teach you so much. Steph is one of  those rare people you are fortunate enough to cross paths with. The ones  that truly care for others and can do anything to help them.

They've  had some intense experiences but they don't want anyone to live through  that pain and is dedicated to making everyone feel loved and less  alone.

I know they've made me feel it.

Thank you Emy, for helping me make this connection. It will always have a special place in my heart.

Steph  thank you for trusting me with your story and sharing it with us. Thank  you for turning your pain into hope and thank you for choosing me and  adopting me :)

Cannot wait to see everything you do, you truly will change lives. Save lives.

In this incredibly  honest and open discussion, Maverick (they/them) opens about their  journey with queerness, their gender identity and experience with Top  Surgery. They share their journey with gender dysphoria and how getting  the surgery and their reaction to the surgery wasn't what they expected  and how they navigated through those experiences.

Maverick  also shares their relationship with their culture and how embracing  their true authentic self affected other aspects of life which included  their relationship with family and friends.

Maverick channeled  their experiences and now conducts Queer Peer Support Groups. They are  trying to create the space, conversations and the support that they  believe will help others out there to find where they belong.

Incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to meet Maverick and share space with them and bring their story to you.

Kady isn’t a stranger to mental health but she also never shies away from talking about her story and her journey to raise awareness. Kady has lived with Bipolar and been in therapy for years. She opens up about her experiences with Therapy as well.

Kady also recently came out as Bisexual and opens about her journey figuring out her sexuality, how her experience was coming out and how it effected her relationships with her family and friends.

MindMatters is grateful for Kady taking time to talk to us and letting us hold space with them.

Starting off Pride month with some very open  and honest conversations!

Felt very fitting to end Mental Health Awareness Month with this discussion.

Personally this was one of the most impactful conversations I’ve had in a long time. Lindsey is using MindMatters to open up about her 16 year journey with mental health.

She is opening up about her journey and her experience of living with Emetophobia, OCD and her anxiety.

This is in fact the first time she’s opening up about her struggles with mental health but she’s never shied away from wanting to raise awareness of mental health.

She’s choosing vulnerability and opening about her struggles, her journey, her healing, all of it.

This episode is personally one I will always hold close to my heart. In fact, after our first chat, I was truly inspired and honestly reminded why I started MindMatters and it played a big role in me being able to open up more about my journey.

I am incredibly honored to be the one that’s holding space for her story and I truly do believe that this discussion is going to help so many people.

Lindsey is dedicated to breaking down the stigma around mental health and more than anything, she wants to help people. She wants to help people feel less alone and I don’t know anything more wonderful.

I hope this episode is as impactful and special to you all as it is for us.

Thank you Lindsey for trusting me with your story.

Yash is someone I've never seen hesitate to talk about emotions and have  open discussions on topics like this. I've personally had conversations  with him about toxic masculinity as well and it's refreshing to see his  point of view and see someone comfortable talking about intense and  emotional topics like this.

I  will not lie, I have delayed releasing this episode because of how  personal and close to the heart this discussion was. Having to go over  the episode and edit it to be ready to release was something I avoided  for a long time.

But alas, I cannot run forever.

Yash  opens about losing one of his best friends at the age of 24. He reflects on the relationship he had with him and how his memories with  him has helped his healing journey.

This is another special episode for me, because the best friend in picture is my older brother Sanjay.

Thank you Yash for being so honest and open and for sharing these stories.

Lerato is a passionate and dedicated human working hard to breakdown the stigma around mental health.

After her own personal journey she began Mental Matters.

She  encourages those who have a voice to use it. She encourages you to use  it for those who no longer have one, and for those still searching for  theirs. She encourages you to no longer be ashamed of what you have been  through; but be proud that you made it on the other side of victory! Be  proud that the things that tried to kill you, you slayed them! Hold  your head up high and shine on! Stand tall and raise your voice.

I'm so incredibly grateful that Lerato took the time to talk to me and share her powerful story with us.

Each individual has their own experience with their mental health  and that's the point of perspectives. Matisse joined MindMatters to  share their perspective. They have taken the time to breakdown for us  the the overlap of how the psychology behind LGBTQIA+ community and how  it formed.

We had a discussion on gender identity and their personal experience with mental health.

We also discussed their work with the Trans Emergency Fund

We are grateful that Matisse took the time to chat with us, and share with us.

Faith, religion, sexuality all have a journey of it's own. The individuals that go through this journey, at times need support and a community of love. This is the community that the Bad Believers has created and I am so grateful to say Jo joined us to talk about this beautiful community, how important it is to focus on mental wellness and the safety net that is Beyond Belief.

We also have very eye opening discussions on Sexuality, Religion, Racism and Colonialism. Jo moved to Canada from the Philippines  in her teen years and opens up about her experiences with the move, the adapting to a new country and her own experiences with coming to term with her sexuality, her faith and her experiences with racism.

The work Bad Believers and Beyond Belief is beyond commendable, they've created a space and community of love, and acceptance. They have given so many individuals a family. Please do check them out.

Ig:

Darshana shares her experience with mental health that eventually led her to seeking treatment and how she had to deal with her family and society's reaction to the same. A final year student currently specializing in Psychology, also reveals how her journey helped her choose her career and how she plans to grow the same and how important it is for her to incorporate the world of Art in mental health.

Ig: @honestdayswithdarsana