In honor of George Floyd and all the Black men and women, boys and girls who have been brutally killed by the police who were sworn to serve and protect. 

I interview two Black men (Blake Johnson, Lawrence Johnson), and two White men (Andy Grant and Rishi Eric Infanti), and one special guest, my son, Nnamdi Odita-Honnah.

We talked about hurt, pain, and the need for us to come from the heart to seek understanding. 

To put an end to police brutality, and extend a hand of peace across the race aisles. 

A must listen!

Please share this particular episode and subscribe for more.

I am interviewing 8 Black men next week, stay tuned for that, you sure don't want to miss that!

#BLM

Dr. L

This week's guest is a true fire starter! She talks about everything from colorism and discrimination to embracing the diagnosis of mental illness in our children and taking medication if needed. 

A self-proclaimed fire starter, she talks about her struggles with self-acceptance of her "dark skin coloration" as a child, touches on her own son and his struggles with ADHD, medication, and self-healing. She explains why as Black people, the health disparities and the racism runs deep, much deeper than the surface, and finally ends with some much-needed advice for parents. 

She can be found on Facebook as Jeneea Moore, with the Saved Over Success Network. 

She also has a book out.

Find her, follow her, she will change your life.

Dr. L

Ladies and gentlemen, you are in for a treat this week!

A unicorn of all unicorns came to visit! He is not only a fellow physician, he is also Canadian, a Pediatric and Adolescent Psychiatrist who also works in the emergency psychiatric unit where he focuses on suicidal patients in the Intensive Care Unit. In addition, he is also the most soft-spoken person that I know. His voice is so soothing, I can only be thankful for the universe about his chosen field: working with the most vulnerable and broken of the society, and in his own words... giving "a voice to the underrepresented".

Dr. Black and I had a great time!

We talked about suicide in a way I have not talked about before with anyone. He validates all my assumptions and thought processes. Find out what he said that made me scream out loud! :)

He talks about the effects of social injustices: cultural, school, generational trauma, current trauma, chronic illness, racism, and lack of home support. He even touches on the negative effects of the hospital/hospitalization on suicidal patients. Did you know that there were Canadian Aborigines? Me neither. But he draws a parallel with the African Americans in the US and the reason these individuals succumb to suicidal ideations and suicide.

His work mostly focuses on risk-factor prevention, which he recommends should be individual. Find out what he means by "de-medicalizing of suicide"

Quotables: 

"Our medications do not protect us from the insults of stress and anxiety"

"Avoiding suicidality is a fool's errand"

"Black females have a high suicide risk"

As a society, we tend to not "look at what is not, we only look at what is"

To prevent suicide, "there is a really simple intervention, focus on kindness to others"

Dr. Tyler Randall Black can be reached via email @[email protected]

Cheers y'all,

Stay safe!

UU

In this bonus episode, I am speaking from my heart as a Black woman living in America, in Texas to be exact. I am talking to listeners about my own personal experience and the experiences of all Black people in America.

I share the trauma my own sons experienced and the trauma that I experience daily as their mother.

I am asking again, that people should STOP dehumanizing us, and begin to see us as humans, as equals, as people with hopes and dreams and lives that need to be lived to their fullest potentials. 

I am essentially saying that #BLACKLIVESMATTER.

Dr. L 

Yay!!

Finally, I get to publish my good friend Andy's episode!

Ladies and gentlemen, y'all are in for a treat!

Meet #TheAndyGrant, the guest of my first of two episodes this week... 

He is a multi-trauma survivor, checking off 8 out of my 13 Reasons Why folks kill themselves. 

Andy was so cool, he not only had me on his podcast, he has had me on multiple times since then, and has even dedicated one whole episode to me :)

I truly love his story of perseverance and resiliency. 

He shares the one thing he did that we have in common (can you guess what it is?) , his love-hate relationship with his "journal", his secret sauce for staying alive, and all the awesome stuff he is up to.

Find out what "thought-pivoting", meditation habit, spiritual guidance, his six books, yes,  6-books...and all his hospitalizations along his journey.

Quotables 

"It gets better"

"My ups are higher, and my lows are even higher than in my past"

Find him on Facebook @ Andy Grant, and on his webbie www.theandygrant.com for some of his offerings, like coaching, Akashic Records, and other fun stuff. His podcast is called RealMenFeel, please check it out, and support him!

PS: I love Andy so much! He was kind enough to write the forward for my second book, "A Teen's Life", available on Amazon and on my website. 

See you soon :)

Danke shun!

Dr. L

Our second guest this week is none other than Margarita Castro-Zarraga. She is a fellow DPC doc, a foreign grad, a mom, and an entrepreneur holding it all down and making it look easy.

She comes to share a personal childhood story of trauma and growing up with a half-sibling she initially didn't like.

Today, she is a thriving physician and speaker. She gets along quite well with him (thanks to her angel Mom) is impacting lives and using her message to save souls.

Listen as she recounts her story, and follow as she shows us how she eventually got over the "ultra brief" periods of suicidality, stigma, shame, stress, self-doubt, and pain of her childhood: "I walked to the kitchen, picked up a kitchen knife and ...

Quotes

"Blissipline: Discipline yourself so you can live in bliss"

"You can't give something you don't have"

Find her at Genera Personal Primary Care or Genera.com (508)591-0655

On all social media platforms: Margarita Castro-Zarraga

As always, thank you for listening,

Dr. L

Dr. Esther is on a mission to not only talk real-talk, but also treat real pain. The sort that keeps most of us up at night, the sort that prevents us from saying something, saying anything about it... The sort that prevents us from living our lives out loud, and living to the best of our abilities. 

She is a Physical Therapist, and Women's Pelvic Health Specialist, and works through a Wholistic approach. She talks about how we all need support, need to address our pain, and how we need psychotherapy, as well as physiotherapy in order to keep body and soul completely together.

She gets a bit personal and shares her own story of suicide within her own circle and how she is still dealing with those memories to this date. This led to the quote in our title today.

Quotes:

"Just because it is common, doesn't mean it is normal"

To find her, you only have to look at www.thepelvicplacept.com. On IG; @ ThePelvicplacePT, and on FB The Pelvic Place Physical Therapy.

Do find and support her.

Don't forget to share this podcast.

Enjoy, 

Our second guest this week is none other than Ms. McKenzie!

She is back today with all sorts of real insights and helps us truly look into the lives of our teenage girls and boys in school, especially in middle and high school.

She was so gracious with it. She patiently led us through a day, a week, and months in the lives of teens.

She painted a clear picture of bullying, both verbally, emotionally, physically, and even sexually to us. And led us on a journey that resulted in self-loathing, low self-esteem, and a negative sense of self that has lasted into adulthood.

What a brave girl she is.

You can find her or pictures of her cat on Instagram any day. @McKenzieCampanile.

She will surely be back for part three of her interview.

Please listen to this episode and remember to be kind to each other, and that the 2 most important words during a bullying episode is "STOP IT"

This is Dr. Lulu, signing out!

Dr. L 

Ladies and gentlemen, today's guest is Mari, mi hermana, mi amiga que es muy Linda, con un Corazon mas bueno. This is my Spanish for my sister, my very beautiful friend with an even more beautiful heart.

As a child, she resorted to self-harm following the worst experience of any childhood. As if that was not enough, as she grew up, she also experienced the death of a friend and colleague through suicide. 

This week's guest, Mari, also happens to be a wonderful family nurse practitioner, a US Air Force Veteran, a daughter, sister, wife, mom, and I am proud to call her my personal friend. Indeed she has been through it all, and still standing. She epitomizes what this podcast is about...STRENGTH IN ADVERSITY.

Quotables: 

"Look for the nonverbals." 

"I look into my patient's eyes to see if they are ok, even when they say they are not."

"There is life outside the pain."

"You never know what a gift you can be to people because of your pain."

I can't even add any more to it... this is a perfect place to end. 

Dr. Lulu

Chris our second guest this week was such a fun person to interview, that I dubbed him my White twin brother! Full of nuggets of wisdom and experience. He shares about his humble beginnings and his desire and efforts to help his Mom even before he was a teenager. Today he is a successful businessman, father, husband, mentor, and coach. Find out what he thinks about a glass half full/empty, and why he has the weirdest icons on his LinkedIn profile, or why he sings and serenades his friends on social media.

Coming from a past full of self-doubt due to his weight, second-guessing himself, and worrying about what other people's opinions about him, he dared to "allow himself to be," and some of us are extremely thankful he did.

Questions:

What gets you excited? 

What Inspires you? 

Quotables:

"We are not tigers or leopards, we are humans, we CAN change"

"We have to be our own unstoppable heroes"

"The best way to fight a bully is to step forward"

"It doesn't matter if the glass is half full or half empty, we can always refill it, for ourselves and for others"

"One size fits one"

***"You have the power to be the change and make the change in your life, today is the day to do it"

You can find him on LinkedIn or @ www.trunorthFS.com OR www.trunorthFS.com/inspiration

For now, take good care, enjoy your week, and don't forget to wash hands, wear a mask and stay home if you don't have to go outdoors :)

Dr. L