What happens when your childhood is spent dodging bombs instead of playing outside?

What does survival do to the human spirit and how do you rebuild when everything familiar disappears overnight?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Guitta Harb, who escaped war in Lebanon as a young girl and was forced to grow up before she ever had the chance to be a child. From hiding in dark underground shelters to leaving her home at 2 am on a secret ship with no promise of return, her story is raw, vulnerable, and deeply human.

We dive into the identity struggles that come with being caught between two cultures, the trauma stored in the body, and the moment she realised fear didn’t have to dictate her future. She shares how survival turned into purpose, graduating dental school at 21, becoming a mother, and building a life rooted in gratitude and resilience.

This conversation explores war trauma, anxiety, identity, mental health, survival mode, fear, resilience, the immigrant story, and finding your why.

Watch this episode to feel hope again proof that pain can become purpose, and your past doesn’t have to define your future.

Key Moments:

0:00 Robbed of a Childhood

2:12 Life in a Warzone: Fear Every Single Day

5:45 “Pack Your Bags. We’re Leaving Tonight.”

8:10 The Secret Ship That Changed Everything

12:12 Lost Between Two Worlds

17:30 Learning English… Without Knowing a Word

22:38 How She Learned to Belong in America

25:09 “I Refuse to Be a Victim”

30:44 The Anxiety That Never Fully Left

33:26 Parenting After Trauma

36:12 What Chaos Does to the Nervous System

40:55 Turning Pain Into Purpose

45:40 Why So Many Suffer Alone

48:12 The Power of Finding Your Why

52:33 Why Young People Give Up Too Soon

55:17 How to Survive When Life Breaks You

59:55 Raising Strong Kids in a Fragile World

1:04:10 How She Found Healing Slowly

1:08:20 Why She Still Believes in Hope

Guest Info:

IG: @‌therealocdentist

Website: https://drguittaharb.com/