Untether Your Life

South Asian immigrants face a number of mental health challenges associated with the pressures of straddling two different worlds. The stress that comes with acculturation, trauma, and discrimination has been linked with depression, anxiety, and more, and getting help isn’t always as easy as it seems.

Most traditional psychotherapy has been modeled on Western families, which is why today’s guest takes a more collaborative and multicultural approach. Today, we sit down with Dr. Ammara Khalid, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in individual, couples, and family therapy with children, adolescents, and adults of diverse backgrounds.

In 2012, Dr. Khalid, together with Dr. Amanda Rios, co-founded the Center of Relational Empowerment (CORE), which helps individuals, couples, and families strengthen their core selves and, in doing so, empowers them to strengthen their relationships with others.

Mental health in the South Asian diaspora is a key component of The Shelly Story, so we’re grateful to have the opportunity to speak to a mental health professional like Dr. Khalid, who is deeply knowledgeable and compassionate about this topic.

Ultimately, an understanding of different cultural perspectives and experiences is vital to how we shape mental health services for different populations of people. Tune in today to learn more!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• How Dr. Khalid’s background informed her interest in psychology
• Insight into CORE’s multicultural philosophy
• The collaborative approach of internal family systems (IFS) therapy
• Stress related to acculturation that many South Asians experience
• Why the model minority myth is so harmful
• Overcoming stigma around mental health issues in South Asian communities
• A look at CORE’s community outreach efforts
• Incorporating Eastern elements into Western psychology
• Couples therapy, love, and divorce in South Asian cultures
• Generational differences in perceptions of mental health
• Making mental health more accessible through social media
• Shifting away from strict binaries and toward understanding

Want to connect with Dr. Khalid? You can find her on LinkedIn.

To learn more about CORE, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

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My time at one of the prestigious “Big 4” consulting firms sharpened my analytical skills and built my professional network immensely. It also contributed to me bottoming out physically and mentally. This rock bottom forced me to embrace meditation and go within, while working to shed my dependency on external validation and traditional symbols of "making it."

I'm always fascinated, therefore, to cross paths with Big 4 alums who have also gone on a journey of spirituality and self-realization – such as this week's guest, Camilia Berrada.

Camilia Berrada is a vehicle for change, who spent 8 years professionally mentoring and coaching top-level execs, using Deloitte London as her primary vehicle.

She’s also devoted over 13 years of her life consciously exploring and expanding human consciousness at individual, collective, and systemic levels.

From “shamans to boardrooms,” Camilia is continuously tuning herself to become the instrument she needs to be for the people she meets and elevates. When leaders are open to change, she is their vehicle.

We touched on so many topics in our conversation, including:

• The difficulty that many high achievers face when looking to integrate learnings from retreats in Costa Rica, Bali, and other “epicenters of enlightenment” that comprise the rapidly growing global wellness tourism market
• The fundamentals of generative trance - known as the “third wave of hypnosis” - that builds on the work of Milton Erickson. How this modality (highly favored by Camilia) can help us achieve a partnership between our conscious and unconscious minds, and fully tap into our intuition.
• The potential for surfing to help corporate leaders maximize their performance in crafting vision, setting direction, achieving razor-sharp focus, and getting organizational buy-in.
• The drawbacks of embracing the "hustle culture" seen in startups and top management consulting firms - specifically chasing dopamine and external validation.
• How staying "in our head" too much prevents us from achieving true somatic healing in the body - which as Nietzsche said is a far more abundant source of wisdom than any philosophy
• Camilia’s coaching and mentoring program, which encompasses VIP programs, corporate offers, masterminds, memberships, online courses, to “support leaders in finding deep inner freedom and amplifying their impact in the world.”
• What the concept of "home" truly means to spiritually enlightened globe-trotters such as Camilia
• A nuanced, mutli-layered view of the role of ayahuasca, psilocybin, and other forms of plant medicine in achieving states of higher consciousness.
• Camilia’s roots of growing up in Morocco, and how her perspectives on her cultural background have evolved (as has her home country) over time.

To learn more about Camilia, and potentially collaborate with her, please visit her on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Untether Your Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and other projects:

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Benoit Kim could be seen as the poster boy for the mission of Untether Your Life, as he has broken free of the traditional templates of success for Asian Americans. Further, he’s gone above and beyond in owning his health, exploring the benefits of psychedelic therapies for managing mental illness both in a personal and professional capacity.

Benoit is a former policymaker turned therapist, US army veteran, and host of the Discover More Podcast - a show for introspective thinkers with growth mindsets seeking authentic life stories.

On this week’s episode of Untether Your Life, Benoit and Nikhil touch on numerous topics, including:

• Benoit’s journey in launching Discover More – a top 2% globally ranked podcast - 3 years ago, and some of the incredible guests he’s spoken with
• How podcasters and content creators can leverage social media for benefit, and overcome its destructive elements, which some scholars have equated to a casino.
• Insights from thought leaders such as Naval Ravikant, James Clear, and Dr. David Rudd
• Benoit and Nikhil’s struggles and successes in navigating the journey of the Asian diaspora, characterized by a sometimes toxic combo of pressures and prosperity
• How schools of meditation like The Silva Method can help to tune down the static in the "radios" of our brains.
• The ramifications of psychedelic therapies such psilocybin, which was shown to eradicate complex PTSD and treatment-resistant depression for more than 80% of participants in a study published in the prestigious research publication Nature

To learn more about Benoit, please visit discovermorepodcast.com, or search for Discover More on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also connect with him on Instagram or LinkedIn.

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There's a concept in Eastern wisdom tradition called sangha, which centers on the power of community. When I launched Untether Your Life two years ago, I had no idea what an incredible sangha awaited me with the podcasting ecosystem.

Connecting with fellow storytellers and content creators has led to impactful collaborations. It's exposed me to life-changing frameworks, and it's given me many a good chuckle. One of these podcasters is this week's guest, Dr. Seema Desai.

Seema is a transformational success coach and speaker, who helps high-achieving leaders go from stressed and overwhelmed to productive and fulfilled.

She's the author of the book Connected: Discovering Your Inner Guides and co-host of the Happy and Human podcast. Seema recently served as Co-President of the Austin chapter of the influential non-profit Pratham USA, which aims to create learning equity for underserved children in India and globally. In a former life, she was also a dentist.

We touched on so many incredible topics in this discussion, including:

• A revisiting of the famous Steve Jobs quote that "you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards;" understanding what to do in the present, when all those dots seem like a giant, jumbled mess.
• Finding “Calm in the Chaos” (which, interestingly enough, is the title of Seema’s course)
• Seema’s book Connected, which introduces the concept of guides and guards to help us tap into our intuition and higher selves, while better understanding the survival mechanism underlying the frantic, fight-flight state we often find ourselves in.
• How Seema applied the "guides and guards" framework to parenting with her own children.
• The background and mission of Happy and Human, which Seema and co-host Dinesh Melwani launched to amplify voices of the South Asian diaspora, and share the powerful life lessons they've picked up as parents, coaches, attorneys / dentists, yoga experts, surfers, and incorrigible goofballs.
• Seema’s decision to transition from a career as a dentist to a transformation success coach and speaker.
• The pitfalls of “checkbox syndrome” / “if then fallacy,” and how this myopic external focus yields an imperfect path to happiness.
• The evolution of South Asians’ image in the United States, from one-dimensional spelling bee champion “robots,” to thought leaders with a “seat at the table.”
• The power of simple, everyday practices like gratitude, curiosity, and focusing on our breath

To learn more about Seema, please visit her at drseemadesai.com, check out the Happy and Human podcast, or connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Untether Your Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and other projects:

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Bipolar disorder is at its core a global issue: although the systems for managing the disease vary from country to country, it impacts more than 45 million people worldwide. With this, it is always enlightening to speak with individuals around the globe who have found strategies for effectively managing the disorder.

Oliver Seligman, today's guest, is a prime example: mental wellness coach, advocate, meditation teacher, and author of Befriending Bipolar and The Broker Who Broke Free. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Oliver was diagnosed with bipolar type one at seventeen. Having spent time in mental hospitals in Norway, Australia and the U.K, he finally gave up the fight, learned to accept his illness, and turned his life and his relationship with bipolar around.

Join host Nikhil Torsekar and Oliver Seligman as they explore numerous subjects, including:

• The meaning of the title “Befriending Bipolar:” how Oliver adopted the calm, accepting mindset of the Tai Chi master, versus the bloodied, aggressive professional boxer
• A deeper dive into aspects of bipolar disorder that Oliver experienced, including mania (euphoric and agitated), hypomania, depression
• The key practices that helped Oliver manage his bipolar disorder, including medication, meditation,
• An overview of time inside a mental hospital, how it differs from classic depictions in media (i.e., One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), and the variances in approach to mental health between the United States, Norway, Scotland, and India
• What constitutes a “good,” versus “bad” therapist
• The pivotal importance of relationships in effective management of bipolar disorder
• Oliver’s journey with meditation, including The Bright Path Ishayas’​ Ascension
• The benefit of taking a light-hearted (versus excessively serious) approach to discussing mental illness
• Tactics for effectively managing bipolar disorder, including asking for help, finding purpose, and surrounding yourself with the right people
• Authors who have contributed to greater understanding of the disorder, including Kay Redfield Jameson and mutual connection Paris Prynkiewicz

You can connect with Oliver on his YouTube channel, Instagram, LinkedIn, and his Website - befriendingbipolar.co.uk.

Check out his books on Amazon, including Befriending Bipolar and The Broker Who Broke Free.

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