In this episode, Ariba and Iqra talk to guest speaker, Abhi, about his cross-cultural experiences of growing up and living in two different countries--the U.S. and India. Abhi shares his experiences with confronting insecurities about his identity and explains how he got through it with the help of his mentors and his love of sports. Most importantly, he emphasized his hope for inspiring other young adults and kids within the South Asian community and beyond to ensure they don't feel alone and can also find confidence in their identity. 

Check out our conversation and let us know if you resonate with Abhi's journey by reaching out to us on our Instagram, @SoulSoching, or Abhi's, @speedyindian_08. 

In this episode, Wafa, Ariba, and Iqra talk all about self-stigma, how to recognize it, and how to work towards combating it. Self-stigma can occur when one begins to internalize the stigma we often witness in our environment. It can affect how we think of ourselves, our relationship with others, or even get in the way of our recovery. 

Check out our conversation and let us know if you've been impacted by self-stigma in your life by reaching out to us on our Instagram, @SoulSoching. 

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Episode Notes/Resources:

• Hope For The Day:
  • HFTD is a non-profit movement empowering the conversation on proactive suicide prevention and mental health education.
• Rethink:
  • Rethink promotes mental health advocacy, education, and creative expression in an effort to eliminate the stigmatization of mental health, especially among children and young adults. 
• National Alliance of Mental Illness:
  • The nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for those impacted by mental health illnesses.
• Social Media accounts that destigmatize mental health 
  • Click link to get a list of resourceful accounts! 

"From the outside looking in, it seems like I've got it all, the super cool mom, the perfect boyfriend, and the supportive friends that are always there, even when you don't want them to be...So how did I get here?" These are words of Aisha, based on a character in an upcoming web series called Get up Aisha that navigates through the life of a 20-year-old woman who struggles with her mental health in her perfect world. 

In this episode, we had the opportunity to talk to Marushka Almeida and Nisha Khan who are two of the three writers of this amazing show. These talented women share how the concept of Get Up Aisha came about, the importance and the stigma of mental health in the South Asian community as well as their own journey of conquering mental health.

As South Asian Women ourselves we are so proud of seeing them and other South Asians follow their dreams and making it happen (YAAS QUEENS 👏🏽) and we hope others are inspired and motivated to follow theirs as well 💫 

If you haven't already, please make sure to watch the trailer for Get up Aisha available on YouTube! Watch and Spread the word 🙌🏾 

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/RabiyaMansoor https://mobile.twitter.com/AlmeidaMarushka/status/1303385744447287299 

Insta: https://instagram.com/getupaisha?igshid=9kvzggluof73 

YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tRIa8_cpZjg