On the Golden Goddess Affirmation Podcast, we invite Asian women to focus on our mental health. Dr. Khudejha Ashgar, a researcher and practitioner, works with gender-based violence and violence against children.

Khudejha chose to focus on the affirmation "I only preserve traditions that bring joy, not traditions that keep people from it." She acknowledges the shame and silence that often surround South Asian cultural views on mental health, and the Asian way of toughing it out and moving along.

Dr. Khudejha shares a story about her family and the difficulties of adolescence. She admits, “By lying, I was contributing to the way my sister was being gaslighted.”

Timestamps

[00:02:58] Episode Affirmation

[00:04:10] On the tradition of Silence

[00:05:15] Teenagers and suicidal ideation

[00:11:40] “Adolescents are kids. We often adultify them.” - Khudejha

[00:22:07] Getting unstuck and coming back to the present.

[00:29:19] Parent-child interaction therapy

[00:34:28] Q&A: Advice for friends and family

[00:46:20] Survivor mode and the scarcity mentality

Khudeja delivers some not-so-simple advice: “Lead with love. You are a teenager and you’re figuring it out.”

[Resource links for those struggling with self-harm, as per Khudeja.]

Learn more about Golden Goddess Affirmations at [https://thethoughtfulbeast.com/] and follow Trixi here [https://www.instagram.com/thethoughtfulbeast].

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This podcast is being produced by the Far South Border North grant [https://www.sandiego.gov/far-south-border-north]. Trixi received this grant with 59 other individual artists and a number of non-profits in the San Diego and Imperial Counties.