As a child Farhan was always told that he would be a failure and that he didn’t have potential. He
faced resistance from family; however, he forged a pathway forward to becoming the helping
professional he is today. His story includes himself, his family and society at large. Being a first-
generation South Asian queer male, growing up in Canada, he realizes that his family was doing
the best that they could, though they had specific expectations that resisted the pathway. Farhan described how he consistently felt he must work harder than most, he had to find constructive ways to put aside any idea of imposter syndrome, and even went through a colour identity crisis. There were many beliefs systems Farhan had to combat, the many negative messages he received that impacted his self-perception began at age 7, and even so, he chose the path unchosen. Desire for acting was a disapproval from his family, acting on television and getting in the media was a journey of its own, first, difficult to get parts being a male of colour, and then when colour was accepted, he wasn’t the right colour. The narrative of not being good enough is something Farhan internalized deep within, leaving him to struggle with deep sense of belonging. Farhan experienced intense feelings of isolation and loneliness. He further highlighted how it all would surface, such as showing up with what he chose to share about his work and progress at family gatherings, he felt his energy got smaller, he knew he wouldn’t get celebrated by the people in his life even when he was accomplishing and having wins of his own, so anything he attempted to share with people in his world would get dismissed or ridiculed. It took time to realize that external validation was not where to focus his energy and desire. His key message to the listeners is that: it’s important to be true to yourself, fundamentally learn that you are betraying yourself when you are not true to yourself; reflect on what’s more important, yourself or others, as there will always be others who will be disapproving; choose yourself, don’t deny yourself; your path is all about making choices that don’t betray yourself.

Visit Dare to Heal to find out more.

Passionate about: The YMCA

Guest shoutout: YMCA North York

Guest Links:
Instagram - instagram.com/farhandhalla/
Website – Farhandhalla.com
Instagram - Instagram.com/farhanpodcast_elevateyourlife/
Podcast - www.farhandhalla.com/podcast
Twitter - twitter.com/farhandhalla
Facebook - www.facebook.com/farhandhalla
Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/farhan-dhalla-a477283/

Olga dives in to share that even when she was on the brink of burnout, initially she could only see it as a stress leave from work. Her story unravels her experience of her lost sense of self while battling through burnout as she worked with students and clients in the international students and immigration sector. It was September 2022 when she identified there was a shift in her energy, feeling frustrations and irritability, simultaneously the political unrest that continued forward with the invasion of Russia on Ukraine. The events of this war further perpetuated another lost piece of her identity, as she expressed feeling shameful to identify herself as Russian. At her place of work, Olga supports both Ukrainian and Russian students amongst other races and backgrounds and she internalized all the suffering she experienced, witnessed, and endured. Olga mentioned that this external event affected her ability to cope, so she sought out support for her mental wellbeing and actively participated in the therapy process. The intense shame that she experienced took a toll on her physically, like stomach pain became intolerable, severe migraines and a great deal of crying and tears followed. She explains that the support she provides to her students, is beyond study permit regulations, she learns about each student’s individual life and students tend to confide in Olga with personal details of their struggles to get to Canada, which was a contributing factor of the battle that led her to burnout. It took a great deal of time for Olga to admit after being on stress leave and seeking out some additional supports, guidance and building her coping skills that she came to terms that what she was experiencing was in fact burnout. Her key message to the listeners is that: take action by allowing yourself to explore all of what you are going through; give yourself time, be open minded, explore help and resources that are out there; and even when you know what to do, do the doing because knowing is not enough.

Visit Dare to Heal to find out more.

Passionate about: Ruben Gagarin (spouse) and his YouTube Channel providing a way for individuals to develop their own #mentalbeauty.

Guest shoutout:

YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.Gagarin

Guest Links:
Email - info@canpassgroup.com

Website – educatedimmigration.com

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-gagarina-mba-rcic/

Funmi shares the impact of an unfortunate teenage sexual assault, immigrating to Canada, marital challenges, the loss of both her parents within the span of 18 months, shame, and regrets along the way and how it all has forged her character and identity of who she has become today. She details that it took her a decade to work through the trauma of sexual assault and violent rape endured at age 17, which robbed her of her virginity and her innocence. This led to further impact of her sense of loss and mistrust, and amplified negative perspectives she held about men and family and maintaining long-lasting relationships. She described overall how her mental health was impacted such as, what being on autopilot looked like to her on an everyday basis; the self-blame placed on herself thinking she didn’t deserve a good life and that she brought on these problems onto herself; and what it took to break free from her patterns, learning she can work through her healing process and realized she can still claim her life. Funmi spoke about the emotional pain and turmoil of the death of each parent and how debilitating this was for her and still is on some days. Some moments of her life became unbearable to the point where she entertained suicidal thoughts, thinking that life would be easier for herself and others if she disappeared and not have to deal with any further consequences. Her key message to the listeners is that: life is totally worth living; know that there is an even deeper untold story within your untold story; diver deeper, as it will produce so much more motivation to be exactly who you are called to be; there is so much more to life than what you are currently experiencing, so rise up to your full potential; each person is a work in progress.

Visit Dare to Heal to find out more.

Guest Shoutouts:

https://immersecoaching.co/

Visionary Compass Accelerator Program (https://myvisionarycompass.com/)

Guest Links:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/funmiayowole

Website – www.thefunmiayowole.com

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/funmifatonaayowole

Podcast - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thesoulclinic1