Living in Toronto, Ontario, Gladys spoke about a particular time in her life during 2020/2021 where she faced extra demands in her work role, as well as marital discord as the relationship with her now ex-husband had taken a toll on her. Flooded with demands at work and on the go in her multifaceted work role and then only to return home to a negative and intense environment dealing with some tough interactions. She describes that there wasn’t really a place for her to really think she can sit down and breathe. Her mind was racing, between tasks, and thinking ahead, and preparing for the next thing before the current task is even completed. Work friends, faith community, and close heart connections are all involved in her story. It was her work colleagues who initiated an intervention to help her recognize the burnout she was facing, specifically because she was unaware of it. Initially the approach being gentle, recommending extended time off or taking a sabbatical, or encouraging her to take her vacation days. She also received messages to slow down, she endured physiological symptoms such as headaches, neck and back pain, difficulty sleeping, and overall body pain. For a long time, Gladys sat with denial, and whatever discomfort she did experience, she chalked it up to other reasons other than what was truly going on with her. After consistent messages over time, she started to contemplate the physical pain and her sleep deprivation, seeing as she was unable to stay asleep for any length of time, she started to relate her experience to the intensities of what she had been enduring in that season. Gladys expressed that it took a village to realize the state that she was in. During this difficult time, she spent a great deal of time ruminating, she shifted towards the ‘freeze’ response, as she didn’t have time to feel her feelings, didn’t feel present, and was unable to connect emotionally to people. Her key message to the listeners is that: pay attention to the people who care for you, notice the message in what is being communicated to you; stay away from reasoning or downplaying; be intentional and build and surround yourself with supports and lean on them; don’t be afraid to pause and take time off when you need it.

Visit Dare to Heal to find out more.

Passionate about: Fight For Freedom

Shoutout: https://www.fight4freedom.ca/give.html

Guest Links:
IG https://instagram.com/fight4freedom.ca
FB https://facebook.com/fight4freedomCA
Email: gladys@fight4freedom.ca
Website www.fight4freedom.ca

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.

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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/