Dark Sugar Podcast

How many of you find that you are in a loop within your journey of self love? The positive affirmations aren't cutting it. You are saying all the right things to yourself but wonder why you still feel like shit? HAVE YOU EVALUATED YOUR INNER CIRCLE?! We can do all the self-love in the world however, if you are surrounded by insecure people who are projecting & putting you down, you will feel like shit. Let's get into it.

I'm so proud of this one. My girl Janiece & I deep dive into the depths of society to only BREAK OUT and return to our true selves. This is not an easy journey. It requires breaking, crying, redirection and TRUST. As Black women, we are carrying generalizations, family expectations, religious constraints, and so much more. How do we do define OURSELVES outside of the pressure?

We all have a shadow. The part of our psyche, which Carl Jung describes the, “repressed, denied, or ignored parts of our ego & personality”. A shadow is fed by ignorance. The more you do not acknowledge it, the bigger it grows and controls you. What are you hiding in the shadows? Let's shine some light on it together.

Check in or whatever!! How are ya'll doing? How are you coping with the state of the world?

With the accessibility of social media, our moral and empathetic duties expand as humans who care about one another. With our eyes on Palestine, the heart grows heavier and heavier. Let's extend compassion toward one another. Privilege & all. Also, is narcissism fake news? Do we truly understand what it is?

With mental health being the mainstream we are exposed to more and more insight into our intuition and how we can better apply it to our lives! What intuition Do you consider yourself an intuitive person? If you're curious about it, tap in to join me.

We all participate in projection from time to time. As with most things, projection resides on a spectrum. It is a defense mechanism with the foundation of deflection and shame. What are ways you projection onto others or allow others to project onto you?

I had my second ego death y'all. So boom…

Join me and my homegirl Meredith as we breakdown pretty privilege. Does it exist? Is everyone beautiful? Does attractiveness really determine how we're treated? TUNE IN!

Tune in!! We're interviewing Monique author of Hot Girl Summer. Y'all will want to get into this. Black creatives are expanding their crafts and utilizing the digital space!

Tune in to my occasional mental health check in. Emotions. Ego Death. Toxic Positivity.

Narcissism is on a spectrum. We all display aspects of it. Healthy to pathological. Have you recognized any narcissistic traits within yourself?

Y'all know I love my boy!!! But lately yeah, has he gone to far? Did Kanye take the mask off? Is he abusive? A Narcissist? How do delusions play a role in his life? And yours? ⚡️ We're talking Yeezy, Pablo, & Ye.

I've been peeling back the layers to get to the core. The soft, tear-filled core of my inner child. I've returned to myself. Join me.

Black people must give ourselves space to grieve. I have been holding in so much anger and sadness that has boiled to the top. Black people have a pressure to compartmentalize our traumas and to a degree, sweep them under the rug. But, it's time to let the pain go. In order to heal it, you must feel it.

I was diagnosed with PTSD in 2015. I'm honestly grateful for it. I'm longer holding myself to blame for my symptoms. I am able to give myself compassion and permission to heal. So many my age are functional undiagnosed PTSD survivors. Let's stop normalizing the abnormal and assigning shame where it has no place!

My cousin Shaquille enlightens us on how to be an empowered empath and how growing up as a Black man impacted how he processes emotions. Black men need compassion and love as they navigate a world that wants to shut them down.

Trauma affects ALL relationships. With parents, friends, partners, co-workers. You may find yourself feeling very most understood by people close to you or that sometimes they even cause you more anxiety. How has trauma affected your relationships?

This is a light overview of what Black Feminism means to me and how our society has viewed black women over the years. Black women need empathy, space, and compassion. Our numbers don't lie society does not value us.

My cousin Jacquar (Jackie) & I explore the trauma of parental abandonment and the healing process. Adoption can be a beautiful thing but the wounds and unanswered questions in can leave for a child is life changing!! We also talk about her poetry book, Changes of Life, and how it has helped her identify her emotions. Tune in now!

This topic is very important to me not because I want it to be. It's important to me because I have experienced narcissistic abuse several times. It's important to me because as an empath/co dependent in recovery, narcissists are MY weakness! We're talking about narcissism in all aspects, even how we can all display some features of narcissism unconsciously. I am not here to criminalize or dehumanize “narcissists”. I am here to validate that narcissists & narcissistic abuse is real.

It's round two!! Many of us have experienced imposter syndrome in one way or another and now we're discovering the phenomenon of feeling like fraud in one's own ethnic group. Why do we do this to each other? Is it possible to measure blackness? Let's talk!!

As a society's , I'd like to acknowledge that we are currently looking at emotions and the mind through a different lens. Compassion. Empathy. Mindfulness. Emotional Intelligence. Could they all connect? From Brenè Brown speaking on how empathy is crucial for healing trauma and supporting others to James Baldwin speaking about the lack of empathy for Black people while forever be the disconnect between racial equality and the black race, we're gonna do some exploring. Meantime, EMPATH ROLLCALL

In this episode we deep dive into how parenting and childhood development is affected from generations before us. Generational trauma manifests into various personal disorders and mental illnesses. Mental health advocates of all backgrounds are acknowledging that trauma shows up in the body and needs to be addressed at its core. It is not enough to just treat the symptoms.

Imposter Syndrome has been a narrative for me in almost every space enter. From academia, the workplace, and my role in relationships, I worry that those around me will found out that I’m not who they think I am. I have developed an inner critiquer who dissects interactions and talks me out of opportunities due to me feeling like a fraud. The first step is recognizing that you’re experiencing this psychological phenomenon and then digging to the root. Let’s go. .

In this episode, our co-creator Emma breaks down her story on living with ADHD - a condition that most often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed in women. In this conversation, she introduces her story, how she copes with ADHD and what the daily struggles are to overcome the bad days and live fully in the good ones. Listen in and share in the comments how you cope, or what you learned from the episode! Don’t forget to subscribe to Dark Sugar and share with a friend.

Does processing really painful memories sound fun to you? No? Don’t worry, it’s not. In this episode I’ll explain why healing doesn’t feel good but makes it all the more necessary. During spring break, I was a mess y’all but, I worked through a lot of shit and I have to share☝

Is it possible to switch races? Or become a different race? Can a white person identify with being assigned a different race in comparison to someone identifying as a different gender? Rachel Dolezal had us all scratching our heads when she resigned from being NAACP chapter president, when it was revealed that she had been lying her about her race. Let’s talk about it! Can a white woman who passed for black have the stamp of approval?

Power+Flow is Scottsdale’s premier indoor cycling studio and it owned by Black entrepreneur, Kristina Girod. Kristina gives us an insight into the trials of building a business and also, the importance of hard work behind a dream. Power + Flow is a community of people coming together to grow and challenge themselves one ride at a time. Join us as Kristina shares with us life lessons! I

It’s 2021 and here we are again. Colorism is always trending, from Danileigh’s song “Yellow Bone” to the daily micro-aggressions toward people of darker skin tones. Join Emma & I as we dive in and set y’all straight!

Join Dark Sugar Podcast co-creator, Emma, and I was we breakdown what has happened so far with Joseph Biden as our 46th president. We also reflect on the impact of Trump’s presidency on a global and individual level.

Join Ms. Rashadah & I as we discuss her journey to becoming a Physician Assistant. Rashadah touches on her challenges often being the black woman working in her network. We acknowledge the disconnect between black people and mental health and explain when it’s time to seek outside help. Don’t be ashamed! Rashadah hopes to inspire other with her story. Not only does she host her own podcast called “God, Coffee, & Resilience”, she also has her own mentorship program for those wanted to go through medical school to become a physician assistant.

While we wait for the president, let’s talk!

In this episode we dive into reality as we know it. Lex Black talks about his new book The Easy Complex which will be available soon! Have you been doing astrology wrong your whole life? Want to learn the math and science behind finessing your reality? Listen in!!

This episode is a call to action to be more involved in our communities and to contribute to the revolution by exercising our right to vote! Our co-creator, Emma dives into the misconceptions of voting and also the lack of accessibility to marginalized communities in our country. We are calling for all those who are able to be involved every year in elections, especially ones that our local. Listen in!! Think your vote doesn’t count? That what the white man up top wants you to think.

Ok, you don’t understand illness. Just say that! Who’s responsibility is mental health, anyway?Yours? Your parents? Your partner? Corona virus is not the only illness we are fighting! What are you doing to incorporate mental health into your every day life? We all have mental health, but not all of have a mental illness. Kanye. That’s the tweet.

In this podcast episode I tell the story behind my dad‘s art and growing up with him as a father while he was battling schizophrenia, drug abuse and homelessness. I also speak about healing, life transitions, self awareness, and mental health.

My close friend Yvonne & I give you a glimpse of a normal conversation for us! We discuss stereotypes of Asian women and how Yvonne has experienced discrimination, as well as fetishization from other men. As a first generation American, Yvonne also gives insight to having immigrant parents and how they have assimilated to American culture, while maintaining their Vietnamese roots. Lastly, as an ally for the black community, Yvonne extends support and a call to action for other non-black folk!

Emma lays it down! Calling all allies. Black people are tired of fighting. The injustice in our world won’t cease unless the people whom it benefits calls for it to stop. Let’s educate ourselves and hold each other accountable.

We are currently experiencing The New Jim Crow. Amidst this pandemic we should feel unified as a nation, but Emma and I reflect on how the murder of Ahmaud Arbery reminds us that we do not experience the world the same way as black people. The effects of slavery and the Jim Crow era in the United States is very fresh for black Americans. However, some people are convinced that racism is dead.

Over the years through therapy, journaling, meditating, etc I’ve learned a couple things that I still practice masteringtill this day. In no way I’m I saying that you NEED to be working on healing during this time of a pandemic. I’m only sharing what I’ve learned over years and years.

When I was younger the emotional trauma caused me to develop people pleasing as a coping mechanism and I carried it with me through my other relationships. People pleasing is something that I even struggle with today