How Food, Trauma, and the Nervous System Intersect: Dr. Jaz Robbins on Healing from the Inside Out | ANEW InsightEp. 69

In Episode 69 of the ANEW Insight Podcast, host Dr. Supatra Tovar—a licensed clinical psychologist, registered dietitian, fitness expert, and author of the award-winning Deprogram Diet Culture—welcomes Dr. Jaz Robbins for a compelling conversation that unpacks the deep connection between trauma, nutrition, and nervous system regulation.

Dr. Jaz Robbins is a licensed psychologist and board-certified holistic nutritionist with a background in trauma therapy, performing arts, and integrative wellness. In this episode, she shares her personal and professional journey—beginning with childhood adversity and evolving into a unique career at the intersection of psychology, nutrition, and creative expression.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into:

• How trauma impacts the nervous system and why it often shows up as chronic physical issues like fatigue, headaches, IBS, and insomnia.
• The traffic light analogy that Dr. Jaz uses to help clients understand nervous system states (green for calm, yellow for stress, red for shutdown).
• Why diet alone isn’t enough—and how tracking food and mood together can offer sustainable tools for mental and physical healing.
• How nutritional psychology works, especially in treating trauma survivors, by integrating whole-body practices that reduce stress and inflammation.
• How creative expression and performance strengthened her clinical presence and made her a more intuitive, mindful therapist.
  
  

This episode is ideal for Buzzsprout listeners looking for science-backed, emotionally intelligent content that bridges the gap between the mind and body. Whether you're a therapist, wellness coach, trauma survivor, or simply someone seeking a healthier relationship with food and self, this conversation will leave you informed and inspired.

Do you want to know more about her? Here are her social media links:  https://www.drjazrobbins.com/, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jaz-robbins-los-angeles-ca/1341283, https://onlinegrad.pepperdine.edu/psychology/leadership-and-faculty/jaz-robbins/, https://www.instagram.com/dr.jazrobbins/, https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazrobbins. 

📌 Take Action:
If you're ready to reject the pressure of dieting and find freedom in food, explore our online course Deprogram Diet Culture—available now at anew-insight.com.

🎧 Listen to the episode on all major platforms or directly on our website.
 📱 Follow us @my.anew.insight for updates and more transformational stories.

Thank you for joining us on this journey to wellness. Remember, the insights and advice shared on the ANEW Body Insight Podcast are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine. To learn more about the podcast and stay updated on new episodes, visit ANEW Body Insight Podcast at anew-insight.com. To watch this episode on YouTube, visit @my.anew.insight. Follow us on social media at @my.anew.insight on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads for more updates and insights. Thank you for tuning in! Stay connected with us for more empowering stories and expert guidance. Until next time, stay well and keep evolving with ANEW Body Insight!

Transcript

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Welcome to the ANEW Insight podcast


00:00:04:15 - 00:00:08:08
empowering and inspiring your journey
to optimal health.


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Hosted by Doctor
Supatra Tovar, clinical psychologist,


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registered dietitian, fitness expert
and author of Deprogram Diet Culture:


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Rethink Your Relationship with Food,
Heal Your Mind, and Live a Diet Free Life.


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I follow my guests’ journey
to optimal health,


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providing you with the keys
to unlock your own wellness path.


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Tune in and evolve with us.


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Hello, and welcome to the ANEW Insight Podcast.


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I am Doctor Supatra Tovar,
and I'm super excited to have licensed


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psychologist and board certified holistic nutritionist


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Doctor Jaz Robbins with us today. Hello.


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Yes, I'm so excited.


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I'm so excited. I’m so excited.


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I'm thrilled to be here. Thank you for having me.


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I am very, very,


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very excited to pick your brain
because Jaz and I are two peas in a pod.


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We have very, very similar brains. 100%.


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And so it'll be really lovely
to get her perspective.


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Before we do that,
I'm going to read a little bit about Jaz


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and then we'll get into our questions.


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Doctor Jaz Robbins is a licensed psychologist


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and board certified holistic nutritionist
based in Los Angeles, California.


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She earned her doctor of psychology
and master's degree


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in clinical psychology from Pepperdine
University, and a bachelor's


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degree in food science and nutrition
from North Carolina State University.


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Doctor Robbins specializes in trauma therapy.


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Having worked extensively with individuals


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affected by homicide, to combat veterans


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and those navigating medical trauma.


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Her integrative approach
combines mental health


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practices with nutritional interventions,
reflecting her research interests


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at the intersection of complex trauma
and nutritional health.


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Beyond her clinical work, Doctor
Robbins is an adjunct professor,


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author, and performing artist,
and the founder of The Active Experience.


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She serves as the CEO of Healing,
Hope and Love,


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a Los Angeles based
nonprofit organization.


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In addition,
she is the 2025 president elect


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for the Los Angeles
County Psychological Association (LACPA).


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Welcome, Jaz.


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Thank you. Thank you. Yay! Wow, that’s a lot.


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Well, you've done a lot.


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And you are a lot.


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And I'm so excited
to pick your brain all about you.


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And so I want to know what inspired you
to take this particular course.


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Why psychology?


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Why nutrition?


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And why the intersection?


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Yeah.


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Listen, it wasn't by design at all.


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This was not a strategic move
that I thought of.


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Once upon a time, as a middle school student
or high school student,


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my goal and my vision was to
 go to medical school.


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I still remember having a Harvard
Med t shirt


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as a middle school student,
and that was just my dream.


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And as an undergraduate student,
I was majoring in biology


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with the idea, right, that I would be pre med. 
Me too!


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Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.


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We’re so the same. [laughter]


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And as a first year undergraduate student


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at North Carolina State University,
I took nutrition as an elective.


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WWWAAAHHHHH


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I am telling you.


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Oh my goodness,
it was the first time that I’d ever had.


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It was the first time that I realized
that school could be fun,


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that learning could be fun,
that I could want to show up to class.


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It was the first time that I was learning
things that I could apply that day,


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that week, to my life, to my family's
life, as opposed to like trying


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to figure out
how calculus or trig was going to apply or


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some of these other theoretical
or conceptual things.


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This was information that I was able to use right then. Yes.


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And I’d never experienced that in school before.


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I didn't hate school.


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I always did well in school.


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However, this shifted my thought process


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and my idea of what a learning experience
could be like.


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Yes. And I ended up going to my,


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academic advisor and saying,
oh my gosh, this is heaven.


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This is life. How can I make this my major?


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And had I been at a different institution
or had I had different advisement, my,


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anyone, a mentor would have said
you should


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transfer to XYZ university
because they have a nutrition major.


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My university didn’t,


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so we had this sister cousin food science.


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I was able to minor in nutrition.


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Food science is interesting. Yes.


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How to make cornflakes crunchy
and to stay crunchy.


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You know, event though you’ve poured milk over them, those kinds of things.


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But it wasn't nutrition.


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So I left my undergrad


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knowing that I wouldn't be working
in the food science industry.


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But I started private practice
as a nutritionist right away. Wow.


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And I was performing right away.


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I have a one woman show that sort
of like chronicles my life


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and so I was performing and,


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living in New York and my show.


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Because I'm a trauma survivor,
it's just it's telling my story of trauma


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and healing.


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And after years of performing


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and seeing audience members, like tattered,


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absolutely tattered.


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Because it wasn't
billed as a trauma show or a healing show.


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I was just


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looking to get a better agent,


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looking to get a better manager, you know, have a platform


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that showcased what I'm able to do
as a performing artist.


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And to see folks just sobbing


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in the way that they were sobbing year
after year after year.


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I was living in New York, and I said,
you know what?


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Let me just pause.


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And there's got to be something else
that I can provide for these folks,


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because they are connecting with
the material in deeply personal ways.


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And so my thought process was,
let me see if I can find,


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an agency that I can place brocures in the lobby


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or even get a therapist to sit with me
during the talkbacks


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when they're asking these sort
of desperate questions.


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And I just heard a tiny whisper in my ear
that said, why can't that be you?


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Hmmm. And I’m like,


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who, what, why? Who me? Me? No.


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I don't have any debt,
I don't want to go back to school.


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And so that's what happened.


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I left New York,
I came back to Los Angeles.


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So you know Los Angeles to New York. 
Then I came back.


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And I took my first psych
ever class as a master's student.


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And my thought was, I thought
that I was going to have to invent this discipline.


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I was just like, you know, I'm not leaving
nutrition behind.


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Absolutely not.


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So there has to be a way
or I'm going to create


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a way to combine
nutrition and mental health.


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Surely, surely, surely.


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And 2016,


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2018, I was at a LACPA convention


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and I met Doctor
Andra Brosh, who is also a licensed psychologist 


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and board-certified holistic nutritionist.


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And I was just like,
who is this unicorn? Who is this person?


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Tell me everything you know.


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I met another person
with those same credentials,


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and both of them said, hey,
there's this entire discipline


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called nutritional psychiatry
and nutritional psychology.


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That's right.


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It's there.


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There's an entire community.


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There's an entire body of research.


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You won't have to invent.


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However, the community is waiting for you
whenever you get out, and you’re licensed.


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And so that's that's
how I've come to be here.


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Trust me, it wasn't


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by, you know, strategic design at all.


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It's just sort of like my winding road.


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In nutrition, has always been just so important for me.


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Coming from a family
with high blood pressure and heart disease,


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and cancer on one side,
you know, all of these things, and obesity.


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And as a child trying to figure out
and make sense of seeing an aunt


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taking all of these
prescription medications,


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which as a kid was sick behavior to me,
I only took medicine when I was sick,


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but she's up and she's walking and like,
it just didn't make any sense to me.


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Do you understand what I’m saying? So,


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that same curiosity sort of
I just carried it with me


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as I learned the discipline of psychology
and mental health.


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And it's been so incredible to,


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to be like find my tribe in my folks


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who live and breathe this.


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And I would say
the unfortunate part is that it


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still feels like it's so cutting edge
and it's so, like


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I know it's crazy to me.


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Like we're having to almost knock people
over the head to say, hey,


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don't you realize that what you eat
does affect how you feel.


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Well, I would say as a dietitian, like,
there's still


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there are still plenty of people,
even in the medical industry,


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who don't believe that nutrition plays
a direct role in your physical


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and your mental health.


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I also have to say,
you and I are seriously twins


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because I started out in
the performing arts as well.


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Oh no way! So this is and we


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both have these like non-linear paths
that got us to where we are.


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And I think, yes,


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it is a field out there,
but not a lot of people know about it.


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In fact, when I, was,


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interviewing for my doctoral program,
the person interviewing me asked


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me, well, why are you switching directions
from nutrition to this?


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And I was blown away by that.


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I was like, I'm not switching anything.


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This is to add on to
what I'm already doing


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and how I'm already helping people
and having the peace,


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of really being able
to, like, delve into somebody's mind.


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That was what was missing.


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It's just,
you know, getting into the slot right now.


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So I love that you're doing this
and give me a picture.


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Nutritional psychology.


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I mean, how do nutritional interventions,
how do they aid a healing journey?


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With somebody
say, who's who's dealing with trauma?


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Yeah.


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I think, you know,


00:11:05:22 - 00:11:09:23
especially in media right now.


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It has been for a while.


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Sugar has been talked about,


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you know, over and over and over again


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and anxiety has been discussed
in relation to nutrition.


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But you don't really hear
a lot of conversation around


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trauma and nutrition
or depression in nutrition.


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And the truth is there are common links.
With all of my patients,


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I like to start with the nervous system
to give them some education


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about that using a traffic light analogy.


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So when the light is green in traffic
we go when we feel safe.


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And you might even be dancing a little bit
or singing along to your favorite tune


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as you're going through that intersection,


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because there's not a lot of worry and
concern.


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Not a lot. Right.


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In the body when
our nervous system is in that green light state,


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that's an activation of the parasympathetic
nervous system


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which is where ideally
we would be spending the bulk of our day


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the bulk of our time,
the bulk of our week in our bodies.


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That's when we are
in this state of rest and digest.


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What that means
is every single system in the body


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is running, just like clockwork. Our integumentary system,


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our skin, our respiratory system,
our digestive system, our muscular system,


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our skeletal system. Everything is running as it should.


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When we're in that yellow light state,
just as in traffic,


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we get a little bit more alert.


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I have to look every single direction
because I don't


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know what's going to happen
because there's a threat of danger.


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There's a possibility
that danger could be afoot


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when I’m crossing the intersection, and the light is yellow.


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In body that's an activation
of the sympathetic nervous system.


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And that's when we're in that fight flight state, right?


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So that is tension.


00:13:00:09 - 00:13:03:19
That’s stress. First thing about yellow is


00:13:03:19 - 00:13:07:17
is the body was never intended
to stay there for a long period of time.


00:13:07:21 - 00:13:09:00
Right.


00:13:09:00 - 00:13:13:05
This was to be a fleeting moment
to get us into safety and out of danger.


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I love the Ted talk by Doctor Nadine Burke Harris,


00:13:17:06 - 00:13:19:13
who talks about adverse
childhood experiences.


00:13:19:13 - 00:13:21:14
Because she explains this really, really well.


00:13:21:14 - 00:13:28:14
When someone especially has experienced
childhood trauma and you know the monster


00:13:28:14 - 00:13:33:18
for lack of a better term
right now, is living in the house with me.


00:13:33:18 - 00:13:36:21
That yellow light system, that activation


00:13:36:21 - 00:13:40:20
of the sympathetic nervous system
is firing all the time.


00:13:40:20 - 00:13:44:04
The challenge with that, biologically
and health wise, is


00:13:44:07 - 00:13:48:05
when I’m gripped in yellow,
all of those systems that I just named


00:13:48:05 - 00:13:52:08
that are firing as they should in green,
they're not. Exactly.


00:13:52:09 - 00:13:58:04
So yellow is greedy. That activation
of that sympathetic nervous system.


00:13:58:04 - 00:14:03:02
It's greed, it's stealing resources
from other systems in the body


00:14:03:02 - 00:14:06:01
to give you the opportunity to hear


00:14:06:04 - 00:14:10:00
better than you typically hear, to run
faster than you generally


00:14:10:00 - 00:14:13:21
are able to run, to lift things
that are typically too heavy for you.


00:14:13:21 - 00:14:18:14
So it's leeching resources
from every other system of the body.


00:14:18:14 - 00:14:22:23
And for some folks, it's like,
oh yeah, got this pain in my elbow


00:14:22:23 - 00:14:24:00
that just


00:14:24:00 - 00:14:28:09
the doctor say all the tests are normal,
but they say maybe it's stress or I've


00:14:28:09 - 00:14:33:11
got these headaches or I'm not sleeping
well or I've got these skin challenges.


00:14:33:11 - 00:14:37:07
I've changed so many things,
but I still keep getting this acne,


00:14:37:07 - 00:14:41:13
or I've got this horrible constipation
that just won't leave.


00:14:41:19 - 00:14:42:07
Well,


00:14:43:15 - 00:14:45:05
when we're yellow,


00:14:45:05 - 00:14:48:05
all of these other systems are compromised.


00:14:48:21 - 00:14:50:01
They're compromised.


00:14:50:01 - 00:14:55:18
So it makes sense that health challenges
are going to come up. And then red,


00:14:55:20 - 00:14:57:10
where is,


00:14:57:10 - 00:15:02:10
It it feels so lonely, so low
and so heavy for folks, right?


00:15:02:10 - 00:15:07:06
In traffic, red light, you're disengaged
from the activity of driving.


00:15:07:11 - 00:15:10:09
You probably take your hands off
the steering wheel.


00:15:10:09 - 00:15:13:16
This is an over activation of that yellow.


00:15:13:16 - 00:15:15:21
This is an over activation of the sympathetic.


00:15:15:21 - 00:15:23:03
So here it just feels heavy
and like a task to do anything. Yes.


00:15:23:03 - 00:15:26:21
There’s a sock on the floor, and it's been on the floor all week
I can't even bring myself.


00:15:26:21 - 00:15:28:04
I don't have the energy.


00:15:28:04 - 00:15:32:15
So I've been yellowing for so long
that I'm now exhausted.


00:15:32:15 - 00:15:35:05
And it's like,
you know what life? You got me. You got me.


00:15:35:05 - 00:15:39:10
And if I didn't have to go to work,
if I didn't have to go to school, that


00:15:39:11 - 00:15:43:04
that's a feeling of I wouldn't
if I didn't have to. Yes. Right?


00:15:43:04 - 00:15:46:15
So in like biologically we are toggling


00:15:46:15 - 00:15:49:16
between yellow red yellow, yellow red, yellow red.


00:15:50:09 - 00:15:54:06
The systems that are keeping us
healthy and running,


00:15:54:07 - 00:15:55:21
they're not doing,


00:15:55:21 - 00:16:00:05
they don't have the resources to do
what they need to do effectively.


00:16:00:05 - 00:16:02:18
And so there is sickness.


00:16:02:18 - 00:16:05:15
There is illness, and it could be minor.


00:16:05:15 - 00:16:08:22
And for some folks,
depending on when the index trauma occurred


00:16:08:22 - 00:16:13:12
and if there's multiple traumas, right?
It could be major health concerns.


00:16:13:12 - 00:16:17:00
So ultimately in terms of integrating,


00:16:17:17 - 00:16:22:02
nutrition into traditional mental health,


00:16:22:16 - 00:16:26:23
or conventional mental health
interventions, I start there.


00:16:27:05 - 00:16:31:06
Because I think when people know more,
they have the opportunity


00:16:31:06 - 00:16:32:17
to make better decisions.


00:16:32:17 - 00:16:33:23
Yes. Just the awareness of.


00:16:33:23 - 00:16:37:04
Oh, these different states. Right? Yes.


00:16:37:15 - 00:16:44:04
So then I work with folks individually
to help them identify green light resources.


00:16:44:08 - 00:16:47:04
So what are your green light resources?
What are the things


00:16:47:04 - 00:16:50:04
the activities, the people, places,


00:16:50:12 - 00:16:53:18
situations that when you are involved in them,


00:16:54:00 - 00:16:57:08
you get those green light feelings.


00:16:57:08 - 00:17:00:20
And sometimes they’re activities,
sometimes they’re foods.


00:17:00:20 - 00:17:06:09
I certainly tell people about antioxidants
and anti inflammatories and immune boosting foods.


00:17:06:09 - 00:17:10:08
All of that is incorporated,
but primarily for my folks,


00:17:10:08 - 00:17:12:14
what I know is, if it is prescriptive


00:17:12:14 - 00:17:14:19
they're less likely to engage in it.


00:17:14:19 - 00:17:17:05
However, that's something that comes out of them,


00:17:17:05 - 00:17:20:14
and they were able to be a part of like,
you know what,


00:17:20:14 - 00:17:24:06
we might keep a food mood journal for instance, right?


00:17:24:06 - 00:17:27:16
To, just take a look
at when I was eating this,


00:17:27:16 - 00:17:29:18
this was my mood when I was eating that,


00:17:29:18 - 00:17:33:08
this is this is sort of what I was feeling
like at that week.


00:17:33:08 - 00:17:36:10
And using those details to help them


00:17:36:19 - 00:17:40:05
notice the themes and the threads
in their own diets.


00:17:40:10 - 00:17:42:12
So that it's not always feeling


00:17:43:04 - 00:17:45:20
teachery, professory, or


00:17:45:20 - 00:17:49:20
like they're being talked down to.
I like to bring my patients along the ride


00:17:49:21 - 00:17:53:21
so that they're gaining insights
because when they gain insights,


00:17:54:00 - 00:17:57:05
they tell their children,
they tell their family and


00:17:58:18 - 00:18:01:22
like wouldn't it be amazing if


00:18:03:00 - 00:18:05:15
folks were just healthy.


00:18:05:15 - 00:18:08:15
If folks were just healthy.


00:18:09:01 - 00:18:10:20
That would be the perfect world.


00:18:10:20 - 00:18:12:09
Incredible. Yes.


00:18:12:09 - 00:18:16:07
I love that you are introducing nutrition


00:18:16:17 - 00:18:20:12
into therapy through the nervous system. Yeah.


00:18:20:12 - 00:18:22:23
And I think that helps people really


00:18:22:23 - 00:18:25:23
grasp the importance


00:18:25:23 - 00:18:28:17
of not only good nutrition,


00:18:28:17 - 00:18:32:20
but what they can do to help
regulate their nervous system.


00:18:33:07 - 00:18:37:00
And so with trauma survivors,
what what do you see


00:18:37:00 - 00:18:41:17
as the result when you do introduce
through the nervous system?


00:18:41:17 - 00:18:45:16
Yeah. Folks are grateful to have it
as an additional tool.


00:18:45:16 - 00:18:49:08
Number one. Number two, it


00:18:50:12 - 00:18:52:03
is certainly a process.


00:18:52:03 - 00:18:58:08
So I don't mean to sit here and speak
and say folks started eating blueberries


00:18:58:08 - 00:19:03:15
and salmon, and you know,
magically were better in days or weeks.


00:19:03:15 - 00:19:08:09
It is really about helping my patients adopt


00:19:09:11 - 00:19:13:22
activities and behaviors
that can sit, that they can sustain.


00:19:13:22 - 00:19:16:18
And and that means something to them.


00:19:16:18 - 00:19:17:14
Right? Right.


00:19:17:14 - 00:19:22:06
So in terms of themes and commonalities


00:19:22:06 - 00:19:25:22
I see a lot of, sleep disturbance.


00:19:25:22 - 00:19:28:10
I see a lot of digestive issues.


00:19:28:10 - 00:19:31:21
There's research
that says that people with PTSD


00:19:31:21 - 00:19:37:01
who meet criteria for PTSD
have more incidents of IBS or irritable bowel syndrome, for instance.


00:19:37:01 - 00:19:38:17
That makes sense.


00:19:38:17 - 00:19:41:17
Makes absolute sense, absolute sense.


00:19:42:01 - 00:19:45:19
And oftentimes it's oh I,
you know I probably ate something wrong.


00:19:45:19 - 00:19:46:05
Right.


00:19:46:05 - 00:19:49:19
They can't really put their finger
on the reason or the cause.


00:19:49:19 - 00:19:54:18
And I’m not saying that every person who has a digestive
concern, has a history of trauma.


00:19:55:00 - 00:19:58:00
However, the research does 
tell us that there's a correlation.


00:19:58:01 - 00:20:02:18
By providing my folks
with that kind of information. It


00:20:04:03 - 00:20:07:21
I mean, you can see the shoulders
just rest.


00:20:08:02 - 00:20:13:02
Because it is allowing them
to play an active role.


00:20:13:02 - 00:20:18:06
The Active Experience. It’s allowing them
to play an active role in their healing


00:20:18:06 - 00:20:21:04
and in their wellness journey in a way


00:20:21:04 - 00:20:22:16
that maybe.


00:20:24:07 - 00:20:25:02
They didn't feel that


00:20:25:02 - 00:20:28:10
they had access to,
because most health care


00:20:28:10 - 00:20:32:03
interactions are really prescriptive.


00:20:32:03 - 00:20:34:01
And the patient being talked to,


00:20:34:01 - 00:20:37:12
and this is what you've been doing wrong,
and this is what you need to do


00:20:38:17 - 00:20:40:23
and that need to do piece especially


00:20:40:23 - 00:20:43:14
I'm not dissing medicine.


00:20:43:14 - 00:20:46:14
However, it's oftentimes,


00:20:47:04 - 00:20:49:11
the behavioral prescriptions
given for medicine


00:20:49:11 - 00:20:51:11
and it's not the training
and I get it, right?


00:20:51:11 - 00:20:54:10
Things like you need to reduce your stress.


00:20:54:10 - 00:20:59:01
For a patient, they don’t know what that means. And how? How? How? How?


00:20:59:10 - 00:21:02:10
So I like to take that


00:21:02:14 - 00:21:05:15
piece of advice more than anything


00:21:06:00 - 00:21:11:22
and operationalize it individually for my
folks so that they can see,


00:21:12:09 - 00:21:17:04
Ahh, this is my anti stress medicine. 
This is my anti stress activity.


00:21:17:04 - 00:21:19:19
This is my anti stress food.


00:21:19:19 - 00:21:21:18
This is my anti stress supplement.


00:21:21:18 - 00:21:26:15
And I don't mean, like, you know,
ashwagandha. Even though ashwagandha is great,


00:21:26:15 - 00:21:30:17
but, like, things that are calming


00:21:30:17 - 00:21:34:15
for them in help
to calm and balance their nervous systems. Yes.


00:21:35:01 - 00:21:40:17
So what drew you to working with
trauma survivors?


00:21:40:18 - 00:21:44:05
Is it from that deeply personal lens?


00:21:44:05 - 00:21:48:11
And if you're comfortable
talking about that, how does that inform


00:21:48:11 - 00:21:51:18
and, you know,
inspire your work with trauma survivors?


00:21:51:20 - 00:21:52:23
Yeah, absolutely.


00:21:52:23 - 00:21:55:08
It definitely comes
from my personal experience.


00:21:55:08 - 00:21:57:06
I grew up in poverty.


00:21:57:06 - 00:22:01:11
I experienced a number of traumas
as a young child,


00:22:01:11 - 00:22:05:11
including physical abuse and sexual abuse, multiples.


00:22:06:01 - 00:22:10:03
And, we were unhoused for a spell. And unhoused,


00:22:10:13 - 00:22:16:05
sort of couch surfing with family,
and unhoused, living in a housing shelter.


00:22:16:05 - 00:22:18:01
So this was my childhood.


00:22:18:01 - 00:22:22:04
And that was juxtaposed
going to a Catholic private school


00:22:22:04 - 00:22:27:03
with the uniform with and like,
no kids knowing what was going on


00:22:27:03 - 00:22:30:17
in my home, as you know, every day
when I went home from school.


00:22:31:12 - 00:22:34:01
So I was, felt like, very much


00:22:34:01 - 00:22:37:22
I was leading this double life
where home was not


00:22:37:22 - 00:22:41:14
great at all. School was,
 anything that wasn't home was great.


00:22:41:14 - 00:22:45:06
So that school,
that soccer practice, that dance class,


00:22:46:08 - 00:22:49:00
anything, anything,


00:22:49:00 - 00:22:51:22
sleepover at friends house, anything.


00:22:51:22 - 00:22:55:16
And I'll tell you the blessing of


00:22:56:00 - 00:22:58:22
going to the school that I went to.


00:22:58:22 - 00:23:04:12
I was one of only
African-American students in my grade.


00:23:04:19 - 00:23:07:13
Oftentimes, just a handful of us in the entire school.


00:23:07:13 - 00:23:11:15
And this is a school
that had grades one to eight.


00:23:13:08 - 00:23:17:14
And so these were the wealthy white 
kids I went to school with.


00:23:17:14 - 00:23:21:05
The blessing in that is, I was able to see


00:23:21:21 - 00:23:24:15
a lived experience
that was different from my own.


00:23:24:15 - 00:23:27:09
So I knew that something else
existed. Do you understand what I’m saying?


00:23:27:09 - 00:23:30:09
Yes. I saw parents that were loving to kids.


00:23:30:09 - 00:23:35:20
I saw kids that love their parents
and had these amazing relationships.


00:23:36:00 - 00:23:39:11
So I knew that everybody wasn't
experiencing


00:23:39:11 - 00:23:41:16
what I was experiencing at my home.


00:23:41:16 - 00:23:43:00
And I got curious.


00:23:43:00 - 00:23:48:07
An early age, the books that I was, it made no sense, I mean it made sense,


00:23:48:07 - 00:23:52:20
but I was just super,
super curious about how different


00:23:54:10 - 00:23:58:00
two kids lived experiences could be.


00:24:00:04 - 00:24:02:04
Like outsiders not know it.


00:24:02:09 - 00:24:04:15
It, it felt like


00:24:04:15 - 00:24:08:21
as a child, I always felt like
I knew things that nobody else knew.


00:24:10:18 - 00:24:14:00
But yeah, ultimately
I was just incredibly curious about that.


00:24:14:00 - 00:24:17:00
I remember being in high school,


00:24:17:06 - 00:24:19:21
doing research papers on teen suicide.


00:24:19:21 - 00:24:22:21
I certainly had thoughts
of taking my life.


00:24:22:22 - 00:24:26:12
And, I was just super, super


00:24:26:22 - 00:24:32:07
curious and interested in how one, like,


00:24:33:07 - 00:24:34:06
makes it out.


00:24:34:06 - 00:24:37:13
And when I say make it out, like makes it out of the trauma.


00:24:37:13 - 00:24:41:12
Because my dark clouds
seemed to just be ever present.


00:24:41:19 - 00:24:44:19
So that was the interest in,


00:24:45:21 - 00:24:47:08
as a child,


00:24:47:08 - 00:24:50:16
I so desperately as,


00:24:50:16 - 00:24:56:00
many trauma survivors
will say, I so desperately wanted anyone


00:24:56:07 - 00:24:59:15
to take notice,
pay attention, ask me, like,


00:25:00:18 - 00:25:03:14
a poignant, direct question.


00:25:03:14 - 00:25:05:18
Do you know what I’m saying? Yes.


00:25:05:18 - 00:25:09:14
And so when I decided to pursue mental health


00:25:09:14 - 00:25:13:08
and psychology, I wanted to be that person
for other people.


00:25:13:08 - 00:25:18:17
Because I remember
how just like, what a teacher asked,


00:25:19:07 - 00:25:22:07
 would anybody, would anybody just ask?


00:25:22:14 - 00:25:23:16
Just ask.


00:25:23:16 - 00:25:26:16
And I wanted to be that person for folks.


00:25:26:19 - 00:25:30:03
Wow. I'm so incredibly inspired by you.


00:25:30:11 - 00:25:36:16
And we are living parallel lives, and
I really am blessed to know Doctor Jaz.


00:25:36:22 - 00:25:40:11
Doctor Jaz and I are both on the board
for the Los Angeles County


00:25:40:11 - 00:25:44:04
Psychological Association,
and I think that that place


00:25:44:04 - 00:25:48:18
just attracts the most inspiring minds.


00:25:48:18 - 00:25:51:21
So I'm really, really glad
to be picking your brain today.


00:25:51:22 - 00:25:55:12
We're out of time for this
half of this, episode,


00:25:55:12 - 00:25:59:03
but we're going to be coming back
for the second half in just a moment.


00:25:59:11 - 00:26:03:04
But I really hope that you, tune in
for the second half,


00:26:03:04 - 00:26:07:21
and there's a lot that we can learn
from Doctor Jaz, for sure. Thank you.


00:26:08:06 - 00:26:11:04
Thank you so much, Doctor
Jaz, for joining us.


00:26:11:04 - 00:26:13:05
And we will see you next time.


00:26:14:05 - 00:26:17:10
Thanks for tuning into 
the ANEW Insight Podcast.


00:26:17:10 - 00:26:20:02
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00:26:20:02 - 00:26:24:22
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00:26:24:22 - 00:26:27:18
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00:26:30:07 - 00:26:35:04
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00:26:35:04 - 00:26:43:03
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