X. Ari- Performing Artist with Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Psychosis, Sleep Paralysis, Bipolar, and ADHD Turns Pain Into Power

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My So-Called High School Rank Trailer

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Recent Episodes from Dear Family,

My So-Called High School Rank- Documenting Teenage Loneliness and College Admission Pressures through a Musical

My So-Called High School Rank, premiering on HBO and HBO MAX, is a special documentary that gives an unfiltered view into the private loneliness and pressures of teenage life. This was especially true in March 2020 when students were forced to settle into new realities, feeling isolated and frustrated with so much out of their control. This timely documentary chronicles the creation of a musical theater production at Granite Bay High School in Sacramento, California, and is inspired by students’ stories of the constant pressures to achieve a top rank in every part of their lives to get ahead in today’s fierce college admissions process. In an uncanny case of art anticipating real life, Granite Bay’s musical “Ranked” was in the works weeks before Rick Singer and the “Varsity Blues” scandal made headlines in 2019. The play’s apt timing and subject matter speak to a culture where many students feel driven to succeed at any cost. As news emerged of the production of a musical exploring these critical issues, other schools reached out to stage their own productions. High schoolers around the country connected with the show’s themes as they themselves struggle to find their place in the world amid intense college admissions competition.

The film chronicles auditions and rehearsals at three high schools from Ripley, West Virginia to Cupertino, California to the Bronx, New York where students face similar challenges despite dramatically different life circumstances. It also charts the success of the musical and the first steps towards the realization of the creators’ dream to mount the show on Broadway only to be sidelined by the global shutdown. Shot over two years in public schools representing vastly different communities, My So-Called High School Rank reveals the remarkable resilience and similarities that bind this generation across economic and racial divides.

The award-winning producers and directors, Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s films and series have been shortlisted for the Oscars and earned multiple Emmy and Peabody nominations, among other honors. They are joined by two fabulous and inspirational students featured in the documentary. Anvita Gattani who played the original role of Jordan in Ranked at Granite Bay High School is currently studying at NYU Tisch. Nahiely Urbaez Cruz is a former student at Fordham High School for the Arts and is currently at Cornell University.

You are not going to want to miss this meaningful conversation.

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

Ranked- Movie Link

Break Thru Films

NAMI- National Alliance on Mental Illness

Rachel’s Article About Becoming and Letting Go of a Newborn Adult

Rachel’s Podcast About Becoming Grown and Flown

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Kevin Hines Story- Website

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enNovember 29, 2022

Kevin Hines- Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Jumper Saved by a Sea Lion Becomes Inspirational Storyteller and Filmmaker with Message of Hope and Resilience

Kevin Hines is a storyteller, best-selling author, global public speaker, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. In the Year 2000, Kevin threw himself off the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to end his life. He needed his immense mental pain to end but regretted his decision the moment he jumped. Many factors contributed to his miraculous survival including a sea lion who kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived and an amazing team of doctors. Kevin now travels the world sharing his story of hope, healing, and recovery while teaching people of all ages the art of wellness and the ability to survive pain with true resilience.

Kevin is in pre-production of his new Docu-Series The Journey and is working on a comic book version of his life in a cosmic and supernatural form called Hope Dealers. His fight has been long and arduous, beginning with being born into abject poverty, being put up for adoption, and having his biological older brother pass away as a child. His mental health was further challenged because he was bullied because of his unknown mixed race, his bipolar, and his suicidal ideation.

Kevin survived the unimaginable, jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge to see another day- a true miracle. He’s determined to remain committed to life until its natural end. He reminds us all how much we have to live for. His motto Be Here Tomorrow and every day after that has touched and saved countless lives. You can’t help but be moved by Kevin’s strength and determination.

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Kevin Hines YouTube

Kevin’s Film- Suicide- The Ripple Effect

Cracked Not Broken by Kevin Hines

@KevinHinesStory across all socials

Text CNQR to 741-741 or dial 988 for crisis services

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Read the Corresponding Article-The Dear Family, Wellness Graduate School- 100 Podcasts Later- 40 Wellness Universal Truths

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enAugust 23, 2022

Dr. Ran Anbar- Pediatric Pulmonologist Addresses Health Challenges with Hypnosis

Dr. Ran Anbar is a pediatrician board certified in pulmonology who offers hypnosis and counseling services in La Jolla, California, and Syracuse, New York. He’s past president, fellow, and approved consultant of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He’s here today to discuss the power of hypnosis, which has long been looked upon with confusion and skepticism. He shines a light on this underutilized field of medicine and why it should be the first line of defense before medication for mental health symptoms. With 25 years of experience, Dr. Anbar is a leader in clinical hypnosis who has successfully treated over 7,000 children. He’s served as a professor of pediatrics and medicine and the director of pediatric pulmonology at SUNY Medical University in New York for 21 years. He’s worked as an editor for the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis and directed more than 20 clinic workshops on pediatric hypnosis. He’s trained more than a thousand healthcare providers, been the principal investigator in 10 published case studies of pediatric hypnosis, is involved in research trials of children with cystic fibrosis and other pulmonary disorders, and has lectured all over the world. Dr. Anbar is a published author of more than 50 articles, abstracts, and book chapters on pediatric functional disorders and pediatric hypnosis. He’s just published a book titled, “Changing Children’s Lives with Hypnosis” to help parents, kids, and anyone interested in using hypnosis to increase their well-being. SHOW NOTE LINKS: Changing Children's Lives with Hypnosis: A Journey to the Center CenterPoint Hypnosis 6 Ways to Use Hypnosis for Improved Well-Being | Psychology Today 988 Official Lifeline CONNECT WITH US! *Dear Family, Podcast Page *Write Now Rachel Website *Rachel's Blog @Medium *Rachel’s Twitter *Facebook *Instagram PLEASE JOIN: *Dear Family Members, the Private Facebook Group WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST: *PLEASE Leave a 5-Star Review and Subscribe! Thank you! Your support means the world to me. Wishing you love, happiness, and good mental health always.

enAugust 02, 2022

The Dear Family, Wellness Graduate School- 100 Podcasts Later- 40 Wellness Universal Truths

Three years ago, I was nervous to put myself out so publicly with a brand new mental health podcast about family and secrets. I didn’t know where it would take me or if anyone would listen or even care. All I knew was I wanted to cut generational trauma from family mental illness, I had a story to tell, and I wanted to hear others’ stories. I never predicted a disruptive worldwide pandemic would shine a blinding spotlight on the priority of taking care of our families' wellness.

100 episodes later, I learned more than I ever could imagine in what I’m calling the Dear Family Wellness Graduate School. The teacher and mental health advocate in me wants to share the knowledge with you. As the Beatles say, “I got by with a little help from my friends,” some old, some new, all amazing guests. Every Generation- from Alpha to Z to Millenials to X to Boomers- shared with generosity. Our enlightened dialogue was sometimes one-on-one like a dear friend, others like our dear family between a parent and child, siblings, or with three generations of one family.

Every time I stopped recording, I was more confident than ever that my guests’ undeniable truths and their awesome vulnerability were healing not to just themselves but to countless others. There was no denying every family had a story involving mental illness and that it was shame and stigma standing in the way of achieving wellness. Dialogue was key.

What an absolute privilege it was to speak to so many inspirational guests- (in alphabetical order) actors, art archivists, best-selling authors and memoirists, brain scientists, comedians, cookbook authors and Food Network stars, COVID patient zeros, creatives, dancers, disability advocates, documentary filmmakers, egg donors, fine artists, first-generation college students, fitness experts, former Stanford deans, hair stylists, homeless shelter organizers, homesteaders, hospice nurses, lawyers, men’s circle facilitators, musicians, neuroscientists, parent coaches, party planners, pediatricians, performing artists, presidential speechwriters, professional organizers, professors, psychiatrists, reporters, researchers, sex coaches, success coaches, teachers, therapists, TV and movie producers and writers, yogis, to youth mental health pioneers.

What an absolute gift it was to delve deep into so many fascinating topics- (in alphabetical order) ableism, addiction inoculation, ADHD, adoption, anxiety, bipolar, burnout, ceremony, collective memory, consent, creativity, Crohn’s Disease and IBD, culturally sensitive care, depression, diet culture, disastrous police response to mental health crisis, discrimination, disordered eating, divorce, Eastern and Western medicine, electroconvulsive therapy, empowerment, epigenetics, family secrets, forgiveness, foster care, friendship, genealogy, healing, healthy sexuality, herbalism, hoarding and decluttering, homelessness, homeschooling, hope, how to stay close as a family, incarceration, inheritance, intentional bravery, intergenerational trauma, laughter as medicine, LGBTQ mental health, marriage, meaningful failure, mental and emotional toolboxes, microdosing, mood-boosters, natural stress relief, needs and rights for mental health care, nutrition, OCD, pain and humor, pain into power, pandemic lessons, panic attacks, parenting topics (like newborn adults leaving the nest, how to stay close as a family, sharenting, and how to be an adult), pediatric cancer, physical conditions causing mental conditions, porn addiction, power of storytelling, psychosis, PTSD, schizophrenia, screen time, self-care, self-love, silver linings and new perspectives, single parenting, sleep paralysis, sobriety, special education system, spouse relationships, stigma, suicide in families, suicide survivors, toxic masculinity on men’s mental health, trauma, underserved communities, the value of expression, war trauma, and youth mental health.

In celebration of the 100th Dear Family, Podcast, I bring you 40 OF THE MOST BENEFICIAL UNIVERSAL MENTAL WELLNESS TRUTHS!!!

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Mayo Clinic Documentary

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enJuly 12, 2022

Chris and Erik Ewers- Brothers/Co-Directors on Ken Burns Documentary about the Youth Public Mental Health Crisis

Erik and Chris Ewers are brothers and co-directors on a new Ken Burns PBS documentary, “Hiding in Plain Sight.” The two-part, four-hour film is about the mental health crisis our youth are facing. It follows the journeys of more than 20 young Americans from all over the country and all walks of life. The first-person accounts show the seemingly insurmountable obstacles faced by those who live with mental disorders.

Erik Ewers, an Emmy Award-winning editor has worked with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns for more than 30 years, including nearly all of his single and multi-episodic films. He currently serves as Ken’s senior editor and as co-director and editor of Ewers Brothers Productions, a preferred collaborative company in the co-creation of Ken’s films. He’s an expert in all aspects of filmmaking, having served as music producer, writer, director, film producer, picture editor, and sound effects, music, and dialogue editor. He’s open about his own mental health struggles.

Christopher Loren Ewers, Erik’s younger brother, has been working behind the camera for over 20 years and has traveled the world exploring the human experience through the lens. His eclectic work includes a variety of subjects, formats and collaborators, however, it’s the unique mix of Chris’s film and journalism backgrounds that puts documentary filmmaking at the center of his work. His cinematography has been featured in each of Ken’s films since The Vietnam War.

The Ewers Brothers’ timely documentary, “Hiding in Plain Sight” confronts the issues of stigma, discrimination, awareness, and silence helping to push the ongoing shift in the public perception of mental illness today. You will understand why Erik and Chris refer to the youth they interviewed as “heroes” and you will leave feeling hopeful with insight as to how to change the narrative to find wellness and community.

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

Film website with trailer: wellbeings.org/plainsight

Website for the Well Beings initiative: wellbeings.org

Well Beings social media

Twitter @wellbeingsorg

Instagram @wellbeingsorg

Facebook @wellbeingsorg

YouTube - WellBeings

Priscilla Molina on the Dear Family, Podcast- Daughter of Guatemalan Immigrants on the Importance of Culturally Sensitive Care

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Julian Sarafian's Links

enJune 28, 2022

Julian Sarafian- Harvard Law-Educated TikToker Redefines Success After his Mental and Physical Breakdowns

Julian Sarafian was valedictorian and attended UC Berkeley at 17. He got an internship at The White House at 19 and at 20, was accepted at NYU Law before transferring to Harvard Law School. His high achievements and California license allowed him to practice law at what he thought was his dream job, something he’d worked his entire life for. But his mental health had other plans.

His social anxiety and the intense stress from a high pressure work environment led to panic attacks and hyperventilating. His mental health also manifested into physical ailments, specifically gastro-intestinal issues like gagging. After medical procedures that went nowhere, Julian decided to see if his own mind was worsening his stomach issues. When he threw himself into learning about mental health like it was the most important subject he’d ever studied, his life and his health began to get better. He quit his job and began to share his journey publicly, doling out great wisdom, for example becoming your own best friend as opposed to your own worst enemy. Julian’s content focuses on the importance of mental health both in and out of the legal profession and has gone viral on Tiktok, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Twitch, where his cumulative following is over 300,000.

Currently Julian is the Chief Partner of his own law firm - For Creators, By Creators PC - with the mission of protecting creators in the digital age. He is a co-CEO of the startup Nest Mode - a company on a mission to reinvent shower storage. His advocacy work has been covered by Bloomberg Law & Newsweek. He’s just shared his story in a TEDx and he’s working on a book about his mental health journey. Julian is engaged to his girlfriend who he credits for pushing him to follow his new dreams.

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Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

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Tembi Locke's Instagram

enJune 07, 2022

Tembi Locke- Food, Family, and Cooking From Scratch after Loss and Grief

Tembi Locke is an actor, an author, a screenwriter, and a producer who really knows how to connect with her audience. Her New York Times bestselling book, From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home was Reese Witherspoon’s 2019 Book Club pick. Reese loved it so much, she’s executive producing the adaptation for a Netflix series where Zoe Saldana will star as Tembi. Tembi’s memoir, From Scratch, is a sweeping, autobiographical romance that follows an American woman as she falls in love with a Sicilian man while studying abroad in Italy and then builds a life with him in the United States. When she unexpectedly loses her young Italian chef husband to illness, she’s challenged to pull herself through grief so she can raise their adopted daughter as they would have raised her together: with hope, joy, and infinite love. Cooking becomes a way for her to be close to Saro both in Los Angeles and in his mother, Nona’s kitchen, and why mourning food (morning with a “u”) offers comfort and sustenance. It’s why a bowl of pasta always makes us feel better. Tembi has over sixty film and television credits under her belt as an accomplished actor and is currently recurring on Never Have I Ever, a comedy created by Mindy Kaling. Offscreen, Tembi is a nationally recognized speaker for her keynotes on resilience, loss, and motherhood with her TEDx talk viewed by individuals and nonprofits worldwide. Tembi is here to remind us to embrace resilience, love, and the power of community. SHOW NOTE LINKS: Tembi Locke's Website

Jeanette Yoffe on the Dear Family, Podcast about Adoption and Foster Care

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Mental Health Coalition

enMay 17, 2022

Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger- Nationally Recognized Pediatrician on the Need For and Right To Mental Health Care

Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger is a nationally recognized pediatrician and an advocate for mental health services for children and families, including in minority and low-income communities. His inclusive approach to health equity and policy has transformed countless lives.

He joined Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, an 80-year organization, as the CEO just months after the pandemic began in June 2020. Didi Hirsch is a national leader offering free mental health, substance use disorder, and suicide prevention services. They’re pioneers in specialized therapy and support groups for children, adults, and families while also offering crisis residential facilities. Dr. Goldfinger’s personal connection to Didi Hirsch’s mission stems from his own intergenerational trauma, including behavioral health challenges in family and friends, experienced from a young age. With the support of nurturing grandparents, parents, and other adults, he developed strength and resilience that gave him hope and a desire to help others by combating structural stigma, poverty, and racism.

With a BA in Philosophy from Columbia University, Dr. Goldfinger completed his MD and MPH (Masters in Public Health) at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and did his residency and fellowships at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He brings his expertise in intergenerational trauma, integrated care, and health technologies into a more humane, team-based, digital age. As Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Innovation at the Center for Youth Wellness, he oversaw national and statewide collaborations and research addressing childhood trauma, including parent mental illness and substance use, child abuse, domestic violence, and discrimination. Before that, as Chief Medical Officer of ZERO TO THREE, he led a National Office to scale HealthySteps integrating behavioral health and primary care for parents and young children through transformative partnerships with health systems, communities, government, and philanthropy.

Dr. Goldfinger currently serves on the California Office of the Surgeon General and Department of Health Care Services’ Trauma-Informed Primary Care Advisory Committee, has published with the CDC among other publications, and has won numerous awards and honors for his advocacy and public health research. Dr. Goldfinger lives with his accomplished, beloved wife and two adorable boys.

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

Didi Hirsch

SAMHSA

Suicide Hotline- 800-273-8255 or 988 (starting July 16, 2022)

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Jeanette-ically Speaking YouTube Channel

enApril 26, 2022

Jeanette Yoffe- From Foster Care to Adoption to Trauma-Informed Therapist Jeanette-ically Speaking

Jeanette Yoffe believes family is so much more than our blood relations. Her strong desire to become a trauma-informed psychotherapist with a special focus on adopted and foster care issues began with her own experiences of moving through the foster care system and being adopted. Jeanette lived with her birth family for the first year of her life until she was put into foster care due to her mother’s schizophrenia. Her father was not willing to take care of his two young children and when he later had a new family, he never told them about his previous children, continuing the cycle of secrecy and shame surrounding adoption. After living with a few foster families, Jeanette was adopted at seven and a half years old. Although she feels lucky to have joined a loving family who adopted more children, she still suffered trauma that led to mental health challenges.

In 1999, Jeanette took her New York theater background and wrote a one-woman play about growing up in foster care and adoption called, “What’s Your Name, Who’s Your Daddy” which was later turned into a book and audiobook. With a desire to create what she wished she could have received as a child, she began to work tirelessly to help other families. Now with over 20 years of experience, she provides mental health education and support as a psychotherapist, foster care social worker, clinical director, and trainer for L.A. County Child & Family Services and the Department of Mental Health. She teaches parents, social workers, and therapists all about adoption and foster care challenges, trauma-informed parenting, the impact of pre-adoption trauma, grief and loss, and open adoption.

Jeanette provides support to adult adoptees searching for long-lost family members as well as assists in family reunification. She is a Court Appointed Reunification Expert for Los Angeles Superior Court in cases involving children at risk for separation. She is also the Executive Director and Founder of Celia Center (named after her birth mother), a non-profit support center that meets the critical needs of all those connected by Foster Care and Adoption and all those who serve the community of Foster Care and Adoption in Los Angeles and beyond. She’s just published her first children’s book, “What is Adoption? For Kids.” Her YouTube channel, Jeanette-ically Speaking (with a J) is a fabulous resource for adoptive parents, biological parents, adoptees, and anyone looking to learn more about the foster care and adoption challenges and joys.

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

Jeanette Yoffe’s Website

Children’s Book- What is Adoption- For Kids

Celia Center

What’s Your Name, Who’s Your Daddy- A One Woman Play About Growing Up in Foster Care and Adoption

Jeanette Yoffe on Twitter

Jeanette Yoffe on Instagram

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Rachel’s Family Photos and Corresponding “Dear Ukrainian Grandparents” Personal Essay

enApril 08, 2022

Dear Ukrainian Grandparents,

When I watch the senseless human suffering in Ukraine with tears in my eyes, it’s as if my dear Jewish-Ukrainian grandparents' history is being repeated. My family was the lucky ones who were able to escape as is evidenced by me, their granddaughter and great-granddaughter whose Ukrainian blood runs through me and is here today to be able to podcast/write this without fear of censorship.

Seeing mothers rushing out of Ukraine with babies in their arms fleeing harm to find safety and peace to live freely is exactly what my great-grandmother had to do with her son, my grandfather more than a hundred years ago. My beloved grandfather was born in a shtetl, a village on the outskirts of Kyiv. Think of Fiddler on the Roof and you’ll get a good idea of the life his family led. Grandpa’s family was forced to flee because of the Russian pogrom, creating a stream of refugees looking for a home, displaced people looking for a safe place to lay their heads at night without fear of massacre.

The Ukrainians are living through a crisis that shocks the system like no other. Reports of young children and even animals in zoos hearing sirens going off puts them into a state of pure fright, a heightened state of stress. As a mental health advocate, it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, war is very bad for everything, especially mental health. Plain and simple it’s traumatic with a future of PTSD.

It’s impossible to equate the experience of living through war to that of watching it unfold on a screen but the people in Ukraine and around the world are watching the crisis unfold through traditional news outlets and social media. The stream of information is powerful because it forces us to pay attention and it gives us a window into the experiences of the people there- but it’s a lot to process and it is especially harmful to our youth. With footage and photos from Ukraine flooding social media and misinformation spreading rampantly, the implications for public health continue to grow and continue to need to be addressed.

As a granddaughter, daughter, and mother I know one thing for sure… family is everything. My heart is with all the grandparents, parents, and children of Ukraine. I can not begin to imagine the fear and grief gripping the families on both sides of this conflict and so I will continue to pray that this chaos stops and that one day the Ukrainians and Russians will know peace and be able to have children who all can write their own stories or letters without censorship.

Please listen to this short solo-podcast to hear what I’d like to tell my dear Ukrainian grandparents and great-grandparents and the current grandparents, parents, and children of Ukraine.

SHOW NOTE LINKS:

Ways to Help the Ukrainians Now

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