Latest news with #SamraZafar
CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
‘Educate yourself on your own blind spots': Physician on challenges faced by LGBTQ2S+ youth
Dr. Samra Zafar sits down with CTV Morning Live Edmonton's Cory Edel to talk about how to support mental health for LGBTQ2S+ people during Pride. Dr. Samra Zafar sits down with CTV Morning Live Edmonton's Cory Edel to talk about how to support mental health for LGBTQ2S+ people who may struggle during Pride. Pride is often celebrated as a time of joy and community, but for those who are isolated or unsupported, it can be a source of pain. Dr. Samra Zafar, who has worked extensively with the LGBTQ2S+ youth, parents and patients, joined CTV Morning Live Edmonton with advice. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Cory Edel: What advice do you have for someone who feels left out of Pride not by choice, but because of an unsafe home environment or personal trauma? Dr. Samra Zafar:. There are many, many people out there, especially young people that I work with, who are experiencing a lot of marginalization and ostracization. There are people who are fleeing their countries and coming to Canada as refugees because of torture they faced due to their sexual orientation or their gender identity, and these are really serious issues. It could stir up a lot of feelings of historical experiences, of trauma, of family dynamics and it brings up this anger. It's really important to be compassionate to yourself and understand not everybody's experience is the same. We get into a comparison mindset oftentimes like, 'Everybody else is having fun and celebrating. Why am I feeling sad?' Personally for me, Mother's Day is very bittersweet because I don't have a great relationship with my mom and when I see everybody celebrating, it can stir up difficult feelings. It's important to be compassionate and validate your own personal experience, and acknowledge your emotions by either journaling or talking to a trusted friend or a therapist. Seek that help if you need it. Cory: Can you speak to how Pride events can support mental health and what makes those connections so powerful in reducing isolation and increasing resilience? Dr. Zafar: I think we focus a lot on celebration, which is amazing. It's also important to recognize that mental health challenges affect the LGBTQ2S+ communities in very, very disproportionate ways. They experience a lot more depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation. For instance, sexual minority Canadians are approximately 25 percent more likely to contemplate suicide. These are not just anecdotal things. This is driven by research and data. It's really important to have these conversations to de-stigmatize mental health, encourage community members to seek support and really pay attention to how other people are feeling and check in. Checking in is not just saying, 'Hey, how are you doing? Are you enjoying the celebration?' Checking in means sitting down with them and saying, 'How are you doing? I really want to know.' Asking them how they want to be supported. Cory: What's one thing allies can do this month to actually make a difference? Dr. Zafar: Allyship is a journey. It's not a destination. It's not like you get up one day and say, 'I'm going to be an ally to this group,' and you get on your soapbox and you start speaking on behalf of someone. Allyship is about amplifying their voices. Allyship is about educating ourselves like, 'What is the right way I can show up?' It's not about solving and fixing things. It's about showing up in solidarity. It's about being there for somebody. One thing you can do is first educate yourself. What are some of your blind spots? What are some of your unconscious biases? I am a mother to two queer daughters. I grew up with intense homophobia and patriarchy in my environment and in my childhood. If I can be on that journey to be a parent that my daughters deserve and should have, then anyone can. That is my message to allies. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to do things and say things you're not proud of and make yourself cringe later on. But it's all about being compassionate to yourself, showing up repeatedly, and educating yourself. Be on that journey and when you know better, do better.
CTV News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Dr. Samra Zafar shares how to be an ally during Pride Month
Dr. Samra Zafar shares how to be an ally during Pride Month Human rights advocate Dr. Samra Zafar joins CP24 Breakfast to discuss supporting LGBTQ communities during Pride Month and how we can all be better allies.
Forbes
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Summer Reads 2025: Best Books For Personal Growth By Women Authors
Check out these books that just might unlock a fresh perspective. Memorial Day ushers in the unofficial start of summer and gives us a little extra time to kick back with a book. Books can be great teachers, sparking insights for personal growth, offering tools on how to live better, and revealing new ways to see the world. Here is a roundup of new books by women authors to read on your day off that just might unlock a fresh perspective. "Unconditional," by Dr. Samra Zafar Unconditional: Break Through Past Limits to Transform Your Future, By Dr. Samra Zafar Sometimes you can be courageous on the outside, yet may be struggling inside with negative stories you tell yourself and limiting self beliefs. Such was the case Dr. Samar Zafar, a survivor of an abusive arranged child marriage who wrote the bestselling memoir, A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose. In her latest book, Unconditional, she dives deep into how to unlearn the harmful beliefs that hold you back from being your most authentic self and living life on your own terms. The speaker, human rights advocate, physician, and educator weaves her brave personal story with research-backed tools for healing, paving the way for greater self acceptance and learning to love yourself unconditionally. "Your Home Is A Vision Board," by Marie Diamond Your Home Is A Vision Board: Harness The Secret Manifesting Power of Your Home, By Marie Diamond Your environment no doubt impacts how you feel and, therefore, how you show up in the world. Marie Diamond, a globally recognized Feng Shui Master, international best-selling author, and manifestation teacher who is known from The Secret, believes that your home could be holding you back from achieving your dreams—or help push you closer towards them. In Your Home Is a Vision Board, Diamond shares secrets to align your space with your goals and transform your home into a three-dimensional vision board. This book explores everything from space clearing and goal-writing to elemental work. This is the mindful motivation you need to finally finish those spring cleaning projects and level up your home. "What Matters Most," By Diane Button What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living, By Diane Button What makes life meaningful? End-of-life doula and author Diane Button shares some clues. She has sat by the deathbeds of countless people and listened to reflections about the most common life regrets as well as the things that bring true happiness in the end. Button has compiled the stories of individuals before they passed to help illustrate what matters most. A big takeaway of What Matters Most (out on September 16, 2025) is that reflecting on death can actually help you live life more intentionally, because it reminds you that your time here is finite. "Fawning," By Dr. Ingrid Clayton Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves—and How to Find Our Way Back, By Dr. Ingrid Clayton When it comes to survival mechanisms and dealing with threats, you are probably familiar with the idea of fight, flight, or freeze. A fourth response known as fawning may be a trauma response that hasn't gotten as much attention. Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Ingrid Clayton unpacks how fawning may be an adaptive strategy for staying safe in the moment, but becomes a real problem when it turns into an unconscious habit in our everyday lives. Often linked to codependency or people pleasing, fawning happens when we can't fight back or flee because we have to remain in the relationship or situation that is hurting us (such as a child can't leave their caregiver). Dr. Clayton shares how this tool of connection as a means of protection in the long-term causes a person to abandon their own needs and values—and how to break the pattern. "Eve (Adapted for Young Adults): How the Female Body Shaped Human Evolution," By Cat Bohannon Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, By Cat Bohannon In this fascinating exploration that recenters the female body in the narrative about evolution, author Cat Bohannon answers questions about the female body and evolutionary biology that scientists have long left unanswered, such as, Why do females menstruate? What's the purpose of menopause? Is 'mom brain' real? Why do women live longer on average than men? The young adult version was recently released and delves into teen-related topics such as how shifting hormones in adolescence impact the brain and why girls get higher academic scores than boys until around puberty. In her book Bohannon writes, 'From 1996 to 2006, more than 79% of animal studies published in the scientific journal Pain included only male subjects.' Cat Bohannon wrote a user's manual in part because women's bodies have long been understudied and she argues that unpacking sex differences will help us all better understand our own evolution. "Resurface," by Cassidy Krug Resurface: A Guide To Navigating Life's Biggest Transitions, by Cassidy Krug There is an old adage that the only constant in life is change. Each of us experiences transitions, whether it's moving to a new city, switching careers, getting married or divorced, having a baby, experiencing the loss of a loved one, or something else that's less tangible. Former Olympic diver and author Cassidy Krug shares her personal story of dedicating her life to the single pursuit of diving, and having to figure out what to do next after she quit. Krug also interviewed people from different experiences to find a blueprint on how to navigate life's transitions, and shares expert advice and concrete exercises to help you find your way through big transitions, such as by creating a 'Wheel of Life,' where you assign categories (think: health, friends/family, career) to eight slices and rate your satisfaction for each. She writes, 'The liminal spaces of transitions are scary and often out of our control. But that's where we stage our personal revolutions.'
