“Unfiltered: Afghan, not Dewana," is a podcast that focuses on raising mental health awareness in Afghan communities and societies. Often, when we tell other Afghans or even our parents that we are "depressed" or "sad”, the word “dewana” gets thrown back at us. Dewana translates to “crazy” in Dari and each episode will help you better understand that feeling sad and depressed does not mean we are crazy. My mission is twofold: breaking cultural barriers around mental health discussions, fostering better communication amongst Afghans, and amplifying Afghan voices worldwide. Each episode brings unique guests, encouraging open conversations and sharing stories to foster empathy and unity, as well as some solo episodes. Let's embrace vulnerability, shatter boundaries, and make a difference as the proud, resilient Afghans we are. Email me at medinamua18@gmail.com (mailto:medinamua18@gmail.com) with topic ideas or questions. Together, we'll grow and heal. Together, my #notdewana family we will make our culture even more beautiful than it already is.
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNFILTEREDAFGHANPODCAST
Publisher
Medina Michelle
Category
health & fitness · society & culture · society & culture
Send us a text Hello and Salaam Jigars and Jaans, In this episode, I had the honor of interviewing Husna Safi, a psychotherapist in Canada. She is an Afghan registered clinical social worker and provides a tailored approach using a bio-psycho social model of care to treat anxiety, trauma, and attachment issues. Come join us in this conversation where we discuss healing, finding a sense of belonging, connection, generational trauma and more! She provides invaluable insights on wh...
7 Aug 2023
S2E5: Afghan Women Strong, Importance of education/awareness, Afghan women's rights, & Mental health/humanitarianism w/ Tarana Rahimi
Send us a text Hello Jigars and Jaans, In this episode, I've had the honor of interviewing Tarana Rahimi the founder of Afghan Women Strong. Tarana Jaan is a human rights activist who uses her platform to continuously shed light on what's going on with the women of Afghanistan. Originally, she started her platform to highlight some amazing women and their work in Afghanistan. But with the collapse of the government in August 2021, she decided to change her platform and shed light ...
31 Jul 2023
S2E4: Afghan American Conference and Me!
Send us a text Hello and Salaam my Jigars and Jaans! Join me on this special episode as I share my wonderful journey and unforgettable moments from the Afghan-American Conference 2023, held in the vibrant city of Washington DC from June 23rd to June 25th. Throughout the episode, I'll take you on a personal tour of the conference, describing the atmosphere, the incredible people I met, and the enlightening discussions that filled the event. As an Afghan-American myself, this conference h...
20 Feb 2023
S2E3: Ariana Magazine, Career in Journalism, Cultural Representation, & Amplifying Afghan Voices w/ Ariana Abawe
Send us a text In this episode, I share a very powerful conversation with Ariana Abawe. She is the Founder of Ariana Magazine. Ariana's main goal with the magazine is to give a voice to the voiceless and amplify their voices. As an Afghan, she aims to showcase the Afghan community and the Afghan culture to the world at large. She also highlights the stories of the talented individuals there are in Afghan communities, from artists, actors, entrepreneurs, writers, fashion desi...
13 Feb 2023
S2E2: Understanding anxiety, Survivor's guilt/trauma, & Mental health stigma w/ Dr. Nafisa Sekandari
Send us a text In this episode, I try to ask all the questions we as first generation Afghan Americans, want to ask a therapist. What's even better than asking a therapist? Asking a licensed clinical psychologist like my special guest, Dr. Nafisa Sekandari. Dr. Nafisa Sekandari is a licensed clinical psychologist, award winning author, lecturer, and online trainer. She started "Mental Health for Muslims" in hopes of providing mental health information that are both clinically supp...
6 Feb 2023
S2E1: Podcast life, Afghan friends, people pleasing & vulnerability w/ Sarah Safi
Send us a text HELLLOOOO Jigars and Jaans! Did you miss me? Did you enjoy season one? I hope you did because I most definitely did :) WELCOME TO SEASON 2!!!!! My first official guest of Season 2 is Sarah, a dear friend who is in the podcast world just like me. Join us in this episode as we discuss life being podcast hosts, our take on Afghan friendships and the importance of them. We also discuss our views on people pleasing tendencies as Afghans and the vulnerability of talking abou...
27 Jan 2023
S1 Finale, Recap, & Gratitude
Send us a text Hello and Salaam Jigars and Jaans!!! Happy birthday to me!!! Today is a beautiful day... On my birthday I decided to upload a bonus episode simply summarizing season 1 and expressing my immense gratitude to my listener in all 29 countries!!! Love you all so much. Follow my instagram @unfilteredafghanpodcast for more information on season 2 and a release date!!!!!
2 Jan 2023
Ep10: 2022 Reflection w/ 2 Very Special Guests!
Send us a text Hello and Salaam Jigars and Jaans! You won't want to miss this one. This episode is all about self reflection. Often, we hear about goals and resolutions, but I feel it is just as important to reflect on the past year before setting new goals. This episode is a lighthearted conversation between three Afghan friends who dig a little deeper in themselves. Don't forget to ask yourself these questions before going into the new year. Reflecting on this ...
26 Dec 2022
Ep9: Raising Awareness, Providing Resources, and Helping our Communities?
Send us a text Hello and Salaam Jigars and Jaans!! Today's episode focuses on Afghan American communities and how we can make them into better safe spaces. I discuss some powerful points that were provided by @thelanterninitiative (follow them on instagram) in which we can keep an eye out for certain individuals in the communities. Individuals who may be struggling with their mental health, fighting a battle with addiction, or people who are just feeling lonely may need more help...
19 Dec 2022
Ep8: Did Forgiveness Grant me Peace?
Send us a text Hi, hello and salaam jigars and jaans. If Ross and Rachel can take break why can't I? This was a really tough one to record after a break , so please be kind! In this episode, I share a tragic experience that happened in my life. I lost my dad a few months ago and I decided to use my experience to shed some light on grief, grieving and forgiveness. If you have any feedback, suggestions or comments feel free to email me at medinamua18@gmail.com! Don’t forget to fol...
29 Aug 2022
Ep7: Self Care Check In?
Send us a text Be enough for yourself first, the rest of the world can wait! Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, you can be well, you can do your job, you can help and care for others, and you can do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day. This episode explores 5 types of self care. Mental, physical, social, spiritual and emotional self care are essential in maintaining a healthier lifestyle. If you have any feedback, suggestions or co...
16 Aug 2022
Ep6: Emotional Intelligence?
Send us a text The three musketeers: Empathy, Sympathy, Compassion (title courtesy of my creative niece) are what help increase emotional intelligence. Have you ever stepped back and thought about how high your emotional intelligence is just as much as your IQ levels? My goal with this episode is to make us take a second look at how sympathetic and empathetic we are when people are visibly having a tough time. I briefly discuss sympathy and compassion whereas I discuss empathy at great length...
25 Jul 2022
Ep5: How Many Times Did I Say Reset?
Send us a text With everything going on in our daily lives, it’s important to understand we need to sometimes take a step back and recalibrate to reduce stress. Before we feel too exhausted or drained, we should take the time and mentally reset ourselves. This gets us in a more fresh, positive mood. This episode focuses on some, not all, the mental health resets I do in order to gain some sanity back! I chose to do this episode because I took a 4 day trip alone to visit my best friend and it ...
27 Jun 2022
Ep4: Weight For it…Bodyshaming?
Send us a text Unfortunately, people have an opinion about everything. But for some reason our skin, hair, nails, bodies, height, etc constantly become the topic of conversation. We are constantly fed these unnecessary comments and have been guilty of making these comments ourselves in the past. In this episode I discuss my own experiences with appearance shaming in my Afghan communities. I talk about various types of body and appearance shaming and how we can promote self love more because w...
8 Mar 2022
Ep3:Q&A Session
Send us a text Jigars and Jaans! As some of you know, I needed to unplug which caused a delay in uploading this episode. Remember, it's completely okay to unplug and take a step back from whatever your mental health state can't handle at that moment. The questions I've chosen to answer in this episode are: Why weren’t you allowed to get rid of facial hair? How did your family handle you being bullied/ did you even tell them? You said it took a conversation when the...
1 Mar 2022
Ep2: Who is She?
Send us a text This episode is about “Getting to know your host.” I dive deep into my childhood, school experiences, and some personal self esteem triggers. This one definitely shows a more vulnerable side of me and how certain negative experiences impacted my mental health. I also talk about a major event in my life that defied some cultural odds. As always, please reach out with any feedback, questions or comments at medinamua18@gmail.com!
22 Feb 2022
Ep1: Intro and Why a Podcast?(yall dont judge me this was my first episode)
Send us a text A lot of people reached out and wanted more details on what this podcast will be about so here it is! In this episode, I talk about my support system and the people in my everyday life who keep me going. A support system is key in maintaining a positive mental health. There are people out there who don’t have firm support systems and I hope this podcast can become one for them. I also talk about the immense support I’ve received and how it motivated me even more to pursue...
5 Feb 2022
Trailer: No one asked but…
Send us a text Welcome Jigars and jaans! This trailer briefly explains what to look forward to in this podcast. Special guests, Q&A sessions, and vulnerable conversations are just a snippet of what will be included! Feel free to email me topic ideas or send me questions you’d like me to answer at medinamua18@gmail.com! Disclaimer: I am not a therapist or licensed mental health counselor; just a girl who shares her experiences.
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4.8 / 5
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