How to be a Human Being in the World with Dr. Kathleen Young

In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Dr. Mary Leung who is a board-certified internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology physician. She is also a certified life coach and the founder of Shining with Gratitude MD, where she helps physicians who feel trapped, devalued, stressed and overworked to regain control, to rediscover the joy in life and in medicine.  Dr. Leung went from fee...

Resilience is very far from being numb. It means you feel, experience, fail, and get hurt, but still keep on going. You attack while running away. It is having tolerance for your negative emotions and going on to make art with the broken pieces of your heart.  In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Brigette Lumpkins, a strategist, advisor, business developer, and writer with experience in...

More often than not, high-achieving black women wear the armor of everything being okay as a response to negative life experiences. And unfortunately, most keep this facade up until it's too late. But it's okay not to be okay! It’s totally okay to be vulnerable and openly express your innermost feelings.  In today's episode, Kathleen addresses the high-achieving woman. If you forget...

“Am I doing it right?” “Am I being a perfect parent?” These are some of the questions that many parents find themselves asking.  Given that parenthood has no manual, we certainly shouldn't beat ourselves up whenever we feel that we aren’t being the “perfect mom or dad”. In this episode, Kathleen is joined by Dr. Earle Chambers, an Epidemiologist, director of research within the clinical depar...

Black hair (whether in kinks, curls, or Afro) is too unique NOT to be loved. And while most women get their hair permed from age 5/6, some continue to relax it for decades for various reasons, ranging from job security to upward economic mobility. A majority of them are unaware that by doing so, they double their risk of developing endometriosis, fibroids, and ovarian cancer.  In today's epis...

What breathes life into you? What is it that you crave for more from life than mere survival? Opportunities are always there, and it's all just a matter of looking back into your life, and figuring out your why (while extending yourself some grace) because there's no predefined pathway for this discovery. In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Jonathan Swain (the first male guest...

You hurt my feelings. These are just four simple words, yet so uncomfortable to utter to platonic friends as an adult. And inasmuch as conflicts in friendships are inevitable, navigating them in our adulthood (where there's a need for time and energy to build and maintain friendships) can give you a migraine. Join Kathleen in today’s episode as she avails tips on how to navigate conflict in f...

“I’m not good enough”, “I’m not important”, “I’m not capable”. Limiting beliefs. We all have them. Such thoughts can actually be double the number when you are a single parent. But let’s face it. The core fabric of a family is love, not structure. And although being a single parent might be twice the thoughts, the stress, and the hard work; it is also twice the hugs, the pride, and primarily - the...

As humans, we are multifaceted, and a lot of times the best things in our lives happen when we don't concede to the herd mentality. As a matter of fact, the reward for conformity is that everyone will like you but yourself.  In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Dr. Kara Pepper, a Practicing Telemedicine Internist and certified life coach for exhausted perfectionists. Kara has a thou...

When any year comes to a close, we're filled with a level of excitement in us that only seems to crop up at this time of year. Excitement for a brand new chapter, a clean slate. In this episode, Kathleen takes some time to look back at what 2022 had to offer, and how best she can prepare for 2023. Consider this episode an invitation to do your year end reflections if you haven't. This pr...

The guest on this episode needs no introduction. Besides being a long-term dear friend of mine, Worokya Duncan is a perfect example of strength and resilience. Growing up, Worokya had super thick, 4C hair. However, when she cut it and grew it back she noticed some soft spots on her scalp that had no hair. Little did she know that she would lose all her hair shortly after this.  Worokya is willing...

The world has many people who will stand in your way if you let them. Sometimes, you’re even the person in the way. You don’t have to block yourself, though. You can be the reason all of your dreams come true.  In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Kimberly Page, a solopreneur who helps clients and their parents live high-quality, secure lives. Having worked in the federal government for...

Bad moments don't make bad moms, but happy moms are good moms. And today’s guest confirms that moms can combine motherhood, self-care, self-love, and lots of fun to live a wholesome, fulfilling life.  Kathleen is joined by the fabulous fun mom; Camille Hatton. She is Jamaican-born, grew up in Cleveland Heights, and moved to New York after college where she has been for over 10 years. Camille...

Goals are powerful because they give you the direction, clarity, and focus to thrive in life. Yet many people struggle to make consistent progress, follow through on their tasks, or reach any of their objectives despite their best effort. But often, there’s something deeper holding them back from achieving their visions. In today’s episode, Kathleen breaks down one of the major factors contributin...

In today's episode, I speak to my long-term friend, Grace Walton Doherty. Grace is a Boston native and mum of two teenagers. She currently offers individual consulting to small businesses. Having pursued a career in financial services and being involved in the banking sector, the investment sector, and the insurance sector, Grace is more than a vertical expert. Tune in to learn what it has ta...

How do you get away from structuring everything around a redefining life event that is accompanied by enormous psychological, emotional, and financial impact? How do you allow yourself to want, dream and be purposeful in being human? In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Dana Davis, a field salesperson and a strong mom of two. Dana has been through an awe-inspiring journey and this hearty...

Trying to conceive should be a happy time for couples, but when it isn't, it becomes soo dispiriting. How do you still trust the journey even when the possibility of having your biological babies is close to nil? How do you still allow your normal human emotions to flow?  In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by an amazing guest; Dr. Jewel Montgomery Smay, an anesthesiologist, a future...

Once you grow up, making and maintaining friends can be hard. While being a good friend comes easily to some, there’s a certain level of effort that most of us need to put forth in order to see our relationships thrive. And finding time to keep up with your friendships can feel like a real challenge when you’re balancing work, family, and a variety of other personal obligations. This is why in thi...

Nobody is safe when it comes to invisible illnesses. When the brain gets sick, getting out of the trap of thoughts is not easy even for the stakeholders in that space; physicians. Research shows that we lose nearly 400 doctors a year to suicide and women physicians are twice susceptible.  In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Dr. Michelle Chestovich, a family physician, certified life coa...

Divorce is not a punishment, and one can still live a fulfilling life after it. One may constantly blame themselves and even find it hard to move on, but this is a time when one should show compassion and even forgive themselves. While it is an ongoing process that might come with societal shame and judgment, releasing yourself from the mistakes made will help you move on to create the vibrant, fu...

The more you own your imperfections and awkwardness and put yourself out there, the more opportunities and abundance come your way, and the more comfortable you get; this is the secret nature of the universe.  Join Kathleen today as she shares her transition from being disconnected from who she truly was to stepping out imperfectly, having total self-acceptance, and never abandoning herself regard...

We all experience the human phenomenon that our brain creates as a way of protecting us - the scarcity mindset. While we may have various reasons that justify our scarcity mindset, the bottom line is that we all have a human brain. And the beauty about it is that we can always change our perception. In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Dr. Latifat Akintade, a  practicing Gastroenterologi...

Welcome to our first episode of the How to be a Human Being in the World podcast, where  I, Dr. Kathleen Young, a physiatrist and passionate life coach, set out to do what I love the most. Through this show, I am going to help you embrace all the parts of yourself, really lean into the things that you want, the things that light you up. I will be breaking the silence by presenting a lot of differe...

Many people aren't pursuing the life they want because they are not sure of what lights them up, while others think it's just not possible. So how does one get such thoughts out of their mind? In this episode, Kathleen shares some golden nuggets from a recent beta testing she did over summer. She offered 14 free sessions to her Facebook friends to help them identify that one thing that w...

In today's episode, Kathleen is joined by Ladonna Armour, an all-fun former strategic brand builder, and manager. Ladonna, stepping out of the corporate world where she felt compromised in her authenticity and identity, has built her natural skincare brand from the ground up.  In this phase of her career, she has harnessed her wealth of experience as a brand-builder to create a  body scrub th...