A few weeks ago, I was lucky to sit down with Emi Nietfeld (more about her below) to dive into lessons from her journey with foster care and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Below, please find snippets from a wide-ranging and nuanced conversation — including interrogating fallacies like the just-world hypothesis and self-reliant individualism triumphing over circumstance — to how medical bias towards those with stigmatized diagnoses or living in poverty can show up.
Read some highlights from our conversation here.
If you’d prefer to watch or listen to this conversation: Click here to watch the full video version and here to listen to the audio version — or search for Spread the light with Dr Devika B wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple or Spotify.
Trigger warning: In this interview, we talk about childhood neglect, PTSD, suicidality, self-harm, depression, and an eating disorder.
Emi Nietfeld is a journalist, mental health activist, and the author of Acceptance: A Memoir, a journey from foster care and homelessness to Harvard and Big Tech. As a journalist, she writes for places like The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Slate and is passionate about critiquing unrealistic expectations of “resilience” put on vulnerable youth. She lives in New York City with her family and stuffed animals.
SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
First-person accounts of living with mental illness that aim to dispel stigma and stereotypes and instead, spread hope and light.
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.
I'm your host, Dr. Devika Bhushan, a pediatrician, public health leader, and equity and health changemaker. In 2022, I served as the Acting Surgeon General for California. I have lived experience as a woman of color, a parent, a person with bipolar disorder, and an Indian-American immigrant to the US by way of the Philippines.
Author and activist Emi Nietfeld busts the myth that "being healthy... means not being affected by the journey"