Healthy Mind, Healthy Life

What happens when the version of yourself the world handed you was the version you were taught to fear? This episode is for anyone who has ever quietly wondered if they were allowed to be loved as they are.

Sayan sits down with Dr. Joshua Caraballo, industrial-organizational psychologist and author of I'm Not Dead...Yet. Joshua walks through the conviction he made inside a prison cell, the years of believing God wanted to destroy him for being gay, surviving Hodgkin's lymphoma twice, and the slow, deliberate work of falling back in love with himself. They unpack the PERMA model from positive psychology, why questioning what you've been taught is a fruitful exercise even when you keep believing it, and what self-acceptance actually looks like in practice. Honest, unhurried, and quietly hopeful.

About the Guest:

Dr. Joshua J. Caraballo, PsyD, is an industrial-organizational psychologist, author, performer, and the founder of Dr. Josh Business Solutions. Based in Denver, Colorado, his career centers on inspirational storytelling and applied science for human betterment, particularly for historically marginalized communities. He is the author of the memoir I'm Not Dead...Yet: How I Turned My Misfortunes Into Strengths, which traces his journey through a strict Jehovah's Witness upbringing, mental health struggles, addiction, prison, surviving Hodgkin's lymphoma, and coming home to himself as a gay Puerto Rican man.

Key Takeaways:

• Survival can become a habit. At some point you have to ask whether the life you've been getting through is the life you actually want.
• Questioning what you were taught is not betrayal, it's a fruitful exercise. Sometimes it brings you back to the same belief. Sometimes it sets you free. Either way, the asking matters.
• Values aren't preferences. A real value can never harm yourself, others, or the world. If a "value" requires harm to hold, it isn't one.
• Identity is not always a choice. Some parts of who you are are as fixed as ethnicity. The work isn't changing them, it's recognizing them.
• The PERMA model: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Achievement and vitality. All five together build a life worth flourishing in.
• Real change is incremental, not sweeping. Self-love is built in small, repeated acts, not in a single breakthrough moment.

Connect With the Guest:

• Website: https://www.drjosh.solutions/ 
• Book I'm Not Dead...Yet (Barnes & Noble): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/im-not-deadyet-dr-joshua-j-caraballo/1145420055
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-josh/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_josh_solutions/ 

Episode Chapters:

[00:00] Cold Open: When Survival Becomes a Habit

[03:00] The Conviction Joshua Made Inside a Prison Cell (approx.)

[06:30] Growing Up Jehovah's Witness, Gay, and Believing God Wanted to Destroy Him (approx.)

[10:00] The Power of Questioning What You've Been Taught (approx.)

[14:00] How a Real Value Is Different From a Borrowed Belief (approx.)

[17:30] Identity, Sexuality, and the Things That Cannot Be Changed (approx.)

[20:30] PERMA: The Five Pillars of Human Flourishing (approx.)

[24:00] Why Self-Love Is Built in Small, Repeated Steps (approx.)

[26:30] Final Reflection: Living for More Than Yourself (approx.)

 

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Disclaimer: This episode is produced for educational and informational purposes only. All views expressed by the guest are their personal opinions alone and do not represent the views of the host or Healthy Mind by Avik™. The Network does not verify, endorse, or assume responsibility for any guest statements. Nothing in this episode constitutes medical, legal, financial, or professional advice, please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions. Listeners are encouraged to engage critically and independently with all content do not consume blindly. Use this content as a starting point for your own reflection and research, not as a substitute for professional guidance. Third-party content is referenced under fair use for informational purposes only. Guest speakers are solely responsible for their own statements.

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