01. My Full Story: 0 to 26

On this inaugural episode of A Chat with Uma, I begin the podcast by sharing my full story: a high-level overview of the overall journey that my life has taken so far, given my extremely non-traditional and rather eventful background. This episode serves as a basis and framework to understand the vantage point and perspective(s) that I'm coming from in this show. My story, told in full for the first time here, will give you insight into the questions I ask, the conversations I have, the topics I explore, and the depth of honesty that I navigate ideas with. Topics covered in this episode + timestamps: (00:00:00) Introduction (00:01:56) Purpose of episode, disclaimers, & pre-frames (00:09:12) Family background, childhood, mental & physical illness (00:25:00) Middle school, CW: sexual abuse, mental illness (00:32:25) Professional singing career (00:35:00) South Asian & bicultural identity (00:37:28) Joining a religious cult at 14 (00:43:20) High school, cult, poor grades, debate & law school, mental & physical illness cont. (00:49:00) College, failing, cult, dropping out, meeting my (now) husband (01:01:00) Cult hiatus, music school, OCD diagnosis, singer/songwriter career (01:03:25) Cancer diagnosis, losing my voice, psychedelics, losing my identity (01:11:20) Going back to school, redeeming myself, getting my degree, psychology to neuroscience, grad school, research (01:21:15) Leaving the religious cult fully, the cult of spirituality (01:26:05) Becoming a board-certified Mental Health Peer Specialist (01:28:50) Becoming an advocate and organizer (01:31:35) My future, what I'm doing and where I'm going next (01:36:00) The future of this show, closing of the episode I cannot wait to connect with you, answer all of your questions, and co-create this with you. Welcome to a Chat with Uma! Connect with me! My website: umarchatterjee.com Instagram: @UmaRChatterjee Twitter: @UmaRChatterjee TikTok: @UmaRChatterjee Email: [email protected]