10. My Next Chapter: Research, Advocacy, SciComm, & Becoming Myself
On episode 10 of A Chat with Uma, I'm sharing everything about the next chapter of my life, which stems from one of the biggest life decisions I have made to date. I speak at length about the major decision I have made for the next step of my life + career, and narrate through the complexities and interplay of my beliefs, traumatic experiences, pathologies/mental illnesses, and distortions that contributed to my past confusion about my life path. I detail the process of integrating a pivotal psilocybin experience and the insights that provided integral support to my decision-making. I share the details of my next steps, how I got to this path, where exactly I will be going + what I will be doing, and how I will navigate the challenges & difficulties that may arise. I illustrate a tangible example of the illusion of "correct" choices, and share the role of acceptance and self-discovery in making values-driven decisions. This episode ultimately serves to share my raw and honest experience of moving through acceptance, curiosity, finding myself beyond what I "do," breaking through the binaries + limitations of others, and the process of becoming myself. Topics Covered + Timestamps: (00:00:00): Introduction to the episode (00:03:18) Aspiring Scientists Coalition meeting with Dr. Ben Rein Thursday April 13, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT Sign up for free HERE (00:07:39): Breaking Convention Presentation April 20-22 | University of Exeter Register to attend HERE (in person or virtual) (00:11:58) Announcing the major life decision I made! (00:14:38) How and why I made this decision Psilocybin experience Recapitulating therapeutic effects of ketamine treatments Realizations about my true "self" How my "self" helped bloom my decisions (00:30:06) How I'm moving from safety behaviors to this choice being an avenue to discover, accept, & become myself (00:46:45) Where I am going/moving for this next chapter + why (01:04:02) What I experienced there & how this place changed my perception of life (01:07:31) Breaking through the belief that I need to shrink + be either/or an advocate or scientist, and paving my own path to integrate all parts of myself (01:14:48) Where I'm going from here, gratitude for this podcast community, moving into my next chapter Connect with me! My website: umarchatterjee.com Instagram: @UmaRChatterjee Twitter: @UmaRChatterjee TikTok: @UmaRChatterjee Email: hello@umarchatterjee.com