Trinidadian | Indian | Venezuelan | Spanish
My Father dying shaped my life massively, he died when I was six years old on Christmas day. I delivered a @Tedx talk about my journey with masculinity. My podcast also acts as a bridge to other worlds, as diverse conversation enriches all of our lives.
Recently I was diagnosed with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). People hear OCD and think it is all about cleaning, my OCD is PURE '0' which refers to distressing internal thoughts. OCD has taught me so much. It has been the worst thing to ever happen to me, but I will be the worst thing to happen to OCD. I write about my story to help others, it is so much more common than we think! I also shared my journey through a series of articles. Around three-quarters of a million people are thought to be living with severe, life-impacting and debilitating OCD here in the UK. I am in recovery and now aim to help others.
I cried recently thinking about how far I have come with my diagnosis. I thought I was going to die. I am thankful to be here telling my story because a story shared is a burden halved. As a man it is so important to cry, so many men pretend and act as if we don't cry. I cried not out of sadness, but out of an overwhelming gratitude for life. Practising gratitude has taken me through my incredibly rough times, I learn to realise I am a soft and sensitive young man.
Trinidad has a unique sense of identity and it has informed me of who I am now. I used to visit Trinidad twice a year, every year. Going back taught me so much about life and where my heritage is. I shout loud and proud of my Trinidad identity. Whilst my parents are mixed, I am always assumed to have a White or Black parent, for years I felt I had to prove Blackness being lighter skinned. In contemporary society, many of us are guilty of subconsciously adopting social bubbles reinforcing and justifying our own opinions. This can be detrimental to our personal progression as we blindside our mentality and adopt a pattern of tribalism.
My TED talk article is here:
Articles on OCD:
https://themodel.cloud/magazine/interviews/my-recovery-from-ocd-shaun-flores-talks-to-tmc/
https://www.kindredmagazine.co.uk/post/my-mind-told-me-all-the-worst-things-it-was-ocd
https://thebookofman.com/mind/mental-health/ocd/
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