Today we’d like to introduce you to Susie Navarro
Hi Susie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I first started feeling different when I was in 9th grade. I grew up in South Los Angeles with immigrant parents in poverty for all of my life up to that point. The schools were overcrowded and by the time I had to start high school, they were putting kids into school buses and sending them off to different high schools in the valley. The high school that I was bussed to was Canoga Park High School. This was the first time that I had ever left the bubble of South Los Angeles. My family was poor so we never went anywhere and my parents worked all of the time. My mom also had a fear of being deported due to her undocumented status so she never dared to drive anywhere far or unknown. Not even the beach. Stepping out of that bus and going to this High School at the time, I experienced culture shock and feelings that I had never felt before. It was really the first time that I saw any white people, people with different upbringings from me, and different life attitudes. The school had an agriculture program and actual farm animals. Our schools is South L.A at the time would never. It felt like a different world. Fast forward, they ended up building several new schools in South LA so by the time my sophomore year came, I was able to stay in LA for the rest of my high school years. Every year at the start of the school year, I remember teachers giving us “the talk”. The talk where they try to motivate us to do good in school and be a success story. Things like “the statistics are against you” and “don’t join gangs”. During my sophomore year, we had several “riots” and fights between Black and Latino students. Lots of heavy police interventions prompting metal detectors to be installed. All of these experiences initially sparked my interest of wanting to “help people”. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do career wise and I wasn’t thinking of going to college but I knew that I wanted to help teenagers who were “at risk” as they used to call us. As I got to the ending of High School, I had little to no parental supervision. I ended up moving in with by boyfriend at the time at the age of 18. I got married at age 19 and moved out to the city of La Puente. Having nothing to do, I started community college and got interested in Sociology because it talked about all of these issues that I experienced growing up. I never planned to go further into my education but it just happened. One step after the other. I ended up transferring to a 4 year university and getting my bachelors degree in Sociology. Then eventually my Master of Social Work degree at University of Souther California which is located in South Los Angeles area. The perfect culmination to my story. A university that I passed by so many times and never imagined going to. With the end of my education journey also came the end of my high school marriage and the start of motherhood. I was pregnant with my daughter during my last semester of grad school and she’s been my side kick since. I started my mental health blog and podcast in March 2022. I also started my private therapy practice around the same time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say that it was as smooth as it could have been. A big struggle for me along the way to get to where I am now was anxiety and the relationship with my ex husband at the time. Looking back, I didn’t realize that it was a problem in that moment because I didn’t know any different. I thought it was normal and I was just kind of existing. Throughout my time as a college student, I didn’t know how drive and did not have my drivers license so I relied a lot on my ex-husband for transportation. I had to take the bus everyday for school rain or shine. Sometimes he would hold that over my head which I didn’t realize at the time. He didn’t like if I stayed after school for extra-curricular activities or school events. He didn’t allow me to have male acquaintances. He would say “you’re married, you can’t be hanging out with friends after class” or “that’s not what married women do”. I didn’t realize at the time that this was all covert abuse. I remember one incident where I stayed after class for a school painting event. I had so much fun that day and remember being so happy. When I called him to pick me up, he wasn’t happy. It was maybe 8pm so it was dark outside and I was asking him to pick me up because the buses were also going to take long to arrive. He was upset and told me to walk home. It wasn’t a short distance either. I ended up waiting for the only bus available at that time which dropped me off blocks away from home and walked the rest of the way. Looking back now, this relationship prevented me from doing so many things like making friends, participating in school activities, fulfilling leadership roles, learning to drive. I wasn’t able to make any close friends while in college and I regret that now. My anxiety was also a major struggle because I was the biggest people pleaser because of this. I wanted to do things “right” and make my ex-husband happy and my mother at the time. I was following advice blindly from my mom that didn’t make sense. I was giving my money away to them with no second thought. I felt like I was always putting up walls with people and hiding what was going on.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am now currently working as a social worker in my full time job and as a private practice therapist part time. I only take on a handful of clients to work with. I really have a passion for mental health and helping others going through their own struggles. I didn’t have anyone to help me and so I want to be that person for my clients. Outside of my work, I have a mental health podcast and blog called Mental Health-ish. I wanted a way to connect to others in a less formal way where I can just be myself. I wanted to share my knowledge and life experiences with others who may be going through similar situations. I wanted to hear other peoples stories and talk to other professionals to learn about their passions. This is what Mental Health-ish is about and I am very proud of that. I receive messages from women who listen to my podcast and can relate to some of the things I share.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I learned to slow down. Prior to Covid I was working in community mental health where I was seeing clients back to back with little to no breaks. I felt like I didn’t have time to breath. I think this forced a lot of people to slow down for the first time in a long time. I was still working during the Covid crisis because I am a social worker with the county but I was able to work from home several days and just enjoy the extra time with my daughter. I learned to take a break, breathe, and go for small walks around the block.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mentalhealth-ish.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentalhealth.ish?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Imperfect.Mellow.LLC?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mentalhealth-ish?si=3Pk66qqua0bK6pNs
