In this podcast, Angela Diaz shares her inspiring journey from poverty to success through resilience. She discusses her experience of growing up in poverty, dropping out of high school, battling depression, and eventually achieving an Ivy League medical education. Diaz highlights the importance of playing to strengths and being altruistic in overcoming adversity. She also talks about the act of giving back, including donating a kidney and training for marathons to raise funds. Overall, this podcast provides valuable insights into building resilience and bouncing back from trauma.
Resilience can be built by playing to one's strengths and having an optimistic outlook.
Receiving support from family, community, and institutions is crucial for overcoming adversity and achieving success.
Deep dives
Overcoming Challenges and Building Resilience
Dr. Angela Diaz shares her personal journey of resilience, highlighting the importance of optimism, playing to strengths, and altruism. Despite a challenging childhood in extreme poverty, trauma, and limited access to education and healthcare, Dr. Diaz remained resilient. Her optimistic outlook, coupled with the support of her mother and inspiring teachers, fueled her determination to become a doctor. She emphasizes the significance of receiving support from family, community, and institutions like the Adolescent Health Center at Mount Sinai, where she now runs the program, helping thousands of at-risk youth each year.
An Inspiring Journey of Achieving Success
Dr. Diaz's story is a testament to playing to one's strengths and persevering through adversity. Despite dropping out of high school due to trauma and depression, she returned to school with the support of the Adolescent Health Center, excelled academically, and gained acceptance into Columbia Medical School. From there, she continued her education at Harvard and Mount Sinai, specializing in pediatrics. Driven by her passion for helping adolescents, Dr. Diaz emphasizes the significance of positive role models and providing support to young people.
Giving Back and Personal Resilience
Dr. Diaz exemplifies resilience not only professionally but also personally through acts of altruism. She donated one of her kidneys to a friend in need and continued to pursue her passion for running marathons, using them as fundraisers for the Adolescent Health Center. Dr. Diaz acknowledges the importance of exercise and challenges herself to be more consistent. She emphasizes the positive impact that giving back has had on her own life and the transformative effect it has on others, reinforcing the idea that resilience requires community support and the belief in one's ability to thrive.
Have you ever reached the lowest point in your life and felt like you can’t recover? Listen as Angela Diaz, MD, PhD, MPH, shares her emotional journey and explains how you can bounce back and build resilience. Dr. Diaz grew up in poverty, dropped out of high school, and battled depression, but went on to get an Ivy League medical education. She now runs the renowned Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. Learn how playing to her strengths and being altruistic helped her achieve success. Help us tell more great stories by completing our listener survey (http://bit.ly/2knrxzR). Enjoying the podcast? Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/2Nve2Kt).
Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.
Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.
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