What happens when you don't have anyone cheering you on? 💚

Not everyone has a loving family. Not everyone has someone they can call when life gets hard. Not everyone grew up hearing, “I'm proud of you,” “I love you,” or “You're doing a great job.”

And sometimes, the people who should have been your biggest supporters are the very people who caused you the most pain.

In Episode 53 of Beyond Nrml w/ Mya Lamis, we're having a heartfelt conversation about SUPPORT SYSTEMS, FAMILY TRAUMA, TRUST ISSUES, HEALING, and the strength it takes to keep going when you feel like you're doing everything alone.

This conversation was inspired by a video I came across of a college student who was asked to call someone he loved.

He called his grandfather.

What happened next was beautiful.

His grandfather poured love, encouragement, and affirmation into him. He reminded his grandson how proud he was of him and how much he loved him.

Watching that interaction made me think about how many people have never experienced that kind of unconditional support.

It also reminded me how blessed we are when we have family members who genuinely love, encourage, and support us.

But what about the people who don't?

What about the people breaking generational cycles without guidance?

What about the people healing from family trauma while trying to build a better future?

What about the people who struggle to trust others because the people closest to them have hurt them?

THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU. 💚

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

• The importance of having a healthy support system • The emotional impact of hearing someone say they're proud of you • Why having a loving family is a blessing • Why we shouldn't judge people without knowing their stories • Growing up without emotional support • Family trauma and its lasting effects • How betrayal can contribute to trust issues • Learning to trust again after being hurt • Breaking generational cycles without family support • The difference between being independent and feeling alone • Why everyone deserves encouragement • Creating your own support system • Finding strength when nobody is cheering you on • Learning to celebrate yourself • Encouragement for people who are still showing up despite everything they've experienced

One thing I want everyone to understand is that we don't all start life with the same emotional resources.

Some people grow up surrounded by encouragement, guidance, and unconditional love.

Others spend years trying to heal from the very people who were supposed to protect them.

And that's why we have to be careful about judging people when we don't know what they've experienced.

To everyone breaking generational cycles ALONE…

To everyone who had to become their own biggest cheerleader…

To everyone who is learning how to love and trust after experiencing family trauma…

To everyone building a life they were never shown how to build…

I SEE YOU. I'M PROUD OF YOU. AND I HOPE YOU'RE PROUD OF YOURSELF TOO. 💚

It may be harder without support, but your circumstances do not determine your potential.

And remember, you deserve support, too. You don't have to do everything alone forever.

💬 LET'S TALK:

Did you grow up with a strong support system, or did you have to learn how to encourage yourself?

What's something you wish someone had told you growing up?

Share your experience in the comments. You never know who might need to hear your story.

🎧 Listen to Beyond Nrml w/ Mya Lamis on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and other streaming platforms.

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Your support helps these conversations reach people who need them.

#FamilyTrauma #SupportSystem #BeyondNrml

Why are people walking away from Christianity?

Are people actually rejecting God—or are some people rejecting what they've experienced from Christians and the church?

In Episode 52 of Beyond Nrml w/ Mya Lamis, we're having an uncomfortable but necessary conversation about Christianity, extreme religion, judgment, church hurt, hypocrisy, fear, politics, and what may be pushing people away from the faith.

This isn't an attack on Christianity, Christians, or every church.

It's a conversation about what happens when faith becomes more associated with judgment, condemnation, fear and control than love, grace, compassion and accountability.

Jesus taught, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” But judgment can still become one of the first things people associate with Christianity.

So what went wrong?

🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why some people are leaving Christianity • Are people leaving God—or leaving the church? • Church hurt and religious trauma • Christianity and judgment • “Judge not” and Matthew 7 • Conviction vs. condemnation • Why Christians sometimes focus on certain sins while ignoring others • Hypocrisy within the church • Fear-based Christianity • Questioning your faith without automatically abandoning it • Why some churches discourage difficult questions • Christianity and politics • When political identity becomes intertwined with religious identity • Christianity's complicated history within Black America • How Christianity was used both to justify oppression and to resist it • The Black church and the Civil Rights Movement • How religious leaders can misuse authority • What Jesus' treatment of marginalized people can teach modern Christians • What Christianity could look like without the extremes

One of the biggest questions in this episode is:

What if Christians became known more for how deeply they loved people than for everything they were against?

People leave churches and question Christianity for many different reasons. Some have experienced church hurt. Some disagree with particular doctrines. Some struggle with philosophical questions. Some have witnessed hypocrisy. Some no longer believe. And others still believe in God but have stepped away from organized religion.

Those experiences aren't all the same—and this conversation shouldn't pretend they are.

Whether you're a Christian, former Christian, questioning your faith, spiritual, part of another religion, or simply curious, I want this episode to create room for a conversation.

You don't have to agree with me.

But let's be willing to ask difficult questions.

👇🏾 JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

Why do YOU think people are walking away from Christianity and organized religion?

And for Christians:

Before we ask why people are leaving, are we willing to examine what they experienced while they were here?

Keep the conversation respectful. Different beliefs are welcome. Disrespect isn't.

🎙️ Subscribe to Beyond Nrml w/ Mya Lamis for conversations about faith, society, history, healing, personal growth, culture and the topics people are sometimes afraid to discuss.

👕 Shop Beyond Nrml: BeyondNRML.com

📚 eBooks, coaching & resources: stan.store/MyaLamis

#Christianity #ChurchHurt #BeyondNrml #ExtremeChristianity #Faith #Religion #ChristianPodcast #ReligiousTrauma #Church #Jesus #Deconstruction #FaithQuestions #ChristianTikTok #BlackChurch #MyaLamis

“Slavery was too long ago.” That's one of the first arguments we hear whenever reparations for Black Americans are discussed. So in Episode 51 of **Beyond Nrml w/ Mya Lamis**, I decided to ask a different question: **What if we took slavery out of the conversation for a moment?** What happens when we look at what happened AFTER slavery? Jim Crow. Legal segregation. Black Codes and vagrancy laws. Convict leasing. Voting discrimination. Redlining and housing discrimination. Employment discrimination. Unequal schools. Racial violence and intimidation. And policies that affected Black Americans' ability to own property, vote, receive an equal education, obtain certain jobs, build businesses and accumulate wealth. The Civil Rights Act wasn't signed until 1964. The Voting Rights Act came in 1965. The Fair Housing Act came in 1968. That means there are Americans alive today who were born into a country where many forms of racial discrimination and segregation were still legally permitted or enforced. So when someone says, “That happened so long ago,” I think we have to ask: **How long ago is long enough?** In this episode, we're talking about: • The reparations debate beyond slavery • What happened after emancipation • Black Codes and vagrancy laws • Convict leasing • Jim Crow and legal segregation • Voting discrimination • Redlining and discriminatory housing policies • How homeownership affects generational wealth • Employment and educational discrimination • The difference between individual responsibility and government responsibility • Why “I didn't do it” doesn't answer every question surrounding government policy • What people actually mean when they discuss reparations • Arguments for and against reparations • Questions surrounding eligibility, cost and implementation • Why this history still matters when discussing Black wealth today This isn't about pretending there aren't difficult questions surrounding reparations. There are. Who qualifies? What would reparations look like? Who would pay? Would compensation be individual, community-based, or both? How would the amount be determined? Those questions deserve serious discussion. But asking **how repair should happen** is different from pretending there was **nothing to repair.** Whether you support reparations, oppose them, or don't know where you stand, I want this episode to encourage you to learn the history first. Then make your own decision. 💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION: **If slavery were completely removed from the argument, do Jim Crow, segregation, redlining and other discriminatory government policies change how you think about reparations?** Keep the conversation respectful in the comments. 🎙️ Subscribe to **Beyond Nrml w/ Mya Lamis** for conversations about history, society, Black wealth, healing, entrepreneurship, current events and becoming the best version of ourselves. 👕 Shop Beyond Nrml: BeyondNRML.com 📚 eBooks, coaching & resources: stan.store/MyaLamis #Reparations #BlackHistory #BeyondNrml #MyaLamis #JimCrow #Redlining #Segregation #BlackWealth #CivilRights #BlackEconomics #GenerationalWealth #AfricanAmericanHistory #BlackPodcasters #HistoryPodcast #SocialCommentary