Podcast Episode: Dr Elizabeth Ssemanda — holistic medical psychiatrist, intuitive, and Reiki therapist

Transcript

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:00)

Elizabeth, Samantha, welcome to the Motivate Collective podcast. How are you doing?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (00:06)

I'm doing well and doing well. It's wonderful to be here.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:10)

I'm so glad for those out there who don't know what you do. What can you share about what you do for work and your background?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (00:24)

Well, I am I'm a holistic psychiatrist. I'm also a medical intuitive. I am really passionate about empowerment. I feel like there is so much potential for humanity, and I have a podcast as well called stepping into soul power that I do. Yeah, so I'm busy.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:53)

You are, you are doing a bit of everything. So you are a psychiatrist as well. What does that, this feels like an obvious question asking what does that involve? But let's bust some myths around that. What's the reality of being a psychiatrist?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (00:57)

Yeah.

Yes.

You know, so I am so technically a medical doctor. went to medical school, did the rotations. I did a residency in psychiatry. So, med school is four years residency in psychiatry is four years. And I, then you get licensed in a state, right now I'm licensed in Texas and California. And, so I can, I can practice medicine. So right now the where psychiatry is right now, it's a lot of medication management. But I'm also really passionate about other healing modalities and therapy. I love it. I think therapy can be really, really helpful. So I do do that in my practice. But I like to think a little bit outside the box. And so when people come to see me, I think that there are many ways that you can get better.

And so I'm interested in getting to a good understanding of what the root cause is, which is a little bit different than what most psychiatrists right now do. Right now, feel like in the field, it's primarily symptom management. But I feel like we, collectively in the field, have kind of gone astray from what people truly want. People want us to help them solve their problems and to be just a collaborative force in that. So, I am in my practice, I'm interested in figuring out why people are there, looking outside the box, thinking outside the box and really empowerment for patients. Cause I feel like there are not enough psychiatrists, there are not enough therapists. And so whatever we can do to help people help themselves. Great.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (03:14)

Absolutely. Do you think that people have become dependent on therapists, and as much as it can be useful, there are moments in between when we can't get to someone for help, when we need to know what we can do for ourselves.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (03:32)

You know, I don't know if people are dependent on therapists. Maybe there are some. I feel like therapists are so busy. Like, yeah, yeah. I feel like we've got an access issue. ⁓ I do think that a lot of the work that happens is in between sessions. Is you living?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (03:42)

There isn't the availability.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (04:01)

your everyday life. That's where you get to apply a lot of the skills, if you're learning skills in sessions. So in many ways, that's where the real, I mean, it is helpful to be with someone and to have that interaction where you feel heard and where you learn things about yourself and how you view the world. think that is helpful, but there's a lot of learning that happens in life. Like life is a school.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (04:40)

Okay. What should we be learning? What can we be doing in our everyday lives to sort ourselves out, basically?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (04:52)

My gosh, this is my favourite. This is a great question. What should we be learning? I think that there are really important things. Number one, I would say, is being able to feel your emotions and manage your emotions. I think that a lot of, sometimes we get into problems when we don't do that.

And there are unhealthy ways that we as a society do to avoid emotions. And you see it all the time, like so people will either drink a little bit more than they should or smoke a little bit more than they should or eat emotionally to avoid feelings. So being able to regulate your emotions, feel your emotions, and then let go. Let go can be letting go of like tough things like guilt, shame, grief, can be hard, hard. So that's one thing. The other thing that I think is incredibly important is being able to master your energy. And I say this because I think it's such an important part. I'm a holistic psychiatrist, but I'm a medical intuitive. so I have some background in Reiki and energy healing. And so I think that some of the issues that I see when people start to have problems is when their energies are like all over, they don't know how to deal with it. And so being very clear about you know, what are the things that energise you, what drains you, having healthy boundaries, I think that's incredibly important. And then the other thing I would say that's really important is being able to be clear about who you are. And I say this because I think a lot of people, like when we're growing up for the first, let me, six, seven years, we're like sponges. We're just soaking up all the things that our parents say, that people in our community say, that the TV says. We're soaking it up. And some of those things that we soak up aren't really true to who we intrinsically are. So part of the maturation process that we've got to go through is kind of starting to know ourselves and then let go of the things that aren't us and that aren't serving us. So think those are tough to do, but really, I feel like are really incredibly important.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (08:14)

Yes. Letting go of the things that are not us, that is especially crucial in this economy because a lot of us grew up with a traditional view of what a career should look like, of what an identity should be. And now we are all needing to have a bit more attention on ourselves in any form. And we are needing to differentiate ourselves.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (08:30)

Wow.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (08:42)

I think it's a very interesting time in history and that mindset shift really flows into letting go of some of those feelings of maybe shame, maybe nervousness of some sort, but also letting go of the beliefs that we grew up with. What sort of limiting beliefs have you seen in people and in yourself?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (09:08)

Beliefs. This is a big topic. I am a bit of a perfectionist. I've grown, and part of that, I will say in my background, that I grew up in a very Catholic, and I'm not knocking Catholic, Catholic, the establishment, but I grew up in a very strict, Catholic household, there were lots of rules. In order to like, and my dad, you know, my parents had lots of kids, lots of kids. So you were just, pardon me?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (09:53)

Lots.

Lots? What, how many kids did they have?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (09:59)

So we're a blended family. My mom, for my mom, my mom's got four kids, but my dad has nine kids. He also adopted, I know. Why are you looking at me? Your face was like, girl. Let me just say this.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (10:17)

Sorry! I'm a maid!

Wow, okay so.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (10:28)

So I have a Ugandan background. I was born in the US, but I have a Ugandan background. in Africa, way that kids are looked as like having a child is like being wealthy, right? So there's that mindset, like children bring you wealth. they're just not a...

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (10:39)

Right.

That's interesting.

So children were seen as part of abundance.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (10:50)

yeah, yeah, yeah, and when you don't have kids, is, it's,

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (10:57)

like you're missing out.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (10:59)

Yeah, yeah, it's tough. And I feel for the women in Ugandan society, when they don't have kids, it is that there's a lot of heartache that goes into that.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (11:12)

We'll explore that for sure because that's a whole topic in itself for every country to think about. But so your mum had a few kids, and your dad had more kids.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (11:24)

Yes, yes, yeah. That culture is just; there are lots of rules. There are just so many rules. And so I think there was just some programming where I was just taught, like you gotta perform, you have to do well in school, like all of that stuff. And I did, but like, when you grow up in a space like that, there can be an internal dialogue where I am not enough, because, you know, it's always like, you can do better, better, better, better. You know, Catholicism, I'm not knocking cat. Yes.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (12:06)

Okay, actually, let's unpack this for a second.

So there was the Catholic angle of you wanted to feel good enough and be good enough. But also, were you also trying to stand out in essentially a group of kids trying to even be seen?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (12:18)

Yeah.

Yes.

Yes, yes. And so that is a limiting belief that I really had to work through because I think I went to a lot of institutions. I went to great schools, great. I went to Brown University. I went to Johns Hopkins University, University of Michigan, Ann Arbour. Great schools. In those institutions, like I was, you know, I'm like the black girl. It was like, you know, there are not a lot of people that look like me, so, dealing with things that come up with, and then the other thing too, right, my parents,

My parents didn't pay for my education. I got loans. And that's not the case for quite a few people at an institution at Brown. So there are class differences. I remember when I was arriving at Brown, I had one suitcase, right? One.

And my roommate had like suitcases upon suitcases upon suitcases. Yeah, so dealing with class differences, race differences as I've like progressed and having to really learn to appreciate me, like what I bring to the table and that even though I might be a little bit different, I am adding something of value and that I belong. And I've gotten to a much better place with that, but it was a process. I'll tell you a story. When even, so look at my hair, right? Hair, huh? Yeah, thank you. Thank you.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (14:37)

It's amazing, I love it. It's so good.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (14:43)

Thank you. But when I was growing up, it was just bad, like having my hair straightened was a really big thing. Like I think for years I wore my hair straightened. And then it was a really big deal when I decided to cut it off and then just grow my hair naturally.

Like I said, it's been a process learning to love me and know that I'm enough and that I belong. And so I think that is what a limiting belief that I've struggled with and that I see a lot of people struggle with. And you can tell this because, think about what happens when we watch TV. People are selling someone, and basically something, and basically the message is you're doing it wrong, you're not enough, blah, blah, blah, blah. So we get it from a lot of different places. And it takes some courage, self-awareness, and maybe a little bit of grit and persistence to want to push past that.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (16:02)

Yes. And the appearance, that's an interesting one because I think a lot of us listeners, almost everybody will feel self-conscious, feel awkward about something about our appearance. And as a psychiatrist, I trust that you can guide us in making peace with our appearance. And there's a lot of body image confidence these days, I recently sharing with another guest that

Elizabeth Ssemanda (16:27)

Yeah.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (16:31)

I most half of my life, I felt very embarrassed because there's a long scar across half of my tummy. And so, growing up, if you remember the old era of Britney Spears, Christina, and all the crop-top era, I felt so embarrassed. I felt, you know, a lot of shame basically. And everybody would have something they feel embarrassed about with their appearance. So I'm curious.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (16:47)

Yes!

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (17:00)

How do you guide people to make peace with how they look and feel proud about it?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (17:08)

You know, I think it starts with awareness and being clear about what exactly is going on. What I ask people to do is maybe start paying attention to the dialogue, the thoughts that are going on. And I'm almost taking taking yourself like as if you're on the outside looking in. Like, oh, what is this person saying? And sometimes if you recognise, oh, this sounds like my mother. It might have come from that. So, paying attention to those thoughts, you'll have a better sense of, okay, well, what's the origin?

You know, being very clear, like, this true for me? You know? And that's another question I ask people to think about. Then I, you know, it's important to, you said something really interesting, to make peace, right? There are aspects of ourselves that I like to think about, like the shadow that we push away to the side, and when we don't acknowledge them, they'll seep into different things and start causing issues and get us into some challenging situations. And so.

Being clear as far as you're clear about the thoughts, you're thinking about the source, where is this coming from? You're also thinking about how you want to relate to them and how you want to relate to yourself. And one thing that I challenge people to do is, when I think of peace, it means coming to some sort of understanding or, yeah, coming to an understanding or moving toward the space where you can coexist. And I like to go into the heart space and ask people to listen to the heart, connect to their heart for guidance, as to like how to navigate that. Because I feel like for many of us, a lot of times we know the answer. We have such great wisdom within us. But I think part of the challenge that we have is that many times we either don't listen to it or there's so much noise going on that we can't hear the wisdom that our inner self is trying to tell us.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (20:31)

What does that noise look like? Is it the other opinions around us? Is it scrolling on our phones? Is it something else?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (20:41)

yeah, yeah. So other people's opinions, like I think for many, many times we care a lot about what other people think, right? It's kind of like what you said before, like, I mean, shame is real. Like, and, and, and, it takes a lot of courage to be authentically ourselves in this society. Cause people will say some, some things that, really like, like daggers to the heart.

And, so the noise is other people, the noise is like sometimes the things that we do, like, so even things like work can be a distraction to like we can find other ways to not be here. Sometimes getting preoccupied with the past is a can can be the noise of being preoccupied with the future can be noise and like you said scrolling like it is it is a phenomenon just how addictive cell phones can be. I yeah they made them to be that way.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (21:51)

They are.

Yes, it's designed to be addictive. I'm wondering if you have looked into it all, how they are apparently designed a bit like gambling, especially the apps, the way we are meant to relate to them. And I'm wondering if you've seen the impact on adults or children or both with the addiction, because I'm really worried.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (21:58)

Yes.

Yes.

Yeah, I'm worried too. You see it in a society, you can't go to a restaurant where someone isn't looking at their phone or on their phone, or people are having dinner and everyone's on their phone, or kids are on their tablet. think it's had, think that it's technology, the internet has been great in a couple of ways. Like, yeah, we're able to text each other, we can FaceTime, like that's great, that's wonderful. But, it's, it's taken, I feel like in some ways we are socially stunted, especially when we are in the presence of other people, like physical presence, like the quality of that interaction has changed because something is here blocking that.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (23:07)

Yes.

Yes, it's the phones and also post-COVID as well. think in every country, people took a few years to relearn how to be social and to convince themselves to get out there. Do you think so?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (23:13)

And go ahead. Absolutely. And they're still going through it. Like I remember practising psychiatry before COVID and then, and now practising it afterwards. And the social anxiety has definitely gone up. Definitely gone up. Like it is, it's a whole different ball game. And I think that

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (23:47)

Really?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (23:57)

I mean, I think we've got to start to be very intentional about how we use devices and what value they add. Then with everything, right, there are pluses and minuses. And what is having this device in this particular instance? In what way is it?

Is it interfering with how I want to connect with another person?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (24:30)

Yes. And I'm wondering about our need to present ourselves online because I know that we can connect, and people can feel more connected with us from a distance when we are sharing a chunk of our lives. But I'm seeing my own habits that I think a lot of people are doing as well, where frankly, too many times I went walking at the beach and I got in the habit of take a video, take a photo of it and check how many people are looking at it. And we have forgot how to just go into nature or go and explore without showing it to the world. And do you think that for anyone who is, I mean, you have a personal brand and you are doing your independent work, and I'm curious, how do you...

Elizabeth Ssemanda (25:02)

Nah.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (25:24)

How do you balance having a personal brand and still having some privacy, and also just some time where you're not having that spectacle mindset of life being a performance?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (25:39)

geez. don't know. So I have a personal brand. I don't know if I feel like you're saying that I put the whole ton of thought into it. Yeah.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (25:48)

⁓ we all... Okay,

we're all on the internet in some way, I'll say that.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (25:53)

Yeah,

I am on the internet. Hmm, I feel like I tend to be, there's some aspects of my life that I will not share that are sacred to me. And I think as individuals, you know, we have to start being clear about what that line is and being able to understand, like, where does, when does it get detrimental to our psychological well-being? I think that, especially for younger people, I know that they've done studies, is that the more posting, the more scrolling that younger people do, they tend to be more anxious, more depressed. So I think having limits, boundaries. I mean, I know for kids, like, we've got screen time limits. And I know some tech people who will not let their kids use tablets at all. So I think a big chunk of this is really listening to ourselves and ⁓ being clear about what's healthy for us.

It's that question, you know, is this bringing value to me? And is it also positively affecting my health? And being able to say yes to those things. And if it's no to either one, making changes as needed.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (27:51)

Absolutely. So with this screen time for kids, I'm just going to use this opportunity to ask about it. If you have looked at this a bit, because I saw some experts and specialists saying that the device can be emotionally regulating. Is that just a bit of an excuse? I don't feel convinced that it's the best emotional regulation.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (28:17)

Hold on.

I haven't heard that. I think I'm a big believer that people need to regulate their emotions. And I feel like parents have a very special place in modelling emotion regulation to their children. And I'm a huge believer in parents really teaching this to their kids.

I think that in older generations, I don't necessarily think that healthy ways of regulating our emotions were modelled, but there's so much right now that you can, I mean, you can get decent, I feel like people have video, but you got therapists that are out there like saying, hey, this is what you do. So I think there's, yeah, wouldn't, I would ask people to take responsibility for their lives and to be the ones that regulate their own emotions and then model that to their kids and not have a device. It's like me saying, like, my cell phone regulates my, what? No. My computer does. Stop it.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (29:36)

Nice.

Totally just don't. Awesome. I'm so keen to get a bit more light for a second to normal edit this. don't just want to give this a bit better light. Okay. That's a bit better. So I'm curious, what other issues have you seen in the psychiatry space? What other issues do individuals have where the intuition could be helping them?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (29:51)

Yes.

I don't know what-

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (30:18)

or listening, listening to what they know.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (30:24)

I feel like intuition can be helpful in all scenarios, like incredibly helpful in most scenarios. think it's important to know when it's into, I feel like there are some things that can make it tough to hear our intuition. Like when we're in a state of fear, when we are doubting ourselves, it can be tough to really hear that inner voice or really pay attention to what.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (30:29)

everything.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (30:52)

You know, our inner self is trying to tell us. But I feel like it can be helpful in anxiety. I feel, you know, in managing past traumas. I feel like, I mean, I think that intuition, this is a part of our everyday life. I think what the challenge a lot of us have is learning to trust ourselves and follow through with what our intuition is trying to tell us. think many times we may ignore it, and then we end up in trouble.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (31:31)

we do. Okay, so have you ever done that to yourself?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (31:31)

Big trouble.

yeah, I'm human.

I'm a work in progress. I am a work in progress. think that sometimes I think I really am very, I care a lot about people, and sometimes I'll get a feeling like, maybe this is not the best relationship for you, but I'll be like, Sometimes I see the potential and might ignore some things, but I've gotten a lot better with that program.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (32:22)

Right, right. So one thing I was really keen to ask about is how you combine your scientific background and the Reiki background, because often we see the Reiki side and those alternative modalities as very separate from the mainstream, but you have brought both together. So I'm curious, how did that happen? And

And do you always do both together? What do you say to those who are trying to keep those two spaces separate?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (33:03)

Okay, so I'll clarify a couple of things. I do, so I have my psychiatry practice, but my psychiatry practice is like, I've sequestered it; it's psychiatry, medication management, therapy, and we'll talk about other healing modalities, but I don't do Reiki in my psychiatry practice. I will say that it is possible, I know of people who do both, who combine Reiki and psychotherapy. And there are a lot of benefits to actually doing that. I think, I don't know, have you had Reiki before?

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (33:48)

There was some Reiki from the teachers when I was at yoga class. So there was a bit, but I haven't had a dedicated session of only receiving Reiki.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (34:03)

Oh, okay, okay. Well, so a lot of times, many times, when you're getting reiki, a lot of people feel very relaxed. And that is a wonderful, can be a really helpful state to be in if you're doing some type of psychotherapy. Or if, let's say you are someone that is a bit of an over-thinker. Sometimes, like even just going into a psychiatrist's or a therapist's office, you're like, it's anxiety-provoking. But I would say maybe, maybe if they included something like Reiki, where you relaxed, you would be more open to, to kind of getting to the heart of some of the issues. So there's a lot of potential there. And I do know people who are combining, but I don't at this time. I have this certification, I'm just not doing that right now in my practice. I think I might, I don't know. I love combining the two.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (35:09)

Any?

Yes, for those

who don't know, think we should explain what Reiki is.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (35:21)

So Reiki is a type of energy healing. So, usually, whoever the practitioner is will send you energy. And a lot of people who are Reiki practitioners are fairly intuitive. And so may pick up information about your body as they're doing it. So it can be really helpful. The thing is, it’s not all woo woo. know. They're even at the, I know.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (36:00)

No, I'm glad you're saying that. We're all thinking it. It's, I think the intuition has been discredited far too much by the scientific world in recent decades, even though it's very normal for anybody to suspect something or have a hunch that they can't totally explain, or they think I'm just pretty sure something might be happening, but I can't quite find it.

So what exactly is the intuition to you, and how do we translate that to the people who don't quite understand it?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (36:42)

So we, I will say this, every single person is intuitive. Everyone is. It's just, I'll say like, there are some people, it's like a, let's say it's a sport, we can think of a sport. There are some people who are great, who are like Michael Jordan, and they're great at intuition. And then there are other people who are like, can dribble the best, but we all have it.

I think there isn't a lot of formal training for it. Yeah, I would say it all. I don't think in most academic institutions, they don't even talk about it, but we use it all the time. We use it. many practitioners, right? Like any people who are in the medical field, will be able to get a sense of things and it will help them.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (37:49)

Actually, there's a point.

I'm curious about that. So in medicine, do you sometimes think I'm pretty sure this thing could be happening, but I'd need to do a few tests to be totally sure to clarify to prove it, but it totally feels like it has to be this thing going on.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (38:00)

to clarify. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, we all, mean, this is part of the human experience. It's part of the human experience. And I think that there is so much potential if, while people were in medical school or residency, we helped people fine-tune that skill so they can be even better diagnosticians. I think that, you know that that is the dream that we would really rather than I think it's important to understand a set of skills like everyone every doctor should know this, but really, really helping an individual person be first of all understand who they are, but then be able to know and use the strengths that they have.

And being able to really develop their intuition is a part of that. And for me, I am a huge fan of medical intuition and think there's so much potential there and would love to see it taught in, like I said, medical schools, residencies in nursing schools, think it would be great.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (39:39)

Absolutely. What do you say to the medical professionals and to the academics out there who need a bit of convincing that intuition needs to be taught? And what would that look like? Would you have something in a curriculum, or would it be simply a culture that's encouraged all the time?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (40:02)

You know, I think that...

You know, I feel like I can testify to the experience that I've had as a physician, because I went through medical school the regular way. I went through medical school, where I memorised everything, and I studied for the tests. ⁓ And after learning medical intuition, I saw how I was working a lot harder than I needed to. So when you're a medical intuitive, you are fine-tuning your intuition so that you get intuitive knowledge, right? And you might ask,

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (40:48)

Working harder.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (41:11)

Different questions than if you just kind of went with how things always are, right? Like, so like in psychiatry, we've got a standard protocol of like, these are all the questions that you need to ask. And so maybe you might focus on all those questions when really, like, this person would benefit from something that's not even on that list.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (41:34)

Yes, so there are other questions that need to be asked and the tradition, the standard doesn't ask about those other things.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (41:38)

Yes!

Yes,

Absolutely, and that's where I feel like there's a huge place for medical intuition for catching those things that aren't ordinary, for things that are zebra. I feel like it saves the patient a lot of time. It's not easy to be sick. It's not, it sucks.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (42:04)

No, it's not. And do you think sometimes is part of the problem that things are so clinical that in some medical spaces, people are only focusing on the things that look medical when maybe a lifestyle factor could be impacting someone's health?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (42:28)

Yeah, think that there is truth to that. I think we've got to start looking at the whole person. And that means mind, body, and spirit. And we need to, because our patients are, they, like we've got to do better. And they deserve the best.

And so we've got to change.

If we are really going to be dedicated to excellence, that has to be a part of wherever medicine is going, this new era. Because AI is changing the game.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (43:12)

Yes.

Okay, let's talk about that for a moment. We have so much to talk about. AI, what have you seen with AI and your field?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (43:24)

So like I said, I was practising medicine before AI showed up. Then, after, I remember practising medicine when we had paper charts. But now things have changed. I think documentation has gotten a lot easier. Like AI will do it for you. But there are things that AI doesn't notice. There is something about having a conversation with a real person.

You can have words. They can pick up words, but there is communication in the way something is said, like girl or girl. Yeah, there are nuances, and then there are cultural differences. And I will tell you this, that AI right now is much more...

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (44:06)

Hopefully.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (44:22)

Like it's really biased towards Western thinking. So, think about all the cultures where people aren't put in, like if it's not English. So there's a lot of things that are being, there are some things that are being missed.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (44:37)

So, cultural factors are not always going into the AI input.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (44:42)

Yes, yes, yes, yes. So that is another thing. And people, I know that people are using AI as companions. Some people are using them. I don't even know if I should say, but people are using them in all different types of ways.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (45:02)

I guess if there's anything we can censor, can, but you can go in any direction and then let me know what we should chop or beep at.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (45:14)

Yeah, well, I think that there's a lot of potential with AI, but AI is only gonna be as good as the people who are using it. And so that doesn't excuse us from not developing ourselves. We have to be smart too. We're the people that put in the prompts.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (45:44)

Yes. And that's something we all need to understand. And I found that I was at risk a bit because I trusted AI to inform my decisions based on what it could learn from me online. But of course the internet just gets the best version of me. And I had to tell AI the parts of the worst of the reality.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (45:49)

Yeah.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (46:13)

If it was going to make a more informed decision, it can't just go with what's online. And I think this logic, I wish that everybody could have had a bit of a techie background because I grew up around tech-minded people who said, aside from the old turn the computer off and on again, of course, we all heard that, but also, any program software, anything like that, any computer is only as good as the information it receives from the person who gave it information.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (46:48)

100%. 100%. So we've got to get smarter. We've got to know ourselves. We've got to develop ourselves. We've got to know our strengths and then capitalise on that. I think that as human beings, there is so much potential that we have for greatness. And we're barely tapping into it. But I have hope.

I definitely have hope.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (47:19)

Do you think that part of the solution is to create more opportunities for a human connection? I've been somehow coming back to this quite a bit on the show recently because you talked about, of course, the doctor-patient connection, but beyond that, you're seeing, we talked before, actually, about how people need to remember how to connect with community. What do you think that looks like? Do you think in your area or any way you have seen, do you think people need more groups do you think people need the courage to even start a conversation? Where do you think we are with all of that?

Elizabeth Ssemanda (47:57)

I feel like there's such, there's an epidemic of loneliness. I think that people connect digitally, but there's a huge, I don't know the exact numbers, but I do know that it's true, that people may be around other people, but feel lonely. And so there, I think we were meant to be in community. And there is something that is incredibly therapeutic about being in the,

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (47:58)

Thank

Yes.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (48:26)

presence of another person, especially when that person hears you.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (48:31)

Yes. And I wanted to urge anyone who is at a screen a lot to balance it out with the opposite. Yesterday, to give you my experience of just a day ago, I had three podcast recordings and one extra appointment on the computer. Aside from that, I was basically talking to a screen for about four hours. After that, I went to the beach. Just got some sun and let the waves toss me around for a bit. And then I saw family for a moment, and then I went to yoga class around other people. How would my brain have been going if, after four hours of screen time, I then just stared at a meditation video on YouTube? There's nothing wrong with those. But if I was just going from screen to screen, I think sometimes

Let me know if you agree. The solution, the therapeutic solution, is not always another screen as much as they have their place.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (49:39)

Absolutely, absolutely. is, let me, so what you are doing is you ground, you're getting grounded. You're doing a lot of things, right? So you're going to the beach, you're getting grounded, you're feeling that the sand underneath your toes, you're also going outside and getting there. There is healing energy from the sun. That's where we get our vitamin D. So you are, you are nourishing yourself in that way. I am, and there is something about being outside. I don't think we were meant to spend, know, I don't know, 20 whatever, or I don't know, 16, 18, 20 something plus hours a day inside.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (50:23)

Yes, totally.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (50:25)

And definitely not in front of a screen, but we do it. Like I'll be honest with you, like I've had jobs where it's been entirely remote and I've been, you know, from eight to six seeing patients, boom, boom, boom, boom,

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (50:40)

Elizabeth Samantha, thank you so much for being on the show.

Elizabeth Ssemanda (50:45)

You're welcome. It was a pleasure to be here. Many blessings to you

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (50:49)

You too, bye.