Shedding the Shame

Tami Wong
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Mental Health

Shedding the Shame is a women’s empowerment podcast where we talk openly about the experiences society tells women to keep quiet. Every episode explores a different experience that can leave women carrying shame, whether that's infertility, emotional abuse, widowhood, alopecia, divorce, career loss, eating disorders, or something else entirely. For generations, women have been conditioned to push through, downplay pain, and stay silent. This podcast challenges that. Shedding the Shame was created by Tami Wong, Founder of Hair Loss Pride, who knows firsthand what it means to carry shame in silence, Each episode features honest conversations about women’s mental health, healing, identity, personal growth, and resilience. Guests share the shame they carried, how it shaped them, and how they rebuilt their lives with strength and self-trust. There’s no trauma mining and no fixing. Just respectful, thoughtful dialogue and space to be heard. If you’ve ever felt broken, dramatic, or alone because of what you’ve lived through, this podcast is for you. This is for women who are done whispering. Let’s shed the shame.

  1. 1d ago

    The Parts of Breast Cancer No One Talks About with Natasha Golinsky

    What happens when you survive breast cancer, but the life and body you return to look nothing like the ones you had before? In this episode of Shedding the Shame, I'm joined by Natasha Golinsky, who was diagnosed with stage two triple-negative breast cancer in September 2024 at age 43. Despite living a healthy, active lifestyle and having no family history of breast cancer, Natasha found a lump that wasn't detected by her initial mammogram. When she knew something wasn't right, she kept pushing for answers. That decision changed everything. Natasha has since completed treatment and is in remission, but she's incredibly open about the parts of the breast cancer experience that don't always make it into the conversation. We talk about the physical realities of a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, chemotherapy, hair loss, medical menopause, changes in her body, and the unexpected complications that affected her everyday life long after treatment. We also get into the emotional side of recovery, including the grief of losing the body you once knew, changes to your sex drive and sense of identity, worries about how your partner sees you, and the guilt that can come with admitting you're struggling when you're grateful to be alive. One of the most powerful parts of our conversation is Natasha's realization that you can be grateful to be alive and still be devastated by what you've been through. You don't have to minimize your pain because someone else has it worse. You don't have to pretend you're fine just because treatment is over. And you don't have to feel ashamed of the parts of recovery that are difficult, uncomfortable or hard to talk about. We also discuss the importance of advocating for yourself when something doesn't feel right, why breast cancer isn't something you cause by failing to live a perfectly healthy life, and how finding people who understand your experience can make you feel less alone. Natasha shares how cancer ultimately changed her life in unexpected ways, strengthening her relationships, changing her priorities and helping her let go of the pressure to be a superwoman who can handle everything herself. Natasha's story is a reminder that surviving something doesn't mean you have to be okay with everything that came with it. You can acknowledge the good that has come from a difficult experience without pretending the hard parts didn't hurt. A note on health: Natasha shares her personal experience, not medical advice. If you notice a breast change or lump, seek medical assessment even if an initial screening result is reassuring. Natasha on IG: https://www.instagram.com/neverlaunchonafriday/ Natasha's Website: https://neverlaunchonafriday.pro/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadiSH6_oWM8fH3Uj16N-OUu_9c8uq-Ht91_dnYq88SNOjmVFOFZNhNkpu6RKg_aem_4nOakmNANpNuVuAJWgg98w Canadian Breast Cancer Network: https://www.cbcn.ca/en/ Breast Cancer Canada: https://breastcancer.ca/ Breast Cancer.Org: https://www.breastcancer.org/ How to do a breast exam: https://www.breastcancer.org/screening-testing/breast-self-exam-bse

  2. 3d ago ·  Bonus

    It's Okay Not To Be Okay with Tami

    This is a different kind of episode. It's just me, sharing what's been happening in my life over the past few weeks, and being honest about something I don't always find easy to admit: I'm not okay right now. I thought 2026 was going to be my year. There have been some incredible highs, but also some devastating lows, and the past few weeks have been especially hard. In this bonus episode, I share what happened when my husband, Eric, experienced a grand mal seizure in the middle of the night, followed by frightening panic attacks and complications that we later learned were likely related to a medication change. I talk about the terror of not knowing if the person you love is going to be okay, the exhaustion of trying to hold everything together for your family, and the anxiety that lingers long after the immediate crisis has passed. I'm still processing what happened, struggling with sleep and trying to figure out how to take care of myself while my husband recovers. I'm incredibly grateful for the friends, neighbours and community members who have shown up for our family in ways that have made an overwhelming time a little more manageable. But that's not the only thing I'm dealing with. I also share a painful update about my estrangement from my parents and a recent conversation between my husband and my dad that brought some old wounds back to the surface. After years of working through childhood emotional abuse, neglect and abandonment, I'm once again confronting the expectation that I should stay silent about what happened to me to protect my family's image. I'm not willing to do that anymore. I talk about the shame of speaking up, the damage that comes from being told your experiences don't matter, and why we have every right to tell our own stories, even when the people in them don't like what we have to say. What happened to us is part of our story, too. We deserve to process it, talk about it and heal without being shamed into silence. This episode is raw, emotional and very personal. I'm sharing it because talking helps me process what I'm going through, and because I know I'm not the only woman navigating trauma, family estrangement, fear, anger or the pressure to pretend everything is fine when it isn't. Sometimes we need to stop trying to be strong for everyone else and admit that we're struggling. We can be grateful for the good in our lives and still be overwhelmed by the hard. We can love our families and still need boundaries. We can have compassion for others without accepting mistreatment. We can be a work in progress without having to pretend we're okay. It's okay not to be okay. You don't have to turn your pain into a lesson before you're ready. You don't have to protect other people's feelings at the expense of your own well-being, and you don't have to go through difficult things alone. If you're struggling right now, I hope this conversation reminds you that you're allowed to ask for help, take a step back and give yourself the same compassion you so readily offer everyone else. Thank you for being here, for listening and for creating a space where we can talk about the things we're so often expected to keep quiet. Sending love to all of you who are going through a hard season. We deserve to be heard, believed, respected and safe. This is Shedding the Shame. And today, I'm reminding myself of the message at the heart of this podcast: we don't have to hide the parts of our lives that hurt.

  3. Oct 9

    When a Friendship Breakup Hurts More Than a Romantic One with Jenniah Minchin

    What happens when you lose someone who has been your friend for most of your life? In this episode of Shedding the Shame, I’m joined by Jenniah Minchin, who came to me wanting to talk about something we don’t talk about nearly enough: friendship breakups. Jenniah and her best friend met when they were just six years old and remained friends for roughly 16 years. But over time, the friendship became increasingly one-sided. Jenniah found herself constantly showing up, offering support and putting the other person’s needs ahead of her own, while rarely feeling that same care in return. We talk about what it feels like to stay loyal to someone because you believe they need you, even when the friendship is hurting you. We get into people-pleasing, guilt, questioning yourself, feeling needed rather than wanted, and the difficulty of walking away from someone when you have so much history together. Jenniah also shares what happened when she finally ended the friendship, why she gave it another chance, and what ultimately made her realize that she couldn't keep doing the emotional heavy lifting alone. This conversation is about the grief of losing a friend, the anger that can come with finally recognizing how badly you were treated, and the complicated process of accepting that someone can have been incredibly important to you and still not be good for you. We also talk about what came after: making space for healthier friendships, recognizing what she had been missing, and realizing that sometimes losing a relationship can make room for the relationships that were there all along. Friendship breakups deserve more space to be talked about. They can hurt deeply. They can change you, and you are allowed to grieve them. This is a conversation about friendship, loyalty, boundaries, grief, self-worth, growing apart and learning that you don't have to keep carrying a relationship by yourself.

  4. Sep 25

    You Don't Have to Fit In: Owning Your Story & Embracing the Messy Parts with Leah Yard

    What happens when you spend most of your life feeling like you don't quite fit in, only to realize that the very things that made you different might be the things that make your story worth telling? In this episode of Shedding the Shame, I'm joined by Leah Yard, founder and designer behind Leah Yard Designs and host of the Voted Least Likely podcast. Leah's path to entrepreneurship was anything but traditional. She grew up on a remote lighthouse island, struggled in school, dropped out of high school and spent years working minimum-wage jobs before eventually turning her love of jewelry into a business. We talk about what it was like to enter the fashion industry without the traditional education, connections or glamorous backstory she thought she needed, and the shame and imposter syndrome that came with feeling like she didn't belong. Leah shares what changed when she stopped trying to make her story fit the version she thought people wanted to hear and started owning it instead. Leah also opens up about why she created her podcast, Voted Least Likely, after a particularly brutal day in her business. Rather than pretending everything eventually works out, she wanted a place to talk honestly about failure and remind people that they're not the only ones struggling behind the scenes. And we talk about something I think so many of us need to hear: there is no timeline. You can change. You can start over. You can take a different path. You can be behind. You can be different. Maybe the part of your story you've spent the most time trying to hide is actually the part that makes people want to know more. Leah's definition of shedding the shame is simple: owning your story. This is a conversation about shame, failure, entrepreneurship, imposter syndrome, redefining success, and what happens when you finally stop trying to fit in. Leah Yard Designs Voted Least Likely Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/leahyarddesigns/ and https://www.instagram.com/leahyard/

  5. Sep 18

    When Shame Runs the Show: Emotional Eating, Body Image & Healing with Amber Romaniuk

    What happens when shame becomes so familiar that it starts to feel like part of who you are? In this episode of Shedding the Shame, I’m joined by Amber Romaniuk, emotional eating, digestive and hormone expert and host of The No Sugar Coating Podcast. Amber shares the deeply personal story behind the work she does today, including being called “fat and ugly” as a five-year-old, years of dieting and restricting, binge eating, bulimia, and the shame and self-judgment that kept her trapped in a cycle of trying to control her body. At one point, she had gained 80 pounds in four months and found herself binge eating most days of the week. She opens up about the moment that finally broke through her denial and made her realize she couldn't keep living this way, and what happened when she reached out for help and was essentially told to “just” stop buying the food and love herself. From there, we talk about what healing actually looked like: messy, nonlinear and full of setbacks, but grounded in curiosity, compassion and a willingness to keep going. Amber describes feeling like she was standing at the edge of the Amazon jungle with a butter knife, trying to find her way through one step at a time. We also get into the ways shame and perfectionism show up far beyond food, including people-pleasing, overworking, body image and our need to control everything around us. And then we dive into hormones, stress, self-talk and the ways Amber believes these can intersect with our relationship with food and our bodies. We talk about why “normal” doesn't always mean you feel well, the importance of advocating for yourself when something doesn't feel right, and why learning to listen to your body can be part of rebuilding body confidence. One of the biggest themes throughout this conversation is that shame keeps us silent. Amber didn't tell her family about her eating disorder for years because she was afraid they wouldn't understand. Once she finally shared her story, she was met with compassion instead of the judgment she'd feared. We talk about: • How childhood experiences can shape the way we see ourselves for decades • The connection between shame, emotional eating and self-worth • The all-or-nothing mentality that can keep us stuck • Perfectionism, people-pleasing and the need for control • Body image and learning to see ourselves with more compassion • Hormones, stress and the importance of looking at the whole picture • Advocating for yourself when you don't feel heard • Learning to listen to your body's signals Amber's message at the end of our conversation is simple: “You are so much more powerful than you give yourself credit for.” Her definition of shedding the shame might be my favourite part: having compassion for yourself, softening into empathy, forgiving yourself for what you've been through and giving yourself the opportunity to make a change. This is a conversation about food, bodies and hormones, but it's also about something much bigger: what happens when we stop treating ourselves like the problem and start listening to what we're actually trying to tell ourselves? Website: https://amberapproved.ca/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/amberromaniuk/ No Sugarcoating Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-no-sugarcoating-podcast/id1158699464

  6. Sep 11

    Take the Space: Hair Loss, Body Image & Finding Your Voice with Natasha Jeshani

    What if you stopped waiting until you felt confident, comfortable, or “ready” before you went after the things you want? In this episode of Shedding the Shame, I’m joined by Natasha Jeshani, president and CEO of Career Contacts, founder of Training Arch, author, keynote speaker, and someone who has built an impressive career while navigating some very personal struggles behind the scenes. Natasha and I have an incredibly honest conversation about hair loss, body image, confidence, motherhood, entrepreneurship, money, success, and what it actually looks like to keep showing up when you don’t feel your best. Natasha shares her experience with alopecia areata, including discovering large patches of hair loss unexpectedly, losing eyelashes, dealing with changes in her body after back surgery and steroids, and the impact all of that had on her confidence. She talks candidly about stepping onto stages while worrying about how she looked, taking a break from social media, and even turning down a TEDx opportunity because she didn’t feel like she “looked the part.” But this conversation isn't about appearance. It's about what happens when we stop allowing our appearance to dictate what we're willing to do. We talk about: • The pressure to have everything together before we allow ourselves to be visible • Why waiting for perfection can keep us stuck • Taking up space, taking the mic, and asking for the money you’re worth • Imposter syndrome and why even incredibly successful women experience it • Building businesses without a blueprint and learning through doing • Creating community instead of treating other women as competition • The importance of celebrating our wins and keeping “receipts” of what we’ve accomplished • Why sometimes clearing space for the wrong people creates room for the right opportunities • Showing up authentically even when you’re struggling behind the scenes • And why your hair, your weight, your lashes, or any other part of your appearance should never get to decide how big your life becomes One of my favourite moments comes when Natasha says: “You have to demand it.” The space. The mic. The check. If you have done the work, built the experience, and have something meaningful to say, you don't need to wait for someone to decide you're ready. This is a conversation about refusing to shrink yourself, about doing the thing before you feel ready, and about realizing that you can be uncomfortable, insecure, imperfect, and still move forward. You don't have to feel confident to take up space. Sometimes you just have to take the space anyway. IG: https://www.instagram.com/yourcareercontact/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashajeshani/ Website: https://www.careercontacts.ca/

  7. Sep 4

    The Body Remembers: Childhood Trauma, Shame & Healing with Julianna Burmesch

    What happens when the things you experienced as a child continue to affect your body, your relationships, your parenting, and your mental health decades later? In this episode of Shedding the Shame, Tami is joined by Julianna Burmesch, a former school principal, speech pathologist, early brain development trainer, parent educator and author of Life with Less of Me. Julianna’s memoir explores her childhood growing up with addiction, abuse, neglect and fear, and the long-term impact those adverse childhood experiences had on her physical and emotional health. We talk about ACEs, or adverse childhood experiences, and why trauma doesn't have to be one catastrophic event to leave a lasting mark. Sometimes it's the repeated arguing, unpredictability, emotional neglect, fear and dysfunction that shape a child's nervous system and follow them into adulthood. Julianna shares how childhood trauma showed up in her own life, including anxiety, panic, physical health issues and a tendency to retreat when she felt unsafe. We also talk about why people who have experienced trauma can become incredibly good at hiding it, why even successful adults can struggle with unresolved trauma, and how being triggered can temporarily disconnect us from the rational part of our brain. We get into the importance of finding a trauma-informed therapist, why traditional talk therapy doesn't work for everyone, EMDR, inner-child work, allowing yourself to finally feel the emotions you've spent years suppressing, and the complicated guilt that can come with trying to become a different kind of parent than the one you grew up with. Most importantly, we talk about breaking generational cycles and learning to release the shame and responsibility we carry for things that were never our fault. As Julianna puts it: “Shedding the shame means letting go of responsibility for what happened to me.” If you grew up in a difficult or dysfunctional home, or you've ever wondered why something from your childhood still seems to live in your body today, this conversation is for you. Life with Less of Me by Julianna Burmesch was published June 23, 2026. Website: https://www.juliannaburmesch.com/

  8. Aug 28

    Breaking the Cycle: Hair Loss, Body Image & Raising Confident Daughters with Jess M.

    What happens when you realize your daughter is watching the way you treat your own body? For Jess M, that realization became a turning point. Jess is a mom of two based in Melbourne, Australia, who has spent the past eight years navigating lichen planopilaris (LPP), a rare form of scarring alopecia that has progressively changed her relationship with her hair, her identity, and herself. But her struggle with body image started long before her hair loss. Beginning competitive taekwondo at age 11 meant weighing herself regularly and learning to associate the number on the scale with performance, success, and worth. That relationship with the scale followed her into adulthood and eventually became something she describes as feeling like a “prisoner to the scales.” Then one day, her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter walked into the bathroom and asked, “Mummy, can I have a turn?” Jess’s heart sank. She realized she didn't want her daughter growing up believing that her body was something to criticize, measure, or be ashamed of. That day, Jess took her glass bathroom scales to the bin. Her husband grabbed a hammer, and together, they smashed them. In this deeply honest conversation, Jess and I talk about: • Living with lichen planopilaris and navigating progressive hair loss • The emotional decision to stop eight years of alopecia treatment • Grieving the loss of her bio hair while beginning to embrace wigs • Growing up with weight-based beauty standards and developing an unhealthy relationship with the scale • Pregnancy, motherhood, body changes, and learning to see her body differently • Why modeling self-acceptance for our daughters can be more powerful than anything we tell them • How the alopecia community helped Jess redefine beauty • The freedom that comes from talking about the things we’re ashamed of This episode is about so much more than hair loss. It's about unlearning the messages we've absorbed about what our bodies should look like, choosing what we want to pass on to the next generation, and finding the courage to take up space exactly as we are. Our daughters are watching, and maybe it's time we started watching how we talk to ourselves, too. Find Jess on IG here.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Shedding the Shame is a women’s empowerment podcast where we talk openly about the experiences society tells women to keep quiet. Every episode explores a different experience that can leave women carrying shame, whether that's infertility, emotional abuse, widowhood, alopecia, divorce, career loss, eating disorders, or something else entirely. For generations, women have been conditioned to push through, downplay pain, and stay silent. This podcast challenges that. Shedding the Shame was created by Tami Wong, Founder of Hair Loss Pride, who knows firsthand what it means to carry shame in silence, Each episode features honest conversations about women’s mental health, healing, identity, personal growth, and resilience. Guests share the shame they carried, how it shaped them, and how they rebuilt their lives with strength and self-trust. There’s no trauma mining and no fixing. Just respectful, thoughtful dialogue and space to be heard. If you’ve ever felt broken, dramatic, or alone because of what you’ve lived through, this podcast is for you. This is for women who are done whispering. Let’s shed the shame.

Information

  • Creator
    Tami Wong
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Tami Wong
  • Show Website
    Shedding the Shame

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