Meet Lei Raiza Zervoulakos | Trauma Speaks Founder & APCC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lei Raiza Zervoulakos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lei Raiza, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work-life balance can be pretty challenging especially if you have other commitments such as being at school. It’s much more challenging if you are a full-time employee and a full-time student because there’s a lot of responsibilities going on a daily basis. Honestly, it took me a while to start finding some balance and really realizing the importance of having a work-life balance. I work in the mental health field and so practicing self-care is really important. Back then I thought I was practicing self-care not realizing that I was only paying attention to my physical needs and neglecting my emotional and mental health needs. My dedication to help others took a toll on me that I put others needs first before myself and my stress manifested physically. Only then did I realize self-care is not just all about “treating yourself” monetarily through shopping and getaways, but also that I had to find balance and make hard decisions such as setting boundaries at work, taking a social media or technology break, or cutting back on hours whether that was a lighter courseload or switching from full-time to part-time. Don’t get me wrong, my work-life balance is still a work in progress but I definitely am much better at it compared to a year or two ago.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have 3 things that keep me busy professionally – 1) school, 2) being a clinician, and 3) Trauma Speaks, my non-profit. Getting to where I am was not easy since a lot of education was involved! Imagine being in school for pretty much my entire existence – 4 years of college, 2 years of masters, and now finishing up a 5-year doctoral program. Each of these phases had its own challenges and I wouldn’t have made it through the other side without my constant support system. My family, my friends, my partner, who were all understanding that there were times (most of the time) that I had to be absent because of my commitments, that I had to take a call or join a meeting, submit an assignment or take a quiz while I am on vacation or while on a road trip. I had to practice self-discipline and really reflect on what my priorities are (and still do). It was tough missing out on fun events and not being able to go out as much or having to be asleep at a specific time because you have an early day ahead. In addition to all of these, establishing Trauma Speaks – a mental health non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about mental health and its related issues. A lot of work goes into a startup and this keeps me busier than my other commitments. Our goal is to highlight the importance of mental health just as how we perceive physical health as important. We are advocates for breaking the stigma attached to mental health as mental health is not just about PTSD, schizophrenia, personality disorders, depression, but also stress, grief, phase of life problems and many more. What makes Trauma Speaks different is that we encourage others to speak up and share their mental health experiences to create more open discussions regarding the topic. In addition, our main target is students (K-12 and college) as we believe it is important to educate our youth about mental health as early as possible as this can serve as both a prevention and intervention to development of mental health issues. If they are able to learn how to listen to their body’s needs (physical, emotional, and mental), and know healthy coping skills they can use as well as resources available, this can help reduce the amount of youth experiencing depression, anxiety, substance use, and potentially suicide. Though Trauma Speaks targets the youth and is working within local community schools, we also provide educational and wellness workshops to the general population.

One of the things I am most proud of is that in the year Trauma Speaks was officially established as a non-profit organization, we have reached a lot of individuals whether in-person or virtually. Since we are considered a start-up, we have been operating through peer and family donations, and small fundraising campaign; nonetheless, we have provided 4 virtual workshops and facilitated 2 workshops at a local high school. We also have reached more than 20 countries in our podcast and have had more than 5 individuals share their experience to the community. I am looking forward to what else Trauma Speaks can accomplish as we further grow and develop, particularly adding clinical services (telehealth and in-person, etc.) once we have licensed professionals onboard and youth mental health programs.

BUT with everything I have learned (personally and professionally) is that I can’t do it all and that sometimes I have to make a decision to not be a go-getter because I already have too much on my plate and that there will always be other opportunities for me. I don’t have to do it all today, right now. I am not superwoman after all and can only handle so much – thus, going back to priorities and focusing on what my goals are at a specific time and relying on my support system. I learned how to create a bit of balance with work and life, learned how to take a break and actually relax. I learned how to set boundaries and let go of things I wanted but was not ready for. See? Work-life balance still in progress.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a tough question because I love traveling and going out to try new places. If I was to show my best friend around, I would take them to various food and drink places in Los Angeles or San Diego because there’s just a lot of businesses that offer delicious foods and drinks, specially KoreaTown — trying out Korean BBQ places like Bud Namu and Park’s BBQ. For dessert, we can grab ice cream at Somi Somi or get some boba at Pearl’s Finest or Loose Leaf Boba Company. If we want to have a chill and relaxing day, we can go to Santa Monica enjoy the beach, walk on the pier, or have lunch/dinner at The Penthouse while enjoying the view. If we want to have some drinks, we can go to Cabo Cantina or R-Bar in KTown – pretty good happy hour and love their drinks. For some retail therapy, we can go to The Americana at Glendale! If we want to explore outside of LA, we can do a day trip to San Diego and look at the flower fields (season permitting), explore Downtown San Diego and Little Italy (my go to for food: Harumama, Breakfast Republic, and Richard Walker Pancake House!), maybe drive to Coronado Beach or La Jolla and enjoy a relaxing day.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be where I am right now, nor the Trauma Speaks organization if it isn’t for the amazing people that believe in me and support my dreams and goals. First and foremost, to the incredible volunteers at Trauma Speaks and that includes my fellow board members and officers. Trauma Speaks would not be standing without you. Thank you for constantly pushing me and challenging me to become a better version of myself and for getting me out of my comfort zone. Without your encouragement and support, I wouldn’t be here today. Trauma Speaks is my baby, and I am truly glad to be able to share it with all of you. Thank you for your dedication and donating whatever free time you have to Trauma Speaks so that it can further flourish and help the community. Thank you to Amber Escobar and Ramona Kraeutler for dreaming with me. And of course, a huge shoutout to my number 1 supporter and cheerleader, Joshua Yun, for pushing me to achieve my dreams and investing in me. I was able to get Trauma Speaks website started and running because of you. Also, a huge shoutout to Andrea Yun for helping us with our logo from Day 1 and Bliss Paik for helping us out with content since pre-Day 1!

Website: www.traumaspeaks.org

Instagram: @traumaspeaks

Twitter: @traumaspeaks

Facebook: @traumaspeaksinc

Other: Podcast: TraumaSpeaks (available on all platforms) Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/3CzkjYAybkX2YPDAO2eQLN Apple – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/traumaspeaks/id1530966302?uo=4 Google – https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8zMDFkNmJjNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw== Amazon Music – https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f4304fd9-f9c5-40e5-b458-afdb7101b6fa/traumaspeaks