MENTAL health and the stigma surrounding it in Guyana is one that has lessened to an extent, as awareness has been brought to the forefront with the evolution of social media.
Drawing attention to this, Guyanese sisters Shaka McQueen and Kaiana McQueen have started a podcast called ‘Liming and Healing’ through which they have been spreading “good vibes and promoting healing.”
In some Caribbean countries, the term “liming is used to describe hanging out and socialising with friends and loved ones and having a good time. But the conversation goes a bit deeper, and this is how the podcast got its name.
Its focus goes beyond bringing awareness to mental health on a wider stage for Guyanese and persons from the Caribbean as it speaks to general health and wellness and strongly highlights the importance of self-care. At the same time, this alluring podcast brings Guyana and Guyanese culture to light, connecting those close and far to our country.
Originally, the sisters grew up in Linden, Guyana, before moving to the United States. Although they reside in different states, they make the most of time when they are together.
Liming and Healing was launched in December of 2023. However, the first podcast was released in February 2024. The sisters said they had spent months prior discussing the concept before deciding it was time to launch.
As of right now, season one of Liming and Healing has been completed with 24 episodes available on YouTube for viewing.
They stated that mental health is a core part of our identity.
Shaka explained, “That’s why we’re called Liming and Healing. I feel like Caribbean people, you can’t fix nothing if we don’t get a little liming inside; it can’t be too serious,” she said.
In continuing, she said that one of the reasons why people suffer with mental health is because they suffer in silence, often thinking that they are alone.
Adding to this, Kaiana related that although they are not licensed therapists, for the people watching their content, it might be the closest thing they may ever have to an actual therapist.
Armed with wisdom garnered from things that they’ve learned, the sisters share this with their social media community, bringing awareness and offering alternate solutions to issues that may be experienced by their viewers.
In the future, they highlighted that the aim is to collaborate with other creators, especially those who share the same visions, whether they are therapists, dietitians and other professions, to bring about awareness.
One of the areas they are passionate about is diabetes and how it affects the Caribbean. According to the sisters, it is an epidemic within Caribbean communities, with little to no awareness about it.
Although the podcast is a year old, the sisters said they have been receiving tremendous support from their friends and family.
Noting that it has been overwhelmingly positive, Shaka stated, “we know in the Caribbean, a lot of these things are taboo because, you know, they don’t want to talk about anything that’s going to rock the boat, but we’re here to rock the boat.”
Touching on the Guyanese culture, Kaiana said that her American friends are very intrigued by it.
She said: “Having an insight from us, like about our cultural norms, our food, because we have an episode where we cook. We had like a blog style episode where we cooked recipes from two Guyanese chefs, Chef Dev, Devan Rajkumar and Chef Althea Brown, aka Metemgee, and we highlighted these Guyanese culinary artists and their food.”
The podcast, along with reels made by the sisters can be found on the Liming and Healing social media pages: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. (Faith Greene)
