151. Rapid-Fire Q&A with Dr. Joanne Sotelo: Heart of a Psychiatrist

It was one of those turning points. I remember almost to the day of the day. I said, I am not going into child psychiatry. I'm just going to really be a really good adult psychiatrist.

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In this episode, I am going to interview my co host, Dr. Joanne Sotelo, in a little bit different version. This is going to be the get to know you version, and we've been around for almost a year and a half, and some of you may have been with us from the beginning, and some of you may have just started listening. So we thought it would be kind of fun to get to know us a little better. And I am going to start out by asking Joanne some rapid fire questions, and let's see what she has to say. Are you ready, Joanne?

Yes. I'm looking forward to this.

Okay, rapid fire, here we go. Coffee or tea?

Coffee. 100% Puerto Rican.

Yeah. Okay. I could have guessed that one. Early bird or night owl?

Early bird. And it was trained, not naturally, but now I cannot go back.

Okay, mountains or ocean?

Ocean. I come from a tiny island. I love the water.

Okay. And favorite dessert?

Ice cream. And to be specific, I love dulce de leche ice cream or cookies and cream.

Okay, pet peeve.

This is gonna sound a little weird, but I don't like when people make a lot of noises when they're eating. It's like screeching in that chalkboard.

Okay, Hidden talent.

Hidden talent. I love dancing, like salsa and merengue. Does that count?

Yeah, of course. All right, here we go. A little bit deeper. Questions. Fun fact that most people don't know about you.

Oh. I'm a black belt and I've ran multiple full marathons.

Okay. Impressive. What is a belief you had 10 years ago that you no longer agree with?

Mm, that's a good question. I think 10 years ago I was super focused on everything had to be medical and proven and scientific. And now I am so connected with my intuition and more spiritual and of course, love all this personal development and coaching that's taken me out of, like, this very rigid lane of medicine and expanded it into adding other things that before I think I would have kind of had being judgy about.

Okay, part two. What changed you?

I want to believe that I am better because of it. Like, my personality and the way I serve has expanded because I have these different tools. And then I almost getting back to the core of who I am and my deep empathy and intuition and even like what we say kind of woo woo, like more spiritual, like really paying attention to the messages that we get. And I think it's improved my relationships and the decisions that I'm making. I think I've made a lot of changes in my life that I don't think I would have been able to do without that expansion in the things that I believe in.

Okay, here's a fun one. What's a sliding door moment? One tiny decision that completely changed your life.

Hmm. Actually, a few things come to mind. But the first one, so I'll just share the first one that came up was if you had asked me anytime for years up until probably, and I'm gonna date myself probably until 2002, 2003, I would've told you I am going to be a child psychiatrist. And I actually fell in love with adult psychiatry more than I thought of. And then I had the opportunity to be chief resident. So it was a decision. If I want to do child psychiatry, it would add three years to my training versus being an adult psychiatrist and have the opportunity to be chief resident. And I don't regret it at all, even though I love child psychiatry. Like I can think of all the things that I have been able to do as an adult psychiatrist, but it was like one of those turning points. Like I remember almost to the day of the day I said, I am not going into child psychiatry. I'm just going to really be a really good adult psychiatrist.

Love that. Okay, what is a compliment you've never forgotten? And why did it matter?

I am respecting whatever talking about me, connecting with my intuition to the first answer that comes to mind. And funny. As a psychiatrist, I've been called a Xanax more than once by different people. And for those of you who don't know, that's a brand name of a medication. The generic is alprazolam. And. And it's. Those belong to the family. I'm getting kind of technical here of benzodiazepines, but those are medications that you take to relax. So the compliment comes in like I am very relaxing and soothing and they feel better around me. So at the beginning was like, what, you're comparing me to a medication? But I took it as a compliment. And then it's happened more than once.

I love that. Okay, what is something that you did Scared? And it ended up changing everything.

Yikes. Again, I'm just being so honest here. And vulnerable and respecting what comes up. But I'll share something very personal. Definitely getting a divorce. I cannot think of anything scarier than that. And not that I endorse it or, or Right. Like I, I believe in, in family unity, but because I'm good at reframing and, and thinking of what was the lesson, how am I better because of it? Then I can see how much I've grown as a person in the last years and all the things that I've been able to do by myself that I think wouldn't think that I was able to do. And I think allowing for space to change and grow and do other things.

What's a childhood memory that shaped who you are today?

Hmm, that's a good one. So I am. I am from Puerto Rico, as I've shared before, and, and I'm like, so proud of my Puerto Ricanness. I'm making up words. And my dad was from the Dominican Republic, even though he had lived in the. In Puerto Rico for most of his life, but his family lived in the Dominican Republic, so we used to go there a lot. And his family was like a working, you know, like, they were fine, but they lived nearby some pretty poor areas in the Dominican Republic. My grandfather led like a railroad. I don't remember all the details, but a lot of the people who work with him were kind of lower socioeconomic status families. And my dad has always been about contribution, and I am so grateful for that. And every year we would go and we would gather things that we could go donate, and that was part of what we did every year. And I remember I. I went to a private school in Puerto Rico and we wore this uniforms that we hated. Right? Like, if. If you had to wear a uniform every day, you probably hated it too. But, you know, it's like good fabric and it's well made. I don't know, at least in the 80s, in the 70s. And I remember going. And I would always look forward to playing with these kids. And I didn't understand kind of the difference in money as well. I think my, my parents did a really good job at that as well. And. But I remember seeing this little girl playing so happily wearing my uniform, which we had just. We would always just kind of donate the ones that we had outgrown and brought them in. But I remember even as a little girl having that gratitude of like, wow, what I. What I don't need anymore or something that I even don't like, could make such a difference into, you know, someone else and kind of My feelings about contribution and helping and serving came a lot from those moments and the sense of gratitude of. Right. Like, our abundance and all the things that we have and how the importance of sharing and helping other people. So that was good. And they were my super friends, and my dad would give me $10 and we could buy ice cream for all the kids, which is another beautiful memory I have.

Okay. And what's one part of your culture or upbringing that makes you proud?

Hmm. Like I mentioned, I am a very proud Puerto Rican. I love that I am bilingual, and, you know, Spanish is such a beautiful language. And I love the family unit and how I was just recently hosting a retreat in the women in medicine that I coach, and I actually hosted them at my house. And it was. I love that it's so part of my culture to give you coffee and cook for you and be like that super host just to make you feel very welcomed. And again, kind of that flavor and flow that. That we have. I'm very, very proud of that.

All right, and what do you hope people feel when they're in your presence?

The first word that comes to mind is inspired. Like, I hope that my energy, my presence, my role modeling is inspiring to others as well.

That's beautiful. And with that, Joanne, thank you for sharing your answers and your heart with me and with our listener. And if you stay tuned, you'll hear my answers to very similar questions. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If there's something you knew new that you learned about Joanne or something that really inspired you, maybe leave us a comment and stay tuned, because the next episode is coming right up.

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