Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiona Thompson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tiona , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My podcast Affirmations Of A Bad Bitch is the most meaningful project I have ever been apart of. I started my show as I began my healing journey and was honestly feeling alone. I knew other girls had to feeling alone too and I wanted to build community and a safe space for deep, meaningful, and spiritual conversations. This has opened my eyes to the beauty of sisterhood, as well as authenticity as I share my unique viewpoints and perspective throughout my journey. My goal is to empower other women to step into their “Bad Bitch Energy” by cultivating confidence through self love and mindset magic. It’s really important to me that others feel seen and safe to express themselves as they are. I hold my podcast, as well as my listeners, very close to my heart.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Tiona Thompson, I am 25 years old, and I am from Greenville, Ohio. I struggled with my self concept and confidence a lot growing up as I was one of the very few biracial kids in my small farm town. I was often teased about my hair and felt very insecure about the fact that I was different from everyone else. Because of this, I had a hard time expressing myself freely without fear of judgement or harassments. I did everything I could to fit in, from cheerleading to waking up at 4 am before school to straighten my hair each morning. I just never felt like I was good enough. Things got worse at the age of 17 (my junior year of highschool) when my mom suddenly died in a snowmobiling accident while vacationing in Michigan. I’ve always been the “strong” girl so I never let anyone know how much I was struggling internally, but I was slowly being eaten up inside. My mom was the only person I felt safe to be myself around. She loved my curls, my complexion, and me. After I graduated highschool I moved to Dayton, OH where I still currently reside but I spent most of my time drinking and partying to numb the pain. After a few years of self sabotaging behavior and crippling depression I began a spiritual journey that thrusted me into deep reflection and healing. I started meditating, journaling, and seeing a therapist. I started to grieve and process the emotions that I had bottled up for so long and felt like I needed an outlet. I knew that if I was in so much pain, other people had to be in pain too. That’s when I started my podcast, Affirmations Of A Bad Bitch! I wanted to be a guide for those who had also felt hurt and alone. My show is now Top-Rated on Apple Podcasts with episodes being uploaded weekly. I do solo episodes as well as feature guests ranging from Wellness Coaches, to Grief Specialists, to New York Times Best Selling Authors. Each episode is meaningful, raw, and sometimes a little raunchy. I am most proud of my growing ability to show up authentically and speak my truth. I take pride in being a bad b*tch with a good heart. I am so grateful for my listeners continued support on this journey to self discovery and hope to keep growing my community of bad b*tches.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect off being a creative is the freedom to be heard, and to hear others. It fills my heart with so much joy when I have girls DM me and share what they are going through and explain to me how an episode of my show gave them comfort or helped them see things in a new perspective. I love the connection that I feel with my guests and listeners. It’s really nice to know that you are not alone.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest Pivot I had to make in life was choosing to heal over having friends. After I started the podcast and got serious about my mental health I knew I could no longer surround myself with a lot of the people I had been hanging out with as their values no longer aligned with mine. I went from never being alone, to being alone all of the time. It was hard in the beginning to feel so isolated but I now find comfort in my own company. I think everyone needs to learn how to be alone and to be truly happy alone before we can have real, deep connections with others. I learned a lot about myself that I would have never known had I not been forced to find peace within myself. It is now much easier to make friends and be my authentic self with others because I have a deep understanding and not only acceptance, but love for myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tionathompson/
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/affirmations-of-a-bad-bitch/id1578374871
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/04o4wcILs1VUz96jkRjo1l?si=70bca8ac52454eff