Why This Episode Matters
When Auria and I sat down to record this conversation, we weren’t just swapping stories. We were naming the invisible walls that so many women — especially women of color, women in nontraditional bodies, and women living with chronic illness or pain — slam into every time they try to belong in healthcare, fitness, or even their own communities.
This episode is raw because it has to be. The statistics I shared aren’t just numbers — they’re proof of why Head 2 Toe Strength exists. Fitness has failed these women. Healthcare has dismissed them. And the system has told them, over and over, that their bodies don’t belong.
Belonging Isn’t Optional
Auria spoke about growing up Persian and Indian in North Carolina, always feeling like she was “too much” or “not enough” depending on the room. I shared my own outsider story — moving to a less diverse state and realizing that even being white didn’t guarantee belonging if you weren’t the “right kind of white.”
We agreed: belonging isn’t about erasing differences. It’s about seeing color, seeing culture, seeing lived experience — and choosing curiosity over judgment.
The Systemic Reality
Here’s what the data shows:
Mental health care access is lowest among Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults.
Life expectancy gaps remain stark, with American Indian/Alaskan Native adults living nearly a decade less than white adults.
Maternal and infant mortality rates are highest among Black and Native women.
Insurance coverage is still inequitable, leaving women of color twice as likely to be uninsured.
These aren’t accidents. They’re the result of systemic bias, racism, and social determinants of health.
Why Head 2 Toe Strength Was Built
This is why my company exists. Head 2 Toe Strength is not another fitness brand. It’s a refuge for the women fitness forgot — the ones who’ve been judged, dismissed, or harmed by traditional gyms, diet culture, and healthcare systems.
We don’t promise weight loss. We don’t demand discipline. We build strength, capacity, and confidence for real bodies in real life.
Here’s how we guide readers from this blog into your ecosystem:
If you’ve ever felt invisible in fitness or healthcare, this episode is for you. And if you’re ready to reclaim your body without apology, Head 2 Toe Strength is here for all of your physical and mental health needs.
Because strength isn’t something you earn.
It’s something you already deserve.
SHOW NOTES
Episode Title: Strength for the Women Healthcare Forgot: Belonging, Bias & Breaking Barriers
Hosts: Bethany Busch (Founder of Head to Toe Strength) & Auria Zahed (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)
Key Discussion Points & Timestamps:
01:40 Auria's personal journey: Growing up Persian and Indian, feeling a lack of belonging in both her cultures and the predominantly white American environment.
04:59 Discussion on US American culture being rooted in European backgrounds, often forgetting that 40% of the US population is not white.
06:28 Why saying "I don't see color" is hurtful and prevents culturally competent care.
10:24 Bethany shares her own experience of feeling like an outsider in her own race, a "reverse culture shock" when moving from diverse Southern California to the Midwest, and not fitting the "right kind of white" image.
18:00 Fear of the unknown and why people are scared of those who are different.
23:55 The hosts shift the conversation to the systemic failure to achieve true equality and comfortability with Black Americans and other people of color.
30:27 The discussion focuses on facts and documented data regarding racial disparities in health and mental health.
33:40 Stark statistics on healthcare insurance coverage disparities (e.g., American Indian/Alaskan Native populations with 19% coverage vs. white individuals at 7% uninsured).
34:44 Mental health service access disparities for Hispanic, Black, and Asian adults compared to white adults.
35:42 Life expectancy differences by race (American Indian/Alaskan Native at 67.9 years vs. White at 77.5 years).
36:33 Infant and maternal mortality rates: Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native infants face double the mortality rate of white infants.
37:55 Explanation of the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and how they structure systemic inequality.
41:41 Auria defines and explains Culturally Competent Counseling and its application in therapy and personal training.
56:14 Call to action: Share your story, advocate for yourself in healthcare, and seek out culturally competent therapists who understand your background and needs.
