Social Media Archives - Widowhood Real Talk with Dr. Tina

Avoid Becoming A Catfishing Victim With AJ Coleman

Podcast / July 10, 2025

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | AJ Coleman | Catfishing

Widows and widowers often become victims of catfishing schemes because of the false notion that they have immense wealth and overflowing bank accounts. But most of the time, they have already exhausted their money to pay for funeral and medical bills. AJ Coleman is here to share some preventive measures to avoid being catfished, especially if you are in the online dating scene. He breaks down some warning signs of fraud and the common tactics fraudsters use to target vulnerable individuals on the internet. AJ also explains how to report catfishing, why you do not have to suffer from shame after being a victim, and why trusting your gut is your most valuable weapon. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: Psychology Today Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World. — Watch the Episode here Listen to the Podcast here Avoid Becoming A Catfishing Victim With AJ Coleman Widowhood, dating online come with challenges. Do you know the warning signs? Do you know the preventive measures that you should have before dating? Do you know what catfishing is? If you’re interested in this, which I know you are, you want to pay attention to this next episode. AJ, who is a professional in this arena, has tips that you want to hear. Let’s get into this conversation now. AJ, welcome to the show. How are you? I’m feeling good, how about you? I’m always well, thank you for asking. I’m excited to be here. Thank you. When you hear welcome to the Widowhood, what was the ticker-tick in your mind, like what popped up first? When you see the words come across, there is no distinction between widows versus widowhood. I think about it more, so is it really where can I help? What can I do? That’s usually my first thought is I don’t look at stereotypes. I don’t look at other labels or anything like that. My focus is on how can I help and how can I help our readers to get where they want to go and grow. The Danger Of Catfishing That’s fair. It’s interesting that it goes in line with what we’re going to talk about, which is the catfishing, identity fraud, and things of that nature. A lot of people in the widowhood community, male or female, are very vulnerable. You and I both know that this is a conversation worth having. You said in our pre-conversation, even more so coming up next to tax season, and people maybe having a little extra money and feeling a little generous, and making sure that they’re not being duped. I’m excited to have this conversation. Me too. Talking about fraud is near and dear to my heart. I’ve been in the fraud business, more so in detection, not committing fraud for 24 years. Thank you for making that distinction. It’s definitely a unique career field. I enjoy what I do. I’m very passionate about what I do but I also understand there are a lot of people out there that are really skilled at what they do. They just may not have the proper tools to combat fraud. That’s where we come in. It’s interesting when you talk about catfishing, people think immediately it’s about phishing. You think about you’re going to a stream and you’re throwing out the rod, but in the fraud world, it’s basically a scheme or a scam when someone creates a fake identity on a social media or a dating platform and really pretends to be somebody else with the ability to deceive. As widows, widowers, a lot of times they get caught up in the catfishing because they’re looking for companionship, support. There is just this notion out there that when widows and widowers first become, they have all this amount of wealth coming through. That’s not the case. Most of the time, it’s used to pay for funeral expenses, sadly, maybe hospital bills or other medical bills, but it also may be used for proactive measures of counseling. It’s not like we inherit this great windfall of money. Unfortunately, as the widower, as widows, we become ripe, we become victimized into this catfishing scheme. Thank you for explaining that. For someone that’s not familiar, the idea, “Why would somebody want to catfish me? I’m not important. I don’t have a lot. I really shouldn’t have to worry about that.” What would you say to that type of response? It happens to everybody. Different names, different races, different statuses, social, and financial. It can happen to any. A lot of times, these fraudsters or these individuals that victimize their people will take the time to build up this storyline to get to know you. They don’t really know in the end what you have financially. They don’t know what you have in terms of the capacity to recognize that maybe the who you’re talking to isn’t who they say they are. It’s unfortunate that there are people out there, but it is a large industry. A lot of people out there that just real people in. It’s really unfortunate because when people get victimized, they lose their life savings. They become embarrassed. Now it brings whole new psychological disadvantages because now they’re ashamed, and I’m not a licensed clinician or a doctor, but in some cases, it may lead to suicidal thoughts because of the embarrassment. That’s very scary. As we get closer to not only the tax season and getting refunds, which hopefully everybody is getting. We need to be careful about who we are communicating. What are some of the warning signs that are out there? How do we detect it, and what do we

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Yolanda White’s Intentional Healing Journey

Podcast / April 17, 2025

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | Yolanda White | Healing

No one deserves to lose their spouse in an untimely manner, but such is the bitter reality of life sometimes. Yolanda White became a widow at a pretty young age, and she initially drowned in isolation and depression. But thanks to social media, she found a community that helped her through the grieving journey and allowed her to undergo an intentional healing process. Tune in to our conversation as Yolanda looks back on the challenges of navigating grief with young children, the difficulties of celebrating holidays and anniversaries after her husband’s passing, and the importance of focusing on self-care despite the sadness. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: Psychology Today Suicide Hotlines and Prevention Resources Around the World. — Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here Yolanda White’s Intentional Healing Journey Welcome, Yolanda. Normally, I say welcome to the widowhood, but I don’t know right now. I’m just going to say we are here. I want to say thank you for wanting to have this conversation. This is something people do not want to do, but I feel like for you, it’s part of your healing. It’s part of your coming to terms to not let it swallow you up, but that’s my perspective. Why are you wanting to have this conversation? When I first became a widow, I started to look for support, but I couldn’t find anyone who looked like me. My idea in my head of what a widow was and that picture when I close my eyes and hear that word is an 80-year-old woman or someone who has lived their entire life with their spouse and has grandchildren and fulfilled this dream that I had and that got ripped away from me. As I was looking out on the internet for support groups and things, I wasn’t finding anyone who faced the same struggles that I did, or at least someone who was vocal about it. I chose to live this journey out loud and ask questions and see if there were other people who could relate or give me advice. In turn, that ended up finding you and a ton of other people on social media. It’s just been a really cool experience to know, A, that I’m not alone and B, I’m now helping people. That wasn’t my intention. I was like, “Help me,” in the beginning and now we all help each other. It’s just been a really cool community to form. I actually met someone in person that lives local to me that I met on TikTok. Do you know Liz Cannon? Yeah. I never imagined that it would turn into this. I’m glad that I stopped being afraid and I just put myself out there and started talking. You said so much. One, Liz is one of the board members of Widowhood Real Talk with Tina. I didn’t know that. I want to circle back. You said you didn’t see someone that looked like you. How much did that impact you feeling like you were widow and not seeing someone that represented you? In a big way? It made me feel alone. It made me cry. Finding Support On Social Media You mentioned about not seeing someone that represented you. How impactful was that to your journey or your grief? I felt very alone and hopeless there. A lot of times, like you, I look for other people and those who have gone before me so I can follow in their footsteps. I just didn’t see that. I didn’t see anyone who had gone before me, who was 39, had plans and dreams for the rest of my life with him. We’ll get into this, I’m sure, but I didn’t just lose him. I also lost my three stepdaughters. It was a lot at once. They’re still living, but unfortunately the relationship has been severed. Thank you for sharing that. I’m going to say this for you. You lost your husband by him taking his own life. Someone has taken their life young, hopeful and now alone and feeling like no one can relate to you. You find out on social media that there are other people and people go, “I’m not going to go on social media. That’s just so weird. You don’t have anybody you know? You have friends and family, don’t you?” I’m going to say this, our friends and family love us, but they oftentimes do not have the mental capacity, knowledge, or emotional bandwidth to know how to show up for us. It drives us to people that can validate, understand and relate because so much of this we cannot really articulate. When you’re in a space with another person that’s lost a spouse, you can almost start a sentence and go, “Yeah,” before you have even. What did you think about going to social media for your grief? My very first video was after my husband took his life. I don’t have local family. My family was here. My mom stayed with me for I think six weeks. My sister came. It had been a total of like seven and a half weeks where someone was in my home because I also have three children. Someone was here to help because I was just a mess. At that time, this was before EMDR, I should say I found my husband. There was an image and a video, if you will, of that moment that would replay. I was just numb. That very first night when there was no one here. No one was in my bed because my family was sleeping in my bed with me and I was alone.

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Catherine Fornwald: A Daughter’s Perspective On Grief And Loss

Podcast / December 26, 2024

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | Catherine Fornwald | Daughter's Perspective

Even though children are expected to be the ones to take care of their parents later in life, losing them is still a challenging phase to get through. In this episode, we get a daughter’s perspective on grief and loss as I sit down with my own daughter, Catherine Fornwald. Together, we look back on the day we lost my husband and her father, as well as how we dealt with the grieving process that followed. We also provide a unique glimpse into the different ways grief can manifest and the importance of open communication and support within a family. Prepare to be moved by their candid reflections and gain a deeper understanding of the long-lasting effects of grief. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: Psychology Today’s Suicide Prevention Hotlines & Resources. — Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here Catherine Fornwald: A Daughter’s Perspective On Grief And Loss Introduction Catherine, welcome to the Widowhood. Mother, thanks for having me here on the Widowhood. This is great. This is my daughter Catherine, and we are wrapping up 2024 with a conversation with my daughter, raw as possible. I asked for questions ahead of time. She gave my people nothing. I told you, I don’t do questions. We are eating ice cream and having a conversation to make this as less awkward as possible. Don’t let your mother have social media. Reflections On Tina’s Social Media And Nonprofit Journey There’s truth in that. What do you think about your mom having social media? People have asked me before the podcast or the social media accounts, specifically the TikTok and everything. The answer bounces around and how I get there, but at the end, it is hilarious to see you have a social media account because you treat it like a business. That’s fair. You treat it like a business. There’s internal review for yourself, quarterly review. There’s, “How many followers did I have last time? Is this funny to put out for the next video? Am I allowed to make jokes, or should it all be serious and to the podcast?” I remember when you had somewhere between the 500 and the 1,000 followers, and it was very much like, “Should I quit?” You didn’t, obviously, we’re still here, and I don’t know what the number is now, but it’s definitely over 10,000, if not very close to 13. What about social media platforms? TikTok, I think, is doing the best out of all of them. See, that’s interesting. I think it depends on what you judge best to be. Followers and views. It is hard to get followers on YouTube, but on Facebook, we have the private Facebook account. On Instagram, there’s a lot of messaging going on in the background in private. TikTok, there’s a lot of personal engagement. It’s upfront, you can see that. With the podcast, people email me on the back end. The most public success, or the most public interaction, looks like TikTok. It just depends on how you define it. Everything else, that’s like Wizard of Oz behind the curtains. I just look at measuring them differently because in the private Facebook group, and then we have the Discord. I would have never thought to actually have a Discord, but some people that I met on TikTok were talking about a Discord and how you’re able to bring all your community together. The Discord allows people on all social media platforms to come together in one space. There is a question of the week. People are sharing their parenting. From my understanding, it’s supposed to be basically just like a public Zoom, whether you do it over chat or video. To answer your question about what it’s like having a parent who has social media, it’s funny watching you treat it like a business because it very much is to you. Every video is, “This is a 501c3. This is a non-profit.” It’s just like, “Mother, that doesn’t need to be at the end of the video.” I don’t do it all the time anymore. There’s definitely this thing where it’s like you treating it like a business and you wanting it to do well, obviously, and it’s just funny because I’m behind the scenes on the board and everything. On the board of the followers. Very much like the legal aspect of it, the personal aspect to it, so it’s just funny where you’re like, “My numbers aren’t high enough,” but then somebody else is like, “I got a brand deal and my numbers are great.” Do you even look at all the content sometimes? I do. I may not obviously tell you about it, but I check in, I repost, I go to it. You do a lot of that on X. X, Twitter, there’s like the jokes. There’s, “What, I got three retweets? Send in the money.” Like you said, how do you judge the fact that you’re doing well on LinkedIn? LinkedIn has been good for connecting with other people to be guests on their podcasts or for me to be a guest on theirs. That’s why I say, “That would be amazing to do a TED Talk.” That’s a dream. The ranking system for what quantifies being good at social media, getting the jokes to stand, getting three retweets on Twitter, like “money,” and then Instagram is like, “Cool.” Facebook, depending on what you’re using it for, very much is family-friendly, but then since we’re using it as another form of the business aspect of the social media, having five hearts is like, “People saw my stuff.” TikTok and everything, your views-to-ratio can definitely be off,

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Charniah Wilson: The Woman Behind Grief Is Ghetto

Podcast / April 4, 2024

Widowhood Real Talk with Tina | Charniah Wilson | Grief Is Ghetto

What happens if you utilize the vast reach of social media to spread the joy you discovered from your own sadness? This is exactly what Charniah Wilson is doing through her TikTok, Grief is Ghetto. In our inspiring conversation, she shares how losing her partner in an unexpected tragedy encouraged her to open up about her grieving journey to a wider online audience. She explains how her simple yet funny TikTok content helps other grieving people deal with their sadness and get through their biggest emotional roadblocks. Charniah also explores the immense power of social media, delving into its most valuable benefits and its giant disservice to humanity if gravely misused. Thank you for viewing this post. I am not a licensed therapist or professional life coach. I am sharing my experience of loving the same man for 32 years, a mother to two adult children, a retired military officer, a breast cancer survivor, and my connections with others. Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts should reach out to a suicide hotline or local emergency number in their country: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/suicide/suicide-prevention-hotlines-resources-worldwide — Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here Charniah Wilson: The Woman Behind Grief Is Ghetto Thank you for being here with me for this conversation. I would ask you to keep showing up. I am sorry for who you have lost that has driven you to this conversation, but I am so glad that you are part of my hood. This conversation with Charniah Wilson is probably going to help you cry, laugh, think it over, re-examine yourself, dust yourself off, and be ready for another day. We are going to talk about it. All this conversation is for you as much as it was for the two of us. Let’s get into the discussion. I’m doing good. How are you doing? Good. We know that question can be super broad when someone says, “How are you doing?” Your mind goes through a Rolodex and you stuck them on. Do you mean this 2024? That’s right. That part. I have learned to put it within constraints this hour, this second, this evening, and this moment. I want to welcome you to the widowhood even though you already were here, but on this particular conversation altogether. Thank you. I appreciate it. Merch Thank you. I cannot help but check out the bedazzle. T ell me about this. Tell us about this. It’s a specialty. Typically, the way I’ve been doing my Grief is Ghetto Merchandise is a flat color. Everything I wear is glitter. When I launched my Christmas wave, I said, “Let’s do a cute little powder blue and let’s glitter it.” I only had one friend who ordered it. She ordered the sweatshirt, not the hoodie, but it’s so cute with the glitter. She was like, “I love this.” It is still available on my website, www.CharniahWilson.com. You can still order the little glittery blue if you’d like. She’s going out of style. We’re going to go and get into some spring colors. I may have to go ahead and drop on and get me one of those. You have them. Are you doing them? How are they being produced? How’s this working? Absolutely not. I have a gray person I work with. Her name is Lauren Blue. Her company is Blue’s Custom Designs. She created the logo for Grief is Ghetto. She has been working with me for years. When I had other businesses, she helped me with those. I coach high school dance. She does their uniforms. I need her. She created the logo, and then once she created the logo, I was like, “I want to start doing shirts, hoodies, and all of that.” You order from the website. I send the orders to her, she does them, and then I can pick them up. I like that she’s local so if I make a mistake, which I always do, I’ll message her like, “I messed it up. That’s supposed to be a 2X, not a 3.” She’s like, “I got you. Come get it.” I appreciate that. She’s very hardworking. She’s great. She works with me in good and bad. She works really well with me. Shout out to Lauren. I am guessing that if other people have a business, they can work with Lauren directly. You want to mention that you read it in this conversation so she knows where all the love came from. Hit her up, Blue’s Custom Designs. She does a lot of work here in Huntsville. I’m sure she does a lot of work outside of Huntsville, Alabama. Hit her up. It’s been a great working relationship with her and me. Backstory Thank you. I can see all that glitter so I said something about it. I won’t be mesmerized. You change other businesses. I want to talk about how you got to where you are. I don’t want to be like, “How are you doing this evening?” Talk about where you are from originally and we go from there. Where are you from originally? I was born in Gallatin, Tennessee. I was back and forth here to Huntsville in Tennessee between my mom and my aunt. I moved in with my aunt. My aunt raised me here in Huntsville. I was here in Huntsville from a little girl long up until college. I went to undergrad at Alabama State University in Montgomery and got a degree that I don’t use. I’m not going to say that because I use it sometimes. I got my bachelor’s in Journalism. It’s communications, journalism, and PR. I got a Master’s in Entertainment Business from Full Sail because going back to school was cool. I lived in Atlanta for seven years and enjoyed it, and then I moved back here to Huntsville to help take care of my aunt until she passed away in 2022. During the time I was in Georgia, I launched a blog called Oh, Snap 90s blog

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