How Trauma, Diet & Stress Almost Took Me Out – And What I Did Next

Let’s talk real for a moment...

It’s just me today—Harold Laal—and I’m reflecting on a Facebook memory that popped up recently. In the photo, I was dressed as a police officer on the set of The Haves and the Have Nots at Tyler Perry Studios. At first glance, I looked like I had made it. But behind that smile was a man struggling to survive—literally and financially.

Back then, I was hiding from the repo man. I was trying to figure out how to feed my middle-school-aged son, sometimes surviving on a single can of peanut butter. People were celebrating me, completely unaware of the storm I was in.

And just when things were beginning to turn around, I was diagnosed with cancer.

But here's the truth: cancer wasn't just about the food I ate—although for over 40 years, I lived on meat, cheese, and all the toxic stuff. It was also the decades of stress and trauma I never dealt with.

I grew up in a household filled with silence and violence. As a kid, I watched my mother get beaten by my father. No one talked about it—not the next day, not ever. So I learned to suppress everything: the fear, the sadness, the confusion. That stress became my normal. And what I now know is that stress—unaddressed and unhealed—can poison the body just as much as unhealthy food.

When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I realized I needed to change everything. Not overnight, but step by step. I began with food. I learned that everything we put in our bodies is either fighting disease or feeding it. Slowly, I stopped feeding disease. I cut out beef, then chicken, and eventually dairy—which was the hardest. I loved cheese and ice cream. But I wanted to live more than I wanted those foods.
I started juicing. I replaced toxic habits with healing ones. I found an herbalist who introduced me to black seed oil and sea moss—natural remedies that fueled my recovery.

Meanwhile, my doctors had me undergo surgery. And that came with brutal side effects: incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and unbearable pain. I refused to take prescription meds for it. I didn’t want a life of dependency and side effects. I had to wear adult diapers, which was humbling. But I still showed up for myself.

Eventually, healing started to show up too.

One morning, I woke up and realized I didn’t need the adult diaper. My body was recovering. Then the erectile dysfunction went away. The pain eased. And today—nearly 10 years after my diagnosis—I’m cancer-free.

But this wasn’t just about changing my diet. I also had to deal with my emotional pain. I went to therapy because I couldn’t keep living in survival mode. I had to face the trauma I carried and stop normalizing stress. I had to accept that I am enough—just as I am.

That became one of my daily affirmations: I am enough.

So if you're going through something—whether it's health, finances, or just life in general—know this:

You're not done. You’ve never not made it before, and you won’t start now.
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Healing is possible. Change is possible. But it starts with the decision to show up for yourself—even when it’s hard. Even when nobody else understands your journey.

And like my grandma used to say, “Trouble don’t last always.” 
​Keep going.