Growing up in East London, mental health was never spoken about within my community.
It’s only now that my friends and I are beginning to have these important conversations.
I first experienced mild depression when I was at university and I absolutely hated being there.
More recently, my mother passed away and this triggered – and continues to trigger – a whole host of sad emotions that runs through my body and mind.
Something I find myself saying a lot these days is, ‘mental health affects everyone’.
Normally this statement gets a nod and nothing more, but occasionally the person you are speaking to has personal connection to the discussion.
I wanted to do something to help heal the world. I wanted to help make a change.
Inspired by a video I saw, I took the approach of ‘talk less and act more’ and curated The Oxford Street Experiment.
The girl I was inspired by did something similar in Holland, where she put on a blindfold and asked people to trust her as a Muslim and to hug her.
I learnt so much that day. I learnt that we are all walking down the same road, travelling at different speeds at the same time, experiencing similar things in lots of different ways.
I found a piece of cardboard and wrote ‘if you’ve suffered from depression or anxiety, hug me’ on it, got a blindfold, left my home and boarded the central line and headed to England’s most popular shopping destination – Oxford Street.
I set myself up, cameras were rolling, and instantly I was approached.
I was moved.
No, I was physically moved by a security guard and asked to stand somewhere else as I was blocking a shop.
So I was clearly off to a slow start, but once I found a place I could settle, the hugs began pouring in.
With one of my senses blindfolded, my ears were on full alert and I embraced the words of comfort from a magnitude of different voices.
‘God loves you, and he will never leave you’
‘I was going to do something really bad to myself today, and then I saw you, I’m so glad you understand’
‘Come here little fella, give me a hug’
I learnt so much that day. I learnt that we are all walking down the same road, travelling at different speeds at the same time, experiencing similar things in lots of different ways.
I learnt that we must as a society must come together and help each other through hardships.
I learnt that we really have no idea what anyone is going through and it is important to be kind and loving at all possible times.
That day taught me so much. I received so much love and found so much strength in my vulnerability and the vulnerability of the people who approached me.
When I watched the video back, I was so speechless I genuinely couldn’t believe it.
I recently received an honorary fellowship for my work in mental health and public sciences from King’s College London, and continue to tell people that you don’t need to be a genius or an expert to change someone’s life, you just need to do it.
We will all experience mental health struggles at one point – if not multiple times.
It’s vital we build our world to be a safe place for everyone to come forward and discuss how they really feel.
Internalising our feelings, thoughts and emotions is dangerous. By not talking about it with a loved one, friend, or therapist, these feelings build up and can result in outbursts, breakdowns, or in some cases, death by suicide.
Education plays a key part in this movement.
Last year I set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest mental health lesson, after organising a talk for 538 pupils. I was getting messages from teachers and young people on a daily basis, clueless as to how to best address mental ill health.
I find that we are becoming great at raising awareness of the subject matter, but providing tangible solutions is also important. And I believe this comes from education.
I work from a formula I have created myself, which is: Entertainment + Education = Real Genuine Engagement.
And genuine online engagement can help change and save lives.
Save the date for November 29 – Hussain Manawer has something special for Londoners to be announced very soon.
MORE : How bosses can make their workplace more mental health friendly
MORE : Drivers with mental health problems to get blue badge parking permits
MORE : Ed Sheeran joins the bill for first ever Music 4 Mental Health fundraising gig
Share this with