Hussain Manawer: Ask Me Anything
Hussain is a poet and mental health ambassador. Described as ‘the voice of a generation,’ by Susanna Reid, Hussain’s words are smart, insightful and moving.
How would you define good mental health?
When you’re in a place in life where you can openly express what you’re feeling on a regular basis to people around you, that will allow you to feel comfortable and at ease with your mind.
What’s the difference between your online self and your IRL self?
I don’t think there is one. I think I’m actually a very authentic portrayal of what you see online. Probably I smell better in real life, wahey!
How do you pick yourself up when you’re feeling low?
I speak to my friends, I get reality checks, I try and analyse my weaknesses and what’s bringing me down and avoid that happening
again by deciphering the problem.
Hussain Manawer
Name: Hussain Manawer
About: Poet and mental health ambassador.
What is real confidence and how do you achieve it?
I think real confidence is when you have the natural ability to just, not care.
I think sometimes you should give your loved ones space to go through what they’re going through.Hussain Manawer
Because you’re so at whole with yourself, you genuinely don’t care what other people think of you. That’s what I think real confidence is.
How can I feel beautiful and confident when I’m not beautiful on the outside?
I think you need to list the things that make you unhappy about yourself. Once you list them, you can start to break down what you can do to change these things and if you don’t do that, you continue to let them manifest and continue to make you unhappy.
How do I support a loved one with depression?
I think sometimes you should give your loved ones space to go through what they’re going through. It’s really important. I think at the same time, just being present and just letting them know that whatever they need for you to do for them, you’re willing to do it.
How do you deal with grief?
I write about it. I cry it out in the moment I’m exactly feeling it so it doesn’t harbour inside me and I speak about it.
How do you feel good when you don’t feel appreciated?
You just learn to appreciate yourself and if you do that, you’ll always feel good. I feel like that situation has happened to me many times in the past, but I’ve come to a point in my life where I’m not letting external barriers affect the way I’m feeling about me.
How can I take steps to feel more positive?
I started running. I downloaded an app that my friend Bruce told me about called Couch to 5k and I’ve started to run. That’s literally the way you can take steps, with no pun intended, to making yourself feel better.
How do you keep on top of your mental health challenges?
I give myself an opportunity to have a daily dose of depth where I don’t really get too deep in myself all the time, but just moments of the day I’ll just check myself and analyse what I’m going through to make sure it doesn’t consume me.
