Mental Health Awareness Week 2024: Hussain Manawer wanted to quit too

One of the most influential mental health influencers of our times, East London poet, Guinness World Record holder for the world’s largest mental health lesson and author of Sunday Times bestseller book Life Is Sad And Beautiful are only a few ways to describe the 2012 alumnus Hussain Manawer. 

1. How did you become one of the most influential mental health influencers in the world?

I’m honoured you think this. I write from my heart and try my best to do that all the time. I believe I am open with my feelings and my emotions to an extent, and that is considered vulnerable. This makes what I say more relatable to people with what they are experiencing in their own lives. For me, mental health advocacy became so linked to poetry as I was writing about all the things I was experiencing and feeling. Without poetry, I don’t think my voice would have ever got out there.

2. What is your favourite highlight from your mental health journey?

The fact that I am able to connect with people heart to heart, people I don’t even know and have never met in this journey of life before.

3. If you are comfortable with sharing, what was your lowest point in your mental health journey and how did you move past it?

When my Mum suddenly passed away on 31 August 2017, my whole life turned upside down. She was not ill, had not been ill and there were not any signs of an illness pending. Therefore, when she experienced a sudden brain aneurysm and passed away, it broke me down to the point where I could not recognise myself. Now looking back on it, I guess, I had to be broken because that is heartbreak and grief combined together, and that’s what you should be feeling. I love my mother dearly and due to her loss and lack of physical presence in my life, there were many times where I contemplated no longer being here. I am glad to say I am past that now and am able to walk in the lessons of her life throughout the remainder of mine.

4. If you could travel back in time, what is it you would say to your first-year student self?

Find more green spaces, head to The Regent’s Park in your break, and start exercising more. It’s going to be helpful for your life in the long run. Trauma is stored in the body so get your body moving! Eat healthier too!

5. This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is about movement. Does movement play a key role in your life?

To be completely honest it never used to, I was always quite lazy and never really had much movement going on at all. But since really understanding psychology, human trauma behaviour and patterns, I began moving a few years ago. I’ve taken up spinning and boxing, running on and off too. Without daily movement these days my day really does feel incomplete or off to an ‘off start’. I must move, I must get sweaty to really earn the ability to start my day living in my purpose.

Hussain with his new book I Wanted to Quit Too / Photo By Hamish Brown

6. You are about to publish your second book titled I Wanted to Quit Too. What was your key inspiration for this book and what is it about?

I hate the title of the book, because of how true it is in my life - I really did want to quit so many times. The road of poetry and performance allowed me to connect with people from all across the world, and due to this I was able and fortunate to hear the most incredible and inspiring stories of overcoming. I then felt a sense of responsibility to share these stories to the world as I could not be the only person to hear these. Luckily everyone said yes, and here we are with a brand-new book!

7. How may the Westminster community get hold of a free copy of your new book?

Send me a poem you have written! Or follow the University’s Instagram feed to keep an eye on it during Mental Health Awareness Week as we have joined forces to do a giveaway.

8. What do you want Westminster students to think, feel and do after reading I Wanted to Quit Too?

That anything is possible. Trauma does not define you, odds can be defeated and the air can very much feel light again x

Learn about student wellbeing support at the University.