Meet Trailblazer Neejla Fahimy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Neejla Fahimy.

Neejla, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I struggled with my mental health since I was as young as seven years old. I knew that I was different than most kids, I felt it to my core, but I could never pinpoint exactly what it was. At that young age, you don’t really have the language to express feelings such as depression and anxiety or even know what it is. I was a very shy and timid girl that was afraid to speak even around her closest friends. I always felt under evaluation. I was too insecure about my appearance and with who I was and I felt that If I can point out so many flaws, maybe others can too. I remember looking in the mirror pinching at my stomach and critiquing every inch of myself. I felt deep sadness more often than I felt true happiness. As time went on, the pattern continued. It wasn’t until middle school that my school counselors started to notice a pattern and by high school, it was very apparent that I needed professional help to manage my depression. All throughout the time I was trying to manage my depression and social anxiety, I was always the friend people came to when they needed to talk about their problems. Even though I was struggling to balance out my own world it seemed as if my struggles made it easier for others to connect with me. It made it easier for me to help people balance out their world and that was something I was drawn to. I loved helping others through their hardships and offering them advice and validation because I understood exactly what it felt like to hurt so immensely and I didn’t want anyone to feel the way I did. I think experiencing that sense of purpose made it easier for me to seek out help. The drive to one day work in the field of psychology to help people overcome their hardships drove me towards recovery. So, I eventually started going to therapy and started getting the professional help I needed to help me stay afloat. To this day, my depression can really take a toll on me, but I have a supportive family and team of therapists that are helping me through it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road most of the way. There were times when I wanted to give up because the sadness I felt was too intense for me. There were many times that I kept telling myself that I wasn’t enough and would never be enough or that I’m not strong enough to come out of this. There were times that it felt like life just kept beating me down and I didn’t have the energy to fight it anymore. Even to this day, I struggle with these thoughts at moments. I think at those times you just have to tell yourself that you can and you will. Even if you don’t believe it, you have to keep saying it.

My advice to any women and even men that are just starting this journey is that you need to believe in the process. The symptoms of mental illness are rough because they can suck the motivation right out of you and fill you with hopelessness, but you have to remind yourself that these are just thoughts and you don’t have to act on them. My advice would be to validate yourself and your emotions. Remind yourself that you are human and we have emotions for a reason. It is okay to voice that you need help. If you feel that you are having a hard time managing your emotions or they are getting in the way of your everyday life, talk to someone you trust and share your experience with them. Speaking up about it is the first step towards overcoming it.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about NaturallyNeejla – what should we know?
Mental illness was very stigmatized when I was growing up and in a way it still is today. I’m 22 years old, so growing up I didn’t have any mental health advocates that I could look up to help me understand that what I am experiencing is very much normal and that is why I started my Instagram page (@naturallyneejla). Mental health is something that I hold so very close to my heart. Social media has a way of portraying this picture-perfect life, but that is all it is – a picture, a snapshot of a single moment in somebody’s life. You don’t see their inner thoughts, the emotions they feel, or the hardship it took to get to where they are today. And those single snapshots sadly enough have the power to make people feel alienated and like they are not “normal” because they don’t have a life like that or because they struggle with mental illness. On my page, I talk about real human emotion. I am an open book when it comes to the hardships I have faced and the steps I’ve taken or still am taking to recover. I focus on sharing positive coping strategies and telling my story in order to normalize mental illness in hopes of decreasing the stigma and inspiring others to speak up if they themselves are struggling too. My goal is to help others realize that it’s okay to feel emotions, it’s okay to feel different, and it’s okay to share your voice.

I think what sets me apart from others is my openness to be vulnerable and share the parts of my life others deem should be hidden and locked away. Instead, I share the hardest aspects of my life along with how I got through them or how I am planning to get through them. I want people to walk away from my page feeling like they have a new perspective on mental health. I want people to walk away feeling like they are more capable of handling their lives because they now have the tools and coping strategies to take them on head first.

So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
I think there are so many opportunities out there for women. There are always going to be opportunities out there for everyone. I think it is just a matter of going out there, chasing them down, and grabbing hold of them. And if what you are looking for isn’t out there, why not go out and create the opportunity yourself? I think a lot of the time, it’s our fears and our anxiety that hold us back from accomplishing everything that we could. I think that’s the case especially being a woman in what people call a “man’s world.” I think women have the ability to be successful in all realms of life. I think society has a tendency to paint a picture of all the things women CAN’T do instead of focusing on all of the things women CAN do. I think women are changing this world more and more every day and I can’t wait to see what’s in the near future.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturallyneejla/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/naturallyneejla
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXJ-lduJHl7CXUIgn6YstiQ?view_as=subscriber

Image Credit:
Neejla Fahimy

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