I didn’t have many expectations going into Soliya. I spent most of my life around people from different backgrounds as I lived in the UAE for 13 years, and I recently spent 6 months in Spain, which meant I wasn’t really interested in getting to meet people from different countries. However, Soliya was a different experience. We discussed topics that I would never normally discuss with my friends, let alone a diverse group of strangers. It was interesting to hear people’s perspective on serious topics, especially since many people shared things that I would never have expected to hear.

During one of the sessions, we were discussing the topic of mental health, which was our final interviews topic. I found this session very interesting for many reasons. Firstly, it was nice to hear that everyone in the group struggled with some of the same issues with mental health whether it be from social media, studies, or other stressful scenarios. However, what really stood out to me in this session was some of the specific situations that caused people some issues with mental health. For example, someone talked about them having a school shooting, while another talked about feeling stressed from living near an airport after moving abroad from Lebanon after the bombings. These experiences felt very personal and it demonstrated how our backgrounds and environments shape the way we deal with stress, while also serving as a reminder of the importance of empathy.

Interviews

The topic of the interviews was mental health. We had ultimately decided on the opening question “How do you define good mental health?” At first I wasn’t really interested in the topic or doing the interviews, but they led to some really interesting conversations.

The first interview I did was with a friend of mine who studies psychology. Her response to the opening question was “I guess it’s just being fulfilled and not constantly stressed.” The interview had a slow start, but once we got into more details it was a better conversation. Her answers to some questions were what most people would answer, noticing a decline in mental health when her screen time is a lot higher or spending a lot of time in one place, and avoiding social media and keeping a routine to avoid stress. However, she had a really insightful perspective on what causes her stress. It all boiled down to responsibilities. Whether it be responsibilities in her studies, her job, or even something as simple as taking care of her dog. She said that all these little responsibilities add up and eventually become too difficult to manage, which is what takes a toll on her mental health. The conversation continued discussing the basic, healthy ways to manage mental health. This was in great contrast to my second interview.

My second interview was also with a friend of mine, but it was completely different. This was less of an interview, and more of a conversation with a close friend. He struggled a lot in answering the opening question, but we had some really interesting discussions. When discussing how he manages mental health, we dived into the harsh realities. Most people don’t have healthy ways of dealing with it, and he managed it by smoking. It was a very personal conversation, the details of which I will not share in this reflection. However, one thing that stood out to me was when he told me that sometimes, possibly when he has a cough halfway through a cigarette, or when he leaves specific situations just so he can go smoke, a moment of realization hits him that makes him feel shame, maybe guilt, for smoking. That then breeds more stress, which causes a loop. It was kind of a chicken and egg situation. This was a very interesting, not often discussed, perspective on mental health management.