While the United States still has a lot of work to do in destigmatizing mental health, the Middle East is much further behind us.  This week I spoke with Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, the founder of EMPWR MAG, and The Middle East’s Mental Health Ambassador, Ally Salama.  Ally has made it his life’s mission to destigmatize mental health in the Middle East, but in addition to the cultural stigma, there simply is not enough awareness.

 

"We fear what we don't understand, you know.  Mental health in the states, you have hundreds of millions of dollars in media and advertising being spent on awareness. Because they know, the West really knows the price, the burden that mental health has on economies." - Ally Salama (3:04)

 

Ally came from a prestigious family in Egypt, and accomplishments were very important in his upbringing.  Because of his father’s job, Ally had lived in several different countries before even turning 18.  Despite having great success in swimming, singing, and academics as a adolescent, he never really felt fulfilled and didn’t understand why.

 

“I always knew I was different, but I’d never understood that it could make me feel alienated.” - Ally Salama (18:06)

 

Through all of Ally’s ups and downs in life, his determination and upbringing taught him a lot about success and how to never stop learning, improving, and growing.

 

“Action breeds confidence, and then confidence, if you don’t really work on it, you lose it.  And that comfort makes you less confident because that comfort comes from consistent action from you being always at that cusp of your comfort zone.” 

          - Ally Salama (11:10)

 

In This Episode

• (2:17) Mental health for young people in Egypt.
• (6:52) Ally's early upbringing and his relationship with his parents 
• (10:54) Feeling complacent once getting to comfortable or too confident 
• (11:53) Ally’s educational background 
• (12:56) Ally’s background in professional swimming 
• (16:16) Ally’s mental health issues as a kid and teen
• (19:26) The struggles Ali faced when moving around the world as a child
• (22:36) Coming from a privileged family and learning how to give and help others
• (27:00) The darkest point of Ally’s life when he was clinically diagnosed with depression
• (30:13) How dogs help with mental health 
• (32:45) Ally’s grandfather being diagnosed with Cancer and how it affected his family
• (34:30) How Ally started EMPWR MAG
• (40:28 )The people Ally looks up to the most 
• (44:06) Ally’s 5 year plan 
• (46:19) The mental health stigma for younger Egyptian kids 

 

Our Guest

Ally Salama is a Forbes 30 Under 30 recognized social entrepreneur, an ex-pro athlete, #1 Apple charting podcaster, and The Middle East’s Mental Health Ambassador. He founded empower-mag.com, the first mental health magazine in the Middle East, winning Harvard's top 7 most impactful social initiatives in 2019, earning recognition from the World Health Organization & the World Federation for Mental Health. He currently hosts Apple’s #1 Charting Youth Leadership Podcast “Empathy Always Wins”- the world's exclusive leadership and mental wellbeing podcast focusing on empathy. 

 

Resources & Links

Off The Cuff

• https://www.offthecuff.fm/
• https://www.youtube.com/c/OffTheCuffwithDannyLoPriore
• https://www.instagram.com/1and1otc/
• https://www.instagram.com/dannylopriore/

Ally Salama

• https://www.instagram.com/allysalama/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/allysalama/
• https://www.allysalama.com