Carissa Nanan
What’s your cause/area of focus? Mental Health Awareness
Tell us about yourself. How did you get involved in your cause?
My name is Carissa Nanan. I'm 24 years old and I'm from the beautiful country of Trinidad and Tobago. Nestled in the Caribbean, this melting pot of cultures and ethnicities is plagued with a major issue - the lack of prioritization of the mental health sector!
Mental health has always been a passion for me at a young age. I have witnessed family and friends battle the stigma and stereotypes associated with having mental illnesses or mental ill-health.
Mental health is deemed a taboo topic - it is misunderstood and swept under the rug. These beliefs have thus created a hostile and unforgiving culture towards individuals that may suffer from mental ill-health.
Tell us more about your work. What have you been doing to advance your cause so far?
I want to change the outlook, change the culture. This became the driving force for me to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and my current studies in Counselling Psychology at the Master of Science level.
I then started an non-governmental organization (NGO) called The SouthMind TT. The aim of my NGO is to educate the public on mental health and mental illnesses, breaking the taboos and stigmas attached to it. My aim is to have my country change its perspective on mental health. I want to help people to understand that mental health is more than just mental illnesses, but rather, the way we think, feel, behave and interact in our daily lives.
How and when will you judge success? What’s your endpoint?
My dream is for Trinidad and Tobago to live by what the World Health Organisation said, that there is no health without mental health*. So, each and every day, I will try to educate my country, on mental health, one individual at a time!
Complete this sentence: "I am #LivingForChange because…”
I would like to see better mental health care in my country, Trinidad and Tobago.
*Dr. Brock Chisholm, first Director-General of the World Health Organization
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