‘Making the beast beautiful’: Manal Ataya on powering through anxiety

Greetings!

As the world strives to shatter the stigma associated with mental health, let us work to be more candid about topics such as anxiety.

According to research done by the World Mental Health Initiative, anxiety is the most commonly faced mental health affliction worldwide, with nearly 1 in 5 adults worldwide suffering from it. Studies show this only increased during 2020, with the CDC reporting that anxiety severity scores increased 13% that year, and then reduced by 27% earlier this year.

“It's a very serious thing. It's not something where you sometimes feel anxious, or it's a phase ... it's a constant, chronic, worry about a lot of things.”

Manal Ataya shared her own personal struggle with anxiety and being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and how she works to channel it to fuel her productivity. Manal is the Director General of the Sharjah Museum Authority and sits at the helm of 16 museums documenting and consolidating the cultural heritage of the region.