Meg Zeenat Wamithi is a renowned mental health leader, educator, and campaigner, who combines her lived experience and her knowledge to provide authentic and emotional support to others struggling with mental health illnesses.
She is the Founder and CEO of MindMapper UK. Meg is on a mission to redefine vulnerability as a strength, helping hundreds of individuals across education and workplaces with their emotional well-being.
She is originally from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, where she grew up and went to school in the local area. Her family was the only black family in the neighbourhood, making it difficult for Meg to find positive role models who shared her background, especially as many of her peers were being suspended or expelled for their behaviour in school.
At thirteen, Meg was diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses including anorexia, anxiety and depression, and had to struggle to manage her symptoms alongside her schoolwork. At 14, Meg had her first suicide attempt and at 16 she had her second. By 2017, however, Meg had relapsed with depression and anxiety. On her 20th birthday, Meg attempted to take her own life and was rushed to hospital.
Even at that crisis point, Meg did not feel that she received the necessary support. This was a situation that Meg was determined not to see repeated. Inspired by her own difficult experience, Meg created My Mind Matters Too, a youth-led mental health awareness campaign that helped 35,000 Year 9 to university level students and was featured in Guardian, Channel News 5, BBC London, BBC 1 Extra, Pride Magazine, Dazed Magazine, The Independent, One Young World and Student Minds.
At the wake of Covid-19, her team built Mind Mapper UK, the ultimate School of Wellbeing for young adults. With her team, they deliver workshops and programmes in schools, universities and companies equipping students and staff with the tools they need to live mentally healthier lives. Meg’s resume is impressive, ranging from her work as a Strategic Programmes and Innovation Lead at Mind, to being Advisory Board Member at BecomingX and an Ambassador at One Young World where she was chosen as one of the 6000 young leaders who are passionate about making the world a positive place.
In 2021, Meg received the Inside Out Emerging Wellbeing Leader award for her work in the field of mental health and wellbeing. Named as one of the Top 10 Rare Rising Stars (no.2), mentioned on the Diana Award Roll of Honour in 2019, and recipient of the King’s Global Experience Award and King’s Leadership & Professional Skills Award, Meg has shared her story with over 80,000 people and has directly taught over 12,000 young people aged 10 – 25 about mental health and wellbeing to date.
This year Meg is on a mission to provide more awareness around mental illness and has set up a non-judgment hybrid community “Living on the borderline” supported by Disability Rights UK for those living with borderline across the globe to celebrate, connect, and learn together.
Congratulations Meg!!
