Saima Ashraf MBE is someone who thrives on connection, community and helping others. She works as a senior auditor for Merseyside Police, but outside of work her life is filled with projects and passions that support other visually impaired people. She runs a blind baseball team, helping people train and compete together during the summer league season. She also helps produce a monthly podcast called Eye Believe and presents a weekly radio show, Let’s Talk, on Pendle Community Radio.
But behind all of this is a journey that has involved loss, resilience and learning to ask for help when life becomes overwhelming.
Saima lost her sight as a teenager, something she describes as being “no less than a bereavement.” Suddenly, many of the things she loved doing, like sports, cycling and reading, felt lost to her. Adjusting to sight loss was not simply about adapting physically. It was also about grieving the life she thought she would have and rebuilding confidence in herself.
Over the years, there have been several periods in Saima’s life where her mental health became difficult to manage alone. Leaving an abusive marriage after experiencing mental, physical and financial abuse had a huge emotional impact. Then in 2022, Saima lost her sister to pancreatic cancer and suddenly became responsible for caring for her five children.
Despite everything she was carrying, Saima continued to put others first. Day to day, life became focused on providing stability and consistency for the children around her own work and responsibilities. Like many people, she became skilled at compartmentalising her emotions to keep going.
“I’m very good at putting my feelings in a box so I can continue with the responsibilities I have,” she explains. But eventually, the emotional strain began to show in other ways. Saima found herself struggling to sleep, lying awake worrying and feeling overwhelmed once the day finally became quiet. It was often at night, when there were no distractions left, that the weight of grief, loss and responsibility would catch up with her.
Recognising those signs became an important turning point. Rather than continuing to struggle alone, Saima reached out for support through Talking Therapies, sometimes through workplace occupational health support and other times through voluntary organisations in the community.
Therapy has played an important role throughout different stages of her life. She describes her experiences with therapists as incredibly positive, helping her develop coping mechanisms and giving her space to process difficult emotions safely. “Every time I’ve had therapy, my therapists have been absolutely amazing,” she says. “They’ve taught me coping mechanisms which I can implement in life.”
Saima believes there is still a great deal of misunderstanding around mental health, particularly within some South Asian communities where people can feel pressure to simply ‘get on with it’ rather than speak openly about emotional struggles. She also feels that because she is seen as high achieving and capable, people often assume she does not experience difficulties herself.
One of the biggest misconceptions Saima wishes people understood better is the stigma around seeking support. “I wish people didn’t feel bad about seeking support or therapy. There seems to be a real taboo around doing this.” she said.
Today, Saima continues to balance work, caring responsibilities and supporting her community, while also recognising the importance of making space for her own wellbeing.
She hopes that by speaking openly, others will feel less ashamed about asking for help when they need it.
“Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed to seek help,” she says.
