Hi friends, it’s me again. My name is Manjot Mann, I’m a writer and therapist—who’s also a mom, wife, sister and daughter. I’ve been drawing on my experiences and sharing them all with you this past year in 5X Press and I’ve loved every minute of it. You may have seen me around, posting about mental health and issues in the South Asian community on Instagram or through my articles. 

Being a storyteller is my favourite part of my job and processing my own stories here through writing has been everything to me. The best part throughout this journey has been interacting with you, the readers. I’ve written about being an anxious mom, navigating married life, stigma in the South Asian community, sexuality, and more. 

After every article I hear from you, your stories, what resonated with you about my experiences and what it means for you to feel validated. Your support makes the work that I do that much more meaningful. 

While I still plan to share anxious mom stories and explore stigmatized issues within the South Asian community, I also want to hear directly from you. 

That's why I’m launching a monthly advice column called Ask Manjot where you can anonymously submit your questions about anything and everything life related. 

An advice column is an opportunity for us to explore a specific issue in your life and for others to read about it and hopefully feel less alone. It can’t replace the one on one connection you need to process trauma and work on meaningful growth.

Growing up I used to read an advice column in The Province. Everyday, while I had breakfast I’d find the Dear Abby column and read about some anonymous persons' relationship problems, health issues and other crises. I found it fascinating, not the solution presented by Abby but that so many people went through the same thing. 

What always stuck out to me as a brown girl was that no one was talking about issues that resonated with me. There was nothing about how to navigate two cultures, secret relationships because your parents won't let you date, questions about how to step out of the bounds of cultural expectations, how to say no or simply how to just be you. It’s humbling to think that I can be this space for someone.

The column will be culturally inclusive and I hope it will be a safe space for people to share their struggles, gain perspective and know they’re not alone. That’s the key to all this: you are not alone. Whatever you are struggling through, there is probably someone who can relate and so by sharing your story my hope is that there will be a reader out there who will feel inspired to keep going.

I can’t wait to start this journey with you and most of all I can’t wait to hear from you.

To submit your questions use the link below:

https://forms.gle/ZwCVVGYH6ZxYsuhi7

Note: All submissions will be anonymous. This column does not replace therapy in any way. If you need support, ask for it.