Rising above anxiety and depression
NATASHA Alli is a successful businesswoman who has four small businesses, including the newly opened Dare to Taste Café at City Mall. Despite mental health challenges for the past 15 years, she is getting better and has risen from the ashes.
Alli is the owner of a fresh flower shop, a gift centre, a catering business, and the newly opened Dare to Taste Café at City Mall on Regent and Camp Streets, Georgetown. Although she has been living with anxiety and depression for years following a traumatic incident in 2002, which triggered a sense of helplessness, she is recovering.

Today, she credits overcoming her challenges and her success to prayers, the medical expertise of a doctor who literally saved her, and her family, especially her spouse and children, for bringing her out of anxiety and depression—a condition she still suffers from to date.
Alli told the Pepperpot Magazine that it all began when she was employed at a store on Regent and Bourda Streets in 2002 as a sales clerk. One day, during a violent protest, the building was reportedly set alight by protesters, and she was forced to jump a few floors to the ground to save herself.
In the process, she broke both her limbs and suffered other injuries during that inferno, which completely destroyed the edifice that once housed a well-known store with several branches across the country.

“Many people thought I perished in that fire back in July 2002, but I survived only to suffer immense pain. I am back from the ashes and will make a full recovery,” she said.
Alli reported that since that day, her life changed dramatically. She was afraid in so many ways, just wasn’t herself anymore, and she suffered from anxiety—a silent killer—and became very depressed due to her fright.

She revealed that being traumatised that day is what really triggered her suffering, and the things she saw really scared her. Alli stated that she did not seek counselling at the time since she was unaware of what avenues to explore and spent much money going to hospitals seeking medical attention for her condition until she went to a specific private medical facility and met a doctor who diagnosed her with anxiety. It was only then that she started to get better and began using the medication, and today, she is medication-free and in recovery, trying to get her life together.

Alli told the Pepperpot Magazine that three years after the incident in 2002, she started her own small business, Natasha’s Gift Centre, and began doing other things to earn. She noted that some days are better than others, and even though she struggles at times, talking about things has somewhat helped her to overcome fears.
With her small businesses, Alli employs three people, and she cooks all the food herself, including preparing seven curry for festive holidays in her catering business.

The mother of two related that, by taking loans, she was able to establish her small businesses, and on Saturday last, she finally managed to open the doors to her café, Dare to Taste, at the City Mall on the ground floor, next door to Royal Castle.
Dare to Taste Café at the City Mall offers a wide variety of chocolates, cakes in the form of cheesecakes, chocolate cookies, macaroons, boba teas in all flavours, local fresh fruit juices, daily menus of creole foods, slushes, among other goodies, all at pocket-friendly prices.

Behind the scenes, Alli is very benevolent and always giving. She would silently contribute to many via donations and financial assistance.
She reported that she grew up in humble beginnings, walking and selling since she was a girl, originally from Fairfield, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara. Up to today, her father is still a vegetable vendor.

Alli has come a long way and is on the road to recovery, and she said talking about what happened has helped. She talks to people and tries to give them hope from their mental suffering.
“What happened to me really changed my life. It left a void and caused me a lot of suffering mentally. I am thankful for the people who stood with me all this time because I still need the moral support,” she said.

“Anxiety is an emotion which is characterised by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response to a present threat, whereas anxiety is the anticipation of a future one.” (Wikipedia)