Founder & President of AAMHA
Title: Founder & President
Birthplace: Amman, Jordan
Ethnicity: Jordanian & Palestinian
Current Residence: New York
Degree: Biology Major
University: Stony Brook University, 2024
Current/Future Profession: Physician
Omar Ammari is a Jordanian/Palestinian who was born in Amman, Jordan and raised in New York. Omar is a recent graduate of Stony Brook University with a Bachelor’s in Biology and pursuing medical school in the future. At an early age, Omar struggled with his mental health, experiencing his first panic attack at 10 years old and being hospitalized. He was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The following years were filled with frequent visits to the emergency department and therapy sessions. After many years and many different therapists, Omar learned to adaptively cope and treat his conditions to improve his mental health. Currently, Omar is in a much better state with his mental health and still attends occasional therapy sessions as he feels that therapy is important and can benefit anyone regardless of their mental health status. Omar is also a volunteer counselor for a suicide text line where he actively helps people dealing with their own mental health problems.​
Why create the AAMHA?​
"I am a strong advocate of mental health. I am very fortunate to have had the support of my parents who understood my condition and assisted me with getting the support and medical intervention that I needed at a young age. Unfortunately, that is not the case with many Arabs in my community. Mental health is stigmatized and seen as a taboo topic for many reasons:​
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Many Arabs are deeply religious and see mental illness as a punishment from God rather than something that can be treated.
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There are many misconceptions and negative connotations associated with mental health that are spread online and amongst communities.
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Although Arabs often have strong social support and family connections, seeking support from family or community members cannot substitute proper mental health care. These family connections may exacerbate problems as people are ostracized by family members for seeking help and viewed as weak. Many of these people are forced to internalize their feelings instead of being encouraged to seek help. Overtime, this leads to more problems as mental illness can impede one’s ability to raise a family. Children whose parents suffer from mental illness are at a higher risk of developing social, emotional, and behavioral problems. This leads to an unhealthy and preventable cycle.​
I believe that by educating people on different mental health conditions and treatment options, providing resources that allow people to explore their options for getting help, and by catering the information towards the Arab American community, I can help combat the prevailing stigma against mental health and medical intervention, and improve the mental health of my community.”