What happens when the past you try to forget keeps coming back to haunt you? When the people who should protect you become the source of your deepest pain? This is the story of Poptain, a Zimbabwean artist whose life has been a battle against trauma, rejection, and the fight to find peace through music. It’s a story about silence breaking, about learning to say no, and about mental health in a society that often refuses to speak about it.

Poptain’s story is a journey that reveals some of the harsh realities many young people face in Zimbabwe—where mental health struggles are common but rarely discussed openly. It is also a window into the challenges of growing up in a conservative environment that rejects creative expression, and the strength it takes to survive and grow despite it all.

Remembering the Unforgettable: Early Trauma

Some memories do not fade. For Poptain, certain colors and moments triggered painful recollections from his childhood. One of the darkest moments came on the day of his mother’s funeral. At an age when most children are still innocent to the world’s evils, he was forced into an experience no child should endure. A man took advantage of him in a way that left scars he could not speak about for years.

He never told anyone. The silence was heavy. But those memories did not disappear; they lingered in his mind, sometimes coming back in visions and smells, vivid and unsettling. It was a secret he carried alone.

Breaking Away: The Cost of Following a Dream

In 2013, Poptain began his professional music career. But this was not a smooth path. Coming from a Muslim background, where music is often frowned upon, he faced rejection from his own family. They chased him away from home because they did not support his passion.

With nowhere to go, he lived on the streets for nearly two years. No family, no home, just his music and his determination. Music became his refuge.

The Hidden Struggle: Mental Health Behind the Fame

Many see artists as lucky or successful. Fans see the fame and the spotlight. But few understand the loneliness and mental battles behind the scenes.

For Poptain, the pressure to keep up with his career was intense. The music industry can be harsh, especially in places where creatives are often exploited. People making money sometimes see artists as tools to profit from, not as human beings with feelings and pain.

He recalls how fans admired his fame but never knew how unhappy he was inside. The mental toll was heavy. He started experiencing visions and smells that others could not understand. His mind was replaying old trauma, and he felt like he was losing control.

At one point, people around him thought he had lost his mind. He began calling out those he believed had wronged him, slipping back mentally to the age of six. It was a crisis no one saw coming, but that had been lingering deep inside him, since the early childhood traumas, that now broke open.

Learning to Say No: Reclaiming Life and Identity

But it also gave Poptain a new found strength. He describes this time as “giving birth to myself again.” It was a moment of saying no—no to the abuse, no to silence, no to being a yes-man who simply accepted everything.

He learned that no means no. It means setting boundaries. It means refusing to let the past define the future. Speaking out brought fear at first, but it also brought freedom. He was no longer afraid to stand up and say, “It’s done.”

This attitude helped him rebuild his life, even after losing family and friends. Mental health, he realized, is more serious than most people think. It is not just about feeling sad; it is about surviving battles that aren’t always visible.

The Bigger Picture: Mental Health in Zimbabwe’s Youth

Poptain’s story reflects a wider reality in Zimbabwe. Many young people face mental health challenges in silence. According to recent reports, Zimbabwe has some of the highest rates of youth suicide ideation in Africa and even globally. Depression, anxiety, and trauma are widespread, but stigma and lack of resources keep many from seeking help.

Access to mental health services is limited, with few professionals available and most care centered in urban areas, far from many who need it most. With the whole country currently employing under 20 psychiatrists and massively lacking the infrastructure to support people with mental health challenges, the challenges of dealing with mental health is even bigger than in many western countries. And it shows also the stigma around it, that leads to underinvestments in the sector.

In Zimbabwe, mental illness is often misunderstood. Cultural norms sometimes see it as weakness or shame, leading to social isolation.

For young people growing up in poverty, facing unemployment, violence, and family breakdown, the mental toll is enormous. Substance abuse and self-harm become coping mechanisms. And with stigma so high, many suffer alone.

Community Efforts and the Role of Dreamtown

Despite these challenges, there is hope. The work we carry out with our partners Yellow World and House of Arts Association to create creative and safe spaces for young people in Zimbabwe’s cities have a strong focus on mental health, supporting youth-led mental health initiatives, providing microgrants, training, and community activities that promote awareness and healing.

These programs use art, sports, and peer support to reach youth where they are. They help fight stigma by opening conversations about mental health and empowering young people to seek help and support each other.

The approach shows that community-driven solutions can make a difference in places where formal mental health services are scarce. They bring mental health out of the shadows and into the light.

Why Saying No Matters: Setting Boundaries for Mental Health

Poptain’s journey teaches an important lesson: learning to say no is a form of self-care. It is about rejecting exploitation, abuse, and silence. It means protecting your mental space and reclaiming your identity.

For many young artists and creatives, especially in conservative societies, saying no can be dangerous. It may mean losing family support or facing social rejection. But it is also necessary for survival and growth.

By saying no, Poptain was able to break free from the cycle of abuse and silence. He stopped being a yes-man to everyone’s demands and started living on his own terms. This shift was crucial for his mental health and his music.

Music as Medicine: Finding Peace in Creativity

Throughout his struggles, music remained Poptain’s refuge. When he had nothing else, music gave him peace. It was the one thing that kept him going on the streets and beyond.

And with coming out of the shadows, Music also allowed him to express the pain. It became a tool for healing—a way to channel trauma into something meaningful. This is the power of creativity in mental health. It offers a voice when words fail, a space for emotions, and a path to recovery.

Facing the Future: Pride in Survival

Today, Poptain does not hide anymore. He lives openly, proud of how far he has come, valuing his mental health above all. His story is one of resilience—a reminder that even after deep pain, healing is possible.

But how we have learned, he is not alone with his story. The challenges many face with mental health also calls on society to listen more carefully. And it calls us to create a society where no one fears speaking out, where creativity is celebrated, and where every young person has the chance to find peace and pride in who they are. Mental health is a serious issue that demands attention and resources. It is not just an individual struggle but a collective responsibility.

For Zimbabwe and many places like it, the road ahead requires breaking stigma, improving access to care, and supporting young people to speak out and say no when they need to. Its a long steep path towards this, but until then, finding hope in the collective, taking the stories into the open in a safe ways with your peers, is a first step. Only then can stories like Poptain’s become less about survival and more about thriving.

What Can You Do?

Listen without judgment when someone shares their pain.
Support mental health awareness and education in your community.
Encourage young people to seek help and speak openly.
Challenge stigma by talking honestly about mental health.
Support our Dreamfund through becoming a member of Dreamtown, that directly supports young peoples community driven innovations and dreams.

By taking these steps, we can help create a world where no one has to suffer in silence and where saying no is respected as a vital part of mental health.

The Artist: A Story of Resilience and Learning to Say No