We were lucky to catch up with Giovanna Ferri recently and have shared our conversation below.
Giovanna, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
It can feel almost impossible not to compare yourself to others in the online beauty space. Whether its comparing makeup skills, views on videos, or number of followers, I know it’s bad for my mental health, but I still do it from time to time. I find myself saying, “Why me? Why do I deserve as many views or followers as this “more successful” creator? Maybe I don’t because I’m not good enough.” But the thing that’s helped me overcome these negative thoughts is to remember that I don’t have to be the best makeup artist and I don’t have to creative constant “viral worthy” content. I just need to show up as my authentic self and know that it’s inspiring others to do the same. I remind myself that being vulnerable is my superpower. There’s still a huge stigma around speaking openly about mental health struggles, but I’m doing it! Every time I get a comment from someone saying “You’ve inspired me to try bold makeup” or “You make me feel less alone in my struggle with anxiety”, I save them to a photo album called “why I do this”. I show up online as my authentic and vulnerable self to remind others that its okay to be different. It’s impossible to be an imposter when you’re being authentic to who you are.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Last Summer, I started a mental health podcast and it changed my life. I’ve always loved chatting about mental health with friends, but it wasn’t until last year that I brought it into my content. I fought the urge to share my mental health journey for a long time because I’m not a mental health professional, therapist, psychiatrist etc. I ultimately decided to do it anyway because hearing my own friends’ mental health journeys is what led me to get professional help for my anxiety and depression. My podcast is called the “Hard Feelings” podcast because I talk about things like anxiety, depression, anger, jealousy, aka hard (to process) feelings! I choose the weekly topic based on what hard feeling I’m struggling with at the time of recording so I can explore the feeling in real time. The feelings may be heavy, but I keep it light and fun and share lots of coping mechanisms! In addition to my podcast, I frequently discuss mental health struggles in my bold makeup tutorials because I use doing my makeup as a way to cope with anxiety. Makeup and mental health advocacy are my two biggest passions.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Inner healing, self-care and perseverance have been essential to my journey. Working on myself both on my own and in therapy has helped me immensely. I spent years trying to make “viral content” that I thought other people would love and never considered what I actually love making. Taking the time for self care has given me the energy to create and helps me break out of creative blocks. Perseverance made me a stronger person and a better creator. No matter how many videos flopped, or how long it took me to reach my first 100, then 1000 followers, I never gave up. I’d tell any person early in their journey to be prepared to wanna give up a thousand times, and in those times, turn inward. Look within to find out why you doubt your potential for success, then do some self care, REST and persevere another day. One of the greatest pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten is that the people who end up successful, are the ones who never quit even on the really hard days.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I have quite a few things I do when I get overwhelmed because as an anxious person, I’m overwhelmed a lot! This one is gonna sound silly, but I dance. Somatic therapy is real! Getting the energy out of your body takes power away from the anxious thoughts. I have a whole playlist called “You Got This” that includes songs like “Shake it Off”, “Bejeweled”, “Dance the Night”, anything that makes me wanna jump around a lot. I also love a good walk outside. If its a particularly overwhelming day, I might go for a walk morning, afternoon and evening. Getting outside, putting away my phone and just being present in nature has done wonders for my mental health. I always feel much more ready to take on a challenge after a walk outside.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glamgio_nyc/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@glamgio_nyc
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@glamgio_nyc?_t=8jAvW3FVINu&_r=1 https://open.spotify.com/show/1zp4lbe4YWLUvasjLil5gV?si=7fd31c924aa343c0
Image Credits
all images are my own.
