Murad this was a masterclass on how to address a serious topic on a podcast. Thank you for letting Niall speak uninterrupted, and thank you Niall for telling us how it is!! There is so much stigma around mental illness that falls outside what people can understand or romanticise. Such an important podcast, huge love

This is a special podcast interview. A mind blowing episode with Niall Aslam. A strong reminder that no one should be left behind especially on my watch from Love Island. To the black and brown contestants like Niall who are easily blurred out, that they matter too. That has always been my incentive when reviewing this show. This story matters, that we have all seem to forgotten. No one gets left behind.

Was great to be able to talk about this appreciate it mate

I'm glad Niall finally has the opportunity to get his story out there, he really deserves to be heard, so thank you Murad

The food thing is such a well-known thing that people with autism struggle with - I'm surprised Love Island didn't do anything to accommodate Niall with that.

Niall's story needed to be told. It highlights the lack of knowledge and understanding in society at large of autism, disabilities and mental health needs and how it can affect people differently. Thank you for sharing Niall and thanks to Murad for giving the him opportunity to do so.

As an autistic person it's so hard to hear that people weren't being upfront with him. Especially with them just pulling him into the hid away and not telling him what the issue is. It also sounds like they were just so dumb and didn't know a thing about autism! I bet everyone was so concerned about the talking to himself an kept asking "are you okay?", but nobody said "hey why were you talking to yourself on the terrace". Plus the food thing is so easy to handle! Literally just freeze food, maybe pasta idk Niall's safe foods. People think you're just fussy, but your brain just doesn't register things as food sometimes. People get smoking breaks, give Niall a break to listen to music and pace. Things get overwhelming and social interaction becomes tiring so autistic people need their down time. Seriously the stress Love Island could have saved themselves with the slightest effort, understanding, and logical thinking. I think Love Island should assign neurodiverse chaperones to neurodiverse contestants to understand them and advocate for them.

Thank you for giving Niall a platform to talk about his experience Murad 🥺♥️

This is so important to me as my brother had psychosis, unfortunately he is no longer here, but I'm grateful the illness has been highlighted to raise awareness and it's giving me insight/closure into what my brother most likely experienced. Niall is brave to speak out, great to see him as I remember him really well.

Psychosis or a psychotic episode is essentially a break from reality which can include delusional thinking. It is true that most others understand depression and anxiety far better than bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, etc. To be able to talk about that experience is really huge. Some people have psychotic breaks or episodes and don't come back to reality. I'm so proud of him sharing his story, it really does take courage. It is NOT easy to go through and come back from. Again, proud of him and happy his journey has come to being able to share his experience and be an advocate for mental health and mental illness.Thank you for this video/interview. So happy to see Niall doing well now.

Wow. This really sheds light on how the show has led to two islander deaths. I feel so sorry for what Niall went through and it makes me question my support of the show tbh. I’m really glad they have poured so many resources into therapy and aftercare now, but it seems like there were some pretty egregious breaches of the show’s duty of care in this story.

Niall is so so important to LI. Him speaking on BPD and psychotic illness and how online even with reduced stigma, some illnesses get not much attention is SO SO IMPORTANT. Psychosis can occur so much more often than people realise. I experienced it whilst going through withdrawals. It’s awful. So scary.

murad the GOATTTT,this man needs £1M in his bank account rn

The thing about the food is so messed up. My brother is autistic and he’s the same. If he can’t get plain food he wouldn’t be able to eat straight up

i’m autistic and hearing nialls story has always hit close to home. finally seeing him covering it in full was heartbreaking. not liking certain textures is something i can relate to and the timeouts as well and the fact that producers couldn’t even begin to understand to his call outs frustrates me completely!! thank you murad for being respectful and giving niall a voice and well done niall as i know you went through a lot❤️

He looks really good. Always seemed genuine and kind. Also, shoutout to Murad for the back-to-back content.

So so happy to see this interview! I loved Niall when he was on the show and gutted when he left, but heartbroken when I heard what he went through. I didn’t think we would hear it from his mouth and it’s truly amazing that he can sit and talk about what he went through. It’s so important and so brave. Big love to Niall and thank you for this interview! ❤️❤️

So proud of Niall. He deserves to have his voice heard.

thank you for this! a real one. also: wtf is up with producers forcing him NOT to talk to samira. Given how her season went, that's so fucked.

Niall!!! He was one of my fave contestants and I was gutted when he left but I'm so glad he's sharing his story. Mental health always comes first. Brilliant interview, thank you Murad!

I commend Niall to talk about this I have had family members who went through psychosis and still going through it. I’m so happy for him because he seems well compared to people I know. It isn’t easy. 💗 I’m so shocked by love island to invite a autistic person and not cater to his needs. The fact that he didn’t drag them for this is also very commendable for him because he has every right to do so also. I wish him the best!

Niall’s experience honestly sounds like the plot to a horror film.. so sorry that you had to go through all of that, and absolutely amazed at your resilience to be on the other side and sharing your story now

Also, individuals with autism have an increased propensity for psychoses, noticed this a lot on the ward I work on! Loved this discussion

Aw Niall seems like such a sweet soul. 🖤 Thank you so much Murad for having him on and talking about such an important topic.

I loved Niall, he was my fav on his series. I'm so proud of him to speak about this. People always think psychosis is either being stressed like he said or being a mass murderer. My husband has bad PTSD and has had a few diagnosed psychotic episodes. It's so hard to talk about this with friends and family, let alone strangers.

Murad is doing it👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 BACK TO BACK! DONT STOP!! X

Niall was honestly the first male LI contestant that I actually found attractive. And now he’s even more attractive as a human being, because of his immense strength and bravery!

I LOVED this! I remember Niall from when he was on love island but I had no clue that this is what happened to him. I actually remember seeing the rainbow fish autism awareness post on his instagram. I wish what happened to him was highlighted more because it was just like he was completely written out of the show. I liked hearing him speak about mental illness, distinguishing the differences between severe mental illness and more common disorders like depression and anxiety. I have been diagnosed with BPD myself and it is something that isn’t mentioned much when people talk about mental illness so I loved that Niall mentioned it a few times. I have also experienced psychosis and I think it’s very brave of him to talk about his experiences like this. Definitely love this ❤️

you are killing the game rn. i’m so glad you gave him the platform to speak his truth. what a lovely soul 💖

Thank you for this Murad, and thank you Niall for your strength and courage in sharing your experience. I really appreciate you Niall making it clear that there is a difference between mental health and mental illness. As someone who lives with depression it can be so condescending when people tell you to just "get some fresh air" or the worst "just don't think like that". So again, thank you thank you for making that clear. Keep it daily and consistent 💜 lots of love from New Zealand

Amazing interview! Thank you for giving Niall the platform to share his story. Such an important topic and great to hear directly from someone who has suffered with severe mental illness. Niall was one of my faves from his season and I’m glad to see that he is doing well. He dropped some real gems towards the end of this interview and I’ll definitely be following his TikTok.

It’s amazing to see someone sharing their journey like this. Well done Niall. And you’re totally right that the mental health movement only focuses on the more palatable side of these issues that don’t stray too far away from the norm. This was refreshing honestly. Great work Murad!

Thank you Niall for being so open and helping to raise awareness around mental health and mental illness. This is such an important interview! Thank you also Murad for being so amazing and also being open about your own experiences! Sending lots of love to you both xx

Yessss Muraddddd! You hit the nail on it’s head with this one! I always wanted to hear Nialls experience.

Wow, such a powerful interview!🔥 I''m glad that Niall got the opportunity to share his story. He seems like a great guy. ♥

Yes been waiting for Niall to be heard more, more people need to hear his story glad murad has made this possible

Thank you Niall for sharing your experiences, I’m sorry you went through that but it’s 100% a testament to how strong you are. Also, thank you Murad for bringing him onto the podcast!

So thankful for you bringing attention to Niall’s story, this interview was amazing! You have great tact and consideration with all your guests and it was evident today!

So much respect for Niall...for speaking up. God Bless him, such a lovely guy 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

One of the best podcasts you have done. Thank you Murad for such content.. and well done to Niall for sharing his story 👏

This is a heavy weight interview. Thank you to both of you for highlighting psychosis and what that looks like. Very impressive!

I'm happy to know he is okay and healthy because I just didn't know what happened it was like he vanished. He went through a lot, mental illness isn't a joke, and to sit and talk about it in such detail personally and how others interpreted him is a huge deal! Very proud of him and wish him the best going forward 💕

I’ve always wanted to know more of Niall’s story. Thank you for sharing it Niall and thank you Murad for facilitating.

This was very well done. I thank the lord you are both still here, you have purpose and value. This was an interview we all needed to hear because you never know when it may help you or someone you love. Bless you both 🙏 ❤

Murad Merali with the variety of content. Niall Aslam on this platform is the blessing I don't think we knew we needed. Learned so much from this and bless you and Niall. Wow!✨

So insightful and wonderful to hear Nialls story. It takes such resilience to be able to reflect and publicly talk about something so nuanced, personal and easily misunderstood. I believe I had mild psychosis 18 months ago and didn't have any help or support at the time. It really warps your reality and I didn't know what to think, feel, believe, know, trust. Was convinced every dustbin was about to blow up and the ground would literally swallow me up. His insight is very validating to hear and so important to spread awareness. Psychosis did give me some positive takeaways. One being an appreciation that - reality is relative. Reality is relative. There is no one reality. Thanks Murad and Niall! Also he's clearly very intelligent and interesting person. Damn I have so much respect!!

Sending love to Niall . And well done Murad for this interview. You have such great skills to communicate with everyone

whew this was hard to watch. I’ve been through psychosis before and I’m also neurodivergent. so thankful to hear his story, so important. He seems so sweet. really sad he had to go through that but glad he’s better now. LI needs to do better with accommodations like come on now. Thanks for doing this Murad!!! ❤️

This is so eye opening and one of the best most needed podcasts you’ve done !! I think we need Liam on here too to find out exactly why he felt like he had to leave

Id imagine the lack of food for him in the villa contributed to his psychosis. Well done Niall for speaking up. I hope people are getting the support after the villa now x

THAT WAS NEEDED ! thank you Murad

This is an excellent interview, massive respect to all involved for touching on such an important matter. This content needs to be seen! 👏

So glad you done this interview Murad, Nialls story deserves to be heard ❤️

thank u for this murad, great interview 👍🏻

Thank u so much for this podcast, thank you Niall for sharing your story so openly and bravely. Such a special episode. Niall is truly just an incredible person

Niall has always been a sweetheart. Glad he put himself first.

YES!!! I have been waiting on this. Niall has been spilling some beans that only Murad can help fully get out there. I applaud Niall and his strength, using his platform to raise awareness of autism, MH and the terrible treatment from LI producers

that's actually SO weird you just posted this because I swear to god I LITERALLY just thought yesterday "hey I wonder how Niall is doing these days?" like that's actually mad! another amazing interview 🙂 so glad he got to share his story! he's such a sound lad 💖

Amazing interview thank you Niall for sharing your story and Murad for the interview!

YES!! I remember writing a comment under one of his tiktoks asking Murad to interview Niall. FINALLYYY

'things like mental health awareness month, some people with severe mental illness feel very left behind in these months' - very good to point out. I would never want to undermine the suffering of those with 'mild' mental health problems, but understanding that distinction is so important. Amazing and insightful conversation, thank you Murad for such in-depth interviews and really caring about everyone.

Also, in unrelated news.... Ekin-su is now the first Season 8 islander to hit 1M followers on Instagram #TurkishDelight 🥰

Incredible Podcast Murad! Thank you & 🙏❤️

He was my fave on that season Was rly sad to see him go but understood

Never really knew Niall's story, thank you for this podcast Murad x

One of the most brave and insightful interviews and Niall is a hero with real super powers to be able to boldly go where most are afraid to, which is live in his truth and share something so personal. He should write a book about his whole experience from his autism to his brief psychotic break. The world needs his complete journey. Thank you for giving him this opportunity to share and be vulnerable. Kudos

Niall is very brave coming foward with his Asperger's syndrome condition etc. I have asperger's syndrome I know how hard it is at times. I joined a group called man up where us men talk about all our troubles through mental illness etc . Soo proud of you coming foward Niall its not easy talking about the condition , you keep on going be strong, go well

Its hard to listen to the rest of his story because just listening to a few minutes is distressing, so I can't imagine what he went through. I'm an Indian muslim so hearing him talk about the partition and his Indian heritage made me emotional. Its nice to hear him talk about it in such a comfortable way and I'm happy he's in a better place now and I hope he's surrounded by people always who want the best for him and support him

I’ve been waiting for this episodeeee

So insightful, thank you Nial. Your advice and perspective will really help people.

I remember Niall being on the show and then just disappearing and that was it. This is a crazy story and so important to talk about! Thanks for sharing.

My mum told me about nial after hearing about him on a podcast, seems like genuinely lovely person

Awww Murad has a really good heart. Deserves the world !

I’m autistic and can empathise with the literal thinking massively

I really like that you just let Niall talk freely. I like that he was given the opportunity to just say everything that he wanted to say

This was such a wholesome interview

Niall is amazing! I’ve dealt with similar mental issues and I admire his transparency

Always wondered about this chap and you delivered a great interview 👍 probably the most interesting story to date.

The brain is so complex. I learnt a lot - even about myself. Thank you so much Niall.

Thank you Murad for this content

This was such a powerful interview, thank you to Niall for sharing!!

Been waiting for this!!

This is such an important conversation. Thank you Niall for educating us. Thank you Murad for platforming him

This interview is precious and invaluable! A MASSIVE well done to both of you.

Just a few minutes in and it was production that made adam do all that stuff? It would explain why he's boring this season. I didn't know niall was interested in sameera too...

What a fucken legend thanks for talking about this it will help more people then you know

I'm so blessed to be able to hear what happened to you and see you again. Thank you so much. I was always wondering 🤔 why we didn't hear from you.

Your channel is on fire atm murad, great podcast also!

This was such an amazing interview ❤️

Such an important discussion to be had, thank you both!

Murad you are a legend!!!! You handled this interview with so much grace, respect and without being patronising!!! You my friend will reach the sky and touch the stars ⭐️

You are basically my constant entertainment now! 👏🏽

Love that hes living in his truth and strong enough to share his mental health journey. Very inspiring for many people 🧡

Thank you Murad for giving Niall the space to tell his story. It needed to be heard and he is so brave for doing so. His story deserves to be heard.

Aw Niall, much love to you ♥️🌻♥️ Murad, you did it again, making wonderful moves with your space ♥️🥳♥️

i learnt a lot thank you murad and niall it’s wild the way they treated him and just refused to meet his needs?? he could have got so far in the show if they just did.

Really happy Niall was able to speak about his experience. I think LI wasn't really prepared to actually accomodate him and was more focused on getting diversity.

Omg wow!! You just never know what people go through this is sad yet so powerful as Nial defeated that chapter in his life it’s a massive win for him

Thank you for this ❤️❤️❤️

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE