You are not a tree
Few days ago I was chatting with a healthcare worker who moved to work in a nearby country where she was made a head of a unit and given more responsibility and appreciation.The move made her realize...
Beware of Internet romance
The Netflix documentary ‘The Tinder Sindler’ tells the real story of a young man who used a dating social media application and presented himself as a son of diamond factory owner and tricked...
No health without mental health
October 10th marked the World Mental Health Day. A day designated by the World Health Organization to raise awareness about mental health and its importance in our lives.The theme this year is...
Do we need parenting classes?
A fourteen year-old boy is brought to the psychiatrist clinic by his parents who were very concerned about a recent change in his behaviour.Over the past few weeks the boy refused to go to school and...
Good habits and bad habits
Many of us are struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly and sticking to a healthy diet, yet this can be challenging sometimes so we find ourselves going back to our bad...
The Internet is not your doctor
A colleague was telling me about his son who found it difficult to relax during job interviews. He would feel very anxious and start sweating and stuttering and his heart beat goes up.Despite scoring...
How to prepare for a job interview
My son was called for an interview last week so I had to give him few tips on how to handle the interview.Knowing him, I was rather worried about the interaction with the interviewers than the actual...
Are you being recognised at work?
The twenty eight-year-old engineer says, “let’s call him Ahmed” who worked very hard from the first days in the company he worked at, he spent extra hours completing his tasks and achieved his...
When your parent becomes your child
What do you do when you notice that your parent has become a new person?The calm, loving and caring mother or father is replaced by someone who mixes up your names, accuses you of stealing his key,...
The psychology of nostalgia
A few weeks ago, a middle-aged woman came to my clinic with her mother, and when she introduced herself, I took a closer look and said, "You were my teacher in my first year in university". We were...
Who wants to be an influencer?
If you have travelled recently, you would have booked your hotel through a website, and most likely, you read the reviews written by previous travellers who stayed there and shared their impressions....
Home is where the heart is
A seventy-old woman was recently brought to my clinic by her son who was concerned about her memory. Although being of Omani origin, she has been living in Zanzibar all her life even after her...
What is imposter syndrome?
A young woman in her mid-thirties came to my clinic for a consultation. She is a mother, a wife, and a successful manager at a private company.She described a feeling that prevents her from enjoying...
Let’s talk about bullying
Few weeks ago I received a text message through Instagram from an anonymous person saying that I have upset his mother who came to the clinic and I said she had a mental illness ‘just like the...
Are you a perfectionist?
According to the English dictionary, a perfectionist is a person who ‘wants everything to be perfect and demands the highest standards possible.’ While most people associate perfectionists with...
Moving on after a toxic relationship
As humans we all need to feel loved and appreciated by others, like our parents, friends and partners. Such relationships may be far from perfect so it’s normal to argue from time to time but you...
When doctors become patients
Dr Paul Kalanithi was 36-years-old and about to complete his training as a neurosurgeon when he received the shock of his life as he was diagnosed with lung cancer.In his book ‘When the breath...
When the going gets tough
A friend of mine recently expressed his concern that his contract may not be renewed as his place of work started a ‘wave of Omanisation’ as he calls it.He told me that he is having sleepless...
Would you eat the marshmallows?
Suppose you have tried to follow a strict diet to lose weight or go to the gym to build your body muscles. In that case, there may be times when you feel that you are losing motivation, perhaps...
How to say ‘no’ and mean it
What better time than June to review one’s New Year’s resolution. It’s the middle of the year and very warm outside and people are either talking about the holiday they've been to or the one...