On divorce on March 19, 2019A few years ago, I was meant to have lunch with a friend in Lahore. He was a Resident at a hospital in the area. Running late at work, he asked me to come wait for him at the hospital while he tied up loose ends. As I sat in the waiting room, browsing through […]
The lack of ethical and professional standards in mental health education on February 13, 2019Mental health education in Pakistan is still a work in progress, to say the least. There are few universities offering degree programs in psychology, and even fewer offering specialised programs in psychotherapy, counselling and special needs. With increasing awareness for mental health, there has been an increase in the demand for mental health practitioners, but […]
Mental health and air pollution on February 7, 2019Lahore, a city of 11 million people, was engulfed by smog for majority of the winter months. Many have taken to twitter and other social media platforms to complain of headaches, burning eyes, congestion and sore throats. On some days, the global air quality index recorded the highest level of air pollution in Lahore as […]
Mental Health and Social Media on January 9, 2019Results of a recent research on mental health and social media has been making the rounds lately. The study, based on interviews with approximately 11,000 14-year-olds found that almost 40 per cent of girls who spend more than five hours a day on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp show symptoms of […]
Mental health and politics on November 8, 2018In the wake of Asia Bibi’s acquittal, we saw a nation-wide lockdown by religious extremists who publicly called for murder of supreme court judges, openly threatened state institutions, blocked major roads and intersections in various cities, and topped it off by stealing bananas. The government’s appeasement to the groups holding the state hostage by surrendering […]
Mental health and climate change on October 27, 2018It’s not surprising that we aren’t talking about the mental health impacts of climate change – mostly because we have a difficult time discussing mental health in general. The physiological and physical health impacts of climate change are well known: they include a rise in vector-bourne diseases, heat-related symptoms, injury from extreme weather events, water […]
Mental health and the death penalty on October 15, 2018October 10, was World Mental Health Day. It was also World Death Penalty Day. The overlap between the two is one that is often overlooked, even though a defendant’s state of mind often has implications in his or her culpability for the crime. If mentally vulnerable, defendants may lack the criminal intent required for the […]
Mental health and substance abuse on October 7, 2018Substance abuse and addiction to alcohol and/or drugs change perceptions of normal desires and priorities; often negatively impacting behavior and interfering with an individual’s ability to maintain healthy relationships. There is a strong correlation between mental health and substance abuse, though it would be wrong to assume a causal relationship between the two. The relationship […]
Mental health at the workplace on September 30, 2018Mental health is essential in determining how we cope and manage our day-to-day life. The workplace is the most important environment for discussing mental health, just by mere association of how much time an adult individual spends there, yet it is the last place we expect to hear about it. Employees are often silenced from […]
Mental Health and LGBT on September 23, 2018Given the difficulty in self-identification, reaching out for assistance whilst battling mental health issues is not always seen as an option. In cases where the option has been taken, it is not uncommon for LGBT individuals to find themselves subject to covert or overt biases from their confidants, friends, families, and at times from therapists […]