Beat Stress & Anxiety! Doctor Shows How with Islam & Science

Described as 'unique in his ability to combine the spiritual with the medical' by my long-time friend Mufti Menk, I am a medical writer, performance psychology expert, and educational program designer. I live in service of people who wish to live fuller, happier, more fulfilled lives, but I rely on solid ground: science and experience. I gained medical and business qualifications in the UK, in Oxford, but now I work in the fields of non-clinical mental health and high performance mental health. Medicine is too limited in its scope, being based just on the science of disorders. When neuroscience is paired with knowledge from fields such as spirituality, high performance, and well-being, the work suddenly becomes very promising indeed. So here I am.

Life is full of both difficulty and joy, and we have only to try to make the best decisions we can, given our hopes and plans, alongside dealing effectively and contentedly with the events and turns that life brings. I myself have experienced great difficulties and traumas, both in my own health and beyond, but I am thankful to have come through them because of belief and focus.

I focus on my strength: I can help people master mental health issues more easily than most people I know, because I can explain complex and subtle things in easy and effective ways.  I am thankful for this strength- it was only ever a gift, to which i try to do justice wherever the need emerges. I don't expect thanks; I initially trained as a cardiac surgeon, but left that field because I wanted to do something more complex and challenging.

The life of a neuropsychiatrist can be very fulfilling but is also hazardous. The care systems we work in are often incomplete and inadequate, and there are helpful and unhelpful people in any line of work. Unlike when i was a surgeon, I rarely thanks from patients, neither do I expect it. My fulfilment is based on knowing I did a good job, and being grateful that life gave me the honour and privilege of helping another person. Patients have troubled minds and difficult histories; some will not want help, and some will be plainly dangerous to deal with. Most psychiatrists have faced all these issues. Some emerge harmed and don't continue, retiring early or leaving the profession.  Others decide to play it safe, doing the minimum necessary to earn a living. Others evolve in their approach, and find ways to still be of use to people because they believe in their mission. They persist, refining their work and doing the best they can whatever life throws at them. I am one of those.

I have worked and succeeded for several years as a top-level consultant neuropsychiatrist. Then, illness and trauma forced me to review my life and focus on what I had always believed but not been able to practice: mental wellness is not just about the absence of illness. It's about mental strengths, belief, spirituality, building character, making good decisions, and doing justice to one's abilities. So I  went back to school, reinvented myself, and evolved my work. Nowadays I do several things:

I write. Eight books and counting.

I run a performance consultancy helping high performers at the top of their field to extend their abilities.

I create both online and residential recovery programs for people seeking to learn better habits, recover from difficulties of all kinds, and find more contented, wider ways to live.

I am Chair of the non-profit Mental Health Access Mission, providing mental health care free of charge to people in regions of need.

I work internationally, spending my time mostly between the UK, UAE and Africa. I always travel with my wife and two children.