Category: Blogs
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Effective Altruism – the way forward for meaningful careers?
I spent three days at the Effective Altruism EAGx Conference 2026 in Oxford, which made me reflect on what it means to build a meaningful career. My career has always been influenced by Effective Altruism (see more here: https://www.effectivealtruism.org/articles/introduction-to-effective-altruism) principles. If you haven’t come across it before, Effective Altruism is a movement and philosophy that…
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Making decisions: finding peace with the hard decision (Part 2 of 2)
This is part two of my decision-making series. It started when I was choosing to change careers. It was not an easy decision, but I do not have any regrets and I wanted to share some ways I found peace in these decisions. For part one, of knowing when to make the decision in the…
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Making decisions: knowing when you’re ready to choose the new chapter (Part 1 of 2)
I wrote this idea a long time ago when I was making decisions about being a medic, but the scattered notes of this post stayed in my drafts folder. As I’m going through several major life transitions again, I felt it would be fitting to revisit this and share it. I write in the context…
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We never went back home
79 years ago in the middle of August, when India and Pakistan gained independence, we left home and never returned. We had to get on a train or walk in one direction. Maybe the door was locked behind us, maybe not. What can we carry on our backs with small children too? We’ll return one…
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When the same symptoms lead to different diagnoses
Understanding ethnic inequalities in mental health Originally published in The Doc Suit Debrief. Imagine that there are two patients who arrive in A&E, both saying the same thing. They are feeling on edge and concerned with an impending sense of doom. One is diagnosed with acute anxiety, comforted with a cup of tea, and sent…
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The Cost of Inaction
Why Investing In Refugee Mental Health Makes Economic and Moral Sense Originally published in The Doc Suit Debrief. Imagine one day losing your home, leaving behind everything you know, and having no sense of safety. Then, you are expected to rebuild your life with the traumas you are carrying in an unknown, often hostile, environment.…
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Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress 2025
Conference Reflections In June 2025, thousands of psychiatrists, researchers, and clinicians met in Wales for the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress 2025. This is one of the UK’s leading conferences in mental health, exploring emerging challenges, scientific advances, and human experiences at the heart of psychiatry. I was particularly drawn to sessions on insomnia,…
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European Psychiatric Association: 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry 2025
Conference reflections The 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry, hosted by the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), took place from April 5-8, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. I am grateful to the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the funding to attend this conference as part of my Rehabilitation and Social Psychiatry award. Under the theme “Towards Real-World Solutions…
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Why Vaisakhi is a special day for humanity – and how it marked a turning point for the British empire
What makes Vaisakhi so special? Vaisakhi falls on April 13th (the first day of the Punjabi month of Vaisakh), and is an important day for Sikhs marking the birth of the Khalsa, a community of Sikhs, committed to justice, equality, and service. In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Ji asked for five volunteers who were willing…
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The Asylum System and Refugee Mental Health: Talk at LSHTM, March 2025
I was recently invited to talk at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about refugee mental health at a seminar. This was a great chance to bring together my professional and personal interests in migration, as two generations of my family have been through migration. I spoke about the asylum system and mental…
