Jeddah: Your individual presence is the most important gift you can give to people going through a traumatic time, according to a visiting doctor from Pakistan.
Dr. Moiz Hussain, a mind scientist and the pioneer of Mind Sciences in Pakistan, presented his lecture at the King Abdul Aziz Hospital for the Ministry of Health in the Makkah region.
"It is quite practical, and a very simple person to person chemistry is needed even before consultation," Dr. Hussain said.The theme of the lecture was "Handling Trauma through a non-medical perspective."
Trauma can also be a mental problem when a person feels great stress, Dr. Hussain said. People who are in a state of shock, are in a trauma where their sub-conscious mind is "accessible."
"Any negative comment, direct or indirect, can actually threaten their lives," he said.
According to Dr. Hussain, who was here for Haj, most people need to feel relatively safe. "They need assurance that you will respect their boundaries," he said.
People in society who are facing trauma, need to feel accepted, not judged. Dr. Hussain said he thinks each and every normal person should also be educated on these subjects and the conference will create awareness among people.
When explaining how to become close to a person who is going through a traumatic phase, Dr. Hussain said one should be a good listener by enabling them to tell their stories.
"Avoid pushing for recovery too soon. Coming out of mental distress and anxiety takes some time," Dr. Hussain said. "But the result is 100 percent positive if treated as per the conditions."
Talking to The Saudi Gazette, Dr. Hussain said people mostly just go for consultations with doctors and psychologists. They can take initiatives and one-to-one practices at home. "It doesn't mean they should not go for the consultation, but if there's an emergency, at least they can take possible action before reaching the doctor," Dr. Hussain said.
The mind scientist appears live three times a week on the Pakistani Hum TV Channel and once on Geo TV.
He addresses the issues related to parenting, trauma management, and stress and depression management.
He also looks at internal and external communication, exam preparations and projects management, as well as answering questions from the audience.
By Sabahat F Siddiqi
© The Saudi Gazette 2007
