Written by Elizabeth Tsekouras, Education and Career Coach Elizabeth Tsekouras is a successful education and career coach with a background in Sociology and Psychology. Her specialism is in neurodiverse coaching, where she provides tailored guidance to clients to improve their academic/career performance, confidence, and wellbeing. Anxiety has a way of creeping into the edges of everyday life. Sometimes it arrives quietly: a racing mind, a tight chest, a sense that you are carrying too much. Other times, it hits like a wave, sudden and disorienting. In a world that demands constant productivity, emotional resilience, and relentless optimism, feeling overwhelmed is not a personal failure. It’s a human response to a fast-moving environment. Coping with anxiety is not about eliminating it. It is about learning to navigate it with awareness, compassion, and practical strategies that help you regain a sense of control. Understanding what anxiety really is Anxiety is your body’s alarm system. It is designed to keep you safe, alert, and prepared. But when the alarm does not switch off, and stress becomes chronic, your nervous system stays in a heightened state. That is when everyday tasks start to feel impossible, and small decisions feel like mountains. Recognising anxiety as a physiological response rather than a personal flaw is the first step toward managing it. You are not too sensitive or overreacting. You are responding to pressure, uncertainty, or emotional overload. 1. Slow down your nervous system When anxiety spikes, your body needs signals that it’s safe to relax. These techniques work because they directly influence your nervous system: Deep, structured breathing: Try the 4-6 method: inhale for four seconds and exhale for six. Longer exhales activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the part responsible for calm. Grounding through the senses: Identify five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste. This interrupts spiralling thoughts and anchors you in the present moment. Progressive muscle relaxation: Tense and release muscle groups from head to toe. Anxiety often hides in the body; releasing physical tension helps release mental tension, too. 2. Reduce mental clutter Feeling overwhelmed often comes from cognitive overload, with too many thoughts, tasks, and worries competing for attention. Externalise your thoughts: Write down everything swirling in your mind. Seeing your worries on paper makes them more manageable and less chaotic. Break tasks into micro-steps: “Clean the house” becomes “pick up clothes,” “wipe counters,” and “empty the bin.” Small steps reduce the intimidation factor. Set boundaries with information: Constant notifications, news updates, and digital noise amplify anxiety. Curate what you allow into your mental space. 3. Challenge the anxiety narrative Anxiety often tells stories that feel true but aren’t accurate. It exaggerates danger, underestimates your ability, and predicts worst-case scenarios. Ask yourself: What evidence supports this thought? What evidence contradicts it? If a friend felt this way, what would I tell them? This reframes anxious thinking and helps you respond with logic rather than fear. 4. Build habits that support emotional stability Long-term anxiety management comes from consistent, supportive routines. Sleep with intention: A tired brain is an anxious brain. Prioritising sleep isn’t indulgent; it’s foundational. Move your body regularly: Exercise releases chemicals that regulate mood and reduce stress hormones. Create pockets of calm: Five minutes of stillness, a warm drink, a quiet walk, or a moment of journaling can reset your emotional baseline. Connect with people who regulate you: Anxiety thrives in isolation. Safe, supportive relationships help calm the nervous system. 5. Know when to seek support and why coaching helps When anxiety becomes too heavy to manage alone, support makes all the difference. Coaching offers a structured, calm space to slow down, organise your thoughts, and make sense of what feels overwhelming. A coach helps you break tasks into manageable steps, challenge anxious thinking, and rebuild confidence through small, consistent wins. It is not about “fixing” you; it is about giving you tools, clarity, and a thinking partner who helps you move forward. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Elizabeth Tsekouras Elizabeth Tsekouras, Education and Career Coach Elizabeth Tsekouras is a dedicated coach and specialist neurodiverse educator who draws on over a decade of experience to help individuals build confidence, strengthen their learning skills, and navigate challenges with clarity and purpose. She provides personalised coaching that empowers clients to harness their abilities, develop effective strategies, and achieve meaningful academic, professional, and personal growth.

Written by Sophie Anderson, Burnout Prevention Specialist, Creator of AMBP™, Coach, Speaker & Author Sophie Anderson is an ICF-certified coach, speaker, author, podcast host, and the creator of The Anderson Model of Burnout Prevention™ (AMBP). After 25 years working in high-pressure corporate roles, Sophie knows exactly what it feels like to juggle huge workloads, constant pressure, and burnout creeping up. She now helps busy professionals worldwide protect their energy, manage their workload better, and avoid burning out. You're brilliant at getting things done, but these days, you never seem to get to the work you were actually promoted for, the strategy side of the role and developing your team. You work long days, yet you feel disheartened looking at your growing to-do list. It seems the harder you work, the more comes at you. You are drowning, and there is no life ring in sight. You might be thinking, I need to get better at managing my time. If I work longer hours and harder, I’ll get on top of it. One more week of this madness, then things will settle. Except they won’t. This is the Over-Functioning Zone in action, and left unchecked, it can cost you your energy, your credibility, your promotion, and even your health. You're working so hard, yet still falling behind My client Stacey wanted to discuss systems and effectiveness in our session. Her manager had just flagged a missed deadline, and she wanted a strategy to avoid this happening again. She had started working evenings and weekends to get ahead. She didn’t take breaks, and she even worked half-days on the weekend. She was very busy, barely taking a breather all day, yet she was still drowning in work. The leadership work she actually wanted to do, the strategy and team development, kept getting bumped down the list. That's the trap. They say, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” So they gave it all to Stacey. This has a name: The Over-Functioning Zone In The Anderson Model of Burnout Prevention™ (AMBP), this is the second zone. Our output is impressive, yet it’s exceeding our capacity, and it is unsustainable. Stacey was putting out fires all day. Stacey called every notification a "shiny object." "My curiosity wins every time," she said. "I can't ignore it, just in case it's important. I want my team to know I’m responsive and able to help, so I answer straight away." It comes from a good place, but it means that her nervous system is always on alert, chronic stress is building, and she can’t think straight anymore. When I asked what was actually on her to-do list, she paused, embarrassed. She didn't know. This is the zone I consider the most dangerous of the three because you're still performing, so nobody, including you, realises how much you're running on empty until something breaks. An error. A deadline. A relationship. Your mental health. Slowing down feels like falling behind When you try to rest, your brain insists there are things to get done. There are people to look after and protect. The discomfort around slowing down and resting is very familiar to our high achievers, but the underlying reason is not always known to them. For Stacey, beyond her genuine desire to support her team, it was her need to be across everything. To control. To avoid mistakes at all costs. To not be found incompetent. Being willing to reveal your own deeper reason and the stories that keep you stuck in busyness is extremely powerful. The most important step is to choose what to do next, what you will shift to change things rather than waiting for things to change. What to do next: Your life ring When we realise we’re in the Over-Functioning Zone, we can start by seeing a doctor to rule out mental or physical illness. We can list our to-do items and priorities. The Eisenhower Matrix is a great tool for this. We can turn our notifications off, practise the pause between a request and our reaction to it, and put boundaries in place. We can reconnect with hobbies and people that help us switch off. That could be the life ring you need. Rest is not a reward, it's a requirement Rest isn't something you earn after you've done enough. It's a performance strategy your body and brain require, and it protects your skills and capability. Athletes know this well. Stacey didn't overhaul her life. She didn’t become lazy either. She started taking breaks and working smarter, not harder. Today, she’s still working long hours, although she genuinely switches off after work, and her energy is restored. She has reconnected with friends and has great systems in place to ensure she works on the right thing at the right time. Ready to move out of over-functioning? If this resonated, I'd love to support you further. Whether that's one-on-one coaching, a keynote for your team, or learning more about the Anderson Model of Burnout Prevention™ (AMBP), you can find me here. Frequently asked questions What is the Over-Functioning Zone? It's the second zone in The Anderson Model of Burnout Prevention™ (AMBP), where you work nonstop, though productivity is mostly maintained through coping strategies and effort rather than sustainable methods, with no recovery. It also shows up as chronic stress, hypervigilance, and often insomnia. Why is over-functioning especially costly for leaders? Because by not resting, they are compromising their physical, cognitive, and emotional functions, which puts them at risk of illness and burnout. It’s also where the strategic, high-value work leaders are there to do, like developing a team, thinking ahead, and improving processes, is typically drowned out by busywork. Why do I feel guilty when I try to rest? When our productivity has been tied to our worth for a long time, stillness can feel lazy, selfish, and negligent, even though it's exactly what your body needs. Being extremely busy is also praised and normalised in our society, which makes it harder to look after ourselves and respect our body's signals. What can I do if I realise I am burning out? Look after your body if it is sore or tense, plan your days better, examine your beliefs around worth and rest, and identify the tasks you add to your already long list. Set boundaries around work hours, rest, and coping strategies (scrolling, alcohol, more work), delegate, and most importantly, slow down! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sophie Anderson Sophie Anderson, Burnout Prevention Specialist, Creator of AMBP™, Coach, Speaker & Author Sophie Anderson is an ICF-certified coach, speaker, author, and podcast host. She is the creator of The Anderson Model of Burnout Prevention™ (AMBP), an evidence-based model that helps people understand the predictable steps toward burnout, and more importantly, the protective practices that build genuine resilience and keep us well long-term. She is currently writing a book called “No Time for Burnout” about this. Sophie delivers keynotes, workshops, and coaching programs for organisations that want to protect their people from burnout while supporting engagement and productivity. She also works privately with professionals who feel the pressure building and want practical ways to regain clarity, confidence, energy and balance. References: Anderson, S. (2025). The Anderson Model of Burnout Prevention™ (AMBP) [Conceptual framework].

Written by Joshua Bennett-Johnson, Licensed Counselor & Owner of JBJ Counseling For nearly 14 years, I've helped individuals navigate the complex landscape of addiction in order to achieve recovery. Nicknamed "The Casual Counselor", my approach is unconventional but undeniably effective. There was a Cambodian guy who lived on the block. He and I would play cards at all hours of the day, usually just him and me, heads-up, one-on-one, sometimes betting upwards of $20 a hand. He called himself “Charlie,” but his real name was a Cambodian name I couldn’t pronounce if my life depended on it. He had been there for close to two years, awaiting trial for his role in a fight at a 7 Eleven that had escalated to a murder charge. He and I taught Keenan and a bunch of other guys how to play Omaha. Charlie and I did this knowing we had the upper hand because we played all the time. We wanted to take more commissary with more players putting money in the middle. When other guys would play at our table, we'd lower the stakes, and opponents would lose, then repeatedly buy back in and lose again. I can't remember one single game where either Charlie or I didn't win the pot at the end. Sometimes, the winning pots would top fifty to a hundred bucks. Small stakes for Charlie and me, but it was like playing with house money. On the night of the riot, we'd been playing Omaha with about six people at the table. Three had gone out after a few hands, and the pot was up to $30 or $40, maybe. Keenan had been losing all evening, and he was starting to get hot under his sweaty collar. He didn’t seem to understand the simple jailhouse rules that dictated the game. We were only playing with a two-dollar buy-in, but he'd gone out a few times already and was already in the hole ten or twelve dollars. Keenan didn't have any money to pay. Rather, he was just fully expecting to win the entire pot at the end of the game. I don't think it ever crossed his mind that he would actually lose. Keenan went all in. Charlie said, "Fuck it, I'll call you," and pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table. Charlie showed his hand first and called his trips. Keenan smiled widely and stuttered, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah?! Oh yeah?! Well, that's not good enough! I got a full boat, motherfucker!" "Sorry, buddy, you don't have a boat. I've got you beat," Charlie calmly told him and started pulling all the ripped-up chips in the direction of his stack. "He's right, Keenan. You don't have a boat," I explained. "You need to use two cards, man. Both of your cards have to play. You've got trips, but Charlie has better trips than you do, regardless." Charlie shot me a grin as he piled his spoils. Keenan was confused, and he stared down at the cards in his hand, then back at the spread, then back at his hand and the spread, and on and on. "No! I gotta fucking boat!! Look! Three of these and two of those! That's a boat! Y'all trying to play me!" He was angry now, his voice gaining volume. "Keenan!" I snapped. "We've been over this again and again with you, man. You have to use two cards in your hand! That 8 you're holding? It doesn't play. Plus, you called your hand wrong. So, you lose. Even if you'd called your hand right, Charlie still has you beat." Charlie snickered and replied, "So, you buying back in or what?" "Fuck y'all! This is bullshit!" he shot back. "Y'all are trying to steal my fucking money by cheating! I don't play that shit! You think I'm a sucker or something?!" I rolled my eyes. Though he was mad, this was typical behavior for Keenan, and everyone had been exposed to it at some point or another. I said something to the effect of, "Keenan, seriously, if you can't understand this game, and it seems like you can't, then don't play. Don't bet. But neither of us is trying to cheat you out of any money. It's not like that. You shouldn't accuse us of trying to play you. It doesn't have to be like that. This is getting fucking ridiculous." I was tired of going through this same conversation over and over. Keenan glared back at me now, mad as hell, his eyes looking crazier than a box of frogs. It was like a circuit in his brain had shorted out. "Oh yes, it does have to be like that, you little punk bitch," he said to me directly. "If you think that you're gonna get over on me like this, you got something coming. I ain't paying either one of you shit." He looked directly at me now. "Now come step in my cell if you think you're so right about me, motherfucker! Strap up!" “Jesus,” I thought. Not again. This couldn't be happening. I was being challenged to fight by a crazed giant. I'd been called out. I was fucked. He'd challenged me to a fair fight in his cell, and now he was waiting for me. I was not happy. In fact, I was scared to the point that I had gone a whiter shade of pale, and I felt myself trembling. I hadn't anticipated the progression leading up to this, and I felt like I had failed myself. Keenan was huge and very pissed, and there was barely even enough room, with him occupying so much space, to step inside his cell to fight and have any room or any chance of dodging and defending oneself against blows. I was outmatched, and the feeling of impending doom was back during what had been a welcome and peaceful respite on the 19th floor. I asked Charlie, "What the fuck just happened?! Am I really about to walk down there and step in with that maniac?" Charlie was calm and replied in his usual laid-back way, "Ugh. Josh, man, that's fucked up. Fuck him. I can't stand that dude. Listen, yeah, you're gonna step in with him, but check it out, hold up one sec. Don't go down there just yet." He was considering something. I could sense Charlie’s wheels turning in his sharp thinking mind, but I didn't know what they were telling him. All I knew was that I'd pissed off a gigantic, stupid psychopath, and there was no way of talking my way out of it. I hated jail, and I was more upset that I was going to have to explain to my family why my face was all damaged and black and blue again. I was sick to my stomach, standing by the table and looking to Charlie for answers. My eyes were pleading. "Yo Steamboat!" Charlie shouted down the tier. "Come here for a minute!" Steamboat made his way down to us, also serving time in detention for a murder beef. Steamboat was a true badass. He was covered in Tiny Rascal Gang (TRG) tattoos, with two full sleeves, and he was shredded with about 200 pounds of pure muscle. He kept his head shaved bald, save for a Friar Tuck-style braid on the top of his scalp, and he had a Fu Manchu-style mustache that he twisted at each end. He was intimidating to look at, but he was also a nice and likable guy. He was very soft-spoken and didn't form too many friendships or personal relationships on the block. But he hung out with Charlie, and he respected him, and he had his back. Charlie took Steamboat aside and talked to him briefly and quietly in Cambodian, pointing over at me and down the tier to where Keenan's cell was. Steamboat cracked a smile, looked at me, and said, "Oh, shit! You in trouble, man! You pissed off big man!" Then he laughed, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He turned and walked back down toward the end of the tier, close to where Keenan was housed. "Yo Steamboat!" Charlie called down to him. "Yo, grab Rooster and tell him too!" Steamboat gave a thumbs up without turning around and went to wake up Rooster. Rooster was just a kid, maybe 18 or 19 years old, another Cambodian from Lowell. I was confused and on the verge of a panic attack by now. Only two minutes, maybe, had passed since Keenan had flipped out on me, and now Charlie was conspiring with his boys about something that I couldn't understand. I don't speak Cambodian. "Yo, Josh, check it out. Wait another minute. I gotta go do something in my cell right quick. Then, when I tell you to, go down there. Tell the big man that you'll meet him in the trap and that you'll settle things in there. Aight?" Fuck. I didn't know what was about to go down, but I knew it wasn't gonna be pretty. I had a bad feeling in my gut. A few pops from anyone else on our tier, save for Steamboat, would be nothing compared to what Keenan could inflict on me with his massive frame and gigantic hands. Fists. We headed down toward Charlie's cell. He told me to stand outside while he took care of something real quick. I stood by the entrance to his cell and watched to see what he was doing. I couldn't see what he was up to, though. He had his back to me. He'd laid a single sock out on the bunk next to him and huddled over his cubby in the corner. "Alright, listen. Go down and tell him to meet you inside the trap." "Wait, Charlie." I began to protest, but he cut me off. "Just tell him that you want to step inside the trap with him, aight? To settle shit. Don't go into his cell. Tell him to come see you in there." I did as he told me to. I walked down to where Keenan's cell was. It was down at the end of the tier, near where the trap was. I saw Rooster sitting down by the trap, lounging in a chair and watching TV. He glanced at me as I made my way further down. I looked back over my shoulder to see Charlie standing outside the entrance to his own cell, watching my every move. “What the fuck is going on here?” I thought repeatedly to myself. I got to the entrance of Keenan’s cell. He was lying on the bunk, writing something on his notepad. Presumably, he probably thought that I had chickened out and that I wasn't coming down to face him. This would've been a perfectly fine resolution for me, but it wasn't going to play out like that on this night. I tried my best to sound confident and intimidating. If it had any effect on Keon, he didn't show it. "Yo, Keon. Why don't we step in the trap if you still want to settle things?" My voice surely warbled. He slowly looked up from his letter, and his mean eyes met mine. "Oh, so it's like that, huh?! Okay then. Let's do this. I'm finna fuck you up," he said back. Before he could roll off the bunk to follow me, I walked down quickly to the end of the tier. I passed by Rooster on my way to the entrance of the long, darkened corridor. He slowly turned his head from the TV show he was watching and smiled at me with a wide, toothy grin. I stepped to the entrance of the trap and walked inside. In the dim light, standing at the end of the corridor, I saw a silhouette. Steamboat. There was no mistaking the silhouette of his frame. "Steamboat? What the hell is going on here?!" "Just fall back behind me. Do it now," he said. I shuffled briskly past him, and before I could fully comprehend what was happening, he put his hands up and rushed by me, moving forward in short bursts. Footwork. Southpaw stance. Steamboat was a competent fighter. He knew how to handle himself. Keenan was walking inside now, also with his hands up, fully inside the trap within a second or two. He began to utter the words, "What the f*ck?" but before he could get the statement out, Charlie came up from behind, swinging hard. He wasn't swinging his fist at the big man, but rather a sock full of batteries. He connected with the back of Keenan’s head. "Whap!" The sound of the impact was severe. Steamboat moved in and popped Keon a time or two in the face and midsection. "Whap!" Charlie struck him again in the side of the head. Keon dropped down to one knee. "Whap!" The sound was like a rock smacking against another rock. "Whap!" Again, on the back of his skull. Steamboat continued to pummel him from the front, busting his face apart. Rooster stood by the entrance to the trap, keeping watch, and other inmates had congregated by the trap to witness the violent confrontation. I stood in the back, several feet away, in shock about what was going on in front of me. "Whap!" I could see that the sock hanging from his hand was dripping with blood. "Alright, man! Alright! Enough! That's enough! Alright already!" Keenan shouted out. He was begging. "Please! That's enough!" He sounded scared and desperate. Steamboat stood poised in front of Keenan, ready to strike. Charlie got right down by his ear and shouted, "Yo, you ain't gonna pay me my fucking money?! That's it?! You think you can stiff me and call me a cheat?! Huh, motherfucker?!" He reared back like he was gonna hit him again, but he didn't swing. Keenan stayed covered up, balled up fetal on the floor. "Alright, man, alright. That's enough. Alright." That's all he could say. Charlie yelled something in Cambodian at him, spit on him, turned, and walked back out of the trap and back to his cell. Rooster followed. Steamboat turned to me and said, "It's over, man. See? Everything's alright in the world again." I followed Steamboat out, and as I walked past Keenan, he didn't look up or say anything to me. Steamboat sat nonchalantly in one of the chairs and started to watch TV like it was any other night. I walked down toward my cell, dazed and excited from the attack that I'd witnessed. Charlie and Rooster were in Charlie's cell. Rooster was smiling and laughing. Charlie was not. He was winded and looked drained and tired. They were talking in Cambodian. He looked at me. He said, "I just don't like bullies, you know?" I nodded blankly and kept going in the direction of my cell. Keenan left the block in the middle of the night. Steamboat told us the next day that he'd seen him walk by his cell, leaving the unit with a towel on his head, his eyes down, and his shoulders hunched over. "Oh, shit!" Steamboat said the next day. "Big man's gonna need some stitches for that big ass head of his! He's gonna need some aspirin too!" He laughed. "Big man got his wig split!" Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Joshua Bennett-Johnson Joshua Bennett-Johnson, Licensed Counselor & Owner of JBJ Counseling After working for 7 years in an amazing clinic, I launched into private practice in 2018. I love my job. I can say that without reservation. Watching people rebuild their lives is worth more than any dollar amount.

Written by Annyx Day, B.A., M.A., RTT® Hypnotherapist & RTC® Success Coach Annyx Day is the founder and CEO of Living Life Above, Moving Yourself Forward, a Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT®) Practitioner/Certified Hypnotherapist, and a Rapid Transformational Coaching (RTC®) Success Coach. She helps and guides her clients to excel in their personal and professional lives. What if you were able to identify the origins of your money and wealth blockages? What if uncovering the background of your underlying beliefs about money was the key to shifting that mindset and opening the gates to manifesting wealth? What if this opportunity was offered through Rapid Transformational Therapy® (RTT®) hypnotherapy sessions? Would you want to experience it? What is wealth Wealth can mean very different things to different people. Wealth can encompass someone’s overall health, it could be related to the gratitude and appreciation one has for their living circumstances, it could define one’s relationships with loved ones, it could be used to describe someone’s overall mental well-being. Of course, as most of us identify with, wealth can have a monetary value. This article will delve into the latter aspect. What is hypnotherapy According to Cleveland Clinic, “Hypnotherapy is a healing practice that uses guided hypnosis to put a person into a deeply relaxed and focused state. In this calm state, a person is open to positive suggestions to help change bad habits, lower stress, or manage pain. It is safe, and people stay in control the whole time.” Hypnotherapy can be used for many issues such as anxiety, stress, confidence, self-esteem, motivation, concentration, procrastination, self-sabotage, certain addictions, weight, grief, wealth, and many more. Clients who are hypnotized feel they are in a deep state of relaxation. They are completely aware of the room and sounds around them, deeply concentrated on their thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and they remain in complete control. What is RTT® hypnotherapy The RTT® methodology is considered very healing because it combines the most effective techniques from Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), hypnotherapy, and psychotherapy. Wanting different and quicker results for her clients than what traditional therapy offered, Marisa Peer created, founded, and launched her RTT® methodology and school in 2015. Unlike traditional therapy, three to six RTT® sessions are recommended for profound, concrete, and permanent results. Usually, RTT® Practitioners and Certified Hypnotherapists help clients heal one issue per session. Traditional therapy may feel like you are only scratching the surface of what is really going on, while an RTT® Practitioner and Certified Hypnotherapist goes to the root, the cause, and the reason why you have an issue in the first place, right from the first session. In essence, RTT® is not a band-aid solution, and RTT® Practitioners and Certified Hypnotherapists help clients achieve concrete, permanent, and profound results in one to six RTT® sessions. At the core, RTT® Practitioners and Certified Hypnotherapists help people break bad habits, change limiting beliefs and mindsets, achieve extraordinary results in business, personal goals, and sports, overcome fears, increase focus and motivation, adopt a growth mindset for wealth, and improve overall well-being. RTT® works with the subconscious mind, an extraordinary resource like a vault where everything we have learned or experienced is kept, which has shaped how we feel about ourselves, life in general, and why we react to certain things and triggers in particular. Underlying messages relating to wealth and RTT® hypnotherapy sessions for wealth Not worthy Did you know wealth, for most people, is directly related to worth? Self-worth, that is. Not worthy of wealth, success, or deserving nice things. Not worthy of anything because it is out of reach. It is not available to me. Not being good with money. Not worthy of having money. Others are worthy of having money, but not me. In my experience as an RTT® Practitioner and Certified Hypnotherapist, as well as an RTC® Success Coach, clients who have come to me to explore their limiting beliefs surrounding wealth were directly related to their “believed” worth. I say “believed” because they come to understand, through hypnosis, that it is a belief they adopted due to certain situations they experienced, witnessed, and/or learned from someone close to them, such as a parent, grandparent, caregiver, teacher, role model, aunt, uncle, or sibling. Examples of this would be: “My sibling always got bigger and better gifts at Christmas than me.” “My mom never had any money left over to buy me the things I wanted because she always spent her paycheques on alcohol and cigarettes.” “My dad was a gambler.” “My older siblings always got new things while I only got hand-me-downs.” “In my foster home, their biological children got the best of the best while I got leftovers.” The list goes on. The takeaway message is always this: Of course you are worthy of acquiring, having, making, keeping money, and growing your wealth, no matter who told you otherwise. Regardless of what you have learned, you can change those beliefs, and you are allowed to evolve from your upbringing. Shame and guilt Some people feel shame when it comes to having money, wanting more money, or acquiring wealth. This tells me that somewhere along the way, they learned the meaning of shame attached to the idea of wealth, money, and prosperity. Either the person learned it from someone, the idea was instilled in them by someone, or the person witnessed another person feeling that way about wealth, money, and prosperity, and in turn adopted that idea for themselves. Some clients feel shame and guilt if they have and want more money than their sibling(s), and as a result, stop themselves from achieving more for fear that it will create a rift between them. In essence, they would rather keep the peace than go for their personal and professional goals and aspirations. The takeaway messages are as follows: You need to re-evaluate and even redefine the meaning of wealth, money, and prosperity in terms of what it means to you in your life. If you are worried about what your siblings will say, what does that say about them, and do they really have your best interests at heart? Would you expect someone to shy away from their dreams, goals, and aspirations because you told them to? Most importantly, would you be comfortable with yourself knowing you were the reason why someone stopped chasing their goals? Procrastination At the crux of procrastination usually is the fear of failure. In the context of wealth and money, some people may procrastinate paying their bills due to feeling guilty about spending too much or not having the money to cover their bills. Some clients delay paying their taxes and even fail to file their taxes for years for fear of owing too much. But here is the truth: This is counterintuitive because the longer you wait and delay paying your taxes, the more you will owe. Some clients procrastinate reaching their wealth goals and aspirations by self-sabotaging their progress because they ultimately fear personal failure. Therefore, it is easier to not accomplish their goals and aspirations because this allows them to avoid failure altogether. The takeaway message is this: Perfection does not exist, and everyone is flawed in some way. Embrace imperfection, but prioritize personal responsibility. Accountability to oneself is extremely important and crucial to personal betterment. You make a mistake, learn from it, and do differently next time. If you do not know why you keep making the same mistakes over and over again, you may need to search deeper in your subconscious mind for the answers, break those patterns, and form new ones. Fixed mindset Money blocks due to a fixed mindset will affect someone’s personal and professional life. Statements of someone with a fixed mindset are as follows: “My parents only made this much, therefore, I am destined to only make the same amount.” “My parents weren’t lucky in life.” “My parents weren’t good with money.” “You have to work hard for your money.” “Money doesn’t come easily.” “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” “You are greedy if you want to make more money.” “I don’t have what it takes to go for that promotion.” “I have limited skill sets.” “What I want isn’t attainable for me.” “What I want isn’t available to me,” and so on. Having a fixed mindset feeds into those limiting beliefs and only fuels self-sabotage even before you get started. Doing RTT® hypnotherapy sessions helps break those limiting beliefs and negative patterns. Furthermore, clients learn that they are allowed to break the mold of their upbringing. They are allowed to change their trajectory, adopt a growth mindset, and manifest the lives they have always wanted and dreamed about. As the old adage goes, yes, anything is possible when you put your mind to it! Not enough Not enoughness runs deep in someone’s subconscious mind, and it is in direct relation to how someone was made to feel, or not feel, at an early age. I have heard my clients say, “I never got the attention I needed from my parents. Therefore, I must not be enough.” “My parents never gave me affection or told me they loved me, so my internal dialogue was that I wasn’t enough.” “I always got in trouble with my dad because I could never do anything right.” “In my mom’s eyes, I always got things wrong.” “My siblings were the good ones, the smart ones.” “I was always overlooked.” “My mom was always spending time with friends instead of me.” “My dad was always at work, but I wished he would have played catch with me.” The main message I communicate during RTT® hypnotherapy sessions is always this: Unfortunately, you were at the receiving end of your parents’ shortcomings at that time, but know this: it had nothing to do with you. Of course, you were always enough, and you will always be enough. Then I tell my clients, now you can drop that heavy weight you have been carrying your whole life up until now. It never belonged to you, and it was never yours to carry. Here is the hard truth: Most of the time, our parents were doing the best that they could with the knowledge they had at that time. When we see it through this lens, this is where compassion is felt and healing takes place. All of us were enough just the way we were born. We were enough growing up, we were enough as young adults, and we are certainly enough right now. Learned behaviour Some may not even be aware they are making poor choices or uninformed choices in their adult life due to learned behaviours from their parents, grandparents, and/or caregivers when they were growing up. When we start to look at why we do what we do and why we think the way we think, we understand the extent to which learned behaviours control our lives. However, it does not have to dictate our future or the way we actually want to live our lives. To identify and dismantle learned behaviours and learned helplessness is to adopt new ways of being based on growth mindsets. This is where change happens and where we start manifesting the lives we were meant to live. If you are ready to explore your limiting beliefs surrounding wealth, want to level up, and would appreciate experiencing RTT® hypnotherapy sessions with me, you can reach out to me here, call 613 797 8096, or visit my website. I will be honoured to help and guide you! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Annyx Day, B.A., M.A. Annyx Day, B.A., M.A., RTT® Hypnotherapist & RTC® Success Coach Annyx Day is bridging the gap between people’s personal and professional excellence. Regardless of the various careers she pursued, one theme always stood out to her. Why do people do what they do in their personal as well as professional lives, and what is behind people’s behaviours? Her life’s purpose has always been to help people and to inspire people to move beyond life’s obstacles and challenges and to live a better, more evolved life. Annyx is the founder and CEO of Living Life Above, Moving Yourself Forward, an RTT® Practitioner/Certified Hypnotherapist, and an RTC® Success Coach.

Written by Sarah Hurst, Coach & Creator of the Mind Medicine Movement™ Drawing on her own healing journey through cancer, Sarah Hurst is a coach and creator of the Mind Medicine Movement™. She helps people calm the nervous system, reconnect with themselves, and take back their power to heal body, mind, and soul. You can know logically that you are safe and still feel your heart begin to race. A smell, a sound, a hospital corridor, an unexpected comment, or even a date on the calendar can create a physical reaction before you have consciously worked out why. Understanding what is happening can change the way you relate to these moments because your body is not working against you. It is responding to what your nervous system has learnt before. What is body memory? We often hear phrases such as “the body keeps the score”, “trauma is stored in the body”, or “the body remembers”. I use this kind of language myself because, experientially, it makes sense. We can feel the past show up physically, sometimes long after we believe we have dealt with it. Scientifically, though, there is an important distinction to make. Memories are not literally stored inside muscles, fascia, or other tissues independently of the brain. Current neuroscience gives us a more interesting explanation: the brain and nervous system learn associations from our experiences, and when something in the present resembles a previous threat, they can recreate the physical response that helped protect us before. That might sound like semantics, but I think it actually makes the idea more empowering. Your body is not a container full of trapped trauma that somehow needs to be emptied. Your nervous system is capable of learning, adapting, and, importantly, learning something new. When I talk about the body remembering, this is what I mean. An experience can become associated with sensations, sounds, smells, places, or situations, and those cues can later activate a response before our thinking mind has caught up. Why reactions feel automatic Imagine you have been through months of chemotherapy. There are hospital rooms, particular smells, cannulas, machines, waiting areas, conversations, and perhaps moments when you felt frightened or very unwell. Months later, you may walk into a hospital for a routine appointment and suddenly notice your stomach turning. Perhaps your heart beats faster or your breath becomes shallow. Your conscious mind may be saying, “I’m only here for a checkup,” but another system has already recognised something familiar. This is not imaginary. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) explains that cancer-related post-traumatic stress symptoms can develop through conditioning, where previously neutral sights, sounds, or smells become associated with difficult treatment experiences. Later, those cues can produce anxiety, fear, or stress even when the original event is no longer happening. The National Cancer Institute even describes conditioned reactions to chemotherapy reminders, including anxiety and nausea triggered by particular smells and sights. That is an extraordinary example of how closely memory, emotion, sensation, and the nervous system are connected. The body reacts first One of the frustrations people often have is, “But I know I’m safe, so why am I still reacting like this?” It can feel irrational, particularly when you have done a lot of mindset work and understand perfectly well what is happening. The problem is that knowing something intellectually and experiencing it physiologically are not always the same thing. Our protective systems are fast. When the brain detects something associated with previous danger, the nervous system can mobilise before we have had time to reason through the situation. The National Institute of Mental Health describes how reminders of traumatic experiences can bring back not only thoughts and memories but also physical signs of stress, including a racing heart, sweating, and feeling tense or on guard. Words, objects, and situations can all act as reminders. This is one reason I am so interested in the gap between what we know and what we actually feel. You can know that you are safe. You can know that the scan is precautionary. You can know that one difficult conversation does not mean everything is falling apart. Yet your body may be responding to an older piece of information. Cancer leaves associations Cancer is particularly interesting in this context because it is rarely one isolated frightening event. There may be a diagnosis, treatment, surgery, scans, waiting for results, recurrence fears, and repeated appointments stretching over months or years. The National Cancer Institute recognises this explicitly. Cancer-related post-traumatic stress can occur at different points, from diagnosis through treatment, afterward, and during recurrence. Not everyone who experiences these responses develops post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That distinction is important. Feeling anxious before a scan does not automatically mean you have a trauma disorder. Feeling emotional when you smell something that reminds you of chemotherapy does not mean something is wrong with you. Sometimes it simply means your nervous system has learnt that this particular cue once arrived alongside uncertainty or threat. I experienced this in my own journey. There were times when my rational mind could understand exactly what was happening, while my body seemed to be somewhere completely different. Panic taught me very quickly that telling myself to “calm down” was not enough. That understanding eventually became central to the way I work today. Why thinking isn't enough Mindset matters enormously to me, but I think we can misunderstand mindset if we reduce it to changing our thoughts. Sometimes people have already understood their pattern. They have analysed it, journalled about it, and explained exactly where it came from, yet their body still responds. That does not mean the inner work has failed. It may simply mean another part of the experience needs attention. This connects with something I wrote about in my Brainz article on nervous system healing. The nervous system does not respond to logic alone. It responds to experience, and sometimes we need to give the body a different experience rather than another explanation. That is why I am interested in both top-down and bottom-up ways of working. Thoughts, beliefs, and narrative matter, but so do breath, sensation, movement, environment, safe relationships, and touch. We are not a mind sitting on top of a body. The two are continually informing each other. Triggers are information The word “trigger” is used so casually now that I think we sometimes forget what it actually describes. A trigger is not simply something we dislike. It is a cue that evokes a response connected to previous learning or experience. That cue can be obvious, such as entering the hospital where you had treatment. It can also be surprisingly subtle. A tone of voice, a smell, a piece of music, lying in a particular position, receiving a letter through the door, or hearing the phone ring at a certain time may all carry associations we have not consciously noticed. Rather than immediately asking, “How do I stop this reaction?” I often find it more useful to begin with curiosity. What just happened? What did I notice in my body? What might my nervous system have recognised? That shift matters because judgement adds another layer of threat. Curiosity creates a little space between the sensation and the story we immediately attach to it. This does not mean that every unexplained physical symptom is emotional or related to trauma. New, persistent, or concerning physical symptoms always deserve appropriate medical assessment. It simply means that once physical causes have been considered, our emotional and nervous system experiences may also be part of the wider picture. Safety creates new learning If the nervous system can learn danger, it can also learn safety. For me, this is one of the most hopeful parts of understanding how these responses work. It does not usually happen because we force ourselves to relax. New learning develops through repeated experiences in which something that once felt threatening occurs alongside greater safety, support, or choice. That may be as simple as noticing your feet on the ground while you wait for an appointment. It might involve slowing the breath, looking around the room, and orienting yourself to the present rather than disappearing into the memory of what happened before. It may mean bringing someone safe with you, telling the medical team you feel anxious, or giving yourself permission to step outside for a moment. These are small things, but small things matter to the nervous system. They begin adding new information alongside the old. This is also why my work places so much emphasis on slowing down. In Why Healing Begins With Gentle SIPS™, I explain that Slow Down comes first because, without space, it becomes very difficult to notice what is actually happening within us. Why safe touch helps Touch is another form of experience, and for some people, it can offer a powerful sense of grounding and connection. Safe, consensual touch gives the nervous system sensory information in the present moment. This does not mean massage or touch therapy is a treatment for trauma or PTSD. Those conditions may need support from an appropriately qualified mental health professional. But within its proper scope, safe therapeutic touch can help someone experience their body differently, perhaps as somewhere they can inhabit rather than somewhere they constantly monitor. This became particularly important to me after cancer. Illness can profoundly alter the relationship we have with our bodies. After examinations, procedures, surgery, and treatment, the body can begin to feel medicalised, watched, or even mistrusted. In my article on how Touch Therapy supports nervous system regulation, I explored how attuned, consensual touch can become part of rebuilding body trust. For me, this is less about “releasing stored trauma” and more about giving the nervous system another experience, one associated with choice, gentleness, and safety. The senses remember too Smell is perhaps the clearest example of how quickly a sensory cue can transport us somewhere else. One moment you are standing in the present, and the next, a familiar smell has brought back an entire emotional atmosphere. The same can happen through sound, sight, taste, and touch. This is one reason I have become increasingly interested in the senses within my Mind Medicine work. The senses can alert us to danger, but they can also become routes back towards safety. A familiar piece of music can soften something. The smell of an essential oil you associate with calm can create a moment of recognition. Warmth, a soft blanket, natural light, birdsong, the feeling of the ground beneath your feet, or the rhythm of slow breathing can all become part of the present experience. I don't see these things as magic tricks that erase the past. I see them as ways of helping the body notice that this moment is not that moment. With repetition, the nervous system has an opportunity to build a wider library of experiences. The old association may still exist, but it does not necessarily have to remain the only association. When support is needed There is an important distinction between experiencing occasional nervous system reactions and living with symptoms that are significantly affecting daily life. Persistent flashbacks, nightmares, severe avoidance, ongoing hypervigilance, or distress that interferes with relationships, sleep, or everyday functioning deserve professional support. The National Institute of Mental Health advises seeking help when symptoms related to trauma do not improve or begin to interfere with daily life. Evidence-based treatments for PTSD include therapies focused on trauma, and a qualified mental health professional can help determine what support is appropriate. For those whose responses are less severe, understanding the nervous system can still be enormously reassuring. What once felt random begins to make more sense, and that understanding can remove some of the fear around the reaction itself. You stop asking, “What is wrong with me?” and begin asking, “What has my system learnt, and what might help it learn something different?” Teaching safety again Perhaps this is what I now mean when I say that the body remembers. Not that the past is physically trapped somewhere inside us, waiting to be dug out, but that our whole mind and body system learns from experience. Sometimes it learns that a particular smell means danger, that hospitals mean bad news, that conflict means abandonment, or that slowing down is unsafe. Those associations may once have served a protective purpose, but they do not have to dictate the rest of our lives. Healing can involve gently updating that information. Through awareness, nervous system regulation, therapeutic support, safe relationships, and new embodied experiences, we can begin showing ourselves that the present is different from the past. If you notice your body reacting before your mind understands why, try not to immediately fight the response. Pause long enough to notice it, look around you, feel where you are now, and ask yourself, “What would help me feel five per cent safer in this moment?” You do not need to force your body to forget what happened. Perhaps the more compassionate task is to help it discover something new. If you are navigating cancer, illness, or another major life experience and would value support in reconnecting with your body and creating a greater sense of safety, you can explore my coaching, meditation, and Mind Medicine work through my Brainz profile and website. Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sarah Hurst Sarah Hurst, Coach & Creator of the Mind Medicine Movement™ After walking her own path through cancer, Sarah Hurst discovered that true healing isn’t just physical, it’s emotional, spiritual, and deeply personal. She went on to create the Mind Medicine Movement™, helping others calm their nervous systems, rediscover purpose, and reconnect with themselves through her SIPS™ framework: Slow Down, Identity, Purpose, Self-Love. Today, Sarah supports people living with or beyond cancer and anyone seeking calm, clarity, and wellness through her coaching, meditation, and touch therapy practice in Hove, East Sussex. She also offers an online coaching service.

Written by Saaid Radwan, Behavior Analyst & Family Consultant Saaid Radwan is a Behavior Analyst, Neurodiversity and Family Consultant, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certified trainer with 20+ years of international experience across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, and Central Asia. He specializes in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), communication support, emotional regulation, and family-centered care, advocating inclusive, lifelong development. In twenty-five years of working with families across six continents, I have been invited into thousands of homes. In almost every country, in almost every culture, I have met the same child. Not the same face, but the same situation. A child who is kept inside. A child the neighbors rarely see. A child whose family loves them deeply and hides them anyway. This article is for that child. It is for every child and adult across the full spectrum of neurodiversity and disability: visible and invisible, physical, intellectual, sensory, developmental, and psychosocial. It is a call for inclusion, acceptance, and equity, and it begins with a hard truth: before we can change schools, laws, and systems, we must change what happens behind our own front doors and in the sideways glances we give on the street. This is not a pessimistic view. It is a reality check built on data, paired with voices of parents and therapists from around the world and, above all, with solutions that begin where every child’s world begins: at home. The scale we refuse to see In 2021, UNICEF published its largest statistical analysis of childhood disability: nearly 240 million children worldwide, one in ten, live with a disability. The same report documents the gap. These children are 49% more likely to have never attended school, 51% more likely to feel unhappy, 41% more likely to feel discriminated against, and 32% more likely to experience severe corporal punishment. Here is the number that should stop every reader. In Europe and Central Asia, a region I know well through my work in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, an estimated 6% of children, one in seventeen, have a disability. That is the lowest rate of any world region. Is Central Asia biologically luckier than West and Central Africa, where the figure is one in seven? Of course not. In this context, a low reported number is not a sign of health. It is a sign of invisibility: children not registered, not diagnosed, not counted, because they are kept at home. Exclusion is often the consequence of invisibility. When a child is hidden, the family escapes judgment for one more year, and the state escapes responsibility for good. The anatomy of stigma A systematic review of 42 qualitative studies across 17 Asian countries mapped ableism at three levels: family, institutional, and societal. I have witnessed all three. Family stigma is the first door that closes. In parts of Central Asia, traditional beliefs still tie a child’s congenital condition to the mother’s moral behavior. I have sat with mothers who apologized for their child’s existence before I had even said hello. Institutional stigma is the second door. In Dushanbe, a school director refused to enroll a bright boy with cerebral palsy, saying: "The school is for the healthy. He’s not healthy." A parent from the same community estimated that perhaps five percent of children with disabilities attend school in the villages, "because they are ashamed. They think that if people see my child, no one will marry my daughter." Societal stigma is the third door, and it is the only one each of us controls personally. It is the stare in the supermarket when a child covers their ears and screams. It is the look that says: control your child. In Uzbekistan, a third of children with disabilities do not even engage in play with their parents or other adults at home. Stigma does not only shut children out of society. It follows them back into the house. Big titles vs. Reality Let us be honest about the distance between declarations and daily life. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been ratified by the overwhelming majority of nations. Inclusive education is written into the laws of Central Asia, the Gulf, and beyond. Yet the mother in Shymkent still cannot find a school for her son, and the father in Tashkent still keeps his daughter away from family gatherings. We have become very good at publishing inclusion, and much less good at practicing it. Sabohat, who founded the Association of Parents of Disabled Children in Dushanbe, said it better than any policy document: "Society doesn’t see our children. That’s why they don’t accept them. If we brought them out, they would accept them." Visibility is not the risk. Invisibility is the prison. From the Gulf to the Levant: Wealth does not immunize against stigma I have spent years working in the Arabian Gulf, and I learned early that money changes the scenery but not the story. Per-capita health spending there is among the highest in the world. Early-intervention centers stand in every major city. Yet the regional figures tell the familiar tale of invisibility, only in a different accent. UNESCO’s analysis of the Arab region found reported disability prevalence ranging from 0.19% in Qatar to 5.07% in Morocco, against a global estimate of 10 to 15%. Within the GCC, reported autism rates form a diagnostic puzzle: 4.3 per 10,000 children in Bahrain, 20 to 29 in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE, and above 30 in Qatar and Kuwait. A landmark UAE national study found that not a single child identified with autism had a prior diagnosis. Lower reported prevalence, the researchers concluded, reflects diagnostic challenges and lack of awareness, not lower occurrence. It is the same invisibility that produces a 6% disability rate in Central Asia. Oil wealth builds centers. It does not, by itself, open front doors. In Riyadh, a third of parents of autistic children report felt stigma, and mothers carry the heaviest burden. Saudi parents unanimously support inclusion in principle, yet those whose children have severe disabilities express the least confidence, pointing to teacher preparation as the missing piece. Principle is unanimous. Prepared classrooms are rare. Listen to the teachers of Qatar, describing the wall they meet before the classroom door even opens, “Where are the parents who actually accept this? It’s rare to find one who’s willing to admit their children have disability; most of them refuse.” Faten, teacher, Qatar On the West Bank, researchers documented parents describing negative family and community attitudes as a tremendous source of stress, with some families responding through denial of the diagnosis or complete withdrawal from the community. Denial, everywhere, is stigma’s favorite hiding place. There is also hope in the same data. A UAE study of 355 students found the most favorable attitudes toward inclusion among those who spent all day in regular classrooms with the necessary support. Contact, not lectures and not awareness posters, is what changes minds. In Dubai as in Dushanbe, in Riyadh as in Shymkent, visibility is not the risk. It is the way out. A voice from the steppe For this article, I asked a colleague from Kazakhstan to speak for herself. Amina Sapargalievna is an ABA specialist in the socialization and adaptation of children with special educational needs in natural community settings, based in Shymkent. Her work takes therapy out of the clinic and into the places where life actually happens: schools, stores, shopping malls, playrooms, and public transport. “A child may perform a task perfectly well during an individual session, yet experience significant difficulties at school, in a store, or among large crowds of people. This is exactly why socialization should be viewed not as a separate stage after therapy, but as an essential part of preparing a child for independent life.” “Crying, attempts to leave, covering the ears, refusing to follow instructions! these are not always "tantrums" or "disobedience." Sometimes this is how a child communicates: it is too noisy for me, I am tired, I am scared, I want to leave. Our task is to teach the child to communicate their needs more functionally.” “If a child has never been to a shopping mall, do not plan the first visit for several hours. Start with five to ten minutes. Walk in, calmly follow a short route, and leave. Adaptation does not happen in a single day. We focus not on speed, but on the child’s individual abilities.” Read Amina Sapargalievna's words again. Inside them is the entire philosophy this article defends: a crying child is not necessarily a misbehaving child. It is a child asking for support in the only language available to them. The practical path: Where change actually starts Inclusion is not a law, a building, or a policy title. It is a set of daily decisions. Here is where they begin, from the inside out. 1. Start at home The first act of inclusion happens at the family table. Let the child eat with the family, be present during visits and ordinary evenings, even if their participation looks different. No school reform can compensate for a child who has learned at home that they are an inconvenience. Presence precedes participation. Participation precedes belonging. 2. Build daily living skills as a matter of dignity Independence is built from unglamorous moments: buttoning a shirt, washing hands, waiting three minutes, asking for help, saying no. Every skill practiced at home is a deposit toward a life lived in public, on the child’s own terms. 3. Ask the nearest therapist, and the nearest parents Help does not begin with a plane ticket to a famous clinic. It begins with a phone call to the specialist in your own city and with the other parents in your own community. In Dushanbe, nearly 3,000 registered parents had no one to teach them their rights until one parent started teaching. Ask. Both are closer than you think. 4. Be your child’s best support, and their bridge to the world Follow Amina’s rule: do not demand the impossible. Today, five calm minutes in a store is a victory. Celebrate the five minutes. A child met with patience at home develops the confidence to face the world outside it. 5. For the rest of us: Replace the look with a hand This part is for everyone without a disabled child. When you see a struggling child and a parent doing their best, do not stare. Offer support: hold a door, say a kind word, show patience in the queue, or simply continue your day without making the family feel watched. Shame keeps children home. Ordinary kindness brings them out. The deeper truth Laws matter. Budgets matter. The five-year national blueprint presented in Tashkent matters. But no parliament can legislate away a look of shame at a supermarket checkout, and no ministry can sign a decree that makes a family open its front door. That work belongs to us. Behind every statistic stands a child with hopes, fears, potential, and ambition. These children do not need our pity, and they do not need to be hidden from our sight. Let us bring them out, safely and gradually, with Amina’s patience and a parent’s courage, until "welcome" is no longer a word in a document, but something every child can feel at the door. Follow me on Instagram and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Saaid Radwan Saaid Radwan, Behavior Analyst & Family Consultant Saaid Radwan is a Behavior Analyst, Neurodiversity and Family Consultant, and CPD Certified Trainer with over 20 years of international experience across the UAE, MENA, Europe, and Central Asia. He specializes in ABA, communication support, emotional regulation, and family-centered care across the lifespan. Saaid is passionate about inclusive education, early intervention, and empowering families and professionals through practical, compassionate strategies. His work bridges evidence-based practice with real-world impact.

Written by Sonia Grant, Certified Health & Wellness Coach Sonia Grant is a certified health and wellness coach specializing in helping adults 50+ restore energy, improve digestion, and build sustainable vitality through whole-food, plant-based nutrition. Through her signature E.N.E.R.G.Y Method, she empowers clients to transform their health with real food, gut-healthy support, and lasting habits. “Everything just tastes flat.” If you’re over 50, you may have said this without giving it much thought. The tomatoes aren’t as sweet as they used to be, the soup needs more salt, and the dinner you once loved doesn’t excite you now. Most people shrug and assume the food has changed. Often, it’s our senses that have. The good news is that once you understand what’s happening, you can bring flavor, enjoyment, and better nourishment back to your plate. Your sense of smell does most of the tasting? Here’s something that surprises many of my clients: most of what we call “taste” is really smell. Your tongue detects the basics, like sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory. But aroma brings the richness, depth, and personality of food. It’s why a cold makes everything taste like cardboard. As we age, our sense of smell often fades gradually, and we tend not to notice because it happens so slowly. A national study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about 23 percent of adults over 40 report a problem with their sense of smell, rising to nearly one in three adults over 80.[1] Self-reports likely understate it. Objective testing suggests that decreased smell function is present in over half of people between 65 and 80. Other things can dull flavor too. Saliva, which we need for tasting, decreases in later life, and some medications reduce taste perception. None of this means something is wrong with you. It’s a very common part of aging. But it does change how we eat, often without us realizing it. The quiet way it changes what we eat When food tastes less interesting, we adapt without thinking. Some people reach for more salt, sugar, or heavily processed foods because those deliver a strong flavor hit with no effort. Others simply lose enthusiasm for cooking and eating. Meals become simpler and smaller: toast, tea, a biscuit, whatever is easy. Over time, this can narrow the variety in your diet, and variety is where fiber, vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds come from. Researchers note that reduced smell or taste can make it harder to maintain healthy eating. This is one of the hidden reasons people over 50 can feel more tired and less nourished, even when they believe they’re “eating fine.” Food we don’t enjoy is food we stop paying attention to. But plant-based food is bland, isn’t it? This is the misconception I hear most, and it’s usually because people cook plant foods without flavor strategies. Steamed vegetables with nothing added will taste flat to anyone, at any age. When your senses are a little quieter, you simply need to be a little more generous with flavor, and plants are wonderfully good at it. Here’s my kitchen toolkit for a dulled palate: Build savory depth: Savory, or umami, flavor gives food that satisfying “more-ish” quality. Plant foods that deliver it include mushrooms, miso, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, tamari, nutritional yeast, and caramelized onions. A spoonful of miso stirred into a vegetable soup, or mushrooms roasted until golden, can transform a dish that previously fell flat. Add brightness at the end: A squeeze of lemon or lime, or a splash of good vinegar, wakes everything up. It’s the fastest way to make a dish taste more vivid, and it means you can rely less on salt. If you’ve ever tasted a bland soup and felt it was missing something, it’s often acid, not salt, that’s needed. Roast, toast and caramelize: Heat creates flavor. Roast vegetables at high heat until the edges brown, toast nuts and seeds in a dry pan, and lightly toast spices before using them all to deepen taste and aroma. Roasted sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots are completely different foods from boiled ones. Finish with fresh aroma: Because smell is what tends to fade, give it extra help. Scatter fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, cilantro, or mint, over the plate just before serving. Add lemon zest, freshly ground pepper, or a little grated ginger and garlic. The aroma rises as you lift the fork, and your nose gets to join the meal. Play with texture, color, and temperature: Transitioning into the digital nomad lifestyle gradually can help you adjust to the challenges and opportunities it presents. Start with shorter trips or part-time remote work before committing to long-term travel. Starting slow will help you acclimate to remote work and travel while minimizing stress and overwhelm. Make it a small experiment You don’t need to overhaul your cooking. Pick one meal this week, perhaps a bowl of lentil soup or a tray of roasted vegetables, and try just two changes. Add a spoonful of miso or tomato paste while it cooks, and finish with lemon and fresh herbs. Then taste it and notice the difference. That small moment of surprise, “oh, this actually tastes good,” is often the spark that gets people excited about food again. When to check in with your doctor Gradual dulling of taste and smell is common, but sudden changes, or a complete loss of smell, deserve a conversation with your doctor. So does any change that started with a new medication. A weaker sense of smell can also make it harder to notice hazards. People with a poor ability to smell may miss cues like gas leaks, fire, and spoiled food, so check use-by dates and consider a working smoke and gas detector. Bring the joy back to your plate Eating well after 50 isn’t only about what’s good for you. It’s about food you look forward to. When meals are flavorful and satisfying, you’re far more likely to cook, to eat a wider variety of real foods, and to stick with the simple habits that support your energy and digestion. You don’t have to accept flat, joyless food as “just part of getting older.” A few simple kitchen tricks can bring back the color, aroma, and pleasure. Ready to get your energy and enjoyment of food back? If you’d like to experience this for yourself, I’m currently running a free 5-Day Energy Fix Challenge for women over 50. We work together one-on-one to uncover your personal energy drains and show you exactly what to add to your plate to feel like yourself again. Message me the word energy on Facebook or Instagram, and I’ll send you the details, or visit Empower and Nourish to learn more about how I help adults over 50 restore their energy and improve digestion with simple, whole-food, plant-based nutrition habits. Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Sonia Grant Sonia Grant, Certified Health & Wellness Coach Sonia Grant is a certified health and wellness coach and founder of Empower and Nourish, helping adults over 50 restore their energy and improve digestion through simple, whole-food, plant-based nutrition habits. Through her signature E.N.E.R.G.Y Method, she guides clients to build lasting habits so they can wake up feeling energized, clear-headed, and confident in their health again. References: [1] National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2016, March 3). Problems with ability to smell or taste common in middle-aged and older adults. National Institutes of Health.

Written by Juna Ting-Wei Chang, Forest Therapy Guide Juna Ting-Wei Chang is a forest therapy guide and founder of Shinrin-Yoku Taiwan, specialising in evidence-based forest therapy and Shinrin-yoku. She supports individuals and organisations in slowing down and gently returning their attention to themselves and the more-than-human world through nature. Most forest programs use nature as a backdrop or resource for human-led activities. Relational Forest Therapy flips that script entirely, and as a guide trained in the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) method, I can tell you how powerful the difference is. Here's something I tell every new participant before we even step onto the trail. In ANFT, we do not “teach” you how to do things. We provide a series of “invitations” to help you connect with nature and see what it wants to offer you today. That sentence usually gets a raised eyebrow. We're conditioned to expect a guide who narrates, instructs, and fills the silence with expertise. But that expectation is exactly what Relational Forest Therapy™, the framework developed by ANFT, asks us to unlearn. Our founder, Amos Clifford, puts it in eight words that have become something like our north star: "Forest is the therapist. Guides open the door." – Amos Clifford, Founder, ANFT If you've experienced other forms of forest bathing, ecotherapy, or nature-based wellness, you may assume this is just semantics. It isn't. It's the difference between two completely different relationships with the natural world, and once you see it, you can't unsee it. The model most of us grew up with: Nature as resource Let's be honest about how most wellness culture treats the outdoors. Nature is where we go to get something, clearer lungs, a calmer nervous system, better sleep, a nice photo for the feed. The forest becomes a gym with fresher air, a resource we extract benefits from. Programs built on this model tend to look the same everywhere, a guide leads a group through a checklist of activities, breathing exercises, journaling prompts, a bit of nature trivia, all of it happening in the forest rather than with it. The human is the main character. The forest is set dressing. There's nothing wrong with this. It still gets people outside, off their phones, and breathing more deeply. But it stops short of something bigger that's available to us. What changes when you make it relational Relational Forest Therapy starts from a different question entirely, not "what can I get from this forest?" but "what does it look like to be in the right relationship with it?" That single reframe changes the guide's whole job description. Instead of leading, we invite. Instead of interpreting the forest for you, we get out of the way so it can reach you directly, through your senses, at your own pace, on your own terms. This isn't just a nicer philosophy. It's rooted in a real lineage. ANFT's framework braids together Japanese shinrin-yoku (forest bathing, introduced in the 1980s as a public health approach to stress and well-being), the emerging field of ecotherapy, and a founding mission shaped directly by concern over global warming and environmental catastrophe. Amos Clifford founded the organization in 2012 with a simple premise, people protect what they love, and meaningful relationships with nature can help rekindle our sense of connection to the living world. Forest is the therapist Relational Forest Therapy asks you to build a relationship with the forest and trusts that the forest, not the guide, is the one actually qualified to do the healing. We do not teach people about trees. We provide invitations and witness what happens when a person finally stops performing wellness and lets the forest meet them instead. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Juna Ting-Wei Chang Juna Ting-Wei Chang, Forest Therapy Guide Juna Ting-Wei Chang is a forest therapy guide and founder of Shinrin-Yoku Taiwan, now part of Green Shower. She is the first Taiwanese guide certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) and also holds the Taiwan Forest Therapist Certificate. With a background in languages, cross-cultural experience, and landscape and recreation management, Juna brings science, tradition, and lived experience together in a warm, grounded way. Her work supports individuals, organisations, and international groups in cultivating emotional resilience, presence, and sustainable wellbeing through nature-based practices.

Written by Paula Rose Castronova, Global Sustainability Voice Paula Rose Castronova is a sustainability leader and speaker who turns complex concepts into practical action. She champions sustainability as a human issue, uniting strategy and everyday choices to align purpose with performance and inspire systemic, real-world change. Sustainability is often discussed through the lens of climate change, renewable energy, biodiversity, resource efficiency, and sustainable development. Beneath these issues lies a fundamental requirement, peace. A healthy planet cannot be separated from a healthy society. Where there is conflict, inequality, displacement, and insecurity, sustainability becomes harder to achieve. Communities struggling to survive cannot prioritize long-term environmental protection, while nations consumed by conflict often divert resources away from conservation, climate action, and sustainable development. Peace is not simply the absence of war, it is the foundation upon which sustainable societies can be built. It creates the stability, cooperation, trust, and shared responsibility needed to protect people, biodiversity, and the planet. If sustainability is about ensuring that life can flourish now and into the future, then peace must be understood as one of its essential conditions. Sustainability is a moral obligation At its heart, sustainability is an ethical question. It asks us to consider not only what we want today, but what our choices mean for other people, other species, and future generations. It challenges the idea that we have an unlimited right to consume resources, exploit ecosystems, or place environmental costs on communities that have contributed the least. This makes sustainability as much a moral obligation as an environmental one. We have inherited a planet with finite resources and extraordinary ecological complexity. Our responsibility is not simply to extract value from it, but to act as custodians of the conditions that make life possible. Peace strengthens that responsibility because it encourages us to see ourselves as part of a shared human community rather than as competing groups. Conflict creates an environment where immediate survival takes precedence over long-term stewardship. Peace, by contrast, allows us to ask bigger questions, "How should resources be shared? How can communities thrive without destroying ecosystems? How do we protect those who are most vulnerable? What kind of world do we want to leave to our children?" These are sustainability questions, but they are also questions of justice. Social stability builds a sustainable society Sustainability is sometimes presented as an environmental challenge, but environmental outcomes are deeply connected to social conditions. A community experiencing poverty, political instability, or displacement has limited capacity to invest in sustainable infrastructure, protect natural habitats, or transition toward cleaner technologies. When people are focused on finding food, water, shelter, and safety, environmental protection can become a distant priority. This does not mean that vulnerable communities do not care about the environment. The opposite is true, communities living closest to nature often have a deep knowledge of ecosystems and depend on them for their livelihoods and wellbeing. Peace creates the conditions in which communities can plan for the future. It enables governments and citizens to invest in education, healthcare, infrastructure, renewable energy, conservation, and resilient food systems. It also allows people to participate meaningfully in decisions about their environment. A sustainable society therefore needs social cohesion, strong institutions, equitable opportunities, and a sense that people have a stake in the future. Conflict has an environmental cost War and environmental destruction are often discussed separately, but they are increasingly interconnected. Armed conflict can damage forests, agricultural land, waterways, and infrastructure. It can contaminate soil and water, destroy habitats, and disrupt food systems. The environmental consequences can continue long after fighting has ended. Conflict can also force people from their homes, creating displacement and placing additional pressure on resources in areas receiving displaced populations. There is another, less visible cost, the opportunity cost. Resources directed toward conflict cannot simultaneously be invested in climate adaptation, ecosystem restoration, clean energy, sustainable agriculture, or resilient communities. This creates a vicious cycle. Environmental degradation contributes to resource insecurity, while conflict can accelerate environmental degradation. Breaking that cycle requires us to recognize peacebuilding and environmental stewardship as complementary goals rather than separate agendas. Biodiversity needs peace Biodiversity is the living foundation of our planet. Forests, wetlands, oceans, grasslands, rivers, and countless species collectively provide the ecological systems upon which human societies depend. They regulate climate, pollinate crops, store carbon, filter water, protect coastlines, and support food systems. Yet biodiversity is under enormous pressure from habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation, invasive species, and climate change. Peace matters because protecting biodiversity requires long-term cooperation. Ecosystems do not recognize political borders, rivers flow between countries, migratory birds cross continents, fish move through international waters, and forests and wildlife corridors frequently span multiple jurisdictions. Protecting these systems requires nations and communities to cooperate. Peace creates the diplomatic relationships and institutional stability necessary for that cooperation. It helps create space for Indigenous peoples and local communities to participate in conservation and land management. Their knowledge and stewardship have an essential role to play in protecting ecosystems, particularly when decision-making respects rights, culture, and connection to country. Biodiversity conservation is an expression of our willingness to coexist, not only with one another but with the more-than-human world. Planetary health is collective health The concept of planetary health reminds us that human health and environmental health are inseparable. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the ecosystems around us all influence human wellbeing. When ecological systems become unstable, human societies become vulnerable. Climate change can intensify heat, drought, flooding, and food insecurity. Ecosystem degradation undermines livelihoods, pollution damages human health, loss of biodiversity weakens the resilience of natural systems, and these impacts do not fall equally. Communities with fewer resources are less able to adapt to environmental disruption, even though they contribute comparatively little to global environmental pressures. This creates a profound question of fairness. If sustainability is about planetary health, then it must also be about human dignity, and if human dignity matters, peace matters. A sustainable future cannot be one where some communities enjoy environmental security while others live with pollution, displacement, resource scarcity, or ecological collapse. Peace enables collaboration The scale of today’s environmental challenges is not something any single individual, organization, or country can solve alone. Climate change requires international cooperation, biodiversity protection requires cross-border collaboration, ocean health requires collective governance, and sustainable development requires partnerships between governments, business, communities, scientists, and civil society. Peace makes that cooperation possible because it creates the trust required to share knowledge, develop agreements, establish common goals, and invest in solutions that take decades to deliver. Sustainability calls for us to think beyond short-term interests, and peace encourages the same mindset. Both ask us to move from “What can I gain?” to “What can we sustain together?” That shift in thinking is one of the most important transformations needed for a sustainable future. From competition to coexistence Modern society has often been shaped by competition, for resources, markets, territory, influence, and economic growth. Competition drives innovation, but unchecked competition also encourages exploitation. Sustainability asks us to rethink this relationship because the future cannot depend on endless consumption within a finite planetary system. Nor can it depend on societies where prosperity for one group comes at the expense of another. We need a model of coexistence, and that means recognizing that economic prosperity, social wellbeing, and environmental health are interconnected. It means moving beyond the idea that sustainability is about asking individuals to recycle more or businesses to reduce emissions. It is about designing systems that allow people and nature to thrive together. Peace provides the cultural and social foundation for this transformation, encouraging dialogue rather than division, cooperation rather than domination, and shared responsibility rather than culpability. Peace is part of the sustainability equation The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals deliberately recognize the relationship between peace, justice, strong institutions, and sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goal 16, "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions" sits within a broader framework that connects social, economic, and environmental wellbeing. This connection is significant because we cannot isolate environmental goals from the social systems surrounding them. A country may have ambitious climate policies, but if its institutions are weak, its people are excluded, and its society is unstable, implementation becomes far more difficult. Environmental progress also contributes to peace. When communities have access to reliable water, sustainable livelihoods, resilient food systems, and healthy environments, some of the pressures that contribute to social instability can be reduced. Peace and sustainability can reinforce one another by creating the conditions for each other. A responsibility to future generations Perhaps the strongest reason sustainability needs peace is that both are about the future. Every generation inherits decisions made by those before it. We inherit forests we did not plant, rivers we did not create, species we did not evolve, and a climate system we did not design. We also inherit political institutions, social values, and conflicts that may have begun generations before us. Our responsibility is to leave the next generation with opportunities rather than obstacles. That requires protecting biodiversity, strengthening communities, addressing inequality, maintaining healthy ecosystems, and building cultures of cooperation. Future generations should not have to choose between environmental survival and social stability. They must inherit a world where peace and sustainability are understood as mutually reinforcing foundations of human progress. The moral choice before us Sustainability asks us to expand our definition of responsibility. Responsibility is about the systems we create, the collective decisions we make, and the consequences those decisions have for people and the planet. Peace belongs within that conversation because a peaceful society has greater capacity to care for its vulnerable, invest in its future, protect its natural environment, and cooperate with others. A healthy environment can support resilient communities and reduce pressures that contribute to instability. The circular relationship is clear, peace supports sustainability, sustainability supports resilience, resilience supports stability, and stability creates greater opportunity for peace. If we genuinely want a sustainable future, we need to look beyond the traditional environmental agenda and ask what kind of society can sustain life. The answer must be one built on cooperation, justice, respect, and coexistence. Sustainability is not just about the environment. It is also about creating the conditions in which people, communities, and the natural world can continue to flourish together, and that requires peace. Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Paula Rose Castronova Paula Rose Castronova, Global Sustainability Voice Paula Rose Castronova is a sustainability leader, speaker, and holistic thought architect transforming how people and organizations respond to today’s defining challenges. With a career rooted in creativity, design, storytelling, and leadership, she turns complex sustainability ideas into clear, actionable pathways. She sees sustainability as fundamentally human, shaped by how we live, lead, consume, and connect. As an Active Sustainability Director, she identifies opportunities where others see obstacles, using systems thinking to link environmental, social, and economic issues. Through her writing, speaking, and strategy, she bridges policy and daily action, turning knowledge into meaningful change.

For Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, music has never been only about performing a song well. It is about noticing the details people often overlook and finding a way to turn those moments into something others can recognise. Now based in Chicago, the British vocalist and songwriter performs a mix of jazz and contemporary folk at intimate venues, private events, coffeehouses, and seasonal festivals around the city. Her work is shaped by two musical traditions that may seem different on the surface but share something important underneath: both depend heavily on storytelling. “I’ve always been drawn to music that feels like someone is actually trying to tell you something,” Naqvi says. “A beautiful voice matters, but I think people remember how a song made them feel much longer than they remember whether every note was perfect.” How did Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi get started in music? Naqvi grew up in southern England in an environment where music, books, and the arts were a regular part of life. She began singing through school choirs and local community performances, experiences that gave her an early understanding of what it meant to perform alongside other people. Her musical interests became broader as she got older. During her university years, she found herself increasingly interested in jazz and acoustic folk music. Jazz introduced her to interpretation. Folk music showed her how much could be accomplished with relatively simple arrangements and strong writing. “What interested me was that two singers could perform the same song and make it feel completely different,” she says. “That idea really stayed with me. A song isn’t finished just because the words and melody already exist. The performer still has to bring something honest to it.” That approach continues to influence the way she works today. Why Chicago became an important part of her creative life Moving from England to Chicago introduced Naqvi to a city with a very different musical landscape. Chicago’s long history of jazz, blues, folk, and independent music gave her plenty to explore, but the smaller venues were what interested her most. Rather than focusing only on large stages, she became comfortable performing in neighborhood jazz lounges, coffeehouses, private gatherings, and community events. Those settings suit her style. They allow for a closer connection between performer and audience. “In a smaller room, you can tell when people are really listening,” Naqvi says. “There’s nowhere to hide behind production. You have to be present, and I actually enjoy that.” Her sets often combine jazz standards with folk-influenced material and original songwriting. She is particularly interested in songs about resilience, ordinary relationships, changing seasons of life, and the small routines that quietly shape people. What inspires Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi’s songwriting? Some of Naqvi’s creative interests happen far away from a microphone. She enjoys walking through Chicago’s historic neighborhoods, studying architecture, taking street photographs, and spending time in independent coffee shops. She also reads widely, including classic British literature and contemporary fiction. These interests all feed into her songwriting in different ways. Photography, in particular, has encouraged her to pay closer attention to ordinary scenes. “A photograph can be interesting because of one tiny detail in the corner,” she says. “Songwriting can work the same way. Sometimes the smallest observation gives you the whole story.” Instead of beginning every song with a broad theme, she often starts with an image, a phrase, or an interaction that stays in her mind. From there, she develops the idea gradually. Reading has also influenced her interest in character and perspective. She likes songs that reveal something slowly rather than explaining everything immediately. Why youth music education matters to her Naqvi’s interest in music also extends into community work. She volunteers with youth music education programmes in Chicago, helping with beginner songwriting workshops and vocal sessions. For younger students, she tries to make creativity feel accessible. A child does not need advanced musical training to write a few lines, create a melody, or experiment with their voice. Naqvi believes those early experiences can be valuable even if the student never decides to pursue music professionally. “Children can be very creative before they start worrying about whether something is good enough,” she says. “I try not to take that freedom away from them.” Her workshops often focus on simple exercises, such as writing about a familiar place, describing a memory, or creating lyrics from everyday observations. The goal is not technical perfection. It is helping students understand that their own ideas are worth exploring. Creativity beyond the stage Away from music, Naqvi remains closely involved with Chicago’s local culture. She enjoys visiting independent music venues, supporting local artists, exploring different neighborhoods, and attending community events. She also spends time around youth soccer and helps with coaching and team activities. Although music and soccer require very different skills, she sees similarities in the way people improve. Both reward consistency. Both require listening. Both involve learning how to contribute without needing to be the centre of attention. That mindset has shaped the way Naqvi approaches her own career. She continues to perform, write, coach, volunteer, and explore the city around her without treating creativity as something limited to one part of life. “I think inspiration becomes easier to find when you stay curious,” she says. “You don’t always need a dramatic experience. Sometimes you just need to pay closer attention to what is already around you.” For Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, that attention remains at the centre of the work. Music may be the form she knows best, but observation, community, and storytelling are what continue to give it meaning.

Fahim Billah was ten years old when his family moved from Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He didn't speak the way his classmates spoke, didn't know the school system, and didn't yet understand how much of his new city ran on institutions that cost nothing to use. The public library was one of the first places that made sense to him. It wasn't a grand discovery. It was a quiet one. A place with no entry fee, no explanation required, where a kid who was still catching up on English could sit for hours and figure things out at his own pace. That habit stuck. Decades later, Fahim Billah still treats free access to information as one of the clearest measures of whether a community is actually giving its students a fair shot. Halifax's libraries as a second classroom Growing up in Halifax, Fahim spent a lot of time around libraries, university areas, and the waterfront, often with friends or family in tow. He noticed something that would later shape his entire professional direction: some students arrived at university already knowing how it worked, because a parent or older sibling had gone before them. Others had to learn everything from scratch, often by asking a librarian or a teacher the kind of question their own family couldn't answer. That gap, between students with an inside track and students without one, became the question Fahim kept returning to as he got older. Studying the systems behind opportunity Fahim completed his undergraduate studies at Dalhousie University, where his coursework moved steadily toward education, social research, and community development. He wasn't drawn to abstract theory for its own sake. He wanted to understand, specifically, why access to information and resources was so uneven among students who were otherwise capable of the same work. He later moved to Reno, Nevada, for graduate studies, in part because he wanted to see the American education system up close rather than study it only from a Canadian vantage point. His graduate work let him dig into educational access, first-generation students, and the link between education and economic opportunity, the same thread that had started in a Halifax library years earlier. Building an independent practice around access Fahim's early professional experience came through research assistant work and a role as an education program coordinator, where he worked directly with students and community organizations. That stretch taught him something libraries alone couldn't: researching a problem and actually helping someone through it are two different skills, and both matter. From there, he moved into independent work as an education researcher, educator, and consultant. The flexibility suited him. Rather than being tied to one institution, he could take on research, writing, and community projects wherever the need was, while keeping his focus fixed on the same question he'd carried since childhood: who has access, who doesn't, and what changes that. Small contributions, direct impact That same conviction shows up in how Fahim gives back. He contributes to small scholarships, buys books and learning materials for students, and offers informal mentorship, usually through community organizations rather than a large foundation. He prefers it this way. He can see where a contribution lands and whether it actually helps. It's the same logic as the library card he used as a kid: support doesn't need to be enormous to matter. It needs to be reachable. What he's carrying forward Fahim still reads every evening, still keeps a running research notebook, and still gravitates toward bookstores and libraries wherever he travels. The habits from Halifax never really left him. They just became the foundation for a career built on a simple belief: a student's future often depends less on talent than on whether the right door happened to be unlocked. Fahim Billah's work, from his graduate research to his independent consulting today, keeps circling back to that same unlocked door. He is still early in his career, still building his body of work, but the idea driving it hasn't changed since he was a ten-year-old figuring out a new country one library visit at a time.

Collecting gives people a practical way to preserve memories, celebrate creative work, and study cultural history. A first purchase does not need to be rare or expensive. Beginners can start with a clear theme, a modest budget, and suitable storage. Figures, plush toys, trading cards, comics, coins, stamps, games, and posters all offer distinct benefits. The right category depends on personal interest, available space, condition standards, and willingness to research each purchase. Licensed character merchandise has become an accessible entry point for people who want attractive items without searching through antique markets. Youtooz Collectibles illustrates how figures and plush products can connect entertainment, creator culture, and display-friendly design. Buyers can compare sizes, release details, materials, and packaging before making a decision. That information helps new collectors build a focused assortment. Figures and statues Figures suit collectors who want a strong visual display. Vinyl pieces often require limited shelf space, while resin statues need more careful placement because of their weight and fragile parts. Buyers should examine paint application, sculpting detail, licensing marks, edition numbers, and box condition. Choosing one character, series, or artistic style creates direction and limits unnecessary spending. Plush collectibles Common themes include animated characters, game icons, musicians, and online creators. Size warrants attention because a large cushion can occupy more room than several small items. Check stitching, fabric density, filling, care instructions, and production labels. Clean shelves, dry air, and reduced sunlight help protect fibers and color. Trading cards Sports issues, game releases, entertainment sets, and promotional cards attract different audiences. New collectors should learn about centering, surface marks, corners, sleeves, and grading services. A spreadsheet can record card numbers, purchase costs, duplicates, and missing entries. Those records reveal spending patterns and make set completion easier to manage. Comics and manga Comics and manga appeal to readers who value narrative, illustration, and publication history. First issues, variant covers, signed copies, and complete runs may receive stronger interest. Paper should remain upright in protective bags with backing boards, away from heat and moisture. Avoid bending spines or stacking heavy objects above them. Condition often affects desirability more than age. Coins and currency Coins and banknotes offer a direct connection to political, economic, and social history. Some collectors focus on countries, dates, metals, mint marks, errors, or former currencies. Cleaning an old coin can create scratches and remove natural surface character, which may reduce collector interest. Reference guides help identify varieties and grading terms. Holders and albums provide safer storage than loose jars. Stamps and postal history Stamps remain affordable for beginners, with many costing very little. Possible themes include animals, transport, holidays, public figures, and scientific discoveries. Albums, tweezers, protective mounts, and dry storage help prevent handling damage. Moisture may weaken paper, while strong sunlight can cause ink to fade. Postal covers and cancellation marks add context. Vintage toys and games Vintage toys and board games connect material history with childhood memories. Action figures, building sets, dolls, handheld electronics, and boxed games are common choices. Complete packaging, instruction sheets, accessories, and working components can affect interest. Test electronic items carefully and check for corrosion or missing parts. While age is an important factor, condition, authenticity, completeness, and demand should also be considered. Art prints and posters Art prints and posters work well for collectors who prefer wall displays. Music tours, films, exhibitions, political campaigns, and independent artists offer varied subjects. Buyers should examine paper weight, printing method, signatures, edition size, and visible damage. Acid-free framing reduces yellowing and helps limit warping. Measuring available wall space first prevents oversized purchases from creating problems. Limited releases and blind boxes Limited releases may involve short production runs, timed sales, or numbered editions. Blind boxes add uncertainty because the specific design remains unknown until opening. Set a spending limit before buying several units, especially when rare variants encourage repeat purchases. Scarcity does not guarantee lasting demand. Items connected to genuine interests generally provide stronger long-term satisfaction. Conclusion Collectibles can preserve personal interests while introducing beginners to art, history, design, and research. Start with one clear theme, establish a budget, and think about storage before purchases increase. Thoughtful selection matters more than rapid growth. With consistent records and sensible care, a modest collection can become meaningful, attractive, and manageable for years.