Dr Waheed Arian

22/05/2024

29/04/2024

What does healing from trauma look like?

I was invited by the Royal College of Physicians - centuries old prestigious organisation of 30 medical specialties - to open their annual conference 'Medicine 24' with a keynote in front of thousands of esteemed attendees, nationally and globally.

The conference was near a restaurant where I worked as a kitchen porter 22 years ago. I stood on the staircase of that kitchen where I used to take a break and dream of getting into a medical school. I had very little formal education, no family support, and had recently arrived as a child refugee.

I was also battling PTSD and anxiety from war and displacement. I couldn't speak in front of a class of 10 people without shaking and sweating. I had no clue how to overcome PTSD and anxiety, and get an education to become a doctor. BUT I didn't give up on hope.

I combined hope and determination with seeking professional psychological help to overcome my traumas and restart a new life.

On stage, I remembered it all and took a moment to see for my eyes how far I had come. Moments like this are what healing from traumas and fulfilling dreams looks like.

During my talk, I invited my colleagues to continue dreaming about changing the future of medicine by focusing on disparities in our communities to reduce inequalities for all, including marginalised populations.

One area in particular that needs urgent attention is mental health, with 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 5 children suffering immensely. There's a clear lack/inadequacy of trauma-informed and culturally sensitive specialist-led psychological services. That's what our team of clinical psychologists and registered therapists at A***n Wellbeing are addressing. We have now opened our services to the public, too. You can find out here.

Our healthcare colleagues are also suffering from day to day pressures, continuous trauma, and moral injury. They also need the trauma-informed and specialist-led mental health services, not just the superficial preventative measures currently in place.

Supporting the mental health of the public, including marginalised populations, and our traumatised clinical colleagues is what drives me and our A***n Wellbeing team every day.

Healing from trauma is possible. Don't give up on hope and seek professional psychological help when you need to.

Our team of highly qualified clinical psychologists and registered therapists are now providing the same mental health support to the public which saved my life and gave me a future. You can find out more through this link - https://staging.arianwellbeing.com/

10/12/2023

Journey of a migrant. Invitation to House of Commons by the UN and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

In times when migrants are once again reduced to faceless 'numbers' by some, my journey is one of many examples of how migration enriches our society:
1999 - forced to leave family in Afghanistan to seek safety in UK aged 15 having lived childhood in war and camps. 2001 - started college (A-levels) with not much formal education or command of English. 2003 - got admitted to study medicine at Cambridge University despite many discouraging, saying I wasn't white and not educated enough. 2006 - graduated from Cambridge and finished studies at Harvard and Imperial despite battling PTSD and loneliness. 2010 - qualified as a doctor, and have since been proudly serving people in the NHS and 🌎 as a doctor. 2015 - founded pioneering charity Teleheal. 2023 - founded innovative digital mental health service A***n Wellbeing to provide high quality and culturally appropriate services to everyone, including hard to reach populations. 2023 - invited to House of Commons by the
UN and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to mark the upcoming Global Refugee Forum 2023.

In case of refugees, millions of people are forced to displace internally or externally. They leave destruction and everything behind as we have recently witnessed it and carry unimaginable traumas to find safety and new homes. But they go on to show immense resilience to rebuild their lives and contribute significantly to every aspect of our society.

From serving people in the NHS to helping those in need in society, I take pride in giving back to the country and people who have embraced me. Countless others like me do, too.

Let's celebrate all the great things migrants and refugees do in our communities instead of using them as soft political targets.

19/10/2023

STOP THE BLOODSHED

When bullets were whistling near our ears
When rockets were screeching in the sky above
When bombs were shaking the ground beneath
When our siblings were not answering
When our neighbours were vanishing into thin air
When our homes were turning into dust
When our hearts were pounding out of our
chests
When we had nightmares of being blown to pieces

That's when we wanted it all to stop for a moment -

To feel if we could live one more day
To breathe fresh air one more moment
To hug our parents one more time
That's when we wanted the world to listen to our lost voices, screaming -
STOP THE BLOODSHED

That's what I remember what my childhood friends and I were going through in Afghanistan

My heart breaks for the Palestinian and Israeli families and children, and millions of innocent civilians in Gaza who have been suffering horrifyingly for the past few days.
I can only imagine what they are going through, but I could only tell they are also shouting -
STOP THE BLOODSHED

It's sad we can't listen to their voices, instead we keep speaking from our egos, our moral campuses, our allegiances and political beliefs, most of which is feeding into more violence, hatred and bombing. This in particular applies to the 'moral guardians' who have never been in war, never been displaced, and never been terrified as millions of children are in Gaza.

If only we could listen to their lost voices saying - CEASEFIRE

17/10/2023

words matter. let that be PEACE

10/10/2023

17 years ago today, I had my 1st mental breakdown.

It was a horrible experience, too painful to put on a social media post. Before that day, my whole life, I had locked my traumas and pretended to be living a normal life. I thought no one could truly comprehend the turmoil I was experiencing.

If there is a positive to take from that day, for me it’s the awareness of Mental Health it has raised in my friends, family, and in public. Suddenly, mental health issues couldn't be hidden or swept under the rug. I was unwell for years after, and my journey to healing is ongoing, but I found friends and a community that embraced me for who I am, scars and all.

Looking back, I see now that there's strength in opening up and letting others in. by sharing ourselves with others (when we feel safe to do so), we allow ourselves to be seen. By leaning into vulnerability, we can learn to embrace the power at the other side of our pain.

On World Mental Health Day, please consider sharing my message of hope with others who might need it to survive and live. 🙏

01/10/2023

Emergency Fund launch for displaced people

A great privilege to be on the panel of UN Refugee Agency to support the launch of their Emergency Fund.

As a child, I have personally benefited from their critical support when our family was facing one emergency after another in the midst of conflict and displacement. I remember us surviving on the food ration given to us in a refugee camp just like the man receiving it in the last picture.

Their work is live-saving and life-changing, including the psycho-social support to stabilise those experiencing horrendous traumas.

There are 450 million children of war and around 110 million forcibly displaced people. What's happening them is sadly a matter of luck. It could be any of us.

I was also thrilled to meet the amazing Imad in person, whose infectious smile and delicious food energised the entire event.

Thank you for the beautiful ornament gift made by an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.

With sincere thanks to the brilliant UK for UNHCR team for bringing many inspirational and philanthropic people together.

28/09/2023

hello everyone 👋

thanks so much, everyone, for sharing my messages 🙏

warm welcome to my new followers!
I'm honoured you have chosen to connect with me ❤

I talk about the importance of migration, kindness, hope/resilience and mental health 🫂

I share the life lessons I've learned through my own journey of living in warzone and displacement to becoming a doctor, and the lessons I learn from helping patients and meeting inspiring people at work and in philanthropy 🚑🚨

I hope we will learn together and support each other in this journey called life. Let's continue sharing our messages of hope 🌎
.....

For my new followers, below is a bit about my me taken from my memoir. You can find out more from links in my bio:

'Waheed A***n was born in Afghanistan spending his entire childhood in war and refugee camps, dodging bombs and suffering from TB, malaria and malnutrition. He is now an emergency medicine doctor in the NHS UK, author of the bestselling memoir In the Wars and a philanthropist.

Waheed is the founder of the innovative mental health service ***nWellbeing that provides trauma-informed and culturally sensitive psychological and exercise therapies to everyone regardless of background.

As an adviser, he helps global organizations and governments with the development of innovations in their healthcare and education systems to reduce inequalities and provide high quality services to everyone.

Waheed is an NHS Innovation Mentor and was appointed in 2019 to the WHO Roster of Digital Health Experts. Recognized as a UNESCO Global Hope Hero and a UN Global Goals Goalkeeper, in 2021 he was named Doctor of the Year in the Who Cares Wins Awards and was chosen by The Times as Person of the Year.'

11/09/2023

My BBC HARDTalk interview is on repeat broadcast globally.

I was interviewed on BBC HARDTalk, TV and Radio, earlier this earlier. The interview was broadcast around the world.

I'm really humbled to know that by popular demand, my interview is being broadcast again worldwide, which is important at a time when there is a rise of extreme anti-migration rhetoric.

Broadcast times are in third image or you can watch/listen online. I will put the following link on my stories:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct32mk

"Waheed A***n: Migration in the Western world
HARDtalk:
War and extreme poverty drive millions of people from their homes every year. Some of them try to reach the rich Western world, where such inward migration routinely prompts fear and draconian counter-measures. Stephen Sackur interviews Waheed A***n, who fled war in Afghanistan as a child, made it to the UK and is now a doctor running his own medical charity. Do perceptions change when the story of migration is personalised?"

06/09/2023

Dream = helping others 🥹❤️

There's no higher purpose than preparing yourself for a life-long journey to make the world a better place for others in whatever you do in life.

This mindset can set you free to dream as big as you wish and do it in your own way.

Everything else will fall into place if you manage to have clarity on how to live a life full of purpose and presence.

I remind myself of my purpose everyday, to help those in need regardless of their background, in the NHS and through our mental health initiative.

Dare to dream ❤️

05/09/2023

Dreams come true - my journey of reading books from streets of war-torn Kabul to becoming an author.

I was born into Afghanistan conflict and grew up running constantly from bombs and diseases in refugee camps.

Most of my self-education happened while hiding in cellars by reading books sold on the streets of Kabul and in camps. I persisted as I believed in a better world where people can be safe, where kindness exists regardless of backgrounds, and where dreams can come true no matter how big or unrealistic.

I've written a memoir to inform and inspire others in life to never stop dreaming and never stop believing in yourself no matter your life circumstances or challenges.

This is the message I would also give to my younger vulnerable self who struggled with displacement, homelessness and PTSD.

My book, In The Wars, is a bestseller. Being able to spread my messages of hope, kindness and the power of giving widely means the world to me rather than the 'bestseller' accolade.