Zaid Ismail
@zaidie@zaidismail.com
Author, life coach, and mental health activist. We need to change the narrative from disorders, illnesses, and survival to accountability, understanding, and thriving.
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Demand more…of yourself
Unless you believe that you are capable of achieving more, you will always hold on to less. That belief is more about feeling worthy than it is about ability. Sometimes, we look at how our best efforts were received and assume that the negative outcomes bear testament to the value that we have to offer.…
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Fleeting Thoughts X
If I were to write without restraint, would you see my soul or judge my sanity? Sanity is elusive when it competes with the heart. The heart is not satiated by the intellect, and the intellect cannot reason with the heart. They both swim in their own orbits. Like the sun and the moon, each…
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Depression is not an illness
I realise that this is a highly contentious point. But we must recognise the elephant in the room before we are able to deal with it. The myth that depression is an illness causes more harm than the good it’s intended to achieve. Depression is the absence of hope. Preceding that is the saturation of…
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Do more than survive
Those who respect your victim-hood do so because it makes them feel better about themselves. They either feel more accomplished, or they find comfort in the familiarity of your struggle. Sometimes it gives them purpose in their need to uplift others so that their lives feel more fulfilled. Whether their intentions are good or not…
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Don’t sell yourself short
When you surrender your principles in exchange for affection, you give others permission to demand compromises rather than create understanding. Worse than this, when you make such a compromise, you undermine your worth in the relationship by giving up what you believe in, not because you changed your beliefs, but because you wanted to be…
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More than mindfulness
What we respond to reflects our personal values. How we respond reflects our ego. Emotional mindfulness is key to getting this right. Situational mindfulness is knowing which battles to choose. That’s our value system that drives our choices. Emotional mindfulness is being aware of how we feel when we choose our battles. That’s our self…
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Poetry of old
“Poetry often belies the age of the poet, but always reveals the struggles of the soul. What we write of youth, applies to old. But most would rather resist it, Than bear the truth be told. I’m in love with life. But I hate the world.” It’s possible to live life romantically, you know. Despite…
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Fear breeds sadness
Fear creates more sadness than heartbreak ever will. Fear keeps us anchored in a moment that has long since passed. Fear convinces us that we need to be protected from what we previously experienced, while distracting us from the wisdom and strength that we gained from that experience. Fear prompts us to look for signs…