Reema Ayub – Where Psychology Meets Corporate

In the dense emotional fabric of South Asia, where languages shift every few hundred kilometers and religions diverge across neighborhoods, something still feels hauntingly familiar. Whether it is the tone of a mother’s scolding, the rituals of a wedding, or the shame attached to a woman’s honor, we see that India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—even with their religious differences—echo the same culture. This shared cultural inheritance is not accidental. It is rooted in history, biology, and a deeper psychological truth: we often live out what we carry in our DNA. As a clinical psychologist and researcher of South Asian societies, I have repeatedly noticed how people in all three countries often end up thinking, feeling, and even fearing the same things. Many of these scripts are internalized from birth and unconsciously passed down through generations. What we call ‘culture’ is often a living memory of instructions—spoken and unspoken—that go back to ancient structures of power and contro...

There is something poetic about the first rain of the season. It softens the air, awakens the earth, and brings a sense of calm to many. But for individuals with heightened sensitivities, especially those with existing respiratory or dermatological conditions, the monsoon can become a season of distress rather than delight. As a clinical psychologist, I have worked with numerous individuals who experience increased physical and emotional discomfort during the rainy season. While it may appear purely physical, monsoon allergy is not just a dermatological or respiratory issue—it often becomes a psychosomatic struggle as well. In Pakistan and other South Asian regions, the humid, damp environment of the monsoon fosters mold, pollen, and bacterial growth, which significantly worsen allergy symptoms. People with asthma, eczema, or sinus issues often report intensified reactions—itching skin, rashes, sneezing, watery eyes, and even fatigue. However, these symptoms do not exist in isolation. ...

In clinical settings, especially in emergency or outpatient departments (OPDs), women often arrive with symptoms that seem physical on the surface, but their roots may lie deep within the psyche. As a woman counselor, I have observed again and again that traditional direct questioning often falls short when it comes to uncovering the true cause of distress. This is where the unconscious reading approach becomes not just helpful, but essential. The unconscious mind holds the truths that the conscious self cannot yet admit or articulate. For many women, especially those from conservative or patriarchal backgrounds, speaking openly about psychological or emotional distress can feel dangerous or shameful. In the OPD, a woman may complain of chest pain, shortness of breath, or chronic fatigue. Her tests might come back normal, but her suffering is not imaginary. It's real. And it lies in the unconscious, waiting to be heard in silence. What makes unconscious reading powerful is that it ...

In everyday clinical practice, medication decisions are rarely made lightly. When a person sits across from me describing relentless panic or sleepless nights, the immediate aim is not theoretical purity but humane relief. Benzodiazepines—often abbreviated as “benzos”—have long been part of that relief toolkit. Yet stigma around them can leave patients feeling guilty for experiencing genuine benefit. This essay addresses that tension and reassures readers that when a benzodiazepine is helping, it is entirely acceptable to acknowledge and embrace that success. Benzodiazepines exert their therapeutic action by enhancing the inhibitory effect of gamma‑aminobutyric acid (GABA) at the synapse, producing a rapid calming of neural circuits involved in hyper‑arousal. For people whose amygdalae have been on perpetual high alert, that quieting can feel like the first deep exhale after years of breath‑holding. The speed at which these agents relieve acute anxiety and facilitate sleep is precisely...

The Government of Punjab often announces subsidies and schemes in the name of “free healthcare,” as if these policies are a healing touch to the masses. DHQ (District Headquarters) hospitals are officially equipped with facilities, medicines, and staff to serve low-income individuals—especially those with chronic illnesses and mental health concerns. On paper, these subsidies appear generous and progressive. In reality, they are simply numbers to balance a budget—nothing more than superficial declarations to fulfill statistical promises. The deeper one goes inside these hospital walls, the more visible becomes a culture of hierarchy, gatekeeping, and systemic control, all held by the hands of medical superintendents (MS) and doctors who have transformed public care into psychological warfare. As a clinical psychologist, I have witnessed how the power structure in government hospitals—especially DHQs—functions more like a command post than a healing institution. Those who are mentally u...

As a clinical psychologist, one of the most fundamental observations I’ve made across therapy rooms, organizational settings, and interpersonal conflicts is that communication often fails not because of lack of information, but because of mismatched psychological maturity. People speak from their own level of awareness, emotional regulation, and cognitive development, assuming that the listener shares the same lens. However, this assumption is both clinically inaccurate and relationally damaging. The truth is, before engaging in deep conversation, advice, or confrontation, one must first assess whether the other person possesses the mental readiness to receive and process the communication constructively. Mental maturity involves several components. It includes emotional regulation, impulse control, empathy, perspective-taking, and the ability to tolerate ambiguity. Not every adult has developed these capacities equally. Just because someone is chronologically mature does not mean they...

 Fiverr has evolved into a vital resource for business development executives seeking to expand their company’s reach, implement new strategies, and streamline operational workflows. As a digital marketplace offering a wide spectrum of freelance services, it empowers executives to access a global talent pool with minimal lead time. This agility is particularly valuable in today’s fast-paced business environment where time-to-market and adaptability are critical to growth. For business development professionals, Fiverr enables the delegation of highly specialized tasks—ranging from branding and content creation to lead generation and data analytics. This allows internal teams to remain focused on core operations while freelancers handle execution. By distributing work in this way, executives can test new ideas, build campaigns, or refine customer acquisition strategies without the cost and commitment of permanent hires. The structured nature of Fiverr—with fixed-price gigs, clear ti...

As a clinical psychologist, it is important to understand that digital footprints—especially those created through our online behavior—can become a powerful tool for psychological manipulation, even within professional environments. Emotional vulnerability is no longer limited to interpersonal dynamics or direct communication; it now extends into the digital domain, where our data is constantly being collected, analyzed, and used to construct profiles of our preferences, triggers, fears, and beliefs. Online activity—ranging from social media interactions to browsing habits and even seemingly benign engagements like commenting on professional articles or liking posts—generates data points that contribute to what is known as a “psychographic profile.” This profile includes not only surface-level interests but also deeper psychological patterns such as emotional responses, motivational drivers, and cognitive biases. These profiles can be harnessed, often invisibly, to influence thought pr...