A Look at the Conflict as it Unfolds in the Middle East
A Proud Palestinian Teta Defending her Land At the top of my mind, as it is for so many of you, is the renewed bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians. I can’t help but see weapons for one side, and band-aids for the other. The question that is worth asking amid this conflict is how can […]
Staying Grounded, Finding Support is Essential to Combating Imposter Syndrome
I have always been a curious learner. In high school, college, and graduate school, I looked forward to taking on the next challenge and writing papers to demonstrate my unique analysis of various treatment modalities for my patients. As a world traveler, I found joy in embarking on cumbersome journeys. I challenged myself both mentally […]
Pharmacists Should Understand Trauma, the Stress Response to Provide Effective Care
To understand trauma, we must first understand the complex structure of the brain. The human brain develops from the bottom up, starting with the part of the brain that is responsible for our survival. Next, we have the emotional center or the limbic system, which is responsible for memory, emotions, and encoding of pleasant and […]
Trauma-Informed Care Is an Essential Skill for Pharmacists
I grew up struggling to articulate what happened in my past—a past that led me around the globe and back home to my heritage in Iraqi Kurdistan, and to writing a book about my journey and living with unprocessed racial and developmental childhood trauma. Because I have few memories from my childhood, I use journaling, […]
Helina Blogs: Living in Duality
A person cannot physically be in two places at once, but their mind and soul certainly can be. When I landed in America as a teenager, I had no doubt that I was a Kurdish refugee from Iraqi Kurdistan. Being young, America quickly made its way into my mind, body, and soul—and I’m glad that […]
The Power of Individuality
I often catch myself thinking about the power of social conditioning and the myth of normalcy that society imposes on us all. The myth of normalcy tells us that we should follow a certain path and reach a certain milestone by a specific age: school, career, family, retirement, etc. I know the pressure of cultural […]
The Tale of the Peace Officer
Did you know that police officers were once called peace officers? The peace officer’s job was just what you would imagine: to keep communities peaceful. Over time, the culture of policing has shifted from keeping communities peaceful to empowering officers by the state to enforce the law, ensure the safety of citizens, and prevent crimes. […]
The Opposite of Good is Our Numbness to Pain
How it is possible that atrocities such as the Holocaust, Al-Anfal, or Halabja could ever occur? How is it that innocent civilians can be brutalized by law enforcement? Mass displacements of refugees? The Yazidi genocide in Northern Iraq? The Rohingya genocide in Myanmar? Is it because some human beings are intrinsically evil?Many would argue that […]
Exploring the Altered States of Mind: A Lesson from the Amazonians
During the winter break of 2021, I decided to pack my stuff and head for the deep Colombian Amazon Forest. I had been thinking about spending time with the indigenous people of Amazonia for a while and after two years of social isolation, stress, and turmoil, I felt the right time had come. My plane […]
Leadership Series VII: Pandemic Created Combat-Like Trauma for Pharmacists
When I was the CEO for the SC Pharmacy Association, I would visit about 20 pharmacies a week. As I was waiting to meet with the team at each pharmacy, I watched each member of the community pharmacy team run from one end of the pharmacy to the next to answer the phones that did […]
