Sam Akbar
Eating well, exercising regularly, prioritising sleep and self-care can all help to keep stress at bay. ‘But in moments of real crisis, when deep down we’re really struggling, a bath bomb ain’t gonna cut it,’ says clinical psychologist Dr Sam Akbar. Instead, she says, we need to be ‘stressilient’ – to learn how to respond to life’s hurdles and overcome its challenges.
Dr Sam Akbar knows a thing or two about stress. She’s a clinical psychologist with over a decade’s experience treating refugees who’ve survived torture, war or sexual violence. She also trains other psychologists working with trauma around the world – from those in London working with survivors of the Grenfell fire, to colleagues working in the refugee camps of northern Iraq. Despite this, she’s not dismissive when it comes to more commonplace stresses and strains. ‘There are clearly huge differences in our experiences, but comparison isn’t helpful. It creates a subtext
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