'Never give up': UAE women share stories of strength, healing

When her father passed away suddenly, Emirati artist of determination Asma Baker slipped into deep depression, often refusing to speak to people or even come out of her room. The first time she spoke about her pain was six years later, on a stage in front of 40,000 people. Since then, she has been advocating for mental health and wellbeing through her work.

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“I want to tell people to never give up,” she said. “Always look at the bright side and keep the people beside you close. Everything will pass.”

Asma was one of the trailblazers who spoke at the second edition of We the Women conference, organised by Khaleej Times, which took place in Dubai on Wednesday.

Helmed by Emmy-nominated Indian reporter Barkha Dutt, the event brought together prominent women from various fields to discuss a range of topics including health and mental wellness.

During a session that focused on self-care and wellness, mental agility coach Magda Snowden spoke about how she is “on a mission to shift the narrative from hero to human” so that people can deal with stress. “The hero narrative stops people asking for help,” she said.

“Resilience is your long-term strategy. Stress is a fact of life and it is going to be there all the time, sometimes on a smaller level, sometimes on a higher level. A stress-free life doesn't exist. But when you develop these mental agility skills, you will develop long-term resilience.”

An outlet

Emirati engineer Mariam Albalooshi is the first Arab expert in the field of aviation environment and is the lead negotiator for aviation climate change. A trailblazer, she said that she took to painting as an outlet from her stressful work life.

“Every time I feel like giving up, I return to my art,” she said. “Life is all about creating an outlet when the stress of life gets to you.” She said she also de-stresses by writing and has published several books as well as a weekly newspaper column, in which she shares about her life.

Simona Peter, director of business development at Fleet Line shipping, spoke about being in an industry that worked 24/7. “The field of logistics works constantly because we have to get our bread and all other needs from wherever in the world so a work-life balance is almost a semi myth,” she said. “For self-care, I break it down into bite-sized pieces throughout the day. So when I get ready, I spend five minutes, just meditating or in between work, I just walk around and catch up with the people around me.”

Hadil Al Khatib was on her way up the corporate ladder in the field of human resources when her life changed after becoming a mother. “I was in postpartum and I hit a wall with an undiagnosed disease,” she shared. “I would have all these weird gut symptoms and brain fog. The doctors said my blood work was right and everything was just in my head.”

It was a book about postpartum depletion that led her down the path of holistic wellness. She is now a certified coach in gut health and founder of Broth Lab and Roost Rotisserie.

Dr. Leila Abdel Warith, CEO of National Reference Laboratory, said it was important to manage energy more than time. "You have to be more energetic to achieve more," she said. "In order to be energetic, you need to eat well, exercise and look after yourself and your mental wellbeing, because then you are the best of your energy performance."

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