Reflections & Realisations

Chapters  00:00 Why Dr Rahat Left Conventional Medicine to Ask Why  03:51 Longevity, Functional and Preventive Medicine — What's the Difference?  04:28 What People Get Wrong About Longevity  05:51 Health Span vs Lifespan — Adding Life to Your Years  06:17 Are the Diseases of Old Age Actually Inevitable?  07:42 Investing in Your Future Self Like a Bank Account  08:29 Why Is Medicine Finally Startin...

Chapters  00:00 – Introduction 02:24 – Authenticity vs. Approval-Seeking 07:14 – Overthinking and Mental Health 12:13 – Burnout and Journaling 20:02 – Masks, Strength, and Vulnerability 29:43 – Shame, Guilt, and Self-Forgiveness 38:14 – Recovering from Eating Disorders 44:02 – Suicidal Thoughts and Support 53:02 – Career Divorce and Major Life Changes 1:08:00 – Qualifications, Impostor Syndrome, a...

Chapters  00:00 Introduction & What Scott Has Overcome  01:11 Welcome to Reflections & Realisations  02:15 Who Was Scott Neal Growing Up?  06:35 Team Sports & the Making of a Coach  09:22 Not Knowing Who You'd Become  10:59 The First Diagnosis: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at 16  14:09 From Trouble with the Law to a Turning Point  16:03 Running, the Brain & the Path to Fitness  20:48 Moving to Costa R...

Time Stamps  00:00 Beginning life and career in London 10:01 Mentorship and career opportunities 15:50 Overcoming news addiction habits 18:13 Managing pandemic-related fears 21:42 Coping with work burnout 29:52 Recognizing humanity in others more 35:34 Managing injury and pre-race stress 39:46 Working with public figures 45:28 Coaching Noor to run 1k 51:05 Reflecting on drinking culture 55:44 Disc...

Did you know many men struggle in silence with burnout and mental health challenges? In this deeply personal conversation, Shahbaz Khan opens up about his journey as a British Muslim, growing up between cultures, facing racism, and navigating the pressures of career, family, and community expectations. From imposter syndrome to overcoming shame and vulnerability, Shahbaz shares what it really took...

In this episode of Reflections and Realisations, Saima opens up to Alveena about her life-changing experiences building a school and working in Zanzibar. Through a series of intimate reflections and honest revelations, Saima shares how the local children’s creativity—like crafting footballs from banana leaves—taught her the true meaning of resilience and community support. The conversation doesn’t...

In this episode of Reflections and Realisations, Alveena Salim and Saima Raja dive deep into the cultural challenges faced by brown and Muslim women in education, teaching, and creative fields. They unpack why the phrase "I'm just a teacher" is so common in their communities, exploring how cultural expectations, false modesty, and fear of the evil eye (nazar) hold women back from owning their acco...

 Welcome to Reflections and Realisations. I’m so glad you’re here.  Join Alveena Salim as she sits down with Kausar Tahir, founder and clinical pharmacist, to explore the challenges and triumphs of launching a startup as a visibly Muslim woman. From navigating rejections and accelerator programs to pitching in Silicon Valley, Kausar Tahir shares an honest account of how resilience, faith, and auth...

In this episode, Alveena explores the quiet ways chronic stress, unprocessed emotions and survival mode can spill into the body. Through her own experience with insomnia after two miscarriages, she explains how the nervous system can become stuck in fight or flight and why no supplement, sleep hack or lavender spray could fix what was actually emotional and physiological. Drawing from neuroscience...

Welcome to Reflections and Realisations.  In today’s episode, Alveena sits with Kausar Tahir, clinical pharmacist and founder of MeNow Health, for a candid conversation about perimenopause, menopause, and the cultural and generational barriers that make it hard for women to talk openly about their health. Together, they explore the cultural silence around menopause, gaps in medical research, and h...

In this episode, Alveena reflects on a childhood memory she had buried for decades and how it resurfaced in an unexpected moment with her own daughter. She explores how unresolved experiences shape our automatic reactions, especially in parenting, and how generational patterns can quietly repeat themselves without us noticing. Drawing from Daniel Kahneman’s system one and system two thinking, as w...

In this episode, Alveena reflects on the mindset stories we absorb as children and the quiet ways they shape our adult lives. Through her own experience struggling with maths in school and later facing a statistics module as a parent with no time to spiral, she explores how old narratives can sneak back in and limit what we believe we are capable of. Using Carol Dweck’s research on fixed and growt...

In this episode, Alveena shares the quiet moment she emotionally checked out, not out of anger but exhaustion. She reflects on the psychology behind letting go, exploring how anxious attachment, fear of abandonment and the urge to control outcomes show up in our relationships, our parenting and our faith. Drawing from attachment theory, cognitive diffusion and spiritual teachings, she explains how...

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode, Alveena reflects on the true story of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Dr. Bruce Perry and the powerful lesson it carries about how our environment shapes the brain. Through the story of a neglected child who learned to heal through love, presence, and stability, Alveena explores how trauma can be reversed when safety and care are reintroduced. She connects the...

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode, Alveena unpacks the psychology of echoism, the tendency to shrink, stay quiet, and put others’ needs above your own. She shares her experiences growing up between cultures, learning to make herself smaller to avoid judgment or conflict, and how that pattern showed up later in adult life. Through psychology, faith, and personal reflection, she explores how saying...

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode, Alveena explores how the way we love is shaped long before we realise it. From childhood moments of comfort and conflict to how we connect in adulthood, she unpacks attachment theory and its impact on our relationships, resilience, and faith. Through psychology, faith, and personal reflection, she explains how early experiences with caregivers teach us lessons ab...

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode, Alveena opens up about growing up wishing she was white and the long journey toward self acceptance. She reflects on identity, belonging, and how cultural expectations can quietly shape who we become. Through honest storytelling and psychological insight, she explores self discrepancy theory and the tension between who we are, who we wish to be, and who we think...