April 9th, 2015: The therapeutic qualities of writing, travel, art and religion have been explored at a recent conference dedicated to happiness and wellbeing hosted by Canadian University Dubai (CUD). Speakers from a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds took to the stage to share their own insights and experiences on how to identify and achieve individual contentment.
Opening the debate, Dr. Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi, Assistant Professor at the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, spoke about the power of the pen in 'writing your way to wellness'. Recounting her personal experiences, she described how channeling the challenges in her own life through her writing of a fictional character helped her to address and overcome her own struggles and anxieties.
"I was able to give my own problems to the character, to confront the taboos I couldn't speak about myself, and to overcome my own pains through her. This made me feel safe and like I could handle my life again", she revealed.
Dr. Pasha-Zaidi also spoke about recent research, which has found that even informal writing, through social media platforms for example, had been proven to make people feel better about themselves or a situation. "Simply getting a problem 'out there' and having people comment and interact has been shown to help patients with depression" she said.
The conference went on to hear from Dr. Louise Lambert, Assistant Professor at CUD, about the PERMA model of wellbeing, pioneered by a leader in the field of positive psychology, Dr. Martin Seligman. Dr. Lambert spoke about the five key components of PERMA - Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Achievement - and how they can help us evolve from a state of 'survive' to 'thrive'.
Speaking about the influence of travel upon his own personal wellbeing, Mr. Sylvain Tremblay, CUD's resident artist, revealed how taking flight from his comfort zone back home in Canada unleashed his creativity.
"Being retained by galleries was a great experience, but I felt I'd become less creative as an artist", he revealed. "So I decided to take a risk, be spontaneous and travel to China, where I saw sights, met people and had experiences that inspired me."
"Your comfort zone can be you biggest enemy. For me, wellbeing comes when you open your mind and challenge yourself", he concluded.
The conference, which was hosted by students Amal Sabri Omar and Adam Al Khouly, also heard from Dr. Mustapha Tajdin, Assistant Professor at CUD, about the correlation between religiousness and happiness, and Tracy May from The Performance Coach, about positive psychology in the workplace. The event was organized by CUD's Dr. Louise Lambert, who has recently launched the first edition of the Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology.
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