OUT OF OUR MINDS

10 September 2025

Our senior editor in Beirut, Lina Mounzer, relates intimately to the theme of TMR 53, having experienced civil war in Beirut.

Joelle M. Abi-Rached reflects on the failures of psychiatry and psychiatric language in addressing the trauma arising from mass violence.

5 September 2025 • By Joelle Abi-Rached

After living in London and Beirut, Sara Shamma returned to Damascus, where her hyperrealistic paintings reflect the chaos of today’s world.

5 September 2025 • By Jordan Elgrably

Lina Mounzer interviews UN Special Rapporteur Michael Fakhri on Gaza, food and famine.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY LINA MOUNZER

A former volunteer in Khartoum questions if "madness" is an illness or a rational response in a trauma-ridden country.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY ROBERT BOCIAGA

A Christian woman in solitary confinement in a Pakistani prison is recognized as a voice of reason, even though others view her as mad.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY FARAH AHAMED

Inspired by a famous Libyan folktale, “Azouz il-Gayla,” the tale intends to discipline children to keep them from playing outside during nap time.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY SAFA ELNAILI

A drink at a pub, a conversation about psychoanalysis, madness, despair and pain—an encounter.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY AYçA ÇUBUKçU

Iranian doctors, psychotherapists, and exiled human rights advocates are exploring new talk therapy methods to combat despair amid authoritarianism.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY MALU HALASA

A curated collection of fiction and non-fiction exploring the ways political and social unrest impacts mental health in the Middle East.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY RANA ASFOUR

Fourteen million people have been displaced from Sudan due to the war, finding joy in life between the Hilo and the Murr.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY REAL BAKHIT

Mohammad Rabie conducts a poignant self-examination, reflecting on a lifetime of fear from childhood to adulthood and its impact on his life.

5 SEPTEMBER 2025 • BY MOHAMMAD RABIE