Dr Amer Siddiq

13/12/2025

Thank you and lovely sharing

23/11/2025

Studies have consistently shown that men’s health usually suffer after a divorce. Not the other way around 😅

This story of Agatha Christie doesn’t say it but it got me thinking of another study I read which shared that when a women divorces a men due to many reasons, if she’s more than capable she usually does better post divorce compared to the men

Whichever way we want to think about it, it feels like the data in this regards is not positive for the men folk

Circumstances also vary

I wonder what you all think about this?

Freshly divorced at 38, Agatha Christie bought a ticket for the Orient Express and disappeared into the Middle East—where she met an archaeologist 14 years younger and rewrote her entire life.
1928.
Agatha Christie's marriage to Archibald Christie had ended in divorce—a scandal in 1920s England that left her heartbroken and humiliated.
At 38 years old—when society expected her to shrink into silence—she made a choice that stunned everyone around her.
She packed a suitcase, bought a ticket for the Orient Express, and set out alone into a world she had only read about.
The Journey
Her journey wound through Istanbul's crowded bazaars, across the timeless deserts of the Middle East, and finally to the archaeological ruins of Ur in Iraq.
She went in search of peace, but life had something far more surprising waiting for her.
1930: The Meeting
Two years after her first Middle Eastern journey, Agatha returned to the archaeological sites she'd fallen in love with.
Among the dust, the tents, and the sun-bleached artifacts, she met Max Mallowan—a gifted young archaeologist fourteen years younger than her.
What began with shared curiosity and gentle conversations turned quietly into a partnership built on respect, intellect, and an unexpected kind of tenderness.
In September 1930, they married.
She was 40 years old. He was 26.
The Life They Built
Their days together were not glamour and fame, but simple rituals:

Tea on verandas
Laughter over miscatalogued artifacts
Long afternoons cleaning ancient relics—sometimes with her own face cream (a famous story among archaeologists)

And in the evenings, she wrote. Always, she wrote.
The Inspiration
Those Middle Eastern landscapes seeped into her imagination, shaping some of her greatest mysteries:
"Murder in Mesopotamia" (1936)
"They Came to Baghdad" (1951)
"Murder on the Orient Express" (1934)
She didn't just invent these worlds—she walked them, breathed them, and returned home carrying their stories.
The Marriage
Agatha and Max's marriage lasted 45 years, until her death in 1976.
He continued to work as an archaeologist, eventually becoming a renowned expert in his field and knighted for his contributions.
She continued to write—becoming the best-selling novelist of all time (only outsold by Shakespeare and the Bible).
But more than professional success, they had something rare: a partnership of equals built on mutual respect, shared passion for discovery, and genuine affection.
What She Proved
Agatha Christie did not let heartbreak define her.
She turned it into a journey.
She turned it into a new life.
She turned it into art.
At 38, divorced and heartbroken, she could have withdrawn from the world.
Instead, she boarded a train alone and traveled to places women rarely went.
At 40, society told her she was too old for romance, too old for adventure.
Instead, she married a man 14 years younger and spent the next 45 years traveling the world with him.
The Legacy
Some people crumble after being broken.
Agatha Christie rewrote her story instead.
She proved that:

Heartbreak doesn't have to be the ending
40 isn't too old for new love or new adventures
Age gaps don't define the quality of a relationship
Travel can heal what staying home cannot
The best chapters can come after the worst ones

The Truth
In 1928, newly divorced and devastated, Agatha Christie made a choice:
She could let society's expectations confine her.
Or she could rewrite the rules.
She chose the Orient Express. She chose adventure. She chose to keep living fully.
And in doing so, she found:

New landscapes that inspired her greatest work
A partnership that lasted until her death
Proof that life's best surprises come when you refuse to give up

She didn't just survive heartbreak.
She turned it into Murder on the Orient Express.


~Old Photo Club

11/11/2025

I was in our child unit and was captivated by a work which I thought was a Marc Chagall reprint ❤️
It turns out that it was made by an ex patient who has since recovered and discharged. He gave this piece to our unit on his last visit. He has since progressed and is in university having been with us since ages 13 ❤️
In this masterpiece, which it is!, he describes himself as the white shape of a person, the butterflies symbolises the staff - doctors, nurses, counsellors, psychologists, occupational therapists, and the flowers symbolises healing ❤️
An amazing beautiful piece gifted to the team of and I congratulate them for their dedication to our patient and future patients here ❤️
Thank you for gifting this to us, for myself, it reminds me to soldier on for the cause especially on days when I don’t feel like it at all ❤️

03/11/2025

Bacaan di tepi sofa

Satu cara saya cuba untuk tidak menonton tv dengan banyak 🤪

Ala-ala “cognitive dissonance” ie. Membuatkan saya mempunyai dua perasaan, samada membaca atau menonton tv

Dalam fasa kini dimana saya tidak ada tanggungjawab kepimpinan, saya mengambil peluang untuk membaca sekerap yang mungkin terutama dalam ilmu sejarah psikiatri agar dapat membantu pelajar saya dan diri sendiri agar lebih mencari makna didalam semua amalan yang kita lakukan dalam tugasan harian

01/11/2025

Thanking the team of .warriors for the amazing teamwork and camaraderie in making this Halloween giving activity a grand success ❤️
Thank you for partnering with us and also joining us on the ground at MRT Titiwangsa. Your energy and enthusiasm is infectious and I encourage readers to visit their page for more candid reels 🥰
Thank you for the venue and also support. Much appreciated. Also managed to take the MRT for the 3rd time haha 😝
To members of the public who joined us for fun, laughter and learning, thank you so much. We had so many rejections but the 300 interactions that we had were just amazing 🤩
Thank you .khuen and our volunteer , missing and ❤️

24/06/2025

What an experience❗️
Managed to visit what once was the great Prof Dr Rudolf Virchow’s lab and pathology institute. Among one of his request to come to Berlin when the university invited him over. Imagine that, he was that famous then that he requested a lab and it was granted 😊
Professor Virchow was an amazing individual. All I can remember is Virchow’s triad which is related to blood clots (thrombosis- a word he coined) which can flake off and lead to a block in another place ie an emboli ( he coined this too). In this museum I found out that he was a physician, public health specialist, anthropologist and also a politician/statesmen apart from his main interest - Pathology ❗️❗️❗️
Sharing with all of you his buat, lab, institution and also the lecture hall where he use to lecture. It was such a surreal experience 🤩
I’m also inspired by the last photo of the present director and his set of wheels 🥳. We might need to make this a prerequisite next time if I ever head back into management 😜

22/06/2025

This chap is Prof Dr Wilhelm Griesinger! He was the first Director of Psychiatry at the University of Berlin during the period where Prof Dr Virchow was the Director of Pathology in the same university. Fun fact, he was the mentor of Karl Westphal who took over from Griesinger later on 😊
His contribution to psychiatry was many but the 3 that grabbed my interest was - he was the equivalent of Prof Pinel in Germany. The psychiatrist who really started community psychiatry by stating that mentally ill patients need to be a member of the community and not in the asylums. Second, he introduced the relationship between mind and brain stating or conceptualising that mental illness is a brain disease. As a result too, he was very biological in his idea of psychiatry. Finally, he introduced the concept of anxiety that we now understand as agoraphobia 💪
I’m just feeling very fortunate that I have this opportunity to be here and to be able to share this with all of you 😊
Now my Q to myself and others, we know much about what colleagues internationally have done for psychiatry, what about our own? For mental illness in Malaysia❓

21/05/2025

It’s been a very stressful two days for me as I was appointed coordinator for the recently concluded short case and modified long case exams. Both are requirements for the Part 2 exams (old and new systems respectively) 💪
I could not have done it without the help of my colleagues, Drs and who worked tirelessly as a team to ensure that we had the right patients, the best venue and troubleshooted any issues that might arise to ensure the trainees were at the more best to perform on the day 👍
I wanted to thank them for their help and dedication in ensuring that we had a successful exam in our department. Also, thanking all other colleagues who searched for patients in their respective clinics, all the staff involved and not forgetting to the 13 patients who donated their time to be with us and ensured that future psychiatrists from the conjoined system are competent and empathetic 👍
Truth be told that the last time i did this type of work was 15 years ago as a junior specialist and in the process I re-learned the humbling process of being a coordinator. Moreover it reminded me of how important this supposedly simple task is, especially if you’re wanting the best outcome for your patients in the future❗️

12/05/2025

Happy Nurses Day to all my fellow colleagues near and far

Without you my patients and family will be in deep trouble

I acknowledge your work and thank you for your dedication and service to our collective cause

11/05/2025

Bulan May adalah Bulan Kesedaran Skizofrenia

Penyakit yang saya fikir adalah sama atau lebih mencabar dari barah (cancer) oleh sebab prevalen tinggi di umur muda, stigma yang tinggi dan prognosis yang kurang baik jika tidak dirawat awal dan berterusan

Simptomnya juga sangat mencabar dengan simptom halusinasi dan delusi, kelakuan/perubatan yang tidak terurus dan juga kecelaruan pertuturan

Biasanya juga lambat “ditangkap” oleh kerana ada simptom prodrom

Kita belajar lagi…

27/04/2025

Who would’ve thought that Socrates — the great philosopher known for his wisdom, calmness, and profound words — lived with a woman who constantly tested his patience? His wife was infamous for her sharp tongue, dominant presence, and relentless temper. Every morning, she pushed him out of the house at sunrise, and he only returned when the sun was about to set.

Yet, despite her difficult character, Socrates always spoke of her with respect and even gratitude. He once admitted that he owed a portion of his wisdom to her, because without such daily trials, he would’ve never learned that true wisdom lives in silence, and peace is found in stillness.

One day, while he sat with his students, she began shouting at him as usual — but this time, she poured water over his head. Unshaken, Socrates simply wiped his face and said calmly, “Well, after thunder, rain was only to be expected.”

Her story ended suddenly. During another of her outbursts, when Socrates, as always, remained calm and silent, her rage overwhelmed her. She suffered a heart attack and passed away that very night. While she erupted like a storm, Socrates remained a sea of calm.

Her name faded into history. His composure became legend. This isn’t just a story of conflict — it’s a reminder that strength often shows in silence, and that the greatest teachers sometimes come disguised as life’s most difficult people.

Credit to the original storyteller.