The inability to be on time has plagued me my whole life. Being late has been the cause of a miserable school career and created unnecessary strife throughout adult life.
You might think it was simple to fix, and suggest that I wake up an hour earlier, get things ready the night before or set two alarm clocks. The list goes on and I have tried them all. To no avail.
Driven to distraction by the problem, coupled with a stern message from my boss on punctuality, I decided it was time to address this issue head on. On the recommendation of a friend, I booked myself into a course of sessions with the Abu Dhabi hypnotherapist Fiona Vitel.
Hypnotherapy is used to treat emotional and psychological disorders, undesirable feelings and unwanted habits. It attempts to address the subconscious mind by taking advantage of the relaxed state the subject is in. When in an altered state of awareness, a person can be helped to heal by listening to the therapist and following their instructions.
A course of hypnotherapy usually lasts between three and six sessions, depending on the problem to be addressed. I booked three.
We began the first session with a pre-interview during which we established what the problem was and what I would like to change. Then we moved on to the hypnosis, which was nothing like I had expected.
"One of the misconceptions people have is that they will lose power," Vitel says. "Even though you have entered an altered state of consciousness, you are still in control of your actions."
During the next two sessions, we regressed back into my childhood and I was encouraged to search my subconscious mind for memories and instances when punctuality, or time, had bothered me.
The memory that most affected me played in my mind like I was watching a movie. I was about five or six years old and had woken from an afternoon nap not knowing what time it was. There was a protest going on in the streets outside, and it was noisy and scary. I went to find someone to tell me what time of day it was, but everybody in the house was too busy to pay attention or listen.
I came out of the hypnosis some time later, shocked to discover my face wet with tears. The revelation: I had most likely been using a lack of punctuality and disorganisation as a way of gathering attention, even if I was not conscious that I was doing so.
"It might be negative attention that you get from your actions, but all attention, whether negative or positive, is still attention," Vitel tells me.
I have come to the end of the sessions feeling much more positive about life, and inspired to work harder. I am also getting to work on time.
Commitment
Clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist Kam Gillar, who practices in Abu Dhabi, says that it is important to remember that hypnotherapy is not a magic pill. "In order for the process to work, the client is required to be committed to change and prepared to make the effort to make that change a reality. Hypnotherapy helps people to make changes in their behaviour, but it cannot force you to make any changes against your will."
Fiona Vitel is a hypnotherapist in Abu Dhabi. A three-session package costs Dh1,800; individual sessions are available. For more information, call 050 624 9932
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Stage results
1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:39:05
2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team BikeExchange 0:00:08
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma same time
4. Jack Haig (AUS) Bahrain Victorious s.t
5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates s.t
7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ s.t
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (COL) EF Education-Nippo s.t
9. Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo s.t
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers s.t
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
