Omar Linares, a philosopher who helps people through life crises: “Personal growth cannot be a checklist”

More people are replacing “I’m going to the psychologist” with “I’m going to the philosopher,” says Omar Linares, a philosophy specialist who works with people facing existential crises.

Linares holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Granada and helps clients through his online practice, Thelos. His book, La consulta del filósofo, explores his personal relationship with philosophy and how a way of life can help people find calm and overcome existential crises. It reached bookstores on January 14.

“

Personal growth cannot be a checklist.

He says different moments in life call for different forms of support. Someone grieving a loved one may need psychological help to understand and process grief. But if that experience raises questions about mortality, the meaning of death and how to keep living, Linares believes philosophical guidance may be appropriate.

“

The battle is over attention, more than argument.

Modern life, he argues, has turned attention into a central battleground. Smartphones, infinite scrolling and algorithms constantly pull people away from the present. There is still hope for thought, he says, but people first need to change their habits and their way of life. Without that change, anxiety will continue to rise and reflective thinking will move further away.

Linares also questions the tendency to pathologize every form of discomfort. He does not see himself as qualified to diagnose a disorder, and says his work does not challenge psychological or psychiatric diagnoses. Instead, he focuses on the complexity of each person’s experience and warns that labeling all sadness or loneliness as illness can erase what those feelings might teach.

“

Without a change in habits and in life, anxiety will continue to rise and thought will continue to move away.