Mental health problems are something that affect everyone, of every race, gender and age. However, the experiences that each person goes through are completely different and very much influenced by the people they grow up around and the environment that they are in. The way that the people around you think about mental health may not only influence your likelihood of getting treatment, or the ways you deal with it, but the way you think of it. I remember when I was younger I would deny the fact that I even had a problem, even when someone close to me would ask, and even though it was extremely evident that I had a problem.
This experience wasn’t something that was just faced by me. Somehow, within the Muslim community, there is a lot of stigmatization surrounding mental health, which is a shame. This stigmatization may not come from the religion itself, but it’s possibly due to the cultures that melt within in the community. These cultural values often get overlapped into the values of the Muslim community. A lot of cultures, such as South-Asian cultures, stigmatize mental health issues to a point that they don’t even believe they exist. And even if they do believe that it does exist – they think it’s something that happens outside of the Muslim community. If a non-Muslim is dealing with mental health issues, it is a perception that a Muslim would never have that issue. It’s something that isn’t really dealt with in the community and sometimes is considered to not even exist. It’s considered as something that is embarrassing for the other people in the family.
A common solution for whenever someone in the community has had issues is to go to the imam of the mosque and talk about it – since he is a spiritual leader and he can guide you. A lot of people in the community will tell you to pray, to read the Quran and things will be fine – Allah will guide you through this. And for sure, it does work for people. Faith helped Muslims to stick with their treatments and their therapy, all the while fighting mental health issues help bring them closer to Allah. Having a faith in Allah helps in that it helps us take comfort in the thought that there is someone looking after you and that even if you don’t know it at the time, there is a greater plan for you. Having a religious background helps to give purpose to your life – knowing that there is something at the very end of our lives, a sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Its stops you from going over the edge. Prayers can be seen as a form of meditation for some Muslims – a way to calm yourself in a way that is entirely familiar and meaningful to you.
However, prayers don’t work entirely for everyone. It’s hard to go to your parents and say that you aren’t okay, and that you are hurting and you want to do something about it by using the resources available to you. Prayers have helped our parents and it’s a valid thing for them in terms of trying to deal with mental health problems, but it’s not something entirely universal. In addition, our parents didn’t really grow up with the conversation about mental health issues, and whenever there was a conversation it was due to an extreme case. Due to this, most of the time, when you talk to your parents about the way you are feeling, the conversation turns into, “Have you been praying? Have you read the Quran recently?” when it’s really not about the faith – it’s an entirely separate issue. And just like with physical health, while prayers and faith can definitely elevate your pain, you don’t stop treatment in lieu of prayers. The same should be thought of for mental health.
However, things are definitely changing. Since the conversation about mental health is growing universally, there is more exposure to it. More of the people in the MSAs (Muslim Student Associations) and Islamic Societies are more liberal and thus facilitate conversations about mental health. Having a conversation about it is important, as it helps others in the community recognize it as a valid problem. The Muslim community is already a great support system, since you’re always surrounded by friends and family that genuinely care for you, and even if you go to a place where you don’t know anyone, going to the mosque helps build a support system in a place that’s entirely foreign.
By building up this conversation, it’ll help more Muslims navigate any problems they have with their mental health – be it depression, anxiety or stress. Recently, there’s been more of an initiative in certain communities to bring up mental health clinics, however, there is still a vast number of communities that are still very conservative.
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