Saba 12 August 2009 Depression Valleys 4 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

IMAGE © moodboard/Corbis

“She’s just being ungrateful. She’s not really depressed.”

“She just needs to pray more often.”

“She’s just being weak. She can feel happy if she wants.”

We, consumers (people with Depression/Bipolar), sometimes hear these statements from our friends and families when they see us feeling depressed. But sometimes, these words might also come from our own minds.

It is normal to feel down once in a while. Feeling sad when a parent passes away or if our eman takes a deep plunge is understandable. The normal mind can quickly bounce back to a regular mood.

But consumers have a more difficult time pulling themselves out of the blues. Why? Because they are probably facing Clinical Depression. This type of depression usually has a biological cause where a chemical imbalance causes a mood shift. It may be heredity and also depends on the environment as well. Research on the exact cause is still ongoing.

Clinical depression is real. It is not “just in the head.” It has real symptoms. And in severe cases it does require medication. Clinical depression also has to last for a certain period before it’s diagnosed. Seeking help from a Muslim therapist, psychiatrist and lifecoach is a sign of strength. It shows you’re grateful for the body Allah gave you and that you’re doing your best to take care of it.

Dealing with depression myself, there is one crucial lesson I’ve learnt: holistic treatment is the right way to go. Simply popping pills is the wrong way to treat clinical depression. Meds only do 20% of the work. The other 80% of the work comes through regular salah and leading a healthy lifestyle. Indeed, Depression and Bipolar require a holistic approach. In sha Allah, more details on how to do this in my upcoming book >> Coming out September 20th, 2009.

The most useful tool in my toolbox is du’a. The Prophet, peace be upon him, has a du’a for every single action he does or situation he faces. So I’m not surprised to find the du’a for anxiety in Fortification of the Muslim. One of the sister even suggests using the du’a for anxiety during down times. Here is one of my favorites that I recite repeatedly:

“O Allaah, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being over powered by men (humans).”

And always remember the black woman with epilepsy when you need support.