By Welcome to #MuslimGirlAnon, your one-stop spot for all the advice you could need! Every week, we crowd-source the very best advice our #MGClique has to offer about issues plaguing our girl gang.
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Q: “I hate to use this word frivolously, but I think I might be bordering on depression. From time to time, I feel this emptiness inside me. I find it hard to feel enthusiastic about anything, or to feel genuine joy at the things I used to find joy so effortlessly in. I feel this has affected my faith as well. In recent years, I’ve found that my faith is faltering. I have always taken solace in Islam, and in practicing it, but over the last two years, this has changed dramatically. Practicing my faith used to being me peace, but I feel like the direction of my life is so hopeless now. I don’t want to feel like this. What can I do to change?”
A: “Seek professional help, sis. Spend time with family and friends. Travel, try something new, but seek real professional help. Depression is an illness like any other. You just need a guide to help you find yourself again. May Allah SWT grant you endless happiness, and ease your struggles.”
– Nurdjan, 24, Germany
A: “Ask for help! Don’t put it on yourself to be better, or do it on your own. Reach out for help. Everyone deserves a chance to be happy. Get the help you deserve, girl!”
– Farheen, 16, MO
If it’s something out of your control, wait patiently for Allah (SWT) to make that change for you and, in the meantime, focus on doing things that bring you some joy and that are within your control.
A: “This is just a moment in time. This moment may last days, months, weeks, years, but it will not last forever! Take steps to changing your life for the better, and in the trajectory you want. If it’s something out of your control, wait patiently for Allah (SWT) to make that change for you and, in the meantime, focus on doing things that bring you some joy and that are within your control. Find something positive for you, whatever that may be. And know, even on your worst days, when you don’t have faith, that God is testing your faith and He is always with you, and on your side. Take solace in that. Internalize it as much as possible. There will be days when faith will be so low; that’s normal. It happens. But in your heart, remind yourself to never let it go. And when you have better days, take steps in maintaining your relationship with Allah (SWT) and with Islam. Better days will come, inshAllah. This is coming from someone who has been through hell and back. Take it one day at a time, inshAllah.”
– Judy, 27, TN
A: “Antidepressants work wonders, and you don’t have to commit to them or anything. Just try them out for a month, or two. I was depressed for 5+ years before I felt like I was ‘depressed enough’ to go to a psychiatrist. I wasted so many years being unnecessarily depressed! Get help, even if you don’t feel ‘depressed enough.'”
– Nadia, 21, CA
A: “I used to feel the same, and I think and believe you’ll be better, but it will take time. Little things can help, such as starting the day with some meditation, and also re-learning to love every little aspect of things that make you happy in your daily life, but also in general. Maybe cutting from your life people who are drowning you would be a good thing, and getting closer with a source of positive vibes. For you faith, maybe listening to Quran daily, like before sleeping, or before meditating shall help you love your religion, and practice it more. To conclude, you matter and are valid, and I believe in you so much.
– Yasmina, 16, France