Coping strategies as a muslim with mental illness.

Salaam Alikam all,

Today I will be discussing things that help myself personally with mental illnesses.
I am diagnosed with 5 different mental illnesses, some which is normal to overlap each other.
It's a lot of things, but Alhamdillah for everything.

1. Prayer
Prayer (Salah) is a huge comfort when it can be performed, realize that sometimes (depending on your mental illness) you cannot perform your prayers. It's a horrible feeling afterwards when you come back to sane place that you missed X amount of prayers. However Allah swt is the Most Forgiving.
Prayer is my connection to God, to seek His forgiveness and to cry to Him about my problems.
It eases the mind, the soul and brings calmness when there was pain and agony.

"And whoever is an ally of Allah and His Messenger and those who have believed - indeed, the party of Allah - they will be the predominant." - Surat Al-Ma'idah 5:56

Allah swt is our friend, the one we can cry our problems to... the one we can seek advice from.
He is there for us, whether we sin or feel like we are not worthy of Him; He is there, waiting for us to call upon Him.

2. Reading Qu'ran & other religious books
Qur'an is our guidance book, it is literally like an instruction book on how to bake a cake. Instead it is an instruction book on how to be a good muslim, what Allah swt wants from us and the teachings of the past people.
Qur'an can give such an emotional relief, it is also amazing how every time I have opened the Qur'an that whatever issue I had at that time is that when I looked at the page it had verses about my current problem or stress. It may not have been specifically related but it could have been subtle or even just a ' I am here, call upon me' type of verse.

"Recite in the name of your Lord who created man from a clinging substance.Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous 
Who taught by the pen
Taught man that which he knew not." - Surat Al-'Alaq 96:1-5

As terrible as this may sound, the Qur'an shows us that the Prophet's (may Allah be pleased with them) went through so many trials compared to us. It can sort of be a reality check for us that Alhamdillah we don't have it too bad. Yes our trials can be horrible but they are also a learning path for us, a path to get closer to Allah swt and to become better and stronger within ourselves.


Other sources that are good to help cope is reading other Islamic books, I've found books about patience are so beneficial as they don't just ramble on about sabr (patience) but how to cope and strategies on how to bring patience in your life while not being abused by being patient (So don't be a doormat but still invoke sabr in life-to-life situations)
I personally love books written by Imam Al-Ghazzali, mainly because he writes on a level that an 'every day muslim' can connect with and even establish in their own lives, that you don't need to be super duper pious to establish the things he writes about.

3. Medication/Therapies
I've personally noticed in the Islamic communities in Australia that there is a lot of hate towards medication and therapists (Psychology/Psychiatry/Counseling).
This is really scary, as medication is sometimes required for some of us with mental illnesses. Yes some can cope without medication but those of us who really need it to function and not end up in a Psychiatric ward really do not need our community hounding us for using the "big pharma" or to not take medication because of XYZ reasons. These suggestions are very dangerous, they can make us very sick. The downfall with medication in the mental health area is that some meds can have terrible side effects for the first few weeks. My own medication when I started 3 years ago meant I had the shakes, nausea, grinding of teeth, light headed now and then and probably a few more that I have forgotten. Once I got over those side effects slowly the medication began to help my symptoms (medication can take a few weeks to months to fully be effective).

Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah created the disease, He also created the cure, so seek the cure.” Narrated by Ahmad, 12186; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1633.
A huge thing that can be beneficial to our mental health is to see specialists.
Psychologists listen to you and give you strategies to cope and handle things while understanding on a deeper level of your mental health.
Psychiatrists listen to you also and give strategies too but they prescribe medication and control what medication you take/stop taking. They inquire on how you are with the medication, do you think you need a stronger dose etc. 
A counselor focuses mainly on your concerns and difficulties.
All three of these supports can be great for us. Just like medication you sometimes need to trial different people. I've had 3 different counselors in my life, a few were a bit odd as my mother hanged out with Paganism for a while so I was taken to people who used oils and herbs to help mental illnesses. (This is before I reverted to Islam)
Another completely bluffed off my problems as my dad use to see her too and so she heard his rants about me and so my own feelings were squashed.
I saw a few psychologists in my life, most were terrible and didn't suit myself personally. I currently see a great psychologist who personally deals with sexual assault as sadly this is one of the causes of my post traumatic stress disorder.
I've only ever had one psychiatrist and he is amazing, he's weird but he is a caring and detailed psychiatrist.

So with medication and support systems we need to shop around before we can find the perfect match for us.

4. Du'a
Just like prayer (salah), invoking Allah swt is a great coping method.
Du'a is where we don't have to perform 5 times a day or make specific movements.
What I love about du'a is that I can sit anywhere that is permissible and just talk. I can just sit somewhere and talk to Allah swt like I am talking to a friend right in front of me, He is listening and taking note of my concerns, my happiness, my sadness and everything.
He may not respond to my problems right then and now but He's taken note, I can talk to him about everything without back-biting anyone or causing trouble.
I can rant, cry, boast about something that is my joy and He is listening, not judging. Just listening!

Sometimes I sit on my prayer mat and just talk for hours, I may cry, I may laugh. But the heavy weight on my shoulders from whatever is on my mind is lifted because I can talk with ease, without judgement or hate, without any gossip to be spread about me.

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate: "Allahumma inni as'alukal-huda, wat-tuqa, wal-'afafa, wal-ghina (O Allah! I beseech You for guidance, piety, chastity and contentment)."
Riyad as-Salihin, Book 17, Hadith 4



5. Friends and Family
Friends and family can sometimes be a good coping strategy for us, they can listen to us and advise us. However be careful of who you trust, sometimes people only befriend us to use our weaknesses against us. Sadly this is how evil this world has become.
If a friend or family member is a great benefit to you then please use them as a support and coping method. But also do not confine your worries and so forth to anyone who may seem kind, as we do still have a great stigma towards mental illness in the Islamic community and sadly it can be used against us. As well as those who do not understand mental illnesses and can use words that can hurt us like 'Just get over it, stop being dramatic, just be happy' etc.


6. Doctors/ Hospital
Yes! Our Local doctor can be a great coping support system, they can advise us, listen to our concerns and point us to the right path if we need specialist help. I've turned up to my doctor numerous times worried about not sleeping for 3 days because I was in a manic episode even though still medicated.
Another great system is your hospital, they are there to take care of us and make sure we are well.
They are NOT scary. They are there to make sure we are healthy, that we have good support systems and we are getting all the needs we require to have a happy and healthy life while living with mental illnesses.
However, if the hospital believes that you should be admitted to the psychiatric ward please comply as they are trained in the mental health field to help us. It is NOT a bad thing to enter a psychiatric ward, it is a recovery area where we can get the help we need, especially if we are not coping well.


Insha Allah this post has been somewhat beneficial
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Jazak Allah Khayr