Mental Illness and the Muslim American Community

The traditional stigmatization of the mentally ill needs to end

BY STEPHENIE BUSHRA KHAN

Mental illness can be debili- she will keep repeating this deed (“Sahih further complicates mutual acceptance. Many tating, making it difficult to go al-Bukhari,” book 23, hadith no. 446). new Muslims carry a lot of emotional baggage about one’s daily business life or into their new religion and feel that although household responsibilities. Many POSSIBLE CAUSES Islam has been their salvation, those who immigrant Muslims experience a great deal of Some evidence indicates that American con- were born Muslim are another story. discrimination and adjustment problems after verts, especially Blacks, experience new dif- Belief brings strength. There are challenges arriving in this country. Converts also face a ficulties. This is especially true for Muslimas of being accepted by other Muslims, especially great deal of adjustment, which also adds to who wear the hijab and modest clothing when marrying into another culture. High mental health challenges. divorce rates and mainstream stereo-

Estimates of the Muslim popula- types may persuade future in-laws to tion vary, especially in the absence oppose the marriage because of the of a faith-identified census. Current language barrier and necessary culstatistics reveal that Muslims make tural adjustments. This leaves the up at least 1.1% of the nation’s popu- couple in immense pain (“Muslims lation and that about half of them are Are Welcoming Towards Muslim American-born. Converts, But Parents Rather Don’t

Recently, mental health concerns Have One Marry Their Daughter,” have become a growing problem https://mvslim.com). among this population. They often A mental health diagnosis feels like experience isolation and rejection one’s heart and soul are breaking, as if and feel out of place in mainstream it were a weakness or a punishment culture. Additionally, immigrants from God. Such Muslims become coming from war-torn countries very secretive, feeling that they will usually bring their traumatic expe- be judged. Some assume there is a riences with them. cure in praying, whereas others think

In the U.S., suicide is the second that they will not get better. cause of death among those aged But mental illness is not a weak15-34 years old. This is also true for ness, for it may be caused by chemical the Muslim community. Research has imbalances in the brain or emotional been very sparse, but the figures are trauma. Unfortunately, some Muslims lower than other faith groups (David avoid the mentally ill because such Lester, “Islam and Suicide,” https:// people have been traditionally stigdoi.org/10.2466/pr0.2000.87.2.692). The author’s painting, rendered when she was very matized in their birth lands. Often

People may consider suicide due overwhelmed, titled “My Song Goes Unsung Today,” represents the family rejects the diagnosis and to discrimination, adjustment problems, the shame of abuse, trauma, a saddened woman. The sunflowers represent and the sun that life still goes on. ( (c) Stephenie Bushra Khan. With permission) thus leaves the patient untreated. Any extreme psychotic or violent behavior substance abuse, abandonment (e.g., divorce (https://www.aclu.org/other/discrimina- is hidden. or death), neglect, the belief that no one cares tion-against-muslim-women-fact-sheet). When a woman experiences postparand other causes. As immigrant parents have Some families cut them off altogether, and tum depression, she needs support. Others higher expectations for their children, failing friends often break relationships because they may assume that she lacks sufficient faith to live up to them can cause these youth no longer have much in common. (https://www.phawellness.com/2017/09/01/ a sense of failure and extreme depression. Gaining the acceptance of first- and sec- islam-say-postpartum-depression/).

There is also the added shame of suicide, ond-generation Muslims can be difficult, for Overwhelmed with motherhood, depressed given the Quranic statement that such people converts may be seen as not Muslim “enough.” women are afraid to tell their husbands, will be punished in the afterlife (4:29). Islam New converts may be set apart due to cultural especially if they have no independent condemns suicide, and a hadith states that and language differences as well as racism. financial support or fear abandonment. this person will be sent to Hell, where he/ Even reverse discrimination can occur, which Engqvist and Nilsson find that most of

the men gained maturity and increased self-esteem, whereas others went through divorce, custody, disputes and loneliness (“Men’s experience of their partners’ postpartum psychiatric disorders: Narratives from the internet,” Ment Health Fam Med. 2011 Sep; 8(3):137-46; PMID: 22942895 and PMCID: PMC3314270; Postpartum Support International: 1-800-944-4773; https://www. postpartum.net/).

Muslim youth who are bullied have it especially hard (see Nargis Rahman, https://blog.hautehijab.com/post/childhood-suicides-ih-muslim-communitiesa-problem-we-cannot-ignore-part-one, 11, hadith no. 3874). Mental health is no exception.

Many Muslims have unfavorable views of mental health care organizations, considering therapy a waste of money or that the patient has been possessed by a jinn. Such families may seek a faith healer instead of a therapist, for therapy requires a lengthy period of time to become effective.

Then there is the issue of medication, whether one can take it while fasting or even fast at all. Medication is lifesaving, and yet many fear to take it even though it can make the patient function much better. Many feel that it will take away their spirituality and

MENTAL ILLNESS IS A REAL ILLNESS. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT IT IS CHEMICAL — NOT PHYSICAL — IN ORIGIN. AS MEMBERS OF A COMMUNITY, WE SHOULD TRY TO BE COMPASSIONATE AND WORK TO ALLEVIATE THEIR SUFFERING.

April 30, 2019; https://blog.hautehijab. com/post/childhood-suicide-and-muslim-communities-part-two, May 2, 2019). Young Muslimas are often harassed because of their hijab.

Adolescents have a hard time balancing two cultures. Mental illness can turn up in adolescence, making a person act out in a bizarre way that invites ridicule from their peers and conflict with parents. The youth suffer from depression; affected college students who violate Islamic teachings hide it from their parents and thus develop a serious feeling of guilt.

God is compassionate and forgives everything except shirk — the “great sin” (4:48). This brings comfort when a family member commits suicide. The Quran’s identification of suicide as a great sin may prevent some from committing it. When someone commits suicide, the family may try to hide it by implying other causes. For some there is no private or public janaza in the mosque, for it is a common belief that suicides cannot be buried in a Muslim cemetery. But now, people are becoming more understanding.

Muslims are apt to remember and cite the hadith, “There is no disease that God has created, except that He also has created its treatment” (“Sunan Abu Dawud,” Tibb creativity. But medication, along with therapy, improves a person’s life and can make them more spiritual and creative than before.

The Quran and Hadith deal with mental health (see Frankie Samah, https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-31/june-2018/ quran-and-mental-health). Both sources emphasize gratitude; being patient with anxiety, depression and grief; and cite examples from the Prophet’s life. YouTube videos show well-known imams and scholars, among them Mufti Ismael Menk, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf and Yasmin Mogahed, talking about such issues.

Patients hospitalized with physical illness may have many visitors. However, Muslim patients with a mental illness are usually isolated, both at home or at the hospital, for many people still do not consider it a real illness and continue the traditional practice of stigmatizing them. Mental illness is a real illness. The only difference is that it is chemical — not physical — in origin. As members of a community, we should try to be compassionate and work to alleviate their suffering.

POTENTIAL HELP AND SUPPORT A hospital can provide emergency lifesaving care, especially if the person is totally debilitated. Recovery may take a long time after a mental breakdown, followed by an outpatient psychiatric program. That may cause a person to be removed from a job or his/her household. If these people can no longer drive, they may become dependent.

Consider a young Muslim man who, having problems with substance abuse and depression, enters an outpatient treatment center. Laws oblige employers to grant sick leave. He can tell his employer that he is taking sick leave for an undisclosed illness, hoping thereby that his employer and/or co-workers won’t learn why and that he’ll be able to keep his job.

Several Muslim American organizations are working to help the mentally ill. Many imams who are being trained to recognize mental illness often refer those afflicted to the appropriate organizations. Muslim mental health workers are also emphasizing a spiritual relationship with God. They may teach mindfulness meditation in addition to EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), a form of psychotherapy. Developed by Francine Shapiro in 1988, the therapist asks patients to recall distressing images.

More frequently, mosques are inviting Muslim mental health organizations to educate their congregations about mental health issues, thereby alleviating the accompanying traditional stigma and feelings of shame.

ICNA Relief’s Muslim Family Services (https://www.icnarelief.org/mfs/counseling/) has both licensed and religious counselors who offer child and adolescent mental health services, as well as psychiatric referrals, substance abuse and other programs — all with an Islamic perspective (1-844412-9809; helpline@icnarelief.org).

The nonprofit Khalil Center (1-8555KHALIL; info@khalilcenter.com) has psychological wellness centers in Chicago, New York, the Bay area, southern California and Toronto that address Islamic spirituality’s role in treatment.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (1-800-950-NAMI; www.nami.org/), originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people so diagnosed, advises those who suffer from it.

People trained to deal with suicidal individuals can be contacted at The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-2378255), Naseeha (naseeha.org) and the Muslim Suicide Hotline (1-866-627-3342). ih

Stephenie Bushra Khan is a freelance writer for Islamic magazines and professional artist. She also wrote for The Independent newspaper in Bangladesh for three years.