Moods

Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullah :) how are u?

I've had a peaceful day, alhamdulillah. Now I'm in the kitchen, boiling some water for my tea, while my husband and our dinosaur are sleeping in the living room. So cute, ma sha Allah. I finished my chores, so I have free time now. :)

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Sunday evening I got terrible anxiety, like an anxiety attack. It was hard to breathe and my heart was beating hard, I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. And it just didn't pass. I tried to relieve it as well as possible, but my usuals didn't work so well. Hot shower did though. And some sisters made duaa for me ♡ I did have a nurse's appointment the next day.. Before that, when I was leaving home, I told my husband that I'm so nervous that I'm about to faint and then we laughed about it, and that helped. And at the nurse's I got to vent my emotions, and that helped too. I got a prescription for these kind of situations, a medicine I can take when needed, so I went to pick that up from the pharmacy.

Went to buy some chicken too, and the way home seemed so much lighter. I took one pill when I got home, just to be surely on the good side, and since that I have felt normal again. 

But yeah, sometimes I might have these type of incidents, it comes with the diagnosis. It had been a long time going so easy so maybe it's just for the balance, hehe. I feel more confident now to tackle these type of situations. The medicine really helps. I have been so rejecting towards any pills during these years of being ill, but I've had to just accept that I need them and that's how it goes. Do they have negative side effects? Yes. Is there a natural alternative? Not that I know. So I take it as it is. And I have very low dose anyway.

There is still many ways to relieve anxiety without extra medication. It can be physical movement, it can be breathing deeply etc., for me the sensations for senses work the best, like

- hot tea

- hot shower

- listening something

- cold weather

- mints

And also making duaa(!) :) 

But it can be so many things. Some like to hold an icepack on their wrist or belly, head, lap.. I'm not a runner, but I can believe that a good run might do amazingly. It depends a bit, how intense the anxiety is and what you are able to do. If it's really bad, there's always la ilaha illallah. You only need to move your tongue to say that, and I promise it will help ♡ in sha Allah.

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People tend to have lots of false beliefs about mental illnesses. I want to do my part to get rid of the stigma and talk about these things openly. I want to also remind, that a mental illness

- is not contagious. But it's true that if it touches your life closely, for example by a family member, it can mean you have an increased risk to fall ill yourself. So seek for support, both of you.

- doesn't mean a person is weak. Often people have to battle daily with things that cut deep, like suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, panic attacks, voices and hallucinations, fatigue, shame and so on, on top of the normal daily things and battles. 

- doesn't mean there's something wrong with the person. Well, they have an illness, so that's "wrong" about them, but it's not a reason to cut ties or ostracize someone. Actually, you could maybe step forward and ask how they're doing. 

- is an obstacle for having relationships and family. If a person is taking care of themselves, maybe goes or has gone to therapy, or has regular meetings with nurses and doctors, is taking medicine, has basic life skills, there's no reason why someone couldn't have a successful marriage or have children. A good support system helps a lot, and a spouse can be part of that.

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In sha Allah, next time we talk more about some more interesting things, like these nice new abaya brands I've found out. And I want to reveal my wardrobe heroes too. :)

Take care dears, until next time,

Aisha