“Everyone has problems”

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

That’s what a sister said to me many years ago, in a bid to convince me that I was not the only one who had problems.

In rough times, many of us tend to have this “I’m the only one with such a big problem. Everyone else is so happy” mentality  which in many cases turns out to be our undoing.

We then start to sulk and begin to mentally unravel. Some of us even tend to go into deep depression.

We need to get over this “poor me” attitude, because it will only drag us down.

So, how can we get over it?

Well, I’d say:

1) Do dua

There’s nothing like it. We need to ask Allah for each and every thing.

2) Change our perspective

Understanding that many people have bigger problems than us would be a good start.

A good way to change one’s perspective would be to actually visit those who are poor, orphaned, ill or have special needs etc. That way, we’ll realise how blessed we truly are and stop feeling sorry for ourselves.

3) Do something positive

The best antidote to negativity is positivity. [Remember, you heard it here first.]

When we sulk, we feel worse, which makes us sulk some more.

When we do something good for others, we feel better, which encourages us to do more good things.

4) Don’t think too much

This is the worst thing that one can do when depressed.

Don’t sit and brood over things. Just get up and do something.

Anything (halal).

Clean the house, take a walk, listen to a nice Islamic lecture, take Mandarin Chinese classes, whatever.

Of course, if you do something nice like praying or reciting the Quran, then that would be even better.

[But if you can’t, then just go for those Mandarin Chinese classes. That should be enough to cause your brain to shut down.]

So, let’s stop thinking that we’re the only ones with problems because we’re not.

Everybody has problems. Absolutely everybody.

PS. Some of you might be thinking “Another mini article on depression?”

Oh, yeah. Like I said, there are that many depressed people out there.

PPS. You know, taking those Mandarin Chinese classes wouldn’t be a bad idea after all. There are 2 billion Chinese people in this world. Just imagine how much dawah we could do.