The intention was to deliver a webinar with more understanding around the importance of self care and wellbeing with practical steps on how to look after ones wellbeing holistically, aimed specifically for Muslim women who are supported by the organisation. The webinar was very interactive and reflective.
The session began with exploring factors that impact our mental health and addressing the issues with mental health and stigma in the Muslim community. One attendee agreed and shared her personal experience of facing social exclusion and judgement from family and those around her because of her mental health. This further led to more discussions around this topic
We then moved on to discussing the importance of holistically looking after ones wellbeing, by providing examples and paying attention to one’s biological, social, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. As these components are interconnected, if one is neglected then this impacts our overall wellbeing.
We then presented the 5 steps to wellbeing (connect, be active, notice, learn and give) with examples and practical steps on how to implement this in our daily life. Attendees were encouraged to share how they can implement these 5 steps to wellbeing in their life. People shared they have been inspired to engage in more exercise and be active and to carry on learning and finding ways to connect more.
After this, we moved on to looking at Mindfulness in Islam, including defining concepts like Murakabah, Tafakkur and Taddabur. This section focused on demonstrating how Muslims are encourage to exercise mindfulness in our daily life through daily supplications and prayer. The importance of responding instead of reacting in a stressful situation was also emphasised using ahadith.
The webinar ended by emphasising the importance on strengthening our relationship with Allah (SWT) especially through his names and attributes. Attendees were given information about the #99withim campaign and other resources produced by Inspirited Minds that they can use.
The session was overall very empowering and engaging. Due to it being a small group, attendees were encouraged to share their opinions and experiences. One attendee gave feedback stating she found the session really useful and inspiring; She said it motivated her to think about her self-care in a different light, especially with exercise and staying active. Another attendee expressed the session was very interesting and being from a Christian faith it was interesting to see the similarities between the beliefs as well as learn some new things.
Top tips for Managing Mental Wellbeing:
- Give mental wellbeing a priority by taking some time every week to reflect on whether your overall wellbeing was positive and negative, and possible reasons as to why this could be the case
- Remember to connect to people around you at least 2-3 times a week because it is a part of human nature to be social and feel connected
- Re-charge your wellbeing by being active as that releases healthy hormones and endorphins that can lift your mood and make you feel better
- Take every challenge and test as a learning opportunity that Allah (SWT) is offering, and see it as a chance to grow and improve
- Giving doesn’t have to be monetary, you can offer to others something as simple as a smile to something as valuable as your talents
If you are going through a difficult time and are experiencing anything relevant to the above mentioned topic, then feel free to contact our support service including counselling. For further information please visit: Get Help
If you would like to get involved in raising awareness about mental health in your local community, we are looking to grow our outreach team to different cities around the country. We will ensure that you are fully trained and confident before running workshops & talks.
Please visit our website for more information: Vacancies
