Ihsaan Magazine May 2020 Issue - Living your best Life | Page 32

Dealing with Depression & Anxiety During
Covid19
The world has been thrown into something
quite unlike anything that has ever been
seen in our generation or the generation of
our parents. This year, we all had hopes for
better things to come, for new beginnings,
new outlooks on life and simply for something
better, because let’s be honest, in the years
gone by, the world has been filled with
corruption, killing, wars, environmental
depletion like never before and the list goes on.
Naturally, as with every year, the hope for the
better is on everyone’s mind and 2020 was not
unlike that. However, Allah had other plans,
and surely, He is The Best of Planners.
As January came around, so did the deadly
plague of Covid-19, sweeping its way across
the globe and taking with it many lives, leaving
thousands of families devastated and the
healthcare systems worldwide ravaged. Our
beautiful twin Island home of Trinidad and
Tobago was not spared as we were gripped by
fear and anxiety as our first case of Covid-19
reached our shores on March 12th. While
the world, along with our country went into
what was termed ‘Lockdown’, it is no surprise
that anxiety, depression, sadness and despair
affected many of us, not knowing what was
happening, or when this global pandemic
would end. Life as we knew it halted. Social
distancing, even from loved ones was in effect
and going out simply for necessities caused
anxiety and fear.
We may have asked ourselves at one point or
the other, “Why has this happened?”, “What did
we do to deserve this?” especially being on the
doorsteps of Ramadan which was only mere
weeks away. As Muslims, being locked away
from the masjid, from our communities, from
our Iftaars and dinners, brought us such great
sadness as we felt that Ramadan was not the
same without our beloved Masaajid. A sense of
sadness swept across the Ummah as Ramadan
came and the circumstances surrounding this
plague did not change. We were still socially
distanced, the masjid was still closed and the
only way to get that Ramadan feeling and
excitement was through Zoom classes held
online. What a difference it was!
We were told that this would be our best
Ramadan yet, although it would be different
because this year we would have the time to
focus on ourselves and our connection with
Allah.
Quite rightly, isn’t this the true purpose of
Ramadan? Our connection with Allah and
His Qur’an, the early mornings in prayer and
contemplation, the family time to have Iftaar
together, to pray Salaat together and to learn
about Daeen together form the many available
resources right in our homes? Yes, indeed this
is what Ramadan 2020 was meant to be for
each one of us.
By looking at the many small mercies that
Allah has given us during this lockdown, it is
enough for our anxieties and our despair to be
removed. Maybe if we look at these small trials
that we are going through - not being able to