mental illness

[bestdeen]

I am wondering what I should do if someone is mentally ill maybe bipolar and muslim. They dont want to get counseling by none muslims so it puts me in a weared position. Who can help.

[joshua72]

I am wondering what I should do if someone is mentally ill maybe bipolar and muslim.  They dont want to get counseling by none muslims so it puts me in a weared position. Who can help.

Try contacting your local mental health facility and let them know you and your friend's concern.

I am more than certain you will have no problem locating a psychiatrist who is a Muslim.

I do not know your friend or his/her condition, but if it is bipolar disorder, medication will be needed, as counseling will not do anything (as bipolar disorder is a mental disease with biological and chemical factors).

Where are you from?

If you are in the US it should be pretty easy - not to mean anything negative, but because of affirmative action, many medical schools are dominated by non-white cultures, so a very large portion of doctors are asian and middle eastern, which means there is a very good chance at finding one who is a good Muslim.

Best of luck to you and your friend!

[naseeha]

great advice josh...

i am not too familiar with bipolar disorder....

is that characterised by extreme mood swings...

i think you should listen to josh and get help from someone who is knowledgeable in both psychiatric health and islam....

jazaakallah khair josh

[Dan]

Bismillah

As salam alaikum

I agree with Josh on the possibility that medication will be needed but counseling is important in helping the person cope with the disease. Counseling also serves to help gauge whether the proper diagnosis has been made. May mental problems can result from a traumatic experience like abuse or being in an accident. Many times these events occur while the person is young and the mind sets up a defence mechanism that persists into adulthood when it may no longer be needed. These type of metal illnesses can many times be rectified through counseling to where medication may no longer be needed. If the mental issue is a result of exterior trauma then medication is not really the answer because it is only treating symptoms. It is like hitting yourself over the head with a hammer and taking aspirin for the pain. Initially, many mental diseases appear the same but once some counselling has taken place a more specific diagnosis can be made.

Insha'Allah, your friend will get the help they need.

As salam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

[joshua72]

BismillahAs salam alaikum

I agree with Josh on the possibility that medication will be needed but counseling is important in helping the person cope with the disease.  Counseling also serves to help gauge whether the proper diagnosis has been made.  May mental problems can result from a traumatic experience like abuse or being in an accident.  Many times these events occur while the person is young and the mind sets up a defence mechanism that persists into adulthood when it may no longer be needed.  These type of metal illnesses can many times be rectified through counseling to where medication may no longer be needed.  If the mental issue is a result of exterior trauma then medication is not really the answer because it is only treating symptoms.  It is like hitting yourself over the head with a hammer and taking aspirin for the pain.  Initially, many mental diseases appear the same but once some counselling has taken place a more specific diagnosis can be made.

Insha'Allah, your friend will get the help they need.

As salam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

Salam,

I agree with you, to an extent.

I definitely agree that counseling sessions need to take place to determine what the problem is so a diagnosis can be made, and then later to make sure whatever method of treatment is working, but with this disorder, counseling alone is very rarely, if ever, used as actual treatment.

Counseling may help one cope with bipolar disorder, but it will not affect the disorder or provide any cure for it.

Bipolar disorder is a bio-chemical mental disease, not just a personality flaw.

An offset in certain enzymes in the brain - namely Dopamine and Seratonin in bipolar disorder - can only be corrected by medication, which for bipolar disorder would be lithium carbonate.

I definitely agree that many mental problems come from trauma and people need therapy to help, but that is all therapy will do in some cases - it will only help, and not assist in correcting the the initial problem.

No ammount of therapy can "teach" someone's brain to control the enzymes properly.

People with bipolar disorder are given medication, very rarely if ever is counseling a method that is used. With this disorder, counseling/therapy would only be to inform the individiual and their family of this disorder, and the importance of medication.

[Dan]

Bismillah

You are focusing on the bipolar issue with which I am not disagreeing. I am saying that from my experience and the experience of others that I know, many times people are quickly diagnosed with bipolar because many times symptoms overlap. Through counseling and therapy, a more encompassing diagnosis can be made. Many anxiety disorders can resemble bipolar behavior at times but you definately do not want to give a person with bipolar disorder drugs like Paxil because it makes them even more manic. This is all that I am saying. I was only encouraging not just a trip to a psychiatrist but also a psychologist. In my experience, the psychiatrist works in conjunction with the psychologist because the psychologist is usually the one who gets to know a patient better. The flow of information between the doctor and the therapist can be beneficial in tayloring the treatment that works best for the patient.

Once again, not arguing with you, only expanding upon what you already put forth. Not "instead of" but rather "also". Ya know?

[joshua72]

BismillahYou are focusing on the bipolar issue with which I am not disagreeing.  I am saying that from my experience and the experience of others that I know, many times people are quickly diagnosed with bipolar because many times symptoms overlap.  Through counseling and therapy, a more encompassing diagnosis can be made.  Many anxiety disorders can resemble bipolar behavior at times but you definately do not want to give a person with bipolar disorder drugs like Paxil because it makes them even more manic.  This is all that I am saying.  I was only encouraging not just a trip to a psychiatrist but also a psychologist.  In my experience, the psychiatrist works in conjunction with the psychologist because the psychologist is usually the one who gets to know a patient better.  The flow of information between the doctor and the therapist can be beneficial in tayloring the treatment that works best for the patient.

Once again, not arguing with you, only expanding upon what you already put forth.  Not \"instead of\" but rather \"also\".  Ya know?

Yeah, I completely agree with what your saying now - definitely not arguing with you

I am currently going to school to by a psychologist - I was formerly taking pre-med classes so that I could get into med-school and become a psychiatrist.

But that changed after I met some psychiatrists. My mom works at a mental health ward for criminals, and she had me come up there and meet some of the psychiatrists. It was really fun and pretty cool to get to talk to them, but it definitely changed my mind.

The psychiatrists seem to look at the patients as a disorder, as some sort of problem that needs to be corrected - whereas the psychologist looks at the patient as a person needing help.

While I like science and medicine, I would rather work one-on-one with someone and help them accomplish a better life, rather than breifly accessing someone's disorder and then applying medication to deal with their problems.

[Muslimah]

as salam alykom bestdeen


Mash a Allah I see brothers gave excellent advice, however, I have a slight note to add here. In Islam, Alhamdulelah we have remedy for everything specially psychological problems (Hamd). Now just as naseeha said if bipolar disorder involves mood change, then u r dealing with hormone disorder.


U simply let your friend take dates (a`jawa), hope u know what I am talking about, the soft date we eat for breaking the fast in Ramadan.


In a hadeeth, the Messenger (sallah Allah a`alyhee wa sallam) said one who eates dates first thing in the morning shall not be affected by either poison or witchcraft. While witchcraft disturbs the hormone system..


Sobhan Allah, Germans made scientific research on dates and found they help in stablizing the hormone system (of course by the Will of Allah)


Just refer back to Quran, Allah commanded Mariam to eat dates while she was in labour and was saying:"And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She said: "Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!" (Quran 19:23) Sobhan Allah, she was obviously depressed.


so ask your friend to eat dates, play suratu Baqarah in the house every other day. Have him/her also recite suratu Fatiha a lot with the intention of healing, if unable to, u do recite it with the intention of Allah healing him/her and all Muslims. With all due respect of course to modern medicine, but usually medications given in such cases deal with critical parts of the brain causing side effects later on.


Believe me, it all depends on the condition also of the patient, just let us know more.

[Shereen]

<i>well there's nothing wrong with going to a non-Muslim pshyciatrist (spelling).......i eman he will also advise the same thing i think.........</i>