Assalamualaykum Friend,

We hope you are doing well in both eeman and health.

One of the most prevalent mental health issues of the 21st century is depression. It could be that you project the most outgoing and joyful façade to your family and friends while suffering quietly behind closed doors.

We won’t sugarcoat it – depression is ugly, painful.

It consists of episodes that range from feeling a harrowing sense of loneliness to unbearable heartbreak to fathomless void to aching loss and sorrow – sometimes due to apparently no reason whatsoever.

And the transition from deep sadness to an honest-to-God mental breakdown can sometimes only take a heartbeat.

So how do you deal with depression and the character traits it magnifies? What do you pray for when the suffocating negativity and sadness take over?