How to look after your mental health during Ramadan

Topics mentioned: self-care, self-esteem

Author: Guest blogger

About: If you're worried about Ramadan this year, you are not alone. Our guest blogger shares her tips for looking after your mental health during Ramadan.

Every year Ramadan feels different, because each time it comes around we’re going through something different in our life. And sometimes it feels hard to find a balance between finding time to rest, study/work, and focus on our spiritual growth.

Here are my ten top tips for looking after your mental health during Ramadan.

Give your space a tidy and make it look as nice as you can. Make the month feel extra special with some decorations. If you have fairy lights or candles try arranging those around your room. If you don’t have any decorations, you can make some by writing your favourite quotes and sticking them up. Think about the types of positive mental health messages you need to hear this month!

Ramadan is a time where we push ourselves to be the best we can be. Many of us try to pray more, read the Qur’an and increase our charity and good deeds. While Ramadan may give these strange days some welcome structure and a new focus, it is important not to put too much pressure on ourselves.

Think about what your personal goals are and create a realistic to-do list, including plenty of time for rest and things you enjoy as well as spiritual matters. Start with very small goals and build up slowly if you feel able to.

Follow accounts that make you feel good. Mute or unfollow accounts that might be unhelpful for the positive mindset you want to be in during Ramadan. Maybe see if you can find Muslim influencers who inspire you and make you feel included.

Be proud of what you’re doing – you’re challenging yourself to be resilient, patient, kind, grateful, forgiving and empathetic to people’s suffering, and that’s incredible!

Celebrate what you manage to achieve this month and don’t worry about what you don’t.

It can be awkward talking about how you feel, and even more awkward talking about your religion to people who don’t believe the same. But it’s more important than ever to talk about what’s going on with you – the good bits and the struggles too.

Reach out for support from your friends and workplace. Support could include things like changing your shifts around, or asking a mate to check in with you and help you stay motivated.

If your friends or colleagues have lots of questions and you don’t feel confident or comfortable answering these, you can always send them some articles on Ramadan to read instead.

For many of us, Ramadan is usually a hugely social and communal time full of big group dinners and evening social events where we take turns cooking for family and friends.

But if you’re on your own, away from family or community, get-togethers and group prayers can still happen online! Use free video calls (like Zoom, Google Hangout, Skype or FaceTime) to stay in touch with loved ones, especially at iftar times so you can celebrate getting through the day together!

If you’re feeling lonely or in need of motivation, find out what’s happening at your local mosque or Islamic Centre. They might also have ways you can connect with your local Muslim community through volunteering. Or, you could check in on any elderly neighbours who might need help with things like shopping.

In Islam, even a smile is considered charity, so if volunteering isn’t for you that’s okay, don’t be shy to get on a video-call and show those teeth to someone who needs cheering up!

Remember, nobody is perfect. Nobody. When we’re tired and hungry it’s hard to do all the things we want to do in the way we want to do them. We slip up. We make mistakes. We get angry or impatient.

That’s ok, it’s all about setting intentions and making an effort to create good habits. Having bad days while you’re fasting doesn’t make you a bad Muslim, it just makes you a human.

We are all unique, at a different stage on our spiritual journey and facing different challenges. Just focus on what is meaningful to you. How you spend your time during Ramadan is between you and God. Your best is good enough.

You might be spending a lot more time in self-reflection. So use this time to realise how often you say or think negative things about yourself. Every time you have a negative thought, try to be mindful of it and replace it with a kinder thought. This is a helpful habit you can continue after Ramadan is over.

Here are some things you can do to look after yourself physically:

Remember you are not alone and together we can get through this.