How I Overcame Depression and Anxiety

Writer: Ashrafun Nesa

Introduction

Hello, peace be upon you. Depression can really harm a person’s life. It is easy to fall into depression, but very hard to get out of it. I want to tell you a story about my own experience.

My Early Marriage

I got married at a very young age. Marriage means a lot of responsibilities, duties, and a different kind of life. But I did not have any problem with that. I also had some pressure, but it was mostly from my studies. When I got married, I was a student of class nine. You know how much pressure there is in class nine and ten, right? I managed to study somehow, but I faced another problem in intermediate level. Before the exam, I became pregnant and felt sick. But I somehow finished the exam. The main pressure was from my family who expected me to study well. Then the result came out and I had another baby. More pressure increased with the baby, the family, and the studies. I felt like I was getting tired. But then I tried to calm myself down and thought that everything would be fine.

My Struggle with Depression

Sometimes I felt a lot of pressure. Then I could not understand myself. After two years, I had another baby. The pressure increased even more. On one hand, there was the exam of honors level, and on the other hand, there was the problem of managing the family and the children. Whenever I felt stressed or worried about something, I noticed that suddenly my stomach would start hurting. If I told this to anyone, they would laugh at me and say why would your stomach hurt when you are stressed or sad? I showed many doctors in the village and they gave me some tablets for gas and tried to stop the pain. But nobody understood that I was actually suffering from depression or too much tension. And when I tried to explain that my stomach pain started whenever I felt a little tension, then everyone thought that I was getting more tense and asked why nobody understood me.

One day, the pain became unbearable and I went to a big doctor. The doctor did not listen to me much and only asked me where the pain was, how long it had been going on, and so on. After many tests and examinations, it was found that I had an ulcer. Then the doctor told me something that I was not prepared to hear. The doctor told me that I could not take any kind of tension at all. Because the place where I had this ulcer was completely due to tension. Actually, I did not know that ulcer can happen because of tension. The doctor also said that now you will not love anyone and you will see how much time someone gives you and who loves you. The reason for this was not clear to me then, but I understood it later.

My Treatment and Recovery

When my treatment started, I started taking medicine. Then I had no sense at all. Wherever I was, I would fall asleep there. Sometimes in 24 hours, I slept for 15-16 hours. This time my two children took care of me and showed me how much time they gave me and how much they loved me. The doctor’s words were true because then I could not do any work at all. And in family life, if someone does not work, then everyone thinks he is lazy. Then gradually I got better by the grace of Allah.

Conclusion

Actually, tension and depression can put a person in a lot of trouble. It is easy for a person to get into it but very difficult to get out of it. At that time, I was so upset that I felt like if someone left me alone for 2/4 days or if I could live in a jungle somewhere, then maybe I would find peace. That’s how upset I was then.

The first way to get out of this depression or tension is family support. Share everything with someone who you can trust and who cares about you. You will see that you will feel much lighter then.

Thank you.