By Molly Cuddy

The University of Maryland Counseling Center on Tuesday, Oct. 8 hosted Healthy Muslim Minds, a discussion focused on providing Muslim students on campus a safe space to speak about mental health and learn about the counseling center services.

The event was part of the Counseling Center’s Mental Health Awareness Week. A Counseling Center professional said that at times, mental health problems face stigmas in Muslim culture. 

“You’re not praying enough. Your faith isn’t strong enough,” said Nehal El Guindy, a triage counselor at the counseling center. “You must have done something wrong. You need to be more grateful and focus on what’s good.”

The discussion began with a quick survey about mental health, where students could rate their day on a scale of 1-5 and say how comfortable they feel speaking with their family about mental health.

Kayi Hui-Spears, a staff counselor at the UMD counseling center, gave a brief overview of how the counseling center works. She also discussed what depression and anxiety mean, and how they are related and how they differ. 

El Guindy discussed challenges that Muslim youth may face that could potentially effect mental health: feeling “different from everyone else, having a different culture at home versus outside, and trying to find a balance.”

Halfway through the session, students made their way upstairs to conduct a group prayer.  

After the break, El Guindy directed students to write an affirmation on a Post-it note, a practice she does with her patients in the office. “You are capable of accomplishing great things,” one said. “Never go too long without watching the sunset,” said another. Lastly, “I have Allah on my side.”

The event concluded with a speech from the Muslim chaplain, Tarif Shraim: “What we’re talking about today is that you and I matter; your wellbeing matters to God Almighty.”

Ahmad Dajani, a senior information systems, operations management and business analytics major, said he wanted to attend the event not only so he could grow as a person, but also so he could help out his friends if they were going through a hard time.

“I find a lot of Muslims on campus are struggling, and it goes for any religious denomination, to be honest,” he said. “If there’s a chance I can help even one person out, that’s fine. And it’s okay if that one person is myself.”