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Mental Health With Maliha, Dallas, TX (2026)

03/25/2026

When you’ve lived through instability, migration, or ongoing threat, you adapt. You learn how to keep functioning even when things around you are falling apart. You don’t always get the option to slow down and process.

So continuing with daily life is not always indifference. Sometimes, it is survival. At the same time, many of us are in a different position. We may have more space, more language, and more access to feel and process what’s happening. And that difference can feel isolating. It can sound like:
“Why am I the only one reacting like this?”

Oftentimes, what you’re seeing is not a difference in care. It’s a difference in what each person had to do to survive.

📊 👇🏼𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 if you have noticed in your circles👇🏼

Inspired by Dr. Perrin’s article ‘How People Respond When the World Feels Unsettled’

03/18/2026

As SWANA and/or Muslims, we have seen the avoidance of addressing and dismantling racism, oppression, and Islamophobia in the West. We have long been discriminated against and stigmatized, and we see the impact of this today with what is happening in the “Middle East.” Horrendous acts are being committed against our people and they are being rationalized.

There is silence around this suffering in places of power and privilege. Our bodies and lives are treated as disposable. Experiencing this creates deep grief, anger, fear, and loneliness. We are watching brutality while others live as if things are normal. And then we are told to “just breathe.”

But what if the problem isn’t that we feel too much? What if it’s that we are expected to carry too much, quietly?

Our bodies are reacting exactly as they’re designed to. Under prolonged stress, the body releases cortisol and norepinephrine, keeping us in survival mode. This can lead to exhaustion, numbness, or shutdown.

Yet these responses are often pathologized: anxiety is labeled a disorder, sacred rage is something to manage, all while the systems that create harm go unaddressed. Yes regulation matters, but it’s not the end game.

We are not meant to just calm down and endure. We are meant to move our care into action. That can look like speaking up, supporting mutual aid, building community, and taking action in sustainable ways.

Action doesn’t erase grief, but it can shift us from helplessness into agency.

💬𝗖𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 so we can help each other! Share efforts that are supporting communities who are impacted throughout the SWANA region 👇🏼

Islamophobia SocialJusticeHealing MentalHealthAwareness DiasporaVoices HealingAndResistance

03/11/2026

Sometimes unknowingly we can remain stuck in the op-ress-orz game. It is more important than ever to notice these tendencies within us so we can catch ourselves before we become even more deeply entrenched in exhaustion and inaction.

With pain and loss that is happening on such a grand scale, we need each other now more than ever to create healing and change.

📊 👇🏼𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 if you've noticed these beliefs around you

Adopted from: .marielbuque

03/10/2026

As war escalates across the SWANA region, many people connected to the region are holding layers of grief, fear, and uncertainty. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, numb, angry, or heartbroken while witnessing this moment, your response is human.

📊 👇🏼𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 how you are holding up

03/05/2026

My heart aches ❤️‍🩹

02/26/2026

You may find yourself around friends and family who seem genuinely thrilled that Ramadan is coming. Everyone appears excited for this month. They’re preparing their homes and refrigerators, the masajid are organizing programs and taraweeh schedules, and people are talking about hosting iftars and adjusting their routines for salah and suhoor.
All the while, you might feel a heaviness in your heart because you don’t feel the same way. Instead of excitement, you feel anxious. You feel nervous about the intense schedule changes, worried about sitting at iftar tables with family members who may have harmed you, concerned about caring for your children while depleted, or about keeping up with work or exams when you’re already sleep deprived.
And then comes the guilt. You tell yourself you shouldn’t be feeling this way. You shouldn’t be dreading Ramadan. You should be grateful. You should be excited like everyone else seems to be. You may even find yourself wondering whether something is wrong with you, or worse, whether this makes you a bad Muslim.
The truth is that fasting can feel spiritually meaningful and emotionally challenging at the same time. In the Qur’an, Allah reminds us, “Allah intends ease for you, not hardship” (2:185). Yet many of us fall into perfectionism, believing we must experience Ramadan in just the right way for it to count. There is no such thing as a perfect Muslim. Allah does not seek perfection from us. He seeks sincerity and effort.
If you are feeling anxious about Ramadan, you are not alone, and your experience does not disqualify you from Allah’s mercy. The fact that you are reflecting and longing to feel connected is itself a form of turning toward Him.

If this resonates and you want support working through your Ramadan anxiety, 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 "𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋" 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐖, and I’ll send you the link to my Ramadan Anxiety Journal to help you reconnect in a way that feels grounded in faith while honoring your mental health.

𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋: Do you want me to relaunch my Ramadan Anxiety Workshop?

02/25/2026

You may experience Ramadan Anxiety if you feel heaviness in your heart about the arrival of this month. You see everyone around you getting excited, decorating their homes, stocking up on groceries, and lining up the halaqas.
You feel tension, stress, or fear when you think about Ramadan. You find yourself feeling lost and confused about what you’re experiencing. The thoughts of how you will make it through the month are overwhelming. They take up so much of your headspace. At the same time, you may be telling yourself that you shouldn’t be feeling this way. You shouldn’t be feeling anxious about Ramadan. You shouldn’t be dreading its arrival. You should be excited and want to look forward to it like everybody else. Isn’t it the month of blessings after all?
You tell yourself to just stop thinking these thoughts, but that doesn’t seem to work. You ask yourself why it is that you are struggling while everyone else around you is celebrating? Does this mean your imaan (faith) is weak? Does it mean you’re a bad Muslim?
If this sounds like you, it could mean that you are experiencing Ramadan Anxiety. It can be incredibly isolating to have this experience. You may not have the space to tell anybody about it. You may fear that if you speak up, people will judge you or think there is something wrong with you. With no support or relief, you may find yourself feeling distant from Allah and your faith. Save these journal prompts to get back to during this blessed month.
📊 👇🏼𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 How did this post make you feel?
🛋 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐗 👉 Link in bio

02/24/2026

Put your hand up if you hate it when your therapist asks you this question. This question is often asked in therapy by many therapists to their clients because our bodies often speak before words do. The reality is that shortness of breath, tension in the shoulders, sweaty hands, and stomach drops are not random. Our bodies are constantly sensing their surroundings and trying to protect us.
That question can feel annoying and can bring up some discomfort because it forces you to slow down. For many SWANA folks, we are not used to that. Next time this question comes up in therapy, here is a gentle way to approach it:
- Notice without judgment
- Name the sensation
- Take a deep breath into it
This is not to
- Fix it
- Judge it
- Force healing
Rather, it is to approach the feeling with compassion and awareness. There is a lot that can come up here; however, realizing that in a world where there is a lot happening around us, our bodies are protecting us by holding so much internally. Yes, it is not easy to switch patterns we’ve lived in for years, but our bodies are holding so much. Your body deserves love from you. You deserve to be seen. Give yourself grace, release the emotion, and tell yourself it is okay to feel this way.
Save this reel and come back to it when you feel discomfort in your body. Send this to someone who might need to hear this.
📊 👇🏼𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 Do you usually get annoyed when your therapist asks you this question?
🛋 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐗 👉 Link in bio

02/18/2026

The world is getting revved up for Ramadan, but you just feel your stress growing as the month gets closer. You are confused about why you feel this way. You are overridden with guilt for having these feelings. You feel worried about what people will think of you if they find out what you're really thinking about Ramadan. You want to feel reconnected with the month. You want to feel excited about it. You want to become closer to Allah, but you find yourself feeling fearful that He may be upset with you, that you may be a "bad" Muslim for having these thoughts. So what do you do? You withdraw, you sink in the shadows, and you maintain your silence. Yet you don't find any relief. Instead, you find yourself feeling disconnected from your faith, wondering why you're finding fasting hard when Allah says He makes it easy.

Historically, Muslims from around the globe observe Ramadan while going through hardships, personal struggles, and global crises. Faith does not exist separately from the emotional reality that we are facing. You can easily fall prey to perfectionism - wanting to do everything right all at once. The reality is that when we enter Ramadan while carrying emotional weight, it will make us feel “heavier” and not “weaker.” This can show up differently from individual to individual, but it does not mean it is a lack of imaan. Let us reframe it together and call it feeling an emotional overload during a meaningful spiritual season, and that is okay.

If this sounds like you, you may be experiencing Ramadan anxiety. This is something I am familiar with in my personal life as a Muslim and professional life as a licensed therapist.

Reference: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11008314/

📊 👇🏼𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 how does these emotions land with you during Ramadan?

🛋 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐗 👉 Link in bio

02/17/2026

I’ve noticed the looks of confusion when I tell people I’m moving to the Middle East. They’re bewildered that I would leave the “best country in the world.”

“But why the Middle East?”
“Oh, so you’re going to live in a 3rd world country?”

Hello, myth of American exceptionalism!

American exceptionalism is the belief that the US is uniquely moral, democratic, & destined for global leadership, while conveniently erasing histories of call-on-eye-zay-tion, slavery, & inequality. The “West is Best” narrative assumes the West is more advanced, civilized, rational & that the rest of the world is simply catching up.

South Asians & Muslims are not immune to this. Many of us have internalized it. Forgetting our roots. Believing in our inferiority. Devaluing our cultures. Adopting Eurocentric standards as the standard.

We were taught to hustle toward perfection: the Ivy League degree, luxury car, dream home, ideal partner. Across the Muslim world, generations survived persecution & man-made crises. For many, survival meant emulating the so-called “gold standard.”

Call-on-eye-zay-tion sold us the lie that what we produce determines our worth & safety. As @ writes, it convinces us that “what we produce is the only way to garner respect for and keep our body safe.” I see this in therapy again & again, a heavy feeling of being “behind,” as if others have “made it” because they worked harder.

I once believed this too. A belief shaped by generations who had to keep producing to survive circumstances they did not choose.

Unlearning this is ongoing work. I’m moving toward a different pace of life. Questioning the internalized time clock. As Alexis Pauline Gumbs reminds us: slow is efficient. Slow is effective. Slow is beautiful.

📊 👇🏼𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋 have you felt pressure to hustle constantly?

🛋 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐗 👉 Link in bio

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