Date: Saturday 16th March 2019
Time: 2.45-5.15pm
Location: Edgware Road (venue details disclosed to sisters who confirm attendance).
Research shows that Muslim women are unique in the sense that they face triple penalty discrimination – being women, being ethnic minorities, and Muslim. The stress that comes with having to deal with these pressures can impact one’s mental health, and left unchecked can lead to serious health problems.
Within the Muslim community mental health and well being is still quite the taboo issue. The stigma that comes with mental health is so strong that many will go untreated or counselled, and will suffer alone. The perception of what it means to be a sufferer of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues stops people from disclosing their problems. This is also an issue when approaching current and potential employers at the risk of being overlooked for jobs, promotions, or stimulating workloads.
However ground has been broken in mental health awareness across all sectors. Faith leaders and employers are being provided guidelines and training support to deal with members of the community and staff respectively that show concerns for their mental health and well being. From the design of work environments to support for coaching, training, and counselling, employers are being made responsible for their workforce. A healthy happy workforce is more likely to boost productivity, reduce the amount of annual sick leave and loss of work hours, and increase profits.
The aim of this workshop is to explore the various aspects of work life that can impact a Muslim woman’s ability to handle the various pressures that come with it. From level of responsibilities, workloads, working relations with bosses, colleagues, clients, and various consultants, to the specifics of hours, commute, expectations, and opportunities for training and promotions. What about our work and faith identities are they the one and the same or do we feel caught between the two? Is this an internal or external manifestation? Does potential discrimination faced at work contribute to this? How do Muslim women deal with this on top of their personal pressures?
This will be delivered through our specialists in the field talking about the different issues, support, and treatment available. Interactive activities will showcase the important cognitive behavioural therapy techniques that can help alleviate and address stress and anxiety. This will highlight the importance of mindfulness and compassion towards others as well as to oneself in not only coming to terms with mental health issues, but as a stress management tool.
The aim for the session is to enable sisters to:
- learn ways to deal with work related stress or spot others in need of help
- how to reconfigure one’s mindset to be more effective in dealing with it
- different avenues and methods of treatment/counselling and support groups available i.e. where and who to ask for help
Our focus is exploring what works, what could be done better, and what can one do to begin making a positive and productive step forward.
Please note that this is a sisters’ only event and for security purposes venue details will only be disclosed to sisters who confirm their place.
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Light refreshments are available and any sisters interested can join us for dinner to continue discussions at a local restaurant after.
The nearest station is Colindale Tube Station. Bus stops for routes 32, 142 and N16 outside the building. Bus stops for either 292 or 303 bus routes a short walk away.
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Thanks to all who attended today’s sessions. Our specialists #DrIramSattar and #DrSophiaMohyuddin provided some very useful information, tips, resources and background to the topic with a good balance of Islamic perspective.
Shout out to our venue coordinator #AttiaAli who organised today’s venue! Jzk sis!
Keep your eyes peeled for the next event sisters!
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