Last week, I uploaded my podcast about ‘Mental Health in Islam.’ It had an amazingly positive response, and many seemed to enjoy it. Here is one of the comments, “A very insightful podcast. Helped understand the depths of mental health.”

I noticed people had similar opinions and were open to discussion on the topic. It was nice to see different ideas. I expressed in the podcast that society is becoming more open, but certain things do take part when it comes to talking about your mental health and stigma is still present. Aleem, posted a comment slightly contradicting this, about how he felt that Islam encourages family’s talk about mental health more which was educating to read.

I noticed a comment that was posted anonymously about how they could relate to my guest Kasim, a gay Muslim. The comment mentioned, “I don't think it's fair that religion can make someone 'scared' to be more open.” This was nice to see a different perspective as it made me think more deeply about this topic. As I’m not sure if this person is a Muslim themselves, or non-religious, etc. I had to look at their view from an outsider's view. To an extent, I do understand their view as it links with my topic of how there is stigma and the pressure of certain things can stop someone from being open. But I don’t think its religion specifically that makes them scared, it’s the values within a family. Many e.g., Pakistani parents aren’t educated about the topic, hence why it becomes taboo to talk about as I discussed. Religion emphasises certain messages, as one of my comments mentioned: “Prophet Muhammad (SWL) recommended families to sit together and talk about their day and feelings to create a stronger bond, etc.”
In my podcast the Imam, Adam mentioned that it’s always more difficult when it comes to family and the best way is to talk and be open.

From my comments, I noticed having the Imam as a guest was something people did enjoy due to it being a refreshing perspective of an Islamic. One of my listeners, Imad wrote: “Loved the fact you conducted an interview with an Imam, I expected him to have a different response for some reason, but this was very interesting to see.”

It was intriguing to see these comments, hearing different views and people expressing their opinions. Especially seeing how I gave Imad a different perspective on what he expected. I particularly liked responding to the comments and giving my view on their opinion. I really enjoyed producing the podcast and exploring this topic.