"She Felt Like Everyone Hated Her" - Man Opens Up About Wife's Struggle With Depression
"People with depression aren't 'crazy' or 'attention seekers'."
By May Vin Ang — 06 Sep 2019, 07:03 PM
A netizen recently took to Facebook to share his experiences of caring for his wife who suffers from mental illnesses
Najmi Nawawi shared that his wife, Husna Nadhirah, was diagnosed with depression in 2015 at Hospital Sungai Buloh.
He wrote that the moment his wife told a doctor that she no longer "wanted to live" changed his life.
The post has garnered over 23,000 shares at the time of writing.
In addition to depression, Husna has also been diagnosed with anxiety and panic attacks, which has led to violent behaviour
According to Najmi, she once punched a door broken and even tried to stab him with a key.
"Husna always felt like she was useless. She felt like everyone hated her, like everyone took advantage of her, like she wasn't loved or given attention to," he said.
"She felt like it was better to just die," he added.
"When I found out that she had suicidal thoughts, I thought to myself that I can't play around anymore, I need to focus on her because she's my wife," he wrote
"She's my responsibility, I need to help," he added.
For the past four years, Najmi has been focused on Husna's mental health and putting her and their family first.
In his viral post, Najmi highlighted the stigma surrounding mental illnesses
He revealed that most people who knew about Husna's condition advised them to "look on the bright side" and "not think negatively", which he likened to asking a blind person to see the sun.
"Other people don't understand what we're going through. They assume that the mental illness is a result of a lack of faith, unfocused prayers, and not reading the Quran," Najmi wrote.
"People with depression aren't 'crazy' or 'attention seekers'," Najmi said, emphasising that people need to acknowledge that mental illnesses are like physical diseases
"Like how other organs can get sick, so can our brains. If someone has cancer would you ask them to be patient, or would you ask them to get treatment?" he wrote.
He also pointed out that there needs to be better support for those who suffer from mental illnesses.
"Everyone needs to know the signs and symptoms, be mature, and help when they can," Najmi added.
"Because depression can be hidden behind a smile."
