Breaking Barriers: London's Muslim Community Faces Mental Health Challenges in Silence

A large number of London's Muslim community dealing with mental health issues is not seeking help to address them, according to a new survey by the Muslim Wellness Network.

According to the study, about 20 per cent of respondents reported suffering from anxiety. An additional 18 per cent said they dealt with high stress, while 12 per cent reported suffering from depression and technology addiction. More than 650 Muslim households representing about 3,400 people participated in the survey, supported by other community groups in London’s Muslim community.

However, 73 per cent of households who reported dealing with a mental health issue also said they didn't seek help for those conditions, according to the results of the survey, completed as a way to gauge the needs and challenges faced by London’s Muslim community and find solutions to address them.

“We're always kind of playing catch up, not being able to provide services in advance or be ready in advance for a lot of the crises that emerge inside the Muslim community,” said Sarah Elgazzar, one of the researchers behind the survey. And part of is that “it's very difficult to plan if you don't have a proper evaluation in place or can properly assess needs.”

One possible explanation for the findings is that the reported cases may have been acute episodes of mental health issues rather than chronic conditions, Elgazzar said.

“It could be that they didn't think that the problems were serious enough or that they had the means and the resilience to deal with it themselves,” she said.

Barriers to access, including cost or services that are not attuned to Muslims' value system, could also be playing a factor, she added.

A 2021 study completed at King’s University College, for instance, showed a lack of understanding of cultural differences is a major barrier to London Muslims seeking help for substance abuse among what are considered “mainstream service providers.”

“Many of the services across the board don’t truly understand the context of Muslim people’s lives and I think it’s important to draw attention to that,” Siham Elkassem, who led the study, said in a 2021 interview with the London Free Press. “It’s a theme that came up quite a bit.”

Elkassem, a Muslim, said existing efforts such as 12-step drug and alcohol treatment programs have a marked Christian focus that doesn’t connect with Muslims.

Fears of discrimination, including Islamophobia, are also barriers, issues that should guide service providers to find ways to better connect with Muslims and other racialized communities, Elkassem said.

Though the 73 per cent figure may seem large, Elgazzar said she in fact was pleasantly surprised to see one in four people actually sought support considering seeking help remains taboo in many immigrant communities.

“That’s one in four who said, ‘You know what? I actually need to reach out to someone . . . I can’t do this alone, I really do need help,’” she said. “That for me was a positive sign that we are moving in the right direction.”

You can find other results included in the survey here.