My mum says I’m possessed by a jinn - or is it mental health?
As-salamu alaykum. Long post ahead - forgive the ramble. I’m 18F and my mum has been telling people for years that I have a jinn, but I’ve been wondering whether a lot of what I’m dealing with is mental health issues instead. She’s convinced it’s just jinns. I’m hoping to explain what I go through and get some perspective: does this sound like jinn activity, mental health struggles, or maybe both? 1) Bad hygiene. I have a really hard time keeping clean and looking after myself. Clothes pile up, I smell bad sometimes, my skin’s worse and parts peel, I often look grey/brown and sickly with dark circles. 2) Very quick temper. Most of my family are short-tempered, but mine’s different - I fly off the handle almost immediately and say or threaten really harmful things. My siblings know how to push me and get a reaction, and they find it funny. When I blow up I become someone else: I might break things, or if I don’t want to cause damage I go to the bathroom and hurt myself to release the anger - clench my fists, dig my nails in, hit my head, slap or punch myself, things like that. I also swear a lot and sometimes say horrible things about religion when I’m in that state, like questioning dua or saying I hate praying. After I calm down I feel huge guilt and embarrassment but I keep repeating the cycle. I try to control it and can’t. 3) Constant stress. I’m on edge all the time, reacting strongly to tiny things and lashing out at whoever speaks to me while I’m stressed. 4) Ongoing physical pain with no clear cause. I’ve seen doctors and had tests; they say I’m physically healthy but the pain persists. 5) Negative thoughts about Islam sometimes. When I’m extremely angry I get intrusive thoughts and say disrespectful things about Islam. I also get lots of waswas that distress me. 6) Spending a lot of time in the bathroom. We live in a small house and the bathroom is the only private spot, so I hide there to daydream, scroll, cry, or just be alone. I can’t cry openly in front of the family so that’s where it happens. 7) Heavy music addiction. I listen for hours, any loud genre - especially metal and hard rock. It hurts my ears sometimes but it numbs me and creates a separate world where I feel okay. 8) A vivid nightmare months ago where I was kidnapped and made wudu and dua in the bathroom. I woke up really shaken and ended up making wudu and praying, which I hadn’t done in months. It disturbed me but felt significant. 9) Prayer and wudu are a huge struggle. I’ve basically not prayed consistently for months; I have sensory issues and hate getting wet, so wudu feels unbearable. I have no willpower to study, shower, pray - I can’t seem to keep up with salah for even a full month in the past. Sorry for dumping all this - I just needed to explain everything. I genuinely want to know whether this sounds more like a spiritual issue or something like depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems. I’m open to seeing both sides and I’d appreciate advice from people who understand Islam and mental health. JazakAllah khair.