Seeking Solace with the Quran During Sleep
As-salamu alaykum, brothers and sisters. I'm a brother working in software engineering. Over the past couple of years, because of some tough experiences and my own sensitive, emotional, overthinking personality-always dwelling on regrets-my mental health has really taken a hit. My mind gets stuck on negative memories, and I can't seem to shake them off. It's like my brain constantly bombards me with these bad experiences, and I end up having panic attacks. My anxiety spikes, my heart races like crazy. It's a complicated situation, and I don't want to take medications because of the side effects and other issues they come with. Instead, I'm trying to live in a way that avoids all these anxiety triggers. But it's not easy, because even small negative things now linger in my mind and hit me hard. The situation is so severe that I get these panic attacks, racing heartbeat, and intense stress even while I'm sleeping. During sleep, I'm shivering with anxiety and stress, often reciting 'Allahu Akbar' and seeking forgiveness despite being asleep. In those moments, I'm not myself. I feel so devastated and just want Allah to be near. Lately, I've started keeping the Quran beside my bed, and when I get an attack at night, I grab it, place it on my chest, and hug it tightly. This comforts me during the anxiety attack, giving me a sense that Allah is close. It's the greatest consolation for me when the stress hits during sleep. I wanted to ask, is it okay for me to do this? I don't even have wudu at that point. Am I dishonoring the sanctity of the Quran? Maybe I can keep a piece of cloth and use that to hold it, but my situation in those moments is extremely dire, and tightly hugging the Quran is the only source of comfort. The stress is so overwhelming in those moments that getting up to pray is just not possible. I think only those who have experienced this level of anxiety and stress can understand. I just wish there were a way to erase these triggers from our memories.