My PMS is cured: I’m no longer crazy!

Premenstrual syndrome or, better known as, PMS is a monthly ailment that affects many women. It affects many pre-menopausal women. Symptoms of PMS may include: mood swings, lethargy, cravings for different foods, sadness, anxiety, headaches, weight gain, tearfulness, paranoia.

The symptoms all seem to be psychological, which is why when I didn’t know what the hell was going on with me, I honestly thought I was going crazy. I didn’t know what to do, I even went to talk with my doctor who recommended I take birth-control pills. I didn’t want to go on contraceptives. I knew there was something I was missing in my body that was causing me my severe PMS symptoms. I searched all over the internet, I read medical articles, and then something caught my interest. That something was vitamin D. Vitamin D apparently is very important, and helps with immunity, as well as PMS symptoms. I ran into an article that talked about the benefits of vitamin D, which stated that many Americans were vitamin D deficient, especially darker skin people since it takes more time for the sun to penetrate the epidermis. A light bulb went on in my head. Living in Minnesota, we’re indoors most of the time, especially in the winter months. The sun is the best source of acquiring vitamin D, and I remember times when I would go outside and my body would crave the sunlight in the winter. I looked into this some more, and decided to have my doctor test my vitamin D levels.

When my results came back, I was shocked. My vitamin D level was almost non-existent, a mere 9 ng/mL. A normal value is 50-80 ng/mL. I was dangerously deficient. My doctor put me on 50,000IU (units) of vitamin D supplements for four months. Immediately, within two weeks I felt my PMS was getting milder, and milder. By four months almost 98% of my PMS symptoms were gone. I also started adding more calcium-rich foods into my diet. Before finding out about my vitamin D level, I never drank milk, maybe the occasional yogurt was it for me.

My mother was recently telling me how I’m so much better lately with my moods! We all started laughing after she mentioned that. I’m so happy and grateful to have found this. The moral of the story is, I wasn’t made for a cold place, I’m a child of the sun!

Is Islam just a set of laws?

One of the reasons I took a “hiatus” from practicing Islam was because I felt I wasn’t a good muslimah. I felt that because I wasn’t practicing the “dos and don’ts” of Islam, I was better off not practicing part-time. I was also discouraged by some of the people who I felt were always judging me regarding the way I would dress.

Being in the Somali community, especially the one in Minneapolis you will quickly learn that there is alot of extremism when it comes to women and hijab. 99% of Somali females in Minneapolis, and the surrounding metro areas wear long skirts and headcovering. If I go to certain places in Minneapolis wearing jeans, Somali women upon observing my “Somaliness” will quickly give me the side eye. You’re basically dubbed a whore for wearing pants. For the non-muslim, non-Somali readers, you may gasp at this claim, but nevertheless it’s true. I can’t count the number of times a Somali man or woman came up to me to discuss with me why wearing “pants” is deemed “haraam” (not allowed) for women.

I was recently talking to a friend of mine who used to wear pants, and has taken up to wearing skirts everyday now. She was telling me that “wearing pants is no longer in style”. I had to laugh at her comment because wearing pants isn’t about “style” , it’s more about convenience. It’s easier to wear pants and match it easily with all types of tops and blouses. Furthermore, it depends on the type of pants you wear!

So, does wearing “pants” make me less muslim? It’s possible that alot of women who like to judge sisters who dress how they want are doing it because they themselves wish they could dress that way. Most of them tend to dress that way out of fear of the Somali community, sadly. Furthermore, when trying to explain the importance of hijab, most of the time they would talk about the punishments of hellfire if you show your hair, instead of the benefits of being modest.

I realized, everything I do is between me and Allah. Islam for me is a spiritual transformation that gives you a direct connection with Allah (God), not a set of dos and don’t. Islam is not just a set of laws, but a way of life to attain peace. For me, Islam is more than a piece of fabric that covers your hair. I’m not saying there aren’t any rules to practicing Islam, but while doing that, we shouldn’t forget the spiritual connection, and it’s transformative nature. Allah is flexible, so why should we be rigid?