It all started with treating depression as a mood swing and not an illness.
One of my friends from Karachi is suffering from depression. And along with that she is dealing with people telling her how she is not "trying enough" to get out of it (as if there is a threshold which she can cross to step out of it). At times she would swear how hard she has been trying and the extend to which she has gone, including the humble acceptance of being mentally unstable (which the rest of us are afraid to accept about ourselves) to help herself.
Another friend of mine who is now a doctor, has suffered from depression during her last two years at medical college. She had no signs of depression as such, but she gained a lot of weight and had a terrible skin condition and only upon finding out her high level of stress hormones, her dermatologist concluded that she was in depression. She worked on herself starting from praying, meditating and exercising to medicines and the right diet. And she miraculously recovered in months.
While this was happening with two of my friends who were diagnosed with depression, I wanted to peak into the matter, to know what causes it and whether or not could depression be called a disease. Our entire group of friends dedicated some time out of our weekends to look into the reasons, symptoms and cures, and most importantly, definition of Depression - the disease.
Recently, I stumbled upon an article sharing this sad news of a guy committing suicide in Khana e Kaba in the holy month of Ramadan during Taraweeh prayers. And the discussion about depression took a traditional turn where people started calling him a sinner, a dumb guy and what not.
As if this was not enough, I saw news about another suicide, again in Mecca, at a holy site for Muslims. The reaction to this incident was more inhuman than the previous one.
And only yesterday, I saw my friend's WhatsApp status where she shared a new article by someone whose best friend committed suicide, while he was continuously advised to Pray the Depression away.
The entire concept of finding a solution for a disease in praying alone is very emotional, irrational and nonsensical. Depression is a disease and should be treated like one. Just like we can't pray Cancer or a bee-sting or a dog-bite away similarly we can't cure depression with prayers alone.
Most of today's practicing yet moderate Muslim brothers and sisters in Islam are getting their guidance, motivation and knowledge from YouTube. Hence I'd quote Nauman Ali Khan from one of the videos of his speeches where he says "Du'a is not Amazon.com". If nothing else, it means that we can't necessarily escape a problem or get instantly something out of our du'as/prayers.
And praying in Depression may actually help the patient (as they may feel more connected to their Lord and hence find some inner peace), this is usually the first thing the victims try. Even an atheist would initially go for meditation, spending time in Nature and trying anti depressant diets. However, only these patients would know better whether it works or not.
We need to understand that it is one thing to have a bad day or go through a thin patch or rough time, and it is completely another to be "sick", to suffer from a disease. Very "praying" and "happy" people can go through this.
Besides, Depression is not just the so-called "bad mood", that is just one of the symptoms. I have seen my people loosing their sleep for months over nothing, and that too is just another symptom.
We need to try to think broad when it comes to medicine - the field. Just because there is no tumor. wound or bruise doesn't mean it's not a disease. However this can still be a topic open to discussion.
But what is more important is how do we deal with someone who's suffering from depression. And respecting the patient, not judging them for being a "non-praying" person or a "sinner" would be the least we could do for them.
And if we must preach (because we love it) than probably sharing our touching story with a holy moral of "Pray it away" would be a nicer way. But emphasizing on the similarities, forcing them to call our story theirs or accept both as identical will just not help and we may come out as a self-absorbed entity. While it would be nicer if we could be there for others without being about ourselves.
One of my friends from Karachi is suffering from depression. And along with that she is dealing with people telling her how she is not "trying enough" to get out of it (as if there is a threshold which she can cross to step out of it). At times she would swear how hard she has been trying and the extend to which she has gone, including the humble acceptance of being mentally unstable (which the rest of us are afraid to accept about ourselves) to help herself.
Another friend of mine who is now a doctor, has suffered from depression during her last two years at medical college. She had no signs of depression as such, but she gained a lot of weight and had a terrible skin condition and only upon finding out her high level of stress hormones, her dermatologist concluded that she was in depression. She worked on herself starting from praying, meditating and exercising to medicines and the right diet. And she miraculously recovered in months.
While this was happening with two of my friends who were diagnosed with depression, I wanted to peak into the matter, to know what causes it and whether or not could depression be called a disease. Our entire group of friends dedicated some time out of our weekends to look into the reasons, symptoms and cures, and most importantly, definition of Depression - the disease.
Recently, I stumbled upon an article sharing this sad news of a guy committing suicide in Khana e Kaba in the holy month of Ramadan during Taraweeh prayers. And the discussion about depression took a traditional turn where people started calling him a sinner, a dumb guy and what not.
As if this was not enough, I saw news about another suicide, again in Mecca, at a holy site for Muslims. The reaction to this incident was more inhuman than the previous one.
And only yesterday, I saw my friend's WhatsApp status where she shared a new article by someone whose best friend committed suicide, while he was continuously advised to Pray the Depression away.
The entire concept of finding a solution for a disease in praying alone is very emotional, irrational and nonsensical. Depression is a disease and should be treated like one. Just like we can't pray Cancer or a bee-sting or a dog-bite away similarly we can't cure depression with prayers alone.
Most of today's practicing yet moderate Muslim brothers and sisters in Islam are getting their guidance, motivation and knowledge from YouTube. Hence I'd quote Nauman Ali Khan from one of the videos of his speeches where he says "Du'a is not Amazon.com". If nothing else, it means that we can't necessarily escape a problem or get instantly something out of our du'as/prayers.
And praying in Depression may actually help the patient (as they may feel more connected to their Lord and hence find some inner peace), this is usually the first thing the victims try. Even an atheist would initially go for meditation, spending time in Nature and trying anti depressant diets. However, only these patients would know better whether it works or not.
We need to understand that it is one thing to have a bad day or go through a thin patch or rough time, and it is completely another to be "sick", to suffer from a disease. Very "praying" and "happy" people can go through this.
Besides, Depression is not just the so-called "bad mood", that is just one of the symptoms. I have seen my people loosing their sleep for months over nothing, and that too is just another symptom.
We need to try to think broad when it comes to medicine - the field. Just because there is no tumor. wound or bruise doesn't mean it's not a disease. However this can still be a topic open to discussion.
But what is more important is how do we deal with someone who's suffering from depression. And respecting the patient, not judging them for being a "non-praying" person or a "sinner" would be the least we could do for them.
And if we must preach (because we love it) than probably sharing our touching story with a holy moral of "Pray it away" would be a nicer way. But emphasizing on the similarities, forcing them to call our story theirs or accept both as identical will just not help and we may come out as a self-absorbed entity. While it would be nicer if we could be there for others without being about ourselves.
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