This Is The Reason For Anxiety And How To Treat It

Anxiety, often described as the silent tormentor, is a universal human emotion that has intrigued philosophers, psychologists, and scientists for centuries. It’s a complex and multifaceted sensation that can manifest differently in each person.

This Is The Reason For Anxiety

In this blog post, we will embark on a journey to understand anxiety better, beginning with a picturesque analogy from the animal kingdom.

Imagine yourself on a serene safari, observing a graceful giraffe as it leisurely munches on leaves. The image of this seemingly carefree animal serves as an analogy for the profound contrast between the natural world and our modern human experience.

Let’s explore the intricacies of anxiety, drawing parallels between our lives and those of animals in immediate response environments. We’ll delve into why anxiety is indeed a natural response and why it can become chronic in our complex, delayed response world.

The Reason For Anxiety

The Giraffe’s Immediate Response

Animals in the wild, such as the giraffe, live in immediate response environments. Their lives are characterized by simplicity and immediacy. When a giraffe feels hungry, it locates a suitable tree and starts chomping on leaves. The hunger subsides, and the giraffe continues its day. Similarly, when a storm rolls in with thunder and lightning, the giraffe swiftly moves to find shelter, immediately relieved from the threat.

Immediate response environments are governed by basic survival instincts. In these settings, emotions like anxiety serve a specific and short-term purpose. They trigger actions that address immediate needs or threats, such as finding food or avoiding danger. Once the threat or need is resolved, the emotional response subsides.

Human Lives in Delayed Response Environments

Contrastingly, modern humans live in delayed response environments. Consider the journey of education: you invest years in studying, with no immediate gratification. Even after earning a degree, job security remains uncertain, and job satisfaction is another layer of unpredictability. Our lives are a continuous stream of uncertainties, from housing and financial stability to career progression and beyond.

In our fast-paced, modern world, instant gratification is rarely a reality. We often find ourselves caught in a web of delayed rewards, where the fruits of our efforts may take years to materialize, if at all.

Chronic Stress Factors

This transition from immediate to delayed response environments introduces chronic stress factors into our lives. Unlike the fleeting anxiety experienced by a gazelle fleeing a lion, our anxieties persist. They become a part of our daily lives, gnawing at our well-being. The uncertainty of the future, financial pressures, and societal expectations are just a few examples of the chronic stressors that can plague us.

The stressors we face as modern humans are not short-term threats like those encountered by animals in the wild. Instead, they are persistent and often long-lasting, contributing to the chronic anxiety that many individuals experience.

Anxiety as a Natural Response

Anxiety, like depression, is a natural response that evolved over millions of years to help us navigate threats and challenges. It is not inherently negative; rather, it’s a survival mechanism designed to protect us. When a deer encounters a lion in the wild, anxiety prompts it to flee, a crucial survival mechanism. This fight-or-flight response is an example of how anxiety serves as a short-term, purposeful emotional reaction.

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The Modern Human Predicament

In the modern world, we find ourselves perpetually swamped by anxious thoughts. Unlike animals, our anxieties don’t come and go with immediate threats. Instead, they persist, fueled by the uncertainties of our complex lives. Whether it’s worrying about job security, financial stability, or the future in general, our minds are constantly buzzing with anxiety-inducing thoughts.

Our brains are wired to anticipate and prepare for future scenarios, but in a world where the future is uncertain, this anticipation can spiral into chronic anxiety. This continuous state of apprehension can impact our mental and physical well-being, leading to various health issues if left unaddressed.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

Understanding anxiety involves recognizing that it encompasses a spectrum of experiences and disorders. Here are some of the most common anxiety disorders:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

GAD is characterized by excessive worry and anxiety about everyday events and situations. People with GAD often anticipate disaster and find it challenging to control their worry.

2. Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

SAD involves an intense fear of social situations and a strong desire to avoid them. It can be debilitating and hinder one’s ability to interact with others.

3. Panic Disorder

Panic disorder involves recurrent, unexpected panic attacks, which are sudden periods of intense fear or discomfort. These attacks can lead to further anxiety and avoidance behaviors.

4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is characterized by intrusive, repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) aimed at reducing distress. These rituals can become time-consuming and interfere with daily life.

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Can Muslims seek medical treatment For Anxiety?

There is nothing wrong with treating the diseases that befall a person, and this is not forbidden. But that is subject to the condition that the treatment does not cause side effects that are worse than the problem itself.

Herbal treatment for anxiety

Then we advise treating it with natural materials that Allah has created, such as honey and plants, for Allah has created special properties in them which may treat many kinds of diseases, and at the same time they do not have any side effects on the one who takes them.

How to treat anxiety?

We think that you should not take artificial chemical remedies for anxiety. For this disease, a person needs a spiritual remedy rather than a chemical one.

So he needs to increase his faith and his trust in his Lord; he needs to make more dua and pray more. If he does that, his anxiety will be removed.

Seeking to relax by means of doing acts of worship has a great effect on the soul, dispelling many kinds of psychological diseases.

Hence we do not see any benefit in going to a psychologist whose beliefs are corrupt, let alone one who is a non-Muslim. The more the doctor knows about Allah and His religion, the better advice he will give to his patient.

To whoever, male or female, does good deeds and has faith, We shall give a good life and reward them according to the best of their actions.
[source]

Suhaib reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:

Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it.
[source]

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Can a believer become mentally ill?

Undoubtedly a person may suffer from psychological or mental diseases, such as anxiety about the future and regret for the past. Psychological diseases affect the body more than physical diseases affect it.

One of the means of treating them is mentioned in the sahih hadith from Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him):

There is no-one who is afflicted by distress and grief, and says: ‘Allahumma inni ‘abduka ibn ‘abdika ibn amatika nasyati bi yadika, madin fiyya hukmuka, ‘adlun fiyya qadauka. As-aluka bi kulli ismin huwa laka sammayta bihi nafsaka aw anzaltahu fi kitabika aw ‘allamtahu ahadan min khalqika aw istatharta bihi fi ‘ilm il-ghayb ‘indaka an taj’al al-Qurana rabi’a qalbi wa nura sadri wa jala-a huzni wa dhahaba hammi (O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your maidservant; my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Quran the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety),’ but Allah will take away his distress and grief, and replace it with joy.”

But because people’s faith is weak nowadays, they are less receptive to the remedies prescribed in Shariah. So people nowadays have started to rely on physical medicines more than on the remedies prescribed in Shariah. But when a person’s faith is strong, the remedies prescribed in Shariah are completely effective, and may work faster than physical medicine.

We ask Allah to protect us and you from the evils of anxiety and worry, and to open our hearts to faith, guidance and tranquility.

And Allah knows best.

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Conclusion

In understanding anxiety, it’s essential to recognize that it’s a natural response that evolved over millions of years to help us navigate threats and challenges. However, in today’s intricate, delayed-response world, anxiety can become chronic and overwhelming. Acknowledging this contrast can be the first step in managing anxiety effectively.

A Muslim should always seek help from Allah first through prayers and dua. Having supreme trust in Allah can also help in relieving anxiety. You can try the methods discussed above and inshAllah Allah will help you through.