Remembrance of God A Good Way to Battle Depression
Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness, loss of interest and energy, feeling guilt, losing appetite, and thinking about death and suicide.
It disrupts one’s personal and social life. If a person has any of these symptoms for at least two weeks, he or she is diagnosed with depression: Significant decrease in enjoyment of most daily activities, significant weight loss or increase in appetite, difficulty concentrating, persistent low mood or sadness, feeling hopeless and helpless, low self-esteem, tearfulness, guilt, irritability and intolerance of others, lack of motivation or interest in things, difficulty making decisions, worrying about the judgments of others, and suicidal thoughts.
In the Holy Quran there are words like huzn, hamm, ghamm, Ghussa, that refer to sadness and depression.
God says in the Holy Book: “The righteously striving believers who are steadfast in their prayers and pay the zakat, will receive their reward from God. They will have no fear nor will they grieve.” (Verse 277 of Surah Al-Baqarah)
Faith in God and remembrance of God save people from various kinds of mental disorders, including depression, and gives them peace of mind:
“Those who believe, and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Is it not with the remembrance of Allah that hearts are satisfied.” (Verse 28 of Surah Ar-Raad)
Actually, most mental pressures are caused by regretting about the past and loss of opportunities or fear of the future and what might happen.
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One way to tackle these mental pressures, according to the Quran, is having a positive approach to life and to the events that take place in the course of life. One should not be sad about what has happened in the past or be fearful of the future. One can get a positive outlook of himself and his surroundings by having a comprehensive approach to life.
God says in Verse 216 of Surah Al-Baqarah: “You may not like something which, in fact, is for your good and something that you may love, in fact, may be evil. God knows, but you do not know.”
Therefore, if one remains patient and refuses to lose control of his emotions in the face of adversity, sadness and grief will soon disappear and be replaced by happiness.
