Depression Doesn't Make You A Bad Muslim: What The Islamic Community Can Do For Mental Health
08 September 2017Sima Barmania
I was raised in a Muslim home in the suburbs of outer London, in a family
where religion was always important. As a child I was told that depression was
not something faced by Muslims. "Depression doesn't exist in Islam." It was
said almost in a chorus by family friends in Muslim communities both at home
and abroad; the prevailing consensus was that depression was a Western
phenomenon. I was puzzled as to what this actually meant. Did it mean that
Muslims were somehow immune from the condition? Such views were perhaps
understandable at that point in time given the dearth of information relating
to mental health. 'Depression is a Western disease' Years later I heard
similar statements, said with greater vehemence—this time not by members of
the community, but by a good friend whom I held in great reverence and
admiration.
She was intelligent, poised, and well-spoken – a paragon of what a good Muslim
should be. "Depression doesn't exist: it's a Western disease, you know", she
said during a discussion on Western psychiatry. She said, with unwavering
conviction, that "if you followed Islam, you would not be depressed." It was
those Muslims who had not fully embraced Islam in their daily life, those weak
in their faith (Iman), who were afflicted with a "disease of the heart". The
insinuation was that depression was an existential punishment for wrongdoing.
Adding another layer of guilt Such negative perceptions will not do much to
help the feelings of low self-esteem and unshakeable destructive thoughts that
are often so all-consuming for those experiencing depression. I suspect it
would just add a new dimension to their internal negative narratives,
exacerbating feelings of guilt that Muslims experiencing depression may feel.
Such strong social condemnation is highly damaging, as it often results in
people delaying much-needed diagnosis and treatment. This is particularly
worrying when sufferers have suicidal thoughts, made more complicated by the
fact that suicide is considered forbidden in Islam. In some countries, there
is also punishment for those who have attempted suicide, casting depression as
a social ill rather than a medical issue needing to be addressed. But there is
something we could do I have seen religious leaders use their position to
deliver information and education about HIV during Friday sermons in Muslim
countries like Malaysia.
Surely we could get religious leaders to talk about mental health and
depression too. They could use their influence to dispel damaging narratives
about depression, destigmatise, and offer an entry point to mental health
services within the community. This article is published with permission from
The Lancet Psychiatry. Sima Barmania is a global health doctor.
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