Worry and anxiety is everyone’s problem
Allah has created this universe on the principle of trial. A large part of this trial consists of the problems and sufferings that every human has to face. Therefore, a human being of any color, race, age, or nation may suffer from worries and concerns in any form. In these circumstances, patience is a desirable behavior in religion. But how will we achieve this patience? The traditional method describes the virtues and rewards of patience, which is effective. But in this modern era, life is too fast and materialistic, especially for people living in Pakistan. They are facing constant problems and sufferings in such a way that it has become a habit to be worried. So I am delivering a course on crisis management or stress management to my close friends. After that, Godwilling, I intend to conduct another course regarding self-management. I intend to publish some of its essential points for public benefit.
The benefit of understanding these methods:
Learning such skills is necessary from two aspects. The first one is the nature of the moral demands our religion places before us, i.e., We must do certain things in life and refrain from certain things. In the case of man, moral actions do not spring from his mind but emanate from his personality. It means that in material matters when the human mind makes a decision, its nervous system immediately conveys orders to the organs, and the decision gets executed. One drinks water when thirsty, eats food when hungry, and visits someplace to have fun. However, in moral issues, its not the case that if the mind accepts one thing, the person immediately starts acting on it. Childhood circumstances and a person’s environment shape a unique personality, thinking, habits, and behavior. Every command of mind passes through the sieve of these personal attitudes. If the moral matter complies with personal perspectives, the person acts upon that work. Otherwise, the mind may force two or four actions, but within a short period, a person begins to take instructions from his personality instead of his mind.
Understand this with an example. A person firmly intends to get up early in the morning for Fajr prayer when he knows the importance and virtue of it. But if the personal attitude and habit are to stay up late and sleep late, then the person will do this once or twice and then be unable to stick to it. The same applies to patience and contentment in times of trouble. If Man’s temperament and character building are raised with the bricks of haste, impatience, and anxiety, the man will fail on every such occasion. In summary, personality improvement is substantial in following the rules of religion.
Another advantage of learning these skills is that the weakness or problem of everything or everyone under discussion is not necessarily in us. But it may be in someone close to us. So if we understand it, we can help better. It is also possible that we may not have fallen into such a problem right now, but sooner or later, life can bring us somewhere we may face some trials and difficulties. So if we understand these skills beforehand, we can deal with them more effectively.
Worry and Useful Worry
What is Worry? Everyone recognizes it at the level of feelings, but it is crucial to understand and explain it scientifically. Worry is a condition in which anxiety and nervousness arise in the body. Due to an existing or expected problem, the mind becomes a place of fears and negative thoughts. It is not a momentary condition, but it repeatedly attacks the mind. Its primary disadvantage is that it suspends and paralyzes the thoughts and actions of human beings in the current and existing moment.
Here it is cleared that every worry is not bad. The concern is one of the main factors to motivate a person to action. This type of concern does not distress the mind, but affects it. If there is good training of the mind or, in proper words, the personality, a person takes the appropriate steps and solves the problem. Therefore, if there is no concern and, due its effect, no stress, no problem can be solved. We can understand this with an example.
Suppose someone in your house gets a deep wound and starts bleeding profusely. It is natural to worry about it. This worry will create stress, and you will try to solve the problem. First, you will attempt to stop the bleeding and then consult a doctor. If you were not worried, the situation would not have solved. In this respect, worrying is a positive attitude but it should be remembered that mental pressure leads to action caused by anxiety but not stress. If there is no pressure, people don’t work. This is the right way to solve problems means problem ….. pain ….. stress ….. analysis ….. and then action. But most people go through this process like this. Problem….. pain…… stress….. more pain….. more stress….. and then action). Without analysis, the problem is often not solved; even if it is, the person has already suffered a lot.
Difference between anxiety and sadness
It should also be understood here that sadness does the same thing, just as anxiety robs a person of peace of mind. But there is a difference between the two which should be understood. Anxiety is related to a problem or danger in the present or future. Urdu synonyms describe all the conditions we go through, i.e., anxiety, worry, concern, hesitancy, fear, etc., while grief is related to a loss in the past. We use words like shock, pain, regret, sorrow, sadness, and trauma for the conditions that befell on a person. Despite the difference between the two, they are equally destructive to human beings. And we will carry on further discussion, keeping anxiety and grief in the background.
Be it grief or anxiety, these are mental conditions, but apart from these, another thing destroys our peace: the pain caused to the body. We express it with the words like disease, pain, suffering, ache, and grief. But this is not our topic because people are instinctively ready to solve or treat it immediately, while people make worry or sadness their life, which is destructive behavior.
I will present three basic things in front of you which are vital for every person to know.
The first point about anxiety:
The first point to note is that anxiety, even though it is a mental attitude, has a great potential to sicken the human body, destroy human peace, and destroy the ability to maintain relationships and responsibilities. If a person gets into the habit of worrying, the body gradually becomes prone to various disorders, from heart and stomach diseases to feeble teeth and sexual weakness. It’s all quite obvious. Every problem creates stress. Due to stress, the body’s muscles get tensed and start releasing different chemicals. It is like a powerful energy that significantly increases the human capacity to act. If people don’t work and keep worrying, this energy becomes poisonous and spreads in the whole body. Gradually, this deadly entity destroy the human body.
So, stress not only robs the peace and vitality of the mind but also destroys mental capacity and functional performance. Moreover, the irritation and frustration caused by the mood also poison the relationships. So getting rid of anxiety is necessary for a calm and healthy life.
The second point about anxiety
The second thing about wrong worries is that it paralyzes man’s power of action. While the actual capital of man is present because the known past has disappeared, and the future is unfamiliar. Whatever a man has, it is this present day and time. If this period is sacrificed to grief and worry, it is as if the whole life has been wasted. It is a significant loss that is not possible to recover.
Therefore, on every occasion of grief and worry, a human must keep sadness and hesitancy in the corner and initiate the action. The move will not only make the time useful, but he will also get peace of mind which he was deprived of. Because when a person is working, all the attention is in the direction of work. So, he gets no opportunity to mourn. Moreover, if a person wants to avoid future problems, he should use the present day to plan and prepare. It is the best way to deal with life’s problems.
An example of this is that students who work hard daily remain calm when exams approach, but students who waste their precious time daily become highly anxious and stressed when exams come near. Today and now are the actual capital of life. Execute your plans now and make this capital immortal. Otherwise, it will get lost by itself.
The third point about anxiety
When problems arise, don’t let them overwhelm you. The method is to go through a three-step analysis process. First and foremost see what the maximum loss would be? For example, the Boss in the office gave you a task, but you could not complete it by the deadline. Now it is a problem. The mind process will tell you that the maximum loss would be that you can lose your job and can be stranded in financial constraints.
In the second stage of the mental process, prepare yourself to accept the worst-case scenario. Due to great deal of stress and tension, the mind constantly releases chemicals to keep the nerves in motion. But when you prepare yourseld for the worst, the mind calms down. As a result, anxiety or stress gets relieved. The focus of the mind gets diverted from the problem.
The third phase begins by thinking calmly about the solutions to the problems. It will not take much time to understand the answer to your issues. Allah has blessed man with the ability to solve most of his problems. So as soon as you think straight, an effective solution to the problem will come out sooner or later. As in this example, it may get clear to you that the reason for not completing the assignment on time is not your negligence but the fault of some other people. After that, you can present your case with better convincing arguments. A decent and reasonable conversation can solve big problems, but only a relaxed and calm mind can accomplish this. A disturbed and anxious mind cannot work correctly.
These basic suggestions can guide us all in solving problems if we take them seriously and try to follow them. God willing, I will try to write more about this topic.