Calm Yourself!!!

By Nermin Abd El-Moneim

"I can't seem to enjoy my holidays. I have this awful feeling of depression that I think will never leave me. What can I do?" We hear this question from a lot of people today. What would you suggest to such a person? Because of daily stress and difficult circumstances we face today, depression and sadness become a part of life for some people, especially the youth.

During adolescence the youth get depressed or become easily angry because of hormonal changes and brain growth spurts, and also as a result of either positive or negative changes. No doubt the time we spend on cooling down and warming up will improve our daily performance and help us to accept the ups and downs of life, but we are living now in the "age of depression." What can we do about this? Depression has a dangerous impact on people. When you feel depressed, you may do poorly in school; you may find it difficult to communicate with your family and friends or you may aggravate them. Moreover, you may tend to overeat or have a poor appetite; you may tend to oversleep or suffer from insomnia. You may also tend to smoke or drink alcohol or hang around peers who are having similar problems. All this leads to feelings of more depression.

Many organizations for youth provide hotlines and 24-hour phone services to help teenagers to get rid of feelings of depression and its destructive impact on life activities. Did you ever think that we as Muslims have our own hotline? Our hotline is Prayer- Salaah. Salaah is an emergency hotline that you can pick up at any time and ask for any help you might need. Salaah, the second pillar of Islam-is a gift from Allah to Rasulullah SAW and his Ummah-including you. So enjoy this gift and invest in it well. It is a connection between Allah and you. You can talk to Allah and ask for His guidance in any problem you face. You can even complain to Him about something you are expecting or afraid of. That is why some of the scholars said, "If you want to talk to Allah, make Salaah. And if you want Allah to talk to you, recite the Quran." We believe that Allah is our only Creator and that He is the One Who can guide us to what is best for us. So He is the One Who can fix our troubles, the One we can rely on in times of hardships and thank in times of ease.

Allah ordained Salaah, your gift-five times a day as a way of maintaining and fixing your heart, soul, and body. Likewise, you can pray at any time once you feel that you need a counsellor or a guide to show you to the right path. If someone invents a machine and sells it to you, you have to go to him regularly to maintain it and to fix any problem. You may not be aware of the problem, as you are simply the user, but he is aware of it as the inventor. And if something gets broken or out of order in this machine, you will go to him to fix it even if it is not time for its regular maintenance.

Seeking peace and calmness begins within you. You will never have outer peace if you don't have inner peace. Allah says [and stand before Allah in a devout frame of mind] (Al-Baqarah 2:238). So you should approach Salaah in peace, pray it in peace, and finish it in peace, because Salaah gives you a break, both mentally and physically, from the daily stresses of life and in this way you will obtain peace. If you are thinking of an important issue that you have to decide about but you can't make up your mind, just give your mind a break from tension and pressure and perform a prayer seeking Allah's guidance. This will provide your soul with comfort and give your mind a break and help you to think more clearly and practically about the situation that you are faced with. As Rasulullah SAW told Bilal, "Call for the prayers, it will comfort us."

Furthermore, Salaah cleanses your soul of any daily sins and helps you to get rid of feelings of guilt that are one of main reasons of depression. So when you perform Salaah and ask for Allah's forgiveness with a regretful heart, you will have all your sins forgiven, Insha Allah.

Physically, the different positions you take in Salaah have a great impact on strengthening your muscles. Also, performing Salaah activates and stretches your spine, which contains most of the nerves and energy centres of the body. Moreover, Allah ordained ablution (Wudhu) before performing Salaah because it prepares you to meet Allah in the best condition. [O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer wash your faces and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles] (Al-Ma'idah 5:6)

Wudhu also has a great effect on the health of your body and soul. It not only gets rid of impurities, but also sins. As Rasulullah SAW told us, when a Muslim makes Wudhu in the proper way, the sins he or she has committed come out of every part cleaned and leaves it pure. Rasulullah SAW said, "Whoever makes Wudhu and makes it well, his sins come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails." (Muslim 3/133 and others) Your body is exposed to millions of germs and microbes during the day, and the water of Wudhu keeps the skin fresh and helps prevent infections. It also releases stress, so when you argue with someone, all you need to do is just make Wudhu and then you will feel calm and able to have a fruitful discussion with him or her.