Speech on Western Muslim mental health issues. Given in Montreal, organized by MAC Youth.
Feeling down: A critical analysis of mental health and Islamic spirituality [Speech 1:51:32]2/6/2016
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As much as we praise those benefiting others in the world, the vast majority of people remain ignorant what they should do – who they should become – to contribute as well. Almost robotically, we’re told to do good unto others, have a social impact, and become vehicles towards world change. ‘But how does that actually translate to my life?’ many ask themselves, ‘what’s my role in this great narrative of benefiting the world?’
We live in a society which has a profound admiration of personal achievements and extravagant social status. One of the underlying presumptions of this system, what we take for granted, is this idea that everyone has this ‘real’ version of themselves that must be uncovered, and then actualized. We are all too familiar with this ideology - it’s the basic premise of any movie where the hero finds their true calling. It’s the belief that colors statements such as “you know, I’m just not a math person, I’m much more creatively minded, like an artist” or “I’m a psychologist because I’m a people-person.” The idea is that once you finally figure out who you truly are, you’ll excel at its corresponding profession because your studies and work truly reflects your ‘real You’, your specially-designed custom tailored role in the world that only you can fulfill. Humans are far from rational, yet it remains common in this day and age to believe otherwise. This is no doubt a consequence of the Western world’s post-enlightenment period, emphasizing the hard, cold facts of the natural sciences and expanding this unto all things human. But as Thomas Szasz once said so eloquently, the “objective is subjective.” This is especially relevant in an age where we speak of our feelings to be true (the premise of most romance movies incidentally), our thoughts to be rational and our beliefs to be well-founded in empirical observations. But we are limited in this regard, precisely because we are limited in our capacity to wholly evaluate any topic completely and without partisanship. Moreover, we are also limited by our own passions, insecurities and anxieties. In fact, a comprehensive reading of modern and post-modern psychology literature, beginning with Freud, significantly unearths the reality that all theories concerning human nature are in part, if not wholly, auto-biographical.
Freud is an illuminating example, not for any particular reason other than the fact that his life story is exceptionally well-documented. In the late 1890s, he wrote to Wilhelm Fliess (a friend with whom he shared his earliest conceptualizations of psychoanalysis, and other personal reflections) a fascinating letter. Following abysmal reviews from fellow psychiatrists regarding Freud’s earliest formulations of the psychosexual origins of neuroticism, Freud commented that their input was especially painful as he sought so deeply to be ‘eternally renown.’ Although other details of Freud’s life collaborate this stated intention, I am by no means singling out Freud or psychoanalysis for mischievous reasons; it just so happens that, as fate would have it, these thoughts were recorded and, incidentally, he did ultimately become one of the most influential figures in the development of modern psychology. But what drove Freud to seek immortal glory? Six hundred years prior to Freud’s birth, as referenced by Sherman Jackson, an Islamic scholar by the name of ibn Taymiyyah wrote that human beings have two powerful, hidden drives which must be overcome. The first, he wrote, is the drive to be worshipped and the second is to be obeyed. Both drives mutually constitute one another, reflecting a common theme found throughout history that mankind is essentially driven by his passion. |
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