25 Ways to Deal with Stress and Anxiety

25 Ways to Deal with Stress and Anxiety

by Abdul Malik Mujahid

Stress is life. Stress is anything that causes mental, physical, or spiritual tension. There is no running away from it. All that matters is how you deal with it. This article does not deal with the factors of stress, anxiety, and depression, nor is it a clinical advice. If you feel depressed, you are not alone. It has been estimated that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians in America are for stress-related problems. This is why it is wise to consult a doctor if you are having physical symptoms of stress. However, here are some tips that can help from a spiritual perspective. Please send us your feedback so that we can improve this article Insha Allah.
Torture. Beatings. Loss of property. The death of loved ones. These were just some of the enormous challenges the Muslims of Makkah faced in the seventh century following their acceptance of Islam in fiercely tribal and polytheistic Makkah.

Detention. Harassment. Beatings. Discrimination. Loss of Job. Profiling. Hate Crimes. Constant media attention. Surveillance. These are just some of the challenges Muslims in America today face, post-9/11. Like our predecessors in Makkah, we have begun to face great stress, anxiety, and pressure, more than ever in our recent history on this continent, although Muslims who were brought here as slaves faced worse than what we can even imagine.

1. Ask Him. He Listens: Dua

Turn each anxiety, each fear and each concern into a Dua (supplication) . Look at it as another reason to submit to God and be in Sajdah (prostration) , during which you are closest to Allah. God listens and already knows what is in your heart, but He wants you to ask Him for what you want. The Prophet said: Allah is angry with those who do not ask Him for anything (Tirmidhi).
The Prophet once said that in prayer, he would find rest and relief (Nasai). He would also regularly ask for God’s forgiveness and remain in prostration during prayer praising God (Tasbeeh) and asking for His forgiveness (Bukhari).

Allah wants you to be specific. The Prophet advised us to ask Allah for exactly what we want instead of making vague Duas. Dua is the essence of worship (the Prophet as quoted in Tirmidhi).

"Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loveth not those who trespass beyond bounds. Do not make mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear. And longing (in your hearts): for the mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good" (Quran 7:55-56).

2. Tie your Camel: Do your Part

One day Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, "Why don't you tie down your camel?" The Bedouin answered, "I put my trust in Allah." The Prophet then said, "Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah" (Tirmidhi).

Muslims must never become fatalistic. Although we know only Allah is in control and that He has decreed all things, we are each responsible for making the right choices and doing the right thing in all situations of our lives. We must take action (link to planning articles on SV). We must work to alleviate the hardships we, our families and our communities face.

Ask yourself the following questions if you are worried about the state of the world: are you part of the peace movement? Is your Masjid part of the peace movement? Are you part of an interfaith group with an agenda of peace and justice? Are you working with a group fighting discrimination? If your answer is no, it is time that you sat down to plan your share of time and money in finding solutions to the problems you face. "Verily Allah does not change men’s condition unless they change their inner selves" (Quran 13: 11).

Turn each worry into a Dua and each Dua into an action plan. That will show your commitment to your request and will focus your energy in the right direction.

3. Remember that human responsibility is limited

While we need to carry out our duty to the best of our abilities, always remember that you don't control the outcome of events. Even the Prophets did not control the outcome of their efforts. Some were successful, others were not. Once you have done your duty, leave the results to Allah. Regardless of the results of your efforts, you will be rewarded for the part you have played.

However, never underestimate your abilities. Understand the concept of Barakah (blessings from Allah) and remember that Allah can and Insha Allah will expand them if you are sincerely exerting your energies for the right path.

4. Leave the world behind you five times a day

Use the five daily prayers as a means to become more Hereafter-oriented and less attached to this temporary world. Start distancing yourself as soon as you hear Adhan, the call to prayer. When you perform Wudu, keep repeating Shahada, the declaration of faith, as water drops slip down your face, hands, arms, and hair. When you stand ready to pray, mentally prepare yourself to leave this world and all of its worries and stresses behind you.

Of course, Shaytan will try to distract you during prayer. But whenever this happens, go back and remember Allah. The more you return, the more Allah will reward you for it. Also, make sure your Sajdas (prostrations) are talking Sajdas, in which you are really connecting to God and seeking His Mercy, praising Him, and asking His forgiveness. (link to Sajda article…ramadan page)

5. Seek help through Sabr

Seek help through Sabr and Salat (Quran 2:45). This instruction from Allah provides us with two critical tools that can ease our worries and pain. Patience and prayer are two oft-neglected stressbusters. Sabr is often translated as patience but it is not just that. It includes self-control, perseverance, endurance, and a focussed struggle to achieve one’s goal. Unlike patience, which implies resignation, the concept of Sabr includes a duty to remain steadfast to achieve your goals despite all odds.

Being patient gives us control in situations where we feel we have little or no control. ‘We cannot control what happens to us but we can control our reaction to our circumstances’ is the mantra of many modern-day self-help books. Patience helps us keep our mind and attitude towards our difficulties in check.

6. Excuse Me! You are Not Running the World, He is.

It is important to remind ourselves that we don’t control all the variables in the world. God does. He is the Wise, the All-Knowing. Sometimes our limited human faculties are not able to comprehend His wisdom behind what happens to us and to others, but knowing that He is in control and that as human beings we submit to His Will, enriches our humanity and enhances our obedience (Uboodiah in Arabic) towards him. Read the story of the encounter of Moses with the mysteries behind God’s decision (Quran: 18:60-82). Familiarize yourself with God's 99 Names, which are also known as His Attributes. It is a powerful way of knowing Him.
"God-there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All being. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. Who is there that could intercede with Him, unless it be by His leave? He knows all that lies open before men and all that is hidden from them, whereas they cannot attain to aught of His knowledge save that which He wills them to attain. His eternal power overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And He alone is truly exalted, tremendous." (Quran 2:255).

The Prophet recommended reading this verse, known as Ayat al kursi, after each prayer, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. Once Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, approached the Prophet during a difficult time and he found the Prophet in Sajda, where he kept repeating "Ya Hayy Ya Qayyum", words which are part of this verse.

7. Birds Don’t Carry their Food

Allah is al Razzaq (the Provider). "How many are the creatures that carry not their own sustenance? It is Allah Who feeds them and you, for He hears and knows all things (Quran 29:60)." By reminding yourself that He is the Provider, you will remember that getting a job or providing for your family in these economically and politically challenging times, when Muslims are often the last to be hired and the first to be fired, is in God’s Hands, not yours. As Allah says in the Quran: "And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose. Verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion (Quran 65:3).

8. God controls Life and Death

If you fear for your physical safety and security, remember that only Allah gives life and takes it back and, that He has appointed the time for it. No one can harm you except if Allah wills. As He says in the Quran: "Wherever you are, death will find you out, even if you are in towers built up strong and high!" (Quran 4:78).

9. Remember that life is short

It's easy to get caught up in our own stress and anxiety. However, if we remember that our life is short and temporary, and that the everlasting life is in the Hereafter, this will put our worries in perspective.

This belief in the transitory nature of the life of this world reminds us that whatever difficulties, trials, anxieties, and grief we suffer in this world are, Insha Allah, something we will only experience for a short period of time. And more importantly, if we handle these tests with patience, Allah will reward us for it.

10. Do Zikr !

"… without doubt in the remembrance (Zikr) of Allah do hearts find tranquility" (Quran 13:28).
If you commute, use your time in Zikr. Pick any Tasbeeh and do that instead of listening to the radio or reading the newspaper. Maybe you can divide it up between Zikr and planning. Personally, I recite the Tasbeeh of "Subhana Allahe wa be hamdihi, subhan Allahil Azeem" 100 times as I drive. The Prophet taught us these two short phrases which are easy to say but will weigh heavy on our scale of good deeds in the Hereafter.

When your heart feels heavy with stress or grief, remember Allah and surround yourself with His Zikr. Zikr refers to all forms of the remembrance of Allah, including Salat, Tasbeeh, Tahmeed, Tahleel, making supplication (Dua), and reading Quran.

"And your Lord says: ‘Call on Me; I will answer your (prayer)…" (Quran 40:60)
By remembering Allah in the way He has taught us to, we are more likely to gain acceptance of our prayers and His Mercy in times of difficulty. We are communicating with the only One Who not only Hears and Knows all, but Who can change our situation and give us the patience to deal with our difficulties.

"Remember Me, and I shall remember you; be grateful to Me, and deny Me not" (Quran 2:152).
11. Relying on Allah: Tawakkul

When you awaken in the morning, thank Allah for giving you life after that short death called sleep. When you step out of your home, say 'in Your Name Allah, I put my trust in Allah, and there is no power or force except with Allah' (Bismillahi Tawakal to al Allah wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah). At night, remember Allah, with His praises on your lips.
Once you have established a plan you intend to follow through on to deal with a specific issue or problem in your life, put your trust in the most Wise and the All-Knowing. "When you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah" (Quran 3: 159).

Rely on Allah by constantly remembering Him throughout your day. When you lay down to sleep, remember that sleep is death. That is why one of the recommended supplications before going to sleep is "with Your (Allah's) Name I die and become alive".

12. Connect with other human beings

You are not alone. Muslims are not alone. We are not suffering in silence. There are millions of good people who are not Muslim with beautiful hearts and minds. These are people who have supported us, individually and collectively, post-9/11, by checking up on us and making sure we are safe. These are individuals and organizations who have spoken up in defense of Muslims as we endured harassment and discrimination.

We must think of them, talk to them, connect with them, and pray for them. Through our connections, we will break the chain of isolation that leads to depression and anxiety.

13. Compare your dining table with that of those who don't have as much as you do

The Prophet said: Whenever you see someone better than you in wealth, face or figure, you should look at someone who is inferior to you in these respects (so that you may thank Allah for His blessings) (Bukhari, Muslim).

Next time you sit down to eat, eye the table carefully. Check out the selection of food, the quality, the taste, the quantity, and then think of the millions of others who don't have even half as much. The Prophet's Hadith reminds us of this so that we can appreciate and thank God for all that we have.

Also remember that the Prophet only encouraged us to compare ourselves to others in two respects: in our Islamic knowledge and level of belief in God (Deen). In these two areas, we should compare ourselves with those who have more than what we do.

14. Say it Loud: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar: Takbirat & Adhan

Find a corner of a lake, go out in the wilderness, or even stand on your lawn at your home and call the Adhan with your heart. While driving, instead of listening to the same news over and over again, say Allahu Akbar as loudly as you can or as softly as you want, based on your mood. Year ago, I remember calling Adhan on a Lake Michigan shore in Chicago after sunset as the water gushed against my knees. I was calling it for myself. There was no one else accept the waves after waves of water with their symphony. It was relaxing and meaningful. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

15. Pray in congregation (Jamat)

Pray with other people instead of alone. If you can't pray all five prayers in congregation, at least find one or two prayers you can pray with others. If you are away, establish Jamat in your own family. During the Prophet's time, even though the Muslims endured great persecution, including physical beatings, they would sometimes meet on the side of a mountain or valley and tried to pray together. This is a great morale booster.

16. How is your Imam's Dua?

Does the Imam at your local mosque make Dua silently or out loud? Ask him to supplicate with the whole congregation. Suggest Duas for him to make. Ask him to make Dua for other people.

17. Work for the Unity of Muslims

Bringing Muslims together will not only help the Muslims, but it will also encourage you to focus your energies on something constructive versus zeroing in on and consistently fretting about difficulties you are going through.

Invite Muslims from other ethnic groups to your functions. Visit Masjids other than yours in your city. When you meet a Muslim leader, after thanking him for his efforts, ask him what he is doing for Muslim unity. Ask Imams to make Dua for this. These are just small ways you can help yourself and the Muslim community.

18. Sleep the way the Prophet slept

End your day on a positive note. Make Wudu, then think of your day. Thank Allah for all the good things you accomplished, like Zikr and Salat. Ask yourself what you did today to bring humanity together and what you did to help Muslims become servants of humanity. For everything positive, say Alhamdu lillah (Praise be to Allah). For everything negative say Astaghfirullah wa atoobo ilayk (I seek Allah's forgiveness and I turn to You [Allah]). Recite the last two chapters of the Quran, thinking and praying as you turn on your right side with your hand below your right cheek, the way the Prophet used to sleep. Then close your day with the name of Allah on your tongue. Insha Allah, you will have a good, restful night.

19. Begin the Day on a Positive Note

Get up early. Get up thanking God that He has given you another day. Alhamdu lillahil lazi ahyana bada ma amatana, wa ilaihin Nushoor (Praise be to Allah Who gave us life after death and unto Him will be the return). Invest in an audio tape driven alarm clock so you can get up to the melody of the Quran. Develop your to do list for the day if you didn't do it the night before. Begin with the name of Allah, with Whose name nothing in the heavens or the earth can hurt you. He is the Highest and the Greatest. (Bismillahillazi la yazurru maa ismihi shaiun fil arze wa la fis samae, wahuwal Alee ul Azeem). The Prophet used to say this after every Fajr and Maghrib prayers.

20. Avoid Media Overexposure: Switch from News to Books

Don't spend too much time checking out the news on the radio, television or internet. Spend more time reading good books and journals. When you listen to the persistent barrage of bad news, especially relating to Muslims nowadays, you feel not only depressed, but powerless. Cut down media time to reduce your stress and anxiety. It's important to know what's going on but not to an extent that it ruins your day or your mood.

21. Pray for Others to Heal Yourself.

The Prophet was always concerned about other people, Muslims and non-Muslims, and would regularly pray for them. Praying for others connects you with them and helps you understand their suffering. This in itself has a healing component to it. The Prophet has said that praying for someone who is not present increases love.

22. Make the Quran your Partner

Reading and listening to the Quran will help refresh our hearts and our minds. Recite it out loud or in a low voice. Listen to it in the car. When you are praying Nafl or extra prayers, pick it up and use it to recite portions of the Quran you are not as familiar with. Connecting to the Quran means connecting to God. Let it be a means to heal your heart of stress and worries. Invest in different recordings of the Quran and their translations.

"O humanity! There has come to you a direction from your Lord and a cure for all [the ills] in men’s hearts - and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy" (Quran 10:57).

23. Be thankful to Allah

"If you are grateful, I will give you more" (Quran 14:7).
Counting our blessings helps us not only be grateful for what we have, but it also reminds us that we are so much better off than millions of others, whether that is in terms of our health, family, financial situation, or other aspects of our life. And being grateful for all we have helps us maintain a positive attitude in the face of worries and challenges we are facing almost daily.

24. Ideals: One step at a time

Ideals are wonderful things to pursue. But do that gradually. Think, prioritize, plan, and move forward. One step at a time.

25. Efforts not Results Count in the Eyes of Allah

Our success depends on our sincere efforts to the best of our abilities. It is the mercy of Allah that He does not demand results, Alhamdu lillah. He is happy if He finds us making our best sincere effort. Thank you Allah!

Public Forum on Faith and Mental Health

PUBLIC FORUM ON FAITH AND MENTAL HEALTH

Date: Thursday 18th October 2007
Time: 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm
Venue: Gloucester Room, Ilford Central Library, Clements Road, Ilford,
Essex, IG1 1EA

The aim of the forum will be to investigate the role of spirituality in mental health and examine how faith leaders can play a vital role in fostering a greater understanding of this complex area, as well as helping those affected by the illness to move towards recovery.

Speakers will include Peter Spelman (Principal Officer for Mental Health in Redbridge since October 2000) and Professor Adil Al-Mousawi (Visiting Professor, Faculty of Health and Human Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, and Consultant Psychiatrist, Mental Health Centre,
Northwick Park Hospital). The forum is a free event, open to all, and refreshments will be provided.

For more information please contact:
Tel: 020 8708 2478 / 07894 354 019
E-mail: aslam.el-soudani@redbridge.gov.uk

Depression leads to worst health

Depression leads to worst health

Depression is a more disabling condition than angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes, World Health Organization research shows.
And those with depression plus a chronic illness, such as diabetes, fare particularly badly, the study of more than 245,000 people suggests.

Better treatment for depression would improve people's overall health, the researchers concluded in the Lancet.

Experts called for better funding for mental health services.

Dr Somnath Chatterji and colleagues asked people from 60 countries taking part in the World Health Survey a variety of questions about their health, such as how they sleep, how much pain they have, and whether they have any problems with memory or concentration.

After taking into account factors such as poverty and other health conditions, the researchers found that depression had the largest effect on worsening health.

And people with depression who also had one or more chronic diseases had the worst health scores of all the diseases looked at or combinations of diseases.

Urgency

Dr Somnath Chatterji said: "The co-morbid state of depression incrementally worsens health compared with depression alone, with any of the chronic diseases alone, and with any combination of chronic diseases without depression.

"These results indicate the urgency of addressing depression as a public health priority to reduce disease burden and disability, and to improve the overall health of populations."

The team called on doctors around the world to be more alert in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition, noting that it is fairly easy to recognise and treat.

Marcus Roberts, head of policy at mental health charity Mind, said the impact of depression could be devastating on relationships, finances and physical health.

"The treatment of depression must be given equal footing to the treatment of other conditions.

"While treatments for most physical health problems are readily accessible, mental health treatments such as talking therapies are limited, with some patients waiting months or even years for their first appointment with a therapist."

He added that mental health was often overlooked in those with chronic health problems, as doctors focused on the physical symptoms.

'Vast sea of misery'

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "Seven million adults in England suffer from a common mental health problem such as anxiety, eating disorders and depression.

"We recognise that many of those with depression do not receive treatment at the moment, partly because they do not seek appropriate help.

"The government is committed to providing greater choice and access to timely and appropriate treatment options and is currently working to expand access to and choice of talking therapies in the NHS."

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, said: "We now have yet more evidence, as if it were needed, of the destructive and life-threatening effects of depression, which this global study shows can be an even greater danger than many chronic physical conditions.

"Yet even in developed countries like our own, proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment can be patchy at best.

"A vast sea of misery could be avoided if this condition received the same attention and resources as Aids or cancer."

Lynn Mitchell, who has terminal lung condition, chronic obstructive lung disease, reached rock bottom two years ago with her depression.

And although she had always received quick treatment for her lung problems on the NHS she struggled to get help for her mental illness.

Now she is on antidepressants and feels a different woman.

"I think if I hadn't had help with my mental attitude I would have been dead.

"My life was so bad and so bleak it was just horrendous really. I didn't want to live but now I don't want to die."

SOURCE

Is fasting beneficial for human health?

Assalamu alaykum

Well Ramadan has already come and we have only 18 days remaining! How quickly does something you love go when it has just arrived.

For us who fast, we know how we benefit from the yearly abstinence. However now we se that the rest of the world has found evidence to support what we have known all our lives.

Of course fasting has many benefit not least medical and physical ones, it is not these reasons why we fast. Fasting brings about Taqwa, fear of Allah and relistion of His blessing that He has bestowed upon us. By fasting we empathise and sympathise with the oor who have no food, or drink as well as those who cannot get married or those who cannot be with their spouses. In this blessed month we have the pooptunity to overcome Shaytaan and his hole he has on us, this month is the time we can put into practice the template of beleif we want to achieve... so achieve it what you waiting for!!!

Is fasting beneficial for human health?

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the basic religious duties of Muslims. In the past it was thought that the benefits of fasting were limited to spiritual and emotional effects. However, recent studies indicate that a person can benefit in many physical and psychological ways from fasting. The studies reveal that the body’s immune system, blood circulation, digestive organs, reproductive and urinary systems as well as the heart may all benefit from fasting.

Many Muslims think that fasting has a detrimental effect on their physical performance. Such thinking has led many Islamic countries to decrease working hours during Ramadan.

But a new U.S. study conducted by the Institute of Islamic Medicine for Education and Research in Panama City, Florida has proven that fasting does not have a negative effect on the muscles or on physical performance. Nor does it necessarily result in tiredness or lethargy.

The study concluded that there is in fact an improvement in the body’s ability to bear physical and muscular effort and the performance of the heart is also said to improve. The study monitored the physical performance of 20 healthy people, including 12 males and 8 females, before and during fasting. The participant’s ages ranged from 12 to 52 years old.

The study found that participants’ heart rates decreased from 170 beats per minute before fasting to 159 per minute while fasting. That suggests a 6 percent improvement in heart rate. Moreover, a significant improvement in blood pressure was also recorded.

The study also found that participants noticed less breathing difficulties during Ramadan, and felt less tiredness in the legs when exercising. Muscle performance was also said to improve.

Various other studies have shown that fasting increases the amount of free fatty acids in the blood, which aside from glucose are the body’s main source of energy. Fatty acids help to reduce the depletion of glycogen in the liver and muscles during exercise, and prevent the depletion of glucose in blood. Under the normal conditions, glucose is the main source of energy. However, physical effort forces the body to use up glucose quickly, leaving a person feeling tired and exhausted.

The body’s dependence on glucose decreases during fasting since sufficient quantities of amino acids are available in the blood to supply the body with energy. The result of this is an improvement in overall muscle performance.

Another recent study, prepared by Dr. Jad al-Moula Abdul-Aziz, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Cairo University, concluded that fasting helps to eliminate about 35 percent of the toxins that accumulate in the body during our normal activities such as eating and breathing. Fasting helps to reduce these harmful toxins and in so doing protects the body’s cells from diseases and delays aging.

Another scientific study shows that fasting helps to regulate the blood pressure. Dr. Ibrahim Hamed, researcher in the Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, at the National Research Center in Cairo, concluded that fasting is an effective treatment for patients suffering from arteriosclerosis, characterized by the hardening of plaque-covered arteries. During a period of fasting, which continues for more than 12 hours a day, the digestive system has nothing to do and thus stops working. This prevents the blood from gathering around the stomach and intestines and allows the circulatory system to flow freely and regularly, which as a side effect may reduce pain caused by arteriosclerosis.

He added that during a period of fasting, the body burns any stored fats in the body and converts them to energy. This, it has been found, reduces the possibility of infecting healthy people with arteriosclerosis.

Research Launch:

Research Launch: Providing Faith & Culturally Sensitive Support to Young British Muslims

(Report written and researched by Rabia Malik, Aaliyah Shaikh, Mustafa Suleyman)

One Whitehall Place, London - Thursday 6th September – 6.00pm-8.00pm

The National Youth Agency is pleased to launch the findings of research carried out in partnership with The Muslim Youth Helpline.

The report seeks to redress lack of research and data available to inform service providers and policy makers about the social condition of Muslim youth. With over 50% of the UK Muslim population under the age of 25 years of age, according to the last census, there are little if any effective national services reaching out to young Muslims.

The Muslim Youth Helpline (MYH) provides faith and culturally sensitive peer support services to young British Muslims aged 16-25 years of age across a range of BME communities across the UK. The services of MYH are designed to reduce the isolation of young Muslims in the UK. Since its inception it has been run by Young British Muslims, for young British Muslims.

The research, carried out with MYH users and volunteers, highlights the sociological and psychological issues facing young British Muslims and their impact on mental health; develops an understanding of young Muslim clients and workers experiences of MYH and identify features of good practice; and highlights areas of concern and possible ways forward for policy makers, service providers and Muslim communities and raises awareness of potential challenges The research will be of interest to policy makers, researchers, providers of children and young people’s services, and others. Speakers will include the authors of the research report, and representatives form both The NYA and MYH. There will be an opportunity for networking from 7.00pm, when soft drinks and canapés will be provided.

Please confirm your attendance by either replying to this email on events@nya.org. uk or calling the events team on 0116 242 7501. Please specify your

Name

Organisation

Postal address

Any special requirements you may have

Please forward to a colleague if you are unable to attend.





Amy Lawrence, Events Team
The National Youth Agency
Eastgate House,
19-23 Humberstone Road,
Leicester,
LE5 3GJ
Email: amyl@nya.org. uk
Telephone: 0116 242 7366
Fax : 0116 242 7502

Psychologists and Torture

Assalamu alaykum

August issue of the British Psychologist - The Psychologist magazine, has an intriging article, please read and share your thoughts.

August 2007 484
The Psychologist Vol 20 No 8

Psychologists and torture

More than a question of interrogation

MARK BURTON and CAROLYN KAGAN on how organised psychology should respond.

HOW can organised psychology best promote and protect human rights in relation to military occupation and the detention of terrorist suspects or insurgents?

The very terms used to pose this question indicate its fundamentally political nature. ‘Organised psychology’ refers to bodies like the British Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association (APA), but such bodies represent a variety of interests. For example, there are significant numbers of US psychologists in the pay of the military and related state organisations, as well as an APA ‘Division of Peace Psychology’. ‘Military occupation’ can indicate a particular understanding of the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine or Haiti, with varying views on where the liberation of the populations and the bringing of democracy sit on the agenda. ‘Terrorist suspects’ or ‘insurgents’ implies contrasting understandings of the motives of political violence, and of how people should be treated.

The APA has entered this complex sociopolitical debate about psychologists’ role in ‘national security’ (see The Psychologist, News, October 2006, and this month; Letters, November 2006). There are a number of key issues, not all of which were reported by The Psychologist or have surfaced within the APA debate. The main purpose here is not to document the debate and internal politics of the APA – that can be found elsewhere (Behnke, 2006; Moorhead-Slaughter, 2006; Psychologists for Social Responsibility, 2006a; Soldz, 2006a, 2006b; Summers, 1992); instead, the intention is to contextualise this debate in the wider debates and controversies on psychological torture. While the key issues we discuss have the APA at their heart, they are relevant to us all, due to the extensive influence of the APA over professional psychology worldwide.

What constitutes ‘torture’?
The APA’s President’s Task Force Report on Psychological Ethics and National Security (The PENS Report: APA, 2005) embraces the US government’s ‘Reservations, Declarations and Understandings’ to the United Nations Convention on Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or punishment (see McCoy, 2006; Soldz, 2006b). There are no less than 19 of these reservations (in itself remarkable), but the central issue is the definition of psychological torture itself.

The US reservations, at least if narrowly interpreted, would exempt hooding, forced adoption of stress positions, isolation and sleep denial – the very techniques that formed the core of the CIA methods used at occupied Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, and elsewhere (McCoy, 2006; Physicians for Human Rights, 2005) and by the British in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s (Watson, 1978). Basoglu et al. (2007) have recently provided empirical evidence that ‘psychological manipulations, humiliating treatment, and forced stress positions, do not seem to be substantially different from physical torture in terms of the severity of mental suffering they cause, the underlying mechanism of traumatic stress, and their long-term psychological outcome’. So when the APA condemned torture, it may be argued that its definition, being parasitic on the US reservations, excluded precisely the kind of torture (approved by Defence
Secretary Rumsfeld in December 2002) based on psychological research and which psychological interrogation consultants might advise on. Similarly, the reservations and the APA exclude from the definition of torture the newer use of cultural, religious and sexual ridicule again documented at Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib.

The role of psychologists

The APA also legitimises the role of psychologists in interrogation:

…it is consistent with the APA Ethics Code for psychologists to serve in consultative roles to interrogation and information-gathering processes for national security-related purposes…
(APA, 2005, p.1)

While the APA declaration is clear that the same ethical rules apply to those in healthcare roles and those in other roles, this legitimation is in stark contrast to the position adopted by the World Medical Association, its 1975 declaration of Tokyo following the BMA review of the Northern Ireland experience. This declaration proscribed the participation of physicians in designing, or even monitoring, interrogation strategies. This rule was also adopted by both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Psychiatric Association.

Moreover, the 1982 United Nations General Assembly addressed the ethical questions associated with the participation of medical and other health workers in the interrogation of detainees. These principles establish as an absolute rule that health workers ‘may not engage, actively or passively, in acts which constitute participation in, complicity in, incitement to or attempts to commit torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ (cited in Rubinstein et al., 2005).

Therefore, by allowing psychologists to participate or assist in the interrogation process, the APA is adopting a position out of step with both the medical profession (as Anne Anderson of Psychologists for Social Responsibility pointed out in a letter in 2006 to APA President Gerald Koocher) and the wider UN declaration on health workers, while at the same time making a declaration that appears to condemn psychological torture.

The US context is distinctive. The military established Behavioural Science Consultation Teams to advise the Guantánamo interrogators (Miles, 2007; Physicians for Human Rights, 2005; Soldz, 2006a, 2006b). While the AMA and the American Psychiatric Association gave clear directions that this was inappropriate, the APA, following its military-dominated PENS Task Force, leaves the road open. Perhaps this is why the US military is reported as saying that it is planning to ‘use only psychologists…to help interrogators devise strategies to get information from detainees at places like Guantánamo Bay’ (New York Times, 7 June 2006, cited by Psychologists for Social Responsibility, 2006b).

The BPS (2005) made a clear declaration against torture and the participation of psychologists and the use of psychological knowledge in its design. While it does not explicitly proscribe the
participation of psychologists in interrogation, it does endorse the UN declaration. Its position is at least implicitly in line with the medical bodies listed above, and at variance with the APA.

Just following orders?

Most concerning of all, the APA allows its members the ‘Nuremberg defence’ that ‘I was only following orders’. Article 1.02 of the 2002 revision of the APA Ethics Code reads:

If psychologists’ ethical responsibilities conflict with law, regulations, or other governing legal authority, psychologists make known their commitment to the Ethics Code and take steps to resolve the conflict. If the conflict is unresolvable via such means, psychologists may adhere to the requirements of the law, regulations, or other governing legal authority. (APA, 2002)

The implication is that psychologists are permitted to assist in torture and abuse if they can claim that they first tried to resolve the conflict between their ethical responsibility and the law, regulations or government legal authority. Otherwise they can invoke the Nuremberg defence, but would still of course be out of step with international law. But this problem would not arise at all if there were a clear ban on all participation in interrogation, as suggested by Anne Anderson’s letter to Gerald Koocher of the APA.

As Miles (2004) indicates, the notion that by being present in compromised interrogations psychologists can prevent harm is almost certainly illusory, with significant risks of being ‘drawn in’ to the whole process. An ethical rulebook is a weak safeguard in such total institutions as
the Guantánamo or Abu Ghraib prisons, or in many other military and penal contexts.

The roots of the APA position

The APA rests its declarations on two ethical principles, the first is the uncontroversial ‘do no harm’, while the second is that ‘psychologists are aware of their professional and scientific responsibilities to society’. Former APA President Gerald Koocher (cited in Soldz 2006c) used the combination of these principles to legitimise the involvement of US psychologists in interrogation and other roles in State security.

However, in our view the problem is not one of individual professional practice but of collusion with a whole oppressive system. The APA’s position is arguably consistent with a 50-year history of psychologists’ collaboration with US state security. As detailed by McCoy (2006), the CIA took up Hebb’s Canadian defencefunded work on sensory deprivation, funding further work to take it to its limits in producing psychological breakdown. This research and the phenomenon of sensory deprivation is the cornerstone of psychological torture, a paradigm refined
over the years (CIA, n.d.-b). This further development has been done within the
agency – for example in the mass torture of prisoners during the Vietnam war (McCoy, 2006), or through the culture-specific elements added for Muslim detainees in the present conflict (Physicians for Human Rights, 2005; Soldz, 2006b). It has also been done through further commissioned research, typically through CIA-created funding vehicles such as the Human
Ecology Fund (Greenfield, 1977; Harper, 2004; McCoy, 2006; Watson, 1978).

The symbiotic relationship of US psychology with influential sections of the US military-security establishment is also suggested by the majority of psychologists on the PENS Task Force with links to the military (see e.g. tinyurl.com/2186at), and what Soldz has argued are carefully crafted rules and guidance to psychologists on this question. He suggests that the APA leadership does not want to risk governmental support for psychology. As the APA Division 19 (Military Psychology) proudly proclaims, the US Department of Defence is the largest employer of psychologists worldwide. The problem is that support of psychology by the past and current US governments is, almost by definition, compromising for the ethics of the profession, not merely at the level of codes of practice but in terms of the very construction of the discipline itself together with its knowledge. Psychologists of our generation simply didn’t learn how classic research by Hebb, Schein, Orne (Harper, 2004), Janis and possibly Milgram (McCoy, 2006) was funded by the defence establishment with a view to improved social control in global conflicts.

As a further example of psychological complicity with state security, Gray and Zielinski (2006) argue that the CIA’s handbook on counter-insurgency (CIA, n.d.-a), used to such devastating effect on human rights in Central America, is likely to have been written by psychologists.
Considering the wording, and taking account of the size of the psychological operations units in the US army (the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg currently has 1300 staff and accounts for 26 per cent of the 5000 total: Pike, 2006), we too find this plausible.

More than interrogation

No doubt some readers will be thinking that this is dirty work, but someone has to do it – that the ends, in terms of intelligence gained from interrogation, justifies the means. Yet consider the current conflict in Iraq: is the use of torture and ill treatment really a matter of interrogation and intelligence? It seems that in the 10 known US prisons, more than 50,000 people were detained at some point in 2005. Many were ill-treated using the various techniques known as psychological torture. At least 26 have been killed (Physicians for Human Rights, 2005). In addition to the death toll for Iraqis outside prison – some 186,000 excess deaths attributable to the coalition forces (Burnham et al., 2006) – and atrocities like the destruction of Fallujah, this massive intervention has the familiar characteristics of the regimes imposed on Vietnam and in
Latin America, where social control is imposed on a population by the establishment of fear. It has been suggested (e.g. Gray, 2006) that many of the torture victims are not actually interrogated, and are returned in extreme distress as a lesson to the population – just as the mutilated corpses left by the US-trained death squads in the Latin American dictatorships had the same purpose (CIA, n.d.-a).

An enduring conflict

We would like to conclude by broadening the perspective further, just as radical psychologists have tried to argue that psychology should extend its analysis to the societal construction of psychological life and the mechanisms of social control (Armistead, 1974; Martín-Baró, 1996;
Parker, 1999). In our view, the imperialist state has for years been harnessing its psychology to refine its methods of social control (Herman, 1995; Prilleltensky, 1994), whether through anti-democratic, pro-system propaganda in the core countries of the West (Carey, 1997) or in
the control of those populations who try to take on the empire and its economic system (Duckett, 2005; Lira, 2000; Martín-Baró, 1988).

The implication of this analysis is that socially responsible psychologists should by all means work to achieve a coherent stance by organised psychology on torture and interrogation. This stance should be backed by a clear ethical code, and it should a) prohibit any involvement in
interrogation; b) prohibit psychologists from taking research and development money from state security organisations; and c) encourage involvement in the promotion of humane policies of detention and crime prevention, and against neocolonial military adventures.

But we should not fall into the trap of thinking that this will change the basic paradigm of social control exerted by the state, which will also pick up and use psychological knowledge not produced in a military/state security context. Nor will it do much by itself to reduce the influence of the security apparatus on North American psychology – itself the hegemonic force in world psychology, and one that touches us all.

■ Mark Burton is a qualified clinical psychologist who now works as a manager in a public service. He writes here in a personal capacity. He is also a Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University.

■ Carolyn Kagan is Professor of Community Social Psychology and Director of the Research Institute for Health and Social Change at Manchester Metropolitan University.

DISCUSS AND DEBATE
How can psychologists best work to prevent military interventions in other countries?

How can psychologists best support initiatives to end torture and abuse of people in detention?
Have your say on these or other issues this article raises. E-mail ‘Letters’ on psychologist@bps.org.uk or contribute (members only) via http://www.psychforum.org.uk/.

WEBLINKS

On the APA controversy: tinyurl.com/38dopfPsychologists for Social Responsibility: http://www.psysr.org/ The Martín Baró Fund: tinyurl.com/27qwbaThe CIA’s interrogation manual: www.kimsoft.com/2000/kubark.htm UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: www.hrweb.org/legal/cat.html

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Islamic Religiosity Models & Scales Thematic Issue JMMH

JOURNAL OF MUSLIM MENTAL HEALTH
Announces

"ISLAMIC RELIGIOSITY – MEASURES AND MENTAL HEALTH
Guest Editors:
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Ralph W. Hood, Jr., Ph.D. - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Ralph-Hood@utc. edu

The Journal of Muslim Mental Health is pleased to announce the upcoming thematic issues focused on Islamic religiosity scheduled for publication November 2007 and May 2008. The two issues will: explore theoretical controversies and practical challenges in researching psychology of religion among Muslims, introduce new measures of religiosity for use with Muslim populations, and explore the links between religiosity and aspects of interpersonal and mental health.

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