Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

I get PTSD reading the news. I can’t deny it anymore.  I won't hide it anymore. A building just exploded in my neighbourhood, damaging 25 houses due to a potential gas leak (?) Istanbul airport is under attack. White supremacists stabbed innocent bystanders at a Californian rally. West Virginia is devastated by floods. Willdfires burnt 589,995 hectares of Fort McMurray in Edmonton. A gay man shot 50 people in a gay club after contracting HIV. The more I read the news, the more I am plagued with angst, horror, disgust, frustration and helplessness. 

How can so many people do such irrational things despite being more than intelligent? How can clever and educated people be so dangerously, and foolishly misguided?

I am ‘knowledge is power’ kinda girl. But i would be lying if I said I don’t believe 'ignorance is bliss.’ The quest for awareness ... being well-informed an up-to-date is a fool’s errand when it makes you miserable in the end.

Yes, the death tolls make me miserable. The fashion ads, the cooking videos, the DIY tips .. the more I read and the more I know, the less competent and fulfilled I feel.  Knowing what is happening around the world, or what other people are doing, does not equate to a better life or greater personal happiness, at least not in my case. It just makes me more anxious and more nervous. I feel a sense of burden. 

For greater life satisfaction, relationship quality and crucially reduced stress and rumination, I am taking khula from all news websites so I can focus on Allah's blessings in this world.  (Fortunately, the divorce is not set in stone. I am sure I will gravitate towards the headlines every now and then. So long as I don't lose sight of the blessings. Maybe we need a new type of journalism - one that reports charitable events and heroic actions. )

This Ummah, when it stands before Allah (in prayer), it starts with “Allhamdulillah.” This is indicative of the fact that a Muslim should always looks at the bright side – the favours, the blessings, the opportunities she has. This is because one cannot truly praise and thank Allah when the only thing on her mind are negatives.

            Some of our greatest heroes in Islam, Musa (a.s), Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), Imam Ahmed ibn Hambal, Imam Ibn Tamiyyah, Salah alDeen - all lived in the darkest times of human history. They were in the minority when the forces of evil aggressively and violently rose to expunge their good works. We are living in times when darkness is also great, this means Allah has honoured us to relive some of the challenges endured by the heroes of Islam and reap the same rewards. 

Allah promises in the Qur'an, “you don’t become weak of heart, you don’t become sad. You are going to be in the highest position if you truly believe.” This is Allah giving us hope. This Ummah is not allowed to depressed, we are not allowed to become defeatist. So long as we focus on our faith and faith based actions, it'll be okay in the end inshAllah. Out of every tragedy and every loss, inshAllah something good will be retrieved - this is Allah's promise.