Fear

Fear 1

Every time I get a chance to sit down and talk with one of my colleague doctors in psychology in the Arab world, I ask about the most common psychological diseases spreading in the Arab world and how outspread it is in comparison with other nations and global statistics.

And after a long period of research, questioning, and reflection in what have been said to me in their field and what was available for me to access treatment and meet patients from the Arabic world in Boston where I work, it was instilled in me that psychological diseases became widespread in the Arab countries, especially the diseases or disorders where the fear factor is one of the assisting reasons to why those diseases or disorders happen, even if official statistics do not reflect that conclusion, and probably the reasons are clear to our readers.

A lot of doctors in psychology sciences agree with me that, fear became a feature in Arabic communities, due to many reasons, one of them is the existence of mistakes in the upbringing as a cause of the parents ignorance in such matters, and where many of them takes a wrong direction by scaring the child from everything thinking that they are protecting their child from being at risk, it might as well be the easiest way to handle and deal with smart and active children that wants to discover everything around them, being overprotective is the worst way for upbringing since it can plant unjustified and paramount fear deep inside, this fear stays originated in the psychology and mentality of the individual throughout their lives turning them from courageous humans passionate to search for knowledge into an inactive human with no initiative or drive, afraid to search, or try anything new, or be creative or invent or discover.

This fear can be a result of an incident or a hard situation in the child’s life that has not been addressed and cured psychologically in a healthy way, and did not cope with the child wisely with knowledge and experience by an educator or the parents.

One of my colleague doctors in psychology pointed to me that some psychological disorders or diseases are more widespread in populations that are oppressed and subject to mistreatment and unfairness, which creates in the individuals inner fears that may or may not be justified, to an extent that it reaches where they start fearing their brothers and fathers, but to ones shadow in extreme cases, and in this environment individuals are subject to be infected with some psychological diseases, and it was found that the spread of those diseases and their intensities are rapidly increasing with the increase of oppression in different countries of the world.

It was also found that if the individual that does the upbringing and raising up suffers of an extensive fear, that fear will reflect on their children in their silence before they even speak, and in their silence before they even are able to move, children pick up on their parents emotions and embrace them in their primitive images for them to translate life and everything revolving around it, through it in order to become their psychological reference all their lives and the window they see the world with, this fear can be inherited from generation to another, there are evidence and studies that indicate the possibility of that inheritance occurring throughout hundreds of years and where research is still continued in this field.

Fear 2

We continue with you today our subject about fear, which in it we mentioned that fear has become a feature in Arabic societies, and we mentioned some of the factors that helped that from happening, some of them a referred back towards the existence of crucial mistakes in the first upbringing of children due to the ignorance of parents and where many forces their children to fear everything, assuming that they are protecting their children from being at any risk, which results in planting unjustified overrated fear deep inside the child and for this fear to be originated in his psychology and mind throughout all their lives, turning from courageous individuals passionate to search and knowledge to an inactive individual that lacks initiative and is scared to reach or try new things or to be creative, invent and discover.

And during my last visit to Saudi Arabia, it was clarified to me that ignorance in upbringing goes beyond being in the boundaries of home and family, and due to the limited count of space in this article, I will only mention one example for the purpose of explanation, knowing that there are tens and hundreds of similar examples and even worse.

During my short visit, I had the opportunity to watch some T.V programs aim at children directly and indirectly.

From those programs a show called “Childs Play” on one of the Arabic satellite channels, where the program presenter was doing an interview with a child, and what I saw was shameful and pitiful to say the least.

In one of those interviews the presenter asks the small boy who didn’t complete his 5^th year of age about the electric elevator, and if the child dares to ride on it by himself to which the child answered unwillingly to do so, but the presented keep scaring the child from the elevator by saying out of humor that a colleague of his was locked in the elevator, electricity was cut off and stayed in the dark alone for 5 years, sleeping drinking and eating inside the elevator, viewers can see fear images drawn on the child’s little face where he will of course believe everything that was said to him and to form a psychological reference in this matter through this situation, and you can measure on that.

The child asked the presenter with all innocence: Why did all that happen? The presenter answered with all stupidity and no regards to thinking before talking, he says: God wanted this to happen.

You can see the confusion in the brought to the child’s eyes, because he didn’t understand why would God lock a human in an elevator for 5 years, and thus planting unjustified fear in the child’s heart, and for him to connect the negativities with God in this child’s mentality, and where there are thousands of children are watching the program and applies to them what applied to the child in the show.

I ask about the purpose of these programs; as if there is no goal from it but to laugh, mock and jock, let us make sure that it is at least not on the expense of children mentality and psychology.

And if the purpose from them is to benefit viewing children, parents and educators to teach them the best way for intellectual connection, speaking and talking to a child and delivering information in the right and proper way, that is why it will be a must at that moment that this program would be supervised by people of knowledge and science in many fields of psychology, upbringing , social and educational…etc.

We never mind or deny instilling humor as long as it’s healthy humor, and should not become the main goal of such programs.

Fear 3 

In the second episode I wrote on the subject of fear and it’s widespread in the Arab world, and how factors and elements help spreading that fear, ignorance in upbringing of home or family or otherwise such as those T.V shows, and I gave one example where a T.V presenter in a naïve ignorant way with acted with a child in his 5 years old about his fear of elevators.

Fear 4

We spoke in the previous episodes about fear, and in the first article we went through the consequences of fear and its effects on individual and community level, we also mentioned that unjustified and excessive fear is an enemy against human progress, development and creativity, and that nations who have various reasons to be subjected to this kind of fear are paralyzed nations, unable to succeed, progress and be creative.

And in order to explain the role of fear in controlling human behavior we need to understand how does fear affect our physiological, neural and mind system in human beings.

In short, when fear occurs in something – regardless of the kind of fear – the natural physiological reflex is by blood flowing from different body organs to the muscle system such as legs and arms, to assist humans escaping, running or self defense and fight, and if the reflex was unwanted or unsuitable or convenient for the event or situation, this kind of natural physiological reflex is clinically called (Sympathetic system) that associates many other changes such as, high blood pressure and heart beats amongst other physiological changes that would be necessary in some situations and if the harmful physiology repeats with the recurrent of a certain event or situation on the long run, the neural system that control emotions in the brain will motivate the body to produce hormones to help them be in preparation state, and forces humans to direct their mind power and concentration on the fear centre of the brain while overseeing everything under from information and data.

The brain relays on analyzing events and situation depending on specific information that limits the process of thinking, which is another image of “temporary” stupidity or specified time or place wise, but this temporary fear can turn into a chronic fear and an intellectual paralysis, and so nations in fear are overwhelmed with intellectual paralysis, defects, fatigue and weakness, and where success, creativity and progress is rare.

And Islam realizes what the instinct of fear has from dangerous consequences and thus provides it special treatment, and handles with it in a way to hire it to unfold the highest of human souls, which assures its use as a flow of life in its highest, most creative images, mentioned by Quran that more than a hundred destination directed rightfully in its required amount to accomplish goals that the creator made in the human soul.

Fear 5      

We spoke in previous episodes about fear and its consequences and effects on the individual and community level, and how unjustified and excessive fear is the enemy against human progress, development and creativity, and we differentiated between two kinds of fear, in terms of results and consequences that follow it; there is negative fear that results into unwanted outcomes to the individuals on physiological, mental and psychological levels, and there is positive fear, such as the fear of God, resulting not only physiological, mental and psychological benefits, but helps progress, success and creativity of individuals and communities.

The main reason to this difference in fear of God has its specifications and properties instilled in humans with a distinct quality, value and quantity, as fear of God has its terms that cannot be accepted without it, nor would outcomes be complete.

One of its main terms of acceptance is to accomplish the creators aim by inviting and promoting for goodness of work and the rebuild of the earth, and by that fear of God becomes a positive force that promotes for hardship, perfection creativity and emancipation of individuals from earthly human constrains that are unjust against divine and just laws.

And here is the secret behind the difference and comparison between negative and positive fear, for the ones who fear God but running towards him is a fine line of truth between fear and submit or awe and desire like a bird with strong wings at its best state and most beautiful images when having a moderation in fear and submit.

Submitting has its different effects that from those out of fear, as it results in physiological changes named in medical science by (Parasympathic) such as lowering blood pressure, heart beats, relaxes the muscle, psychological and neural systems, which exactly the opposite of what happens in fear cases that cannot be even compared with submission, which we spoke about in previous episodes in what was called (Sympathic system).

If fear is coupled with submission can balance between both effects by protecting humans from negative outcomes and results that could happen if one went over the other.

And thus why Islam balances between both sides of believers such as the balance of a flying bird, and as much blessed individuals in accomplishing this balance can shower its owner with various physiological, mental and psychological benefits in every partial of parts from human creation to swift with wings of fear and submission in the horizon, while going higher and transcends above all earthily fake fears.

Fear 6 

We continue today with our subject about fear, we also mentioned earlier how Islam gives the instinct of fear special treatment, especially because of what it holds from dangerous dimensions on individuals and communities, though Islam deals with this instinct by insuring to harness only the highest images of the human soul, in a way that guaranteed the way of life in its most glorious and creative images, that’s why Islam begins by clear and emancipate humans from all invisible and incensories from envy, magic and witchcraft…etc, and that is by equipping Muslims with weapons that barricades it from all that with their faith that nothing happens to humans unless god wills it, and thus turning negative fear of those things into a positive fear of God as explained previously.

Fear was and still is used as a weapon in incensory and invisible matters throughout history to enslave people.

Fear 7     

We end our series of articles about fear, and as we mentioned earlier how Islam gave this subject unique importance, for what dangerous consequences it can unfold on life factors, and how negative fear, as defined previously, is the enemy against the progress, development and creativity of nations.

And with a quick look at our nation’s history, it confirms for us that the more Muslims fear their creator (Positive fear) other aspects of fear become smaller and vanish (Negative fears) and where Muslims have proved progress in all fields of life, accomplishing meaning of the inheritance of earth, and the building of the best nations brought to humanity.

We also mentioned in previous episodes some of the tools used by Islam to protect individuals and communities from negative fear consequences such as the intimidation from frightening a Muslim, and urge to forgive and forget who has weapons to intimidate and to bush away fears and injustice, and not only were they given the right to defend themselves.

Prayers of the oppressed by those fears are answered, in addition to the psychological enforcements that are equipped with true believers of life after death and the eminent end of the reality which we live in, and that rights never vanish or die.

And to protect communities from chaos and barbarianism, Islam has put boundaries and sanctions and enforced its application, this enters from the door of positive fear we spoke of earlier, from fear of the creators’ punishment not his creations.

One of the first duties of rulers in Islam is to put all their powers to instill security and push away fears in the individuals’ heart, but Islam has made it rulers and governors personal and highest responsibility.

With those concepts, security forces work under Islamic law and this is how nations live, by the rule of the creator in Quran and his prophets’ messages, and if diverted from this way it will turn those forces into horror tools that are made to abolish Muslim traits that refuses by nature oppression acts and corruption, as to what happen in many of the countries that do not apply the Islamic rule of laws, and where regimes support those monsters horrific machines with open budgets with a unique workforce that obtain qualifications and experiences hired to make intimidating Muslims as a craft and a profession.