By Sakinah Ismail
Anxiety disorder is among most common mental health condition which effect one’s life. The major classes of anxiety disorders are panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, genera anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Anxiety also can be defined as a feeling of tension, nervousness, apprehension, worry and phobia over things that are unnecessary. It is important to manage anxiety disorder as it can be associated with negative effect and lower down the quality of someone’s life. According to The Global Burden of Disease study that was conducted in 2010 (GBD, 2010) there are 28.6 million of disability that contributed to anxiety disorder.
Anxiety disorder may be caused by stress from personal relationships, financial problem, working situations, peer pressure. Apart from that, there are also other factors such as genetics as well as medical factors that can contribute to anxiety. However, it can only be diagnosed by medical check-ups.
Recently, there are a lot of pharmaceutical methods being practised such as aromatherapy, massage therapy, relaxation techniques and music therapy to reduce anxiety. The music therapy is the oldest way of therapeutic approach being used in ancient Egypt, Greece, China, India and Rome. Studies indicate that religious music may also have a positive effect on mental health (Bradshaw, 2015). The Holy Quran recitation is a form of mystical music that can release endorphin by stimulating alpha brain waves (Almerud, 2003).
The Holy Quran is very important as guidance of Muslims as it is always associated with religiosity and spirituality. The language is basically in Arabic. The Holy Quran recitation can be classified as natural music with calmness sounds which can reduce the stimulation of the brain and comfort a person’s state of mind. It means that, the Holy Quran recitation is useful in various places such as hospitals where it can help to give relaxion sensation to anxiety patient or any stressful working environment. With the softest and lightest music in nature being recited by expertise, it can sooth someone’s mind, and ease tense to improve brain’s health.
The soothing effects of the Quran can increase levels of dopamine when it is being played to an anxiety patient. The sporadic nature of a person’s mood can be greatly influenced by taking other external stimuli into consideration. The Holy Quran can be used as an optional method to give a relaxation sensation to anxiety patients. Therefore, it has the highest effect to healthcare intervention and not only people who suffer with anxiety can listen to the recitation of the Holy Quran, it also can be used during any tense situation. However, there is a lack of research and evidence that indicates listening to the Holy Quran is useful to treat anxiety patients.
References
Bandelow B, Michaelis S. Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2015;17:327–35.
Carroll DL, Malecki-Ketchell A, Astin F. Non-pharmacological interventions to reduce psychological distress in patients undergoing diagnostic cardiac catheterization: A rapid review. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2017;16:92–10
Bradshaw M, Ellison CG, Fang Q, Mueller C. Listening to religious music and mental health in later life. Gerontologist. 2014;55:961–71
Almerud S, Petersson K. Music therapy–a complementary treatment for mechanically ventilated intensive care patients. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2003;19:21–30