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My Overall Takeaways for 'The Me you Can't See' series by Apple TV+

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My Overall Takeaways for 'The Me you Can't See' series by Apple TV+

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Through this thought-provoking Apple TV series, I've gained invaluable insights and lessons. Here are my overall takeaways for the Apple TV series, and I hope you will also gain something from the series as I have.  📺🧠

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My Overall Takeaways for 'The Me you Can't See' series by Apple TV+

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1. Choong Kai Qing (A194883)
2. Hazwani Husna Binti Rosni (A194025)
3. Nur Fairuz Binti Abu Hassan (A194378)
4. Wan Nuranis Hanani Binti Wan Mohd Nadzri (A194435)

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Article Review of Developement & Psychopathology by Cicchetti 

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Article Review of Developement & Psychopathology by Cicchetti 

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Cicchetti - Development & Psychopathology

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Sroufe - Psychopathology as an Outcome of Development

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Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

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Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

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The 8 stages that make up this theory:

Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust

Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt

Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority

Stage 5: Identity vs. Confusion

Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation

Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation

Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair

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Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

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ADHD: The Weird and the Wonderful - Geeks Under Grace

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ADHD: The Weird and the Wonderful - Geeks Under Grace

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God sees each of us right where we are, and neurodivergent believers have a place and profound purpose in the work of the kingdom.

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This is What It's Really Like to Have ADHD

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This is What It's Really Like to Have ADHD

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ADHD in Adulthood: The Signs You Need to Know

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ADHD in Adulthood: The Signs You Need to Know

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June 12, 2016 12:35 am | Updated October 18, 2016 01:43 pm IST

"Inattentive", "naughty", "lazy". Nine-year-old Vinay (name changed) had grown accustomed to being told off by his teachers at school. His report cards, through primary and secondary school, were curiously erratic - he would score brilliantly in some examinations and fare poorly in others. Once, as "punishment", his exam sheet (on which he had scored a single digit) was pinned to his shirt.

Vinay's case is among scores that Vasudha Prakash, founder-director of the Chennai-based V-Excel Educational Trust for children with special needs, has encountered.

"There is now growing awareness, but teachers - and parents - often just do not recognise the signs of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. And they don't know how to address it. This can translate into hugely humiliating scenarios for the child," says Dr. Prakash.

Commonly diagnosed disorder Around the globe, between 6 to 7 per cent of children are diagnosed with ADHD, making it the most commonly diagnosed paediatric neurodevelopmental disorder. It is associated most frequently with inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Now, a new research paper adds a vital new dimension to the existing literature on ADHD. It looks at an understudied core of the condition: an acute difficulty in adapting to changing situations (a child, for instance, might continue to talk to his classmates even after lessons begin). And one that can help give caregivers and educationists an insight into the condition.

To understand responses to changing "reinforcement contingencies" (or actions that get socially rewarded) in children with ADHD, researchers devised a simple game-based experiment. A group of 167 children - 97 of them with ADHD - participated in a "signal detection" task, where they were shown on a screen a chequerboard of red and blue cartoon characters.

They were told to press one of two buttons to indicate which characters were more predominant on the screen: red or blue.

The correct responses, the children were told, would (sometimes) earn them rewards - in the form of a message on the screen 'You won a token, well done!' or verbal praise from the experimenter (for example, 'good', 'that's right') and a coloured token placed near the child. When the answer was incorrect, the screen remained blank and the experimenter silent.

At the beginning of the experiment, more blues were rewarded and then later, the cue was reversed and more reds were rewarded. The reward stimulus was switched again to blue.

The results, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , were unambiguous. While children with ADHD initially did develop a bias toward the more frequently-rewarded colour and later shifted their bias to the new colour, "this shift was significantly smaller" than in children without ADHD, says the paper, adding that "This indicates poorer behavioral adaptation to changing reinforcement contingencies in children with ADHD."

In other words, children without ADHD were more willing to "abandon a pattern of behavior that is no longer effective, reinstating a previously effective strategy". Children with ADHD, on the other hand, were "persisting with an unsuccessful strategy."
In context
Co-author of the paper Gail Tripp, who is director of the Human Development Neurobiology Unit of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan, explained what this means for a child with ADHD in daily life: "An example for children in school might be that in the playground they might be rewarded for running fast, or for entertaining their friends with stories and jokes (i.e. their friends laugh, praise them, encourage them for these behaviours), but in the classroom these are not the behaviours that are praised or rewarded."

The research reminds parents and teachers "that children with ADHD are not deliberately misbehaving, and that they may better adapt their behaviour to a given situation if they are made aware or reminded of the expectations of a given situation and also warned/reminded when these expectations change". In a way, it gives parents and teachers "permission to provide more support or scaffolding to help children with ADHD adapt their behaviour to the different and changing situations they find themselves in," Prof. Tripp told The Hindu .

divya.gandhi@thehindu.co.in

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'Children with ADHD are not misbehaving'

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Researchers devise a game-based experiment to understand a core aspect of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Let's create an empathy and understanding world where individuals can seek help without fear and where healing is embraced with open arms. Together, let's break down barriers, support one another, and foster a culture of compassion around mental well-being.✨

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1.Pang Jia Ming Olivia A192458
2.Aina Syamimi Binti Ahmad Rosmini A197167
3. Nur Hidayatunnisa' Binti Yusri (A192870)
4.Shakthi A/P R Selvam (A194659)

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1. Khoo Lik Jen
2. Adlina
3. Nurul Hana
4. Arisya Najiha

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Our group members :

1. Muhammad Farish Affan Mohd Arizam (speech)
2. Zarith Sofea Roslan (speech)
3. Azfar Syuhada Abdullah (audio)
4. Nur Nayli Batrisyia Mohd Rethwan (audio)

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"Unlocking Minds, Embracing Hearts: The Me You Can't See 🌟

A powerful journey into the nature of mental health, breaking stigma, and finding support. Let's prioritize mental well-being together. 💚

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My Reflection for _The Me You Can't See_ Documentary

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Nurul Jasmin
Siti Hazlyena
Wan Muhammad Ummar
Abdul Shafik

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Brief summary of Gottlieb's Theory on Probabilistic Epigenesis

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It’s normal to be anxious at times. It may be time to get help if anxiety attack is severe or when anxiety doesn’t stop. Learn about anxiety disorders.

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Overview

Experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. However, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks).

These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger and can last a long time. You may avoid places or situations to prevent these feelings. Symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years and continue into adulthood.

Examples of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (social phobia), specific phobias and separation anxiety disorder. You can have more than one anxiety disorder. Sometimes anxiety results from a medical condition that needs treatment.

Whatever form of anxiety you have, treatment can help.

Symptoms

Common anxiety signs and symptoms include:

Feeling nervous, restless or tense

Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom

Having an increased heart rate

Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)

Sweating

Trembling

Feeling weak or tired

Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry

Having trouble sleeping

Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems

Having difficulty controlling worry

Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Several types of anxiety disorders exist:

Agoraphobia (ag-uh-ruh-FOE-be-uh) is a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.

Anxiety disorder due to a medical condition includes symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are directly caused by a physical health problem.

Generalized anxiety disorder includes persistent and excessive anxiety and worry about activities or events - even ordinary, routine issues. The worry is out of proportion to the actual circumstance, is difficult to control and affects how you feel physically. It often occurs along with other anxiety disorders or depression.

Panic disorder involves repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks). You may have feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a rapid, fluttering or pounding heart (heart palpitations). These panic attacks may lead to worrying about them happening again or avoiding situations in which they've occurred.

Selective mutism is a consistent failure of children to speak in certain situations, such as school, even when they can speak in other situations, such as at home with close family members. This can interfere with school, work and social functioning.

Separation anxiety disorder is a childhood disorder characterized by anxiety that's excessive for the child's developmental level and related to separation from parents or others who have parental roles.

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) involves high levels of anxiety, fear and avoidance of social situations due to feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness and concern about being judged or viewed negatively by others.

Specific phobias are characterized by major anxiety when you're exposed to a specific object or situation and a desire to avoid it. Phobias provoke panic attacks in some people.

Substance-induced anxiety disorder is characterized by symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are a direct result of misusing drugs, taking medications, being exposed to a toxic substance or withdrawal from drugs.

Other specified anxiety disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder are terms for anxiety or phobias that don't meet the exact criteria for any other anxiety disorders but are significant enough to be distressing and disruptive.

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if:

You feel like you're worrying too much and it's interfering with your work, relationships or other parts of your life

Your fear, worry or anxiety is upsetting to you and difficult to control

You feel depressed, have trouble with alcohol or drug use, or have other mental health concerns along with anxiety

You think your anxiety could be linked to a physical health problem

You have suicidal thoughts or behaviors - if this is the case, seek emergency treatment immediately

Your worries may not go away on their own, and they may get worse over time if you don't seek help. See your doctor or a mental health provider before your anxiety gets worse. It's easier to treat if you get help early.

Causes

The causes of anxiety disorders aren't fully understood. Life experiences such as traumatic events appear to trigger anxiety disorders in people who are already prone to anxiety. Inherited traits also can be a factor.

Medical causes

For some people, anxiety may be linked to an underlying health issue. In some cases, anxiety signs and symptoms are the first indicators of a medical illness. If your doctor suspects your anxiety may have a medical cause, he or she may order tests to look for signs of a problem.

Examples of medical problems that can be linked to anxiety include:

Heart disease

Diabetes

Thyroid problems, such as hyperthyroidism

Respiratory disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma

Drug misuse or withdrawal

Withdrawal from alcohol, anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines) or other medications

Chronic pain or irritable bowel syndrome

Rare tumors that produce certain fight-or-flight hormones

Sometimes anxiety can be a side effect of certain medications.

It's possible that your anxiety may be due to an underlying medical condition if:

You don't have any blood relatives (such as a parent or sibling) with an anxiety disorder

You didn't have an anxiety disorder as a child

You don't avoid certain things or situations because of anxiety

You have a sudden occurrence of anxiety that seems unrelated to life events and you didn't have a previous history of anxiety

Risk factors

These factors may increase your risk of developing an anxiety disorder:

Trauma. Children who endured abuse or trauma or witnessed traumatic events are at higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder at some point in life. Adults who experience a traumatic event also can develop anxiety disorders.

Stress due to an illness. Having a health condition or serious illness can cause significant worry about issues such as your treatment and your future.

Stress buildup. A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety - for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances.

Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.

Other mental health disorders. People with other mental health disorders, such as depression, often also have an anxiety disorder.

Having blood relatives with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders can run in families.

Drugs or alcohol. Drug or alcohol use or misuse or withdrawal can cause or worsen anxiety.

Complications

Having an anxiety disorder does more than make you worry. It can also lead to, or worsen, other mental and physical conditions, such as:

Depression (which often occurs with an anxiety disorder) or other mental health disorders

Substance misuse

Trouble sleeping (insomnia)

Digestive or bowel problems

Headaches and chronic pain

Social isolation

Problems functioning at school or work

Poor quality of life

Suicide

Prevention

There's no way to predict for certain what will cause someone to develop an anxiety disorder, but you can take steps to reduce the impact of symptoms if you're anxious:

Get help early. Anxiety, like many other mental health conditions, can be harder to treat if you wait.

Stay active. Participate in activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good about yourself. Enjoy social interaction and caring relationships, which can lessen your worries.

Avoid alcohol or drug use. Alcohol and drug use can cause or worsen anxiety. If you're addicted to any of these substances, quitting can make you anxious. If you can't quit on your own, see your doctor or find a support group to help you.

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Learn the symptoms of this mental health condition, and ways to manage worry and fear that interfere with your daily activities.

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Overview

Experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. However, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks).

These feelings of anxiety and panic interfere with daily activities, are difficult to control, are out of proportion to the actual danger and can last a long time. You may avoid places or situations to prevent these feelings. Symptoms may start during childhood or the teen years and continue into adulthood.

Examples of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder (social phobia), specific phobias and separation anxiety disorder. You can have more than one anxiety disorder. Sometimes anxiety results from a medical condition that needs treatment.

Whatever form of anxiety you have, treatment can help.

Symptoms

Common anxiety signs and symptoms include:

Feeling nervous, restless or tense

Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom

Having an increased heart rate

Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)

Sweating

Trembling

Feeling weak or tired

Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry

Having trouble sleeping

Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems

Having difficulty controlling worry

Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety

Several types of anxiety disorders exist:

Agoraphobia (ag-uh-ruh-FOE-be-uh) is a type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.

Anxiety disorder due to a medical condition includes symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are directly caused by a physical health problem.

Generalized anxiety disorder includes persistent and excessive anxiety and worry about activities or events - even ordinary, routine issues. The worry is out of proportion to the actual circumstance, is difficult to control and affects how you feel physically. It often occurs along with other anxiety disorders or depression.

Panic disorder involves repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks). You may have feelings of impending doom, shortness of breath, chest pain, or a rapid, fluttering or pounding heart (heart palpitations). These panic attacks may lead to worrying about them happening again or avoiding situations in which they've occurred.

Selective mutism is a consistent failure of children to speak in certain situations, such as school, even when they can speak in other situations, such as at home with close family members. This can interfere with school, work and social functioning.

Separation anxiety disorder is a childhood disorder characterized by anxiety that's excessive for the child's developmental level and related to separation from parents or others who have parental roles.

Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) involves high levels of anxiety, fear and avoidance of social situations due to feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness and concern about being judged or viewed negatively by others.

Specific phobias are characterized by major anxiety when you're exposed to a specific object or situation and a desire to avoid it. Phobias provoke panic attacks in some people.

Substance-induced anxiety disorder is characterized by symptoms of intense anxiety or panic that are a direct result of misusing drugs, taking medications, being exposed to a toxic substance or withdrawal from drugs.

Other specified anxiety disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder are terms for anxiety or phobias that don't meet the exact criteria for any other anxiety disorders but are significant enough to be distressing and disruptive.

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if:

You feel like you're worrying too much and it's interfering with your work, relationships or other parts of your life

Your fear, worry or anxiety is upsetting to you and difficult to control

You feel depressed, have trouble with alcohol or drug use, or have other mental health concerns along with anxiety

You think your anxiety could be linked to a physical health problem

You have suicidal thoughts or behaviors - if this is the case, seek emergency treatment immediately

Your worries may not go away on their own, and they may get worse over time if you don't seek help. See your doctor or a mental health provider before your anxiety gets worse. It's easier to treat if you get help early.

Causes

The causes of anxiety disorders aren't fully understood. Life experiences such as traumatic events appear to trigger anxiety disorders in people who are already prone to anxiety. Inherited traits also can be a factor.

Medical causes

For some people, anxiety may be linked to an underlying health issue. In some cases, anxiety signs and symptoms are the first indicators of a medical illness. If your doctor suspects your anxiety may have a medical cause, he or she may order tests to look for signs of a problem.

Examples of medical problems that can be linked to anxiety include:

Heart disease

Diabetes

Thyroid problems, such as hyperthyroidism

Respiratory disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma

Drug misuse or withdrawal

Withdrawal from alcohol, anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines) or other medications

Chronic pain or irritable bowel syndrome

Rare tumors that produce certain fight-or-flight hormones

Sometimes anxiety can be a side effect of certain medications.

It's possible that your anxiety may be due to an underlying medical condition if:

You don't have any blood relatives (such as a parent or sibling) with an anxiety disorder

You didn't have an anxiety disorder as a child

You don't avoid certain things or situations because of anxiety

You have a sudden occurrence of anxiety that seems unrelated to life events and you didn't have a previous history of anxiety

Risk factors

These factors may increase your risk of developing an anxiety disorder:

Trauma. Children who endured abuse or trauma or witnessed traumatic events are at higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder at some point in life. Adults who experience a traumatic event also can develop anxiety disorders.

Stress due to an illness. Having a health condition or serious illness can cause significant worry about issues such as your treatment and your future.

Stress buildup. A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety - for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances.

Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.

Other mental health disorders. People with other mental health disorders, such as depression, often also have an anxiety disorder.

Having blood relatives with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders can run in families.

Drugs or alcohol. Drug or alcohol use or misuse or withdrawal can cause or worsen anxiety.

Complications

Having an anxiety disorder does more than make you worry. It can also lead to, or worsen, other mental and physical conditions, such as:

Depression (which often occurs with an anxiety disorder) or other mental health disorders

Substance misuse

Trouble sleeping (insomnia)

Digestive or bowel problems

Headaches and chronic pain

Social isolation

Problems functioning at school or work

Poor quality of life

Suicide

Prevention

There's no way to predict for certain what will cause someone to develop an anxiety disorder, but you can take steps to reduce the impact of symptoms if you're anxious:

Get help early. Anxiety, like many other mental health conditions, can be harder to treat if you wait.

Stay active. Participate in activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good about yourself. Enjoy social interaction and caring relationships, which can lessen your worries.

Avoid alcohol or drug use. Alcohol and drug use can cause or worsen anxiety. If you're addicted to any of these substances, quitting can make you anxious. If you can't quit on your own, see your doctor or find a support group to help you.

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Learn the symptoms of this mental health condition, and ways to manage worry and fear that interfere with your daily activities.

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1. Aribah Amni Binti Shaari (A192682)
2. You Khai Teen (A191648)
3. Sharifah Aqilah Syed Mohd Zeffuddin (A197467)
4. Wan Amirul Afham (A195985)

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What we learned from the series???

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Purple and Pink Doodle Fun Competitive Analysis Brainstorm Session Presentation

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We compile some information on how an individual can manage OCD symptoms and how the people around them can be of a help to them dealing OCD🐾

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Yellow 9 Steps To Positive Mental Health Instagram Post

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What are the signs and symptoms of OCD? 

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What are the signs and symptoms of OCD? 

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Explaining about signs and symptoms of OCD and its misconceptions❌

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Apple TV Takeaways, specifically from an episode where they talked about GINNY's experience with OCD📝

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Apple TV Takeaways, specifically from an episode where they talked about GINNY's experience with OCD📝

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Watching the Apple TV series was really an eye opening. It's such an amazing approach to make people learn and understand about the variety of mental health disorders.

Here, we have gathered information, specifically related to our topic of OCD from the series📒

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We have provide our takeaways on Ginny's experience with OCD. However, there have been so many interesting takes, highlights, and insights in all of the episodes and we try to slot them all in short but meaningful words. We hope that these takeaways can help to summarize and provide a better look and understanding on mental health disorders. Let's create a better world to live in with this small step!

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A great visual explaining thought processes/behavior of those with OCD

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A great visual explaining thought processes/behavior of those with OCD

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Basically all of WHAT IS OCD could possibly fit onto one page—especially in any type of comprehensive manner. A very good tool for anyone to show family members or friends who don’t understand—especially because it’s not some 10 page article you’d have to print out that no one ends up even reading!

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Sense of Belonging and Hope in the Lives of Persons with Schizophrenia

After looking into a sense of belonging in a community, I stumbled upon this article which I think might further highlight the importance for professionals to be aware and learn how to cultivate such an environment.

The article highlights one of the aspects that not many people talk about Religion & Faith, where the study takes one's faith into accountability and how patients felt that faith provided them hope when they were in despair and alone.

A quick run-through of the article!
Themes

Sense of Belonging

Being with others

Connecting/Being a Part of something

Not Belonging

Being an Outsider

Loneliness

Faith

Absence of Hope

Symptoms

Treatment

Non-adherence

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Abstract

This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore the meaning of sense of belonging and hope in the lived experiences of 20 persons with chronic schizophrenia-spectrum disorders receiving acute inpatient treatment. Experience of treatment was also explored. Sense of belonging and hope were both identified as valuable or even vital, yet the experiences of not belonging and/or feeling hopeless was more prevalent. Participants frequently felt like an outsider and experienced loneliness and isolation, suggesting a need for further exploration of the impact of sense of belonging and hope on recovery and even treatment adherence in persons with schizophrenia.

Introduction

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that causes alterations in a person's cognition, emotional responses, perceptions of reality and social interactions with others. The social cognitive deficits of schizophrenia frequently result in difficulty engaging in normal interpersonal interactions at work, school or with friends and family ( Aghevli, Blanchard, & Horan, 2003). In addition, symptoms of schizophrenia result in behaviors and experiences that are outside of social norms and further impede social functioning due to stigma and marginalization ( Wahl, 1999, 2012). The combination of the above factors contributes to social isolation, loneliness, and feelings of hopelessness commonly experienced by persons with this disorder. Loneliness and isolation are connected to decreased quality of life and are identified as roadblocks to illness remission and recovery ( Boyer et al., 2013; Chiu & Tsang, 2004; Hayhurst et al., 2013; Kukla, Salyers, & Lysaker, 2013; Wahl, 2012). Considering the prevalence of loneliness and hopelessness, the obverse states of sense of belonging and hope may be keys to supporting recovery in persons with schizophrenia.

The Importance of Belonging

Having a sense of belonging has been identified as important to health, from Maslow's inclusion of belonging in his hierarchy of basic human needs ( Maslow, 1954) to more recent exploration of the role of sense of belonging and mental health ( Anant, 1967; Choenarom, Williams, & Hagerty, 2005; Hagerty, Lynch-Sauer, Patusky, Bouwsema, & Collier, 1992). Humans seem to be hard-wired to be with other people; isolation or alienation is not only detrimental to overall health, but is also viewed as socially unacceptable or as an unfavorable state of being. Feeling as if one belongs, on the other hand, is identified as important to health, particularly mental health ( Anant, 1967; Hagerty et al., 1992). Sense of belonging is a vital mental health concept that is closely correlated with social and psychological functioning ( Hagerty et al., 1992; Hagerty & Williams, 1999). Little is known about the experience of belonging in persons with schizophrenia. Social support is identified as vital to well-being and improved outcomes in this population and is also identified as an area of common deficit ( Agarwal, Sharma, Kumar K. V, & Lowe, 1998; Beels, 1981; Pyne et al., 2006). Social support is a related concept to belonging, and it has been found to mediate sense of belonging in persons with depression ( Choenarom et al., 2005). It has been suggested that sense of belonging plays a more important role in improving psychological functioning than increasing social support ( Hagerty & Williams, 1999). It may be that the focus on social support alone in interventions for persons with schizophrenia is insufficient in that it does not encompass sense of belonging. A person may have social supports available, but may not be as meaningful if these supports do not make the person feel as if he/she belongs. A shift from interventions that increase social support to enhancing the person's sense of belonging could result in enhanced quality of life and improved outcomes. First, because the literature on sense of belonging in schizophrenia is extremely limited, the concept needs to be explored further to explicate meaning and determine significance in persons with schizophrenia.

The Necessity of Hope

Hope involves looking toward the future with a sense of positive expectation and intentionality. It provides a sense that one has a future and enables coping with events in the present while supporting the individual to use crises as opportunities for growth. Hope has been identified as a positive coping strategy for dealing with chronic illness ( Herth, 1995; Miller, 1989), and as an important value in recovery from schizophrenia and mental illness in general ( Corrigan, McCracken, & Holmes, 2001; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 2006). Hope has been found to improve depression, anxiety, well-being, coping and even immunity ( Schrank, Stanghellini, & Slade, 2008).

The sequelae of schizophrenia, including apathy and anhedonia, are conducive to hopelessness; in fact, hopelessness is a common symptom of schizophrenia ( White, McCleery, Gumley, & Mulholland, 2007). Hopelessness has been found to be higher in persons with schizophrenia who committed suicide, the leading cause of premature death in people with schizophrenia ( Lyu & Zhang, 2014). Even when the person follows treatment recommendations, symptoms of schizophrenia often persist and this may enhance hopelessness about future ability to lead a normal life. Hopelessness is further compounded by stigma and social rejection commonly experienced by persons with this disease ( Dickerson, Sommerville, Origoni, Ringel, & Parente, 2002; White et al., 2007).

The literature on hope in schizophrenia, while more robust than that on sense of belonging, is still limited. The importance of hope as a basic resource of life ( Kylma, Juvakka, Nikkonen, Korhonen, & Isohanni, 2006) necessitates further examination of the experience of hope in the lives of persons with schizophrenia.

Factors that influence recovery, such as feeling a sense of belonging and hope, may differ for persons with schizophrenia than for those with other illnesses. Engaging people in discussions about their lives provides an avenue for making meaning and coherence out of individual experiences with a resulting broader understanding of commonalities among people with schizophrenia. Because these individuals often have perceptions and experiences that are not routinely faced by others, understanding their lived experiences is vital to not only improving understanding of the illness, but also to developing successful interventions.

Qualitative inquiry using a phenomenological approach will help to build an understanding of the relevance and meaning of sense of belonging and hope in persons with schizophrenia that will guide future research and intervention development. The purpose of this study was to explore sense of belonging and hope in the lived experience of people with chronic schizophrenia spectrum disorders. A secondary aim of this study was to provide insight into patients' perceptions of treatment for their mental illness.

Methods

Subjects and Procedure

After receiving Institutional Review Board Approval, participants were recruited from a freestanding psychiatric hospital that is part of a tertiary academic medical center. Participants included 20 English-speaking persons aged 18-65 years, with primary diagnoses of a chronic schizophrenia spectrum disorder and who were current hospital inpatients. For the purposes of this study, chronic was defined as having been hospitalized more than twice, and/or having received treatment for greater than 1 year. This criterion was enacted to ensure that the participant had a diagnosis long enough to be able to describe the impact of the disorder on his or her life.

Persons were excluded from the study if they had a substance-induced psychotic disorder, and/or if their inpatient treatment focus was on drug or alcohol detox during the hospitalization. Individuals with known significant impairments in cognition or prohibitive psychopathology (including unresolving agitation) were excluded in order to reduce risk of psychological distress and to ensure all participants were able to engage in informed consent. The attending physician was consulted prior to approaching each patient and the physician gave feedback on the person's ability to provide informed consent. Those determined to have capacity to consent were approached, and if interested were provided with the details of the study, including review of the purpose and procedure of the study, risks, and benefits.

A screening tool was used to ensure informed consent occurred. The screening tool used in this study was modified for persons with schizophrenia from the University of California San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (BACC) ( Jeste et al., 2007). The BACC scores each item from 0-2, which results in a score with a range of 0-20 where intermediate response may be acceptable. The modified version of this tool for schizophrenia includes yes/no response for each question; any response of no is a positive screening. If a positive screening occurred, indicating questionability of ability to consent, the individual was excluded from the study. The participants signed a consent form with the understanding that participation in the study was voluntary and would not affect their treatment at the hospital, that they could withdraw from the study at any time, that they did not need to answer questions if they felt uncomfortable, and that their information would be kept strictly confidential. Interviews were conducted in a private room at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. All interviews were recorded using an electronic voice recorder with the participants' consent. The interviews were conducted between November 2014 and March 2015. Upon completion, each study participant was given a $25 gift card. Nineteen of the twenty participants answered all interview questions. One participant became notably anxious a few questions into the interview and the primary investigator (PI) ended the interview early to avoid additional participant distress.

Data Collection & Analysis

This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews. Additionally, two measures of sense of belonging, the General Belongingness Scale ( Malone, 2011) and the Sense of Belonging Instrument, Psychological Subscale ( Hagerty & Patusky, 1995) were administered for pilot testing. This article will only report the results of the qualitative interviews.

The purpose of the interviews was to extrapolate the lived experience of the person with a focus on sense of belonging and hope. The interview guide included questions such as 1) Describe a normal day in your life. 2) Describe a difficult day in your life. 3) Describe a special day in your life. 4) Describe your experience of treatment for mental illness. Probing questions included 1) Did you feel any hope on that day? 2) Did you feel as if you belonged on that day?

The PI completed all participant interviews. Audio recordings of interviews were transcribed verbatim and compared to the audio recording by the PI who corrected any discrepancies. Each transcript was independently analyzed line by line by the PI and an independent reviewer to identify themes and key phrases within the text. After this initial review, the PI and secondary reviewer met to categorize the codes identified into broader themes and subthemes. Line by line analysis using ATLAS.ti software was conducted independently by the PI and then together with the secondary reviewer to confirm agreement of themes and textual examples.

Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 21. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample and are summarized in Table 1 . Mean and standard deviation were used for the normally distributed continuous variable age.

Table 1

Characteristic (N=20, no missing data)

n

%
n
M(SD)

Min-Max

Results

Sample

The PI, who had legal access to the records, screened medical records of adult inpatients at VPH during the study timeframe. Twenty-seven individuals were approached for consent, 21 were consented and 20 participants were interviewed. Characteristics of the 20 participants are reported in Table 1 . The majority of the participants were white (70%) males (65%). While predominantly single (85%), most did not live alone, either living with friends/family members (65%) or in a group home (15%). Seventy percent of participants had a high school education or greater.

Qualitative Results

Five a priori primary themes were confirmed during data analysis: Sense of Belonging, Not belonging, Hope, Absence of hope and Treatment. The following sections discuss these themes along with related subthemes.

Theme 1: Sense of Belonging

Having a sense of belonging was defined as the experience of feeling as if one belongs or fits in with other people, communities, or society. Participant descriptions of belonging were in alignment with this definition and centered on fitting in. Sense of belonging was described as being with and/or communicating with others. Some participants defined sense of belonging as:

"It means to be part of a group where they don't pick you out and say, "Look, this person's something that we don't want to be." It's to be part of a group and to be included in kind of a category within a group of people that people want to be like, that this person that fits into the idea of what we should be."

"It feels pretty good to belong to something, it... makes you want to wake up and keep doing the things you have been doing every morning"

"It makes me normal. It makes me feel like I'm really doing something right and really special in somebody's life."

Having a sense of belonging included contact and connection with others, and when the person felt a sense of belonging, it generated positive feelings. Sense of belonging was identified as a vital element in their lives, without which life was more difficult.

Subtheme: Being with others

This subtheme was the most predominant in the Belonging category, and can also be described as 'having someone be there'. Seventeen out of the 20 participants identified the importance of having others be there for them and being with other people.

"I like working around other people. I have to have other people in my life."

"I can't take it without having somebody in my life."

"It's like (when) everybody around me, nobody's judging you. I love it."

More than just being with others, three participants described the importance of having someone who is a supporter and an advocate.

"She was always the one that cheered me on. She wouldn't just get on the sidelines of the race, she'd get right in there with you."

" She always fought for me and tried to make sure I was happy"

Four participants described that being with others helped them to cope with the symptoms of schizophrenia, and in some cases being with others even lessened those symptoms.

"It's like a sponge. Sometimes I'm filled with water and sometimes I'm not, just depending on how tightly the voices are squeezing at me. When I'm alone, it's usually at it's worse. I try to, as much as possible, try to integrate myself back into society because that's the only thing that can fix it."

"When I'm present with someone else, it's much easier to manage. It's much easier to control. It's much easier to manipulate what's really going on mentally."

Being with others was more than just superficial interactions or being around people in a way that did not involve genuine and meaningful connection. Having someone be there included an element of caring and being cared for, whether by a friend, a family member, or in some instances, a beloved pet. The implication of reciprocity suggests that sense of belonging entails more than just having social support or social contacts, it may also include having opportunities to be supportive in return.

Subtheme: Connecting/Being a Part of Something

In addition to being with others, ten of the participants described belonging as being a part of something and connecting with others.

(When I feel like I belong)... "I feel like I'm part of something. Instead of being like one piece of pie that's already been eaten, I'm part of the whole pie that's left."

"To belong means to be tightly knit into a network of people emotionally and physically, family, friends. Communication on a regular basis. Maintaining a status quo with others. Never just becoming disconnected or falling away from the herd.".

Communication was identified as playing a role in belonging (8 participants). For some it was just being able to communicate with people regularly as indicated above. For others it was about staying connected, whether in person, by phone or through social media, such as Facebook.

"(Belonging means) constantly making contact with friends, no matter how few you have, family, girlfriend, whatever. You have to maintain those things in order to have a belonging, at least I feel so. Those are the things that make up a human."

Four participants identified that the primary place that they felt a sense of belonging was with other people with mental illnesses:

"because there is this tight-knit community of people with mental illness. And they will stick together and be supportive and try to help you through anything. So if I belong anywhere, I belong with people with other disorders or mood disorders or anything."

"...it kind of makes me feel like I belong because I know that they've also been through something similar to me. Because I can help talk to them and they can talk to me and we can be there for each other."

Being a part of something added meaning and value to life. Communication was identified as important for supporting the connection with others and that continued connection was needed. While many of these connections were with family and friends who were not identified as having a mental illness, connecting with people who had similar experiences enhanced sense of belonging.

Theme 2: Not Belonging

Not feeling as if one belonged or fit in was a predominant experience, with 146 data segments coded for not belonging compared to 126 for belonging. Nineteen participants described what it felt like to not belong.

"Belonging wise, I just felt like I didn't belong anywhere. Very little value or asset to life. There are times where I felt suicidal... You start to run out of options. When you run out of options as a human, you start to question what's left."

"I have no friends and no family. I've been here nine months. I have not one friend and no family and I'm on my own".

One participant, when describing what it felt like to her when she did not feel as if she belonged stated:

"It's miserable because I feel like I'm at the bottom of the garbage pile, almost, if that makes any sense. Everything's just dumped on you and nobody remembers what's at the bottom of the garbage pile, so they empty it and throw it away."

Feeling isolated and alone compounded this lack of connection, and participants described a thwarted longing to be able to simply talk to other people in a way that made them feel accepted and understood. When this didn't happen, it had negative impact on their emotional state.

Subtheme: Being an Outsider

Fifteen participants experienced a feeling of being outside of society or feeling like an outsider. Being marginalized for having a mental illness was a normal experience.

"You know I am around seven people all day they don't talk to me for almost two and a half years. They don't talk to me. And then I just sit there, drink, I smoke my cigarette, they just look at me."

"I feel like the odd man out, like everybody is playing a game that I'm not."

There were stark descriptions of feeling different from others and not being accepted for being one's self. Participants described powerlessness over not belonging because of having a mental illness, and wanting to connect with others but not knowing how. Some participants commented on wanting to integrate back into society by getting jobs, going to college or finding ways to connect with other people.

Subtheme: Loneliness

Participants described that the experience of not belonging resulted in feelings of isolation and loneliness that was hard to cope with. Participants described being alone because of their illness, and some articulated that being alone with the illness was detrimental to their emotional and mental health.

"Sometimes I feel outcast, and I don't talk a lot. I don't know how to talk a lot unless I really have to.... It feels bad, like I ain't got nobody to share my feelings with."

"Alone is even worse, especially with such a diagnosis. You don't want to be alone with this diagnosis or you'll just become Galileo. You'll go crazy in a cave. That's not something anyone wants to be alone with.

"You're very alone. When you're alone like that, it damages the mind. It weakens it especially. If you don't get ahold of it or a grip of it, it destroys you ultimately."

Eight participants described the feeling of not belonging as being connected to the experience of losing a person, such as a mother, grandmother, or spouse, that made them feel like they belonged. Sometimes this loss had occurred in the distant past, but was the best, or even the only, experience they had of feeling a sense of belonging.

"I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere but with her. I still feel that way a lot of times...Don't belong anywhere but in the ground with her, I guess."

"I was like, "Oh my God! I have nobody else in this world who understands me." She was always the one I talked to when I felt bad, so I didn't have anybody, now."

Others seemed to have hardened themselves to the experience of not belonging and described the experience with a self-protective distance or an attitude of indifference.

"I don't think I've ever fit in (laugh). I've never felt like I fit in. Even when I was little, I never felt like I fit in. I just...I'm different in a lot of ways. But I'm okay with that usually."

"I just get to the point where I figure well this is the way it's going to be. I'm just going to be a lonely person. Or, you know, I don't want to deal it and commit suicide. I kind of struggle between the two"

"I really can't say that I want to be a part of anybody else's life, or something like that, you know what I mean? So I'm not trying to belong with other people. I'm just trying to be in society, mind my own business, live my life, and do what I want to do with my life, and not be involved with others." Participants who described this attitude of indifference also made contradictory statements about loneliness or wanting to feel a sense of belonging. This last participant quoted above later said that: "At times, I feel like, uh, just hearing voices, stuff like that, maybe I feel like I'm ... uh, I guess maybe I get lonely at times."

When speaking of these intense feelings of loneliness, there was often a despairing quality to the discussion, and many did not have hope for increased connection with others and seemed resigned to being isolated and alone. Others struggled with recurring thoughts of suicide.

Theme 3

Hope was defined as having future orientation or positive expectation of something in the future. This aligned with participants' definitions of hope.

"Hope means to have something waiting. Not necessarily waiting, but to have ... When I think of 'hope' the word, I think of future. You have a grasp for the future. You feel like it's going to occur no matter what. If you don't have any hope, you will burn out really quickly, especially with something like schizophrenia. It's not something that you can run low on."

"Hope means a lot because everybody needs to hope in something or believe in something. I want to be hopeful that I have a bright future myself, even if it's not going to be a big event or anything. I just want to be able to have a decent life."

"Hope gives people a reason to do something. What hope means for me is a reason to live.

Having a future orientation was valued, even though it was not experienced by all participants. Hope provided meaning and motivation to keep trying despite obstacles encountered.

Goals/Purpose

Eighteen participants connected hope to having goals. Hope was described as having a sense of purpose in one's life and as having a reason to go on, to get up and live another day.

"I'd have hope for my future if I can get to see my daughter for the first time... but that's something that I really look forward to in life, to really get to see my daughter for the first time."

"I think it's an important thing to try to maintain is being busy. Not just being busy, but being busy doing stuff that is productive for what the inside of the person is wanting to make. Like, whatever I want to make on my inside, whatever I'm trying to thus show on the outside"

When asked to describe a special day, one participant described the importance of simple goals"

"When I can set another goal for myself to push myself to strive better for things that I enjoy doing with my family...When I wake up, having a good feeling that I can- that I can achieve what I set out for praying last night, like getting my son to school, go get a shower, basically, uh, taking care of myself so I can take care of my family, um, the things I enjoy doing."

The content of the goals or the person's identified purpose varied per participant, ranging from being able to accomplish routine activities like showering to finding a career or engaging in an activity that was meaningful to the person.

Subtheme: Faith

Eight of the participants connected hope to their faith or religious beliefs.

"I want to go to heaven. That's what hope gives me. God's given me a hope and that chance of not going to hell. I want to take that as much as possible."

"I feel like I got other things in life to do and like my mom said, "God got a great anointing on you in life." ... I keep an open mind and I continue to pray and read and seek him. He'll show me."

"Hope means to me... getting connected with my Father, who's in heaven, because without him I can't do anything."

Patients described the strength of faith that gave them hope even when they were the most despairing and most alone. The participants that connected hope with God did so in a way that was almost synonymous; that with God in their lives they had hope, but when they did not feel that connection with God, hope was lost.

Theme 4: Absence of Hope

Twelve participants described experiences of feeling no hope or hopelessness. Some participants, while able to describe what having hope would feel like, were currently experiencing an absence of hope. This was difficult for these participants to discuss and two participants in particular were unable to describe the feeling further than the following:

"No, I don't (feel hope). (small laugh) I don't feel anything. I don't feel happiness. I don't feel sadness. I don't feel anything."

" No, I don't feel hope. I don't feel hope at all because there is no hope."

Not feeling hope also occurred in the face of challenges encountered in their lives.

"(You feel no hope) when you don't get your goals accomplished, and you have major problems, that's when I get panicky, and you want to be angry at those that have major influences on your life, like the government, and those that are in power."

Subtheme: Symptoms

An absence of hope was discussed in the context of symptoms. Severe and persistent symptoms contributed to a lack of hope and for some directed feelings of suicidality.

"I want to live but I just don't really understand how I can go on, you know, being depressed like that and hearing voices. You know, something's gotta be done, it seems like."

"When I try to commit suicide, it's not a sad feeling. It's not like, "Ah, I'm about to die." When I try to commit suicide, I'm thinking I'm benefiting myself. I'm thinking, "Man, if I don't commit suicide now, I'm going to get tortured. I'm taking the easy way out."

For these few participants, they described this hopelessness as the reason for being in the hospital. They did not see a way out of the distressing or overwhelming experience of psychosis and could not envision the possibility of a future without unmanageable symptoms, therefore they had no hope for the future and suicide seemed a viable option for relief.

Theme 5: Treatment

Treatment was defined as medications, seeing a therapist and/or provider, hospitalization or any other type of care they received for their mental illness.

"My nurses, they let me know what to do, and if I don't do it, I see it. I see it. If I don't take my medicine, I see what's going to happen...it's when you get off the medicine. It don't make you feel good. And I- that's my number one priority to try to do every day. And I like going to the doctor because it's my responsibility."

Participants had varying experiences of treatment. Some were very positive about treatment and identified that they needed treatment and that they had a personal responsibility to follow through.

Subtheme: Non-adherence

Five participants revealed that they did not believe they had a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Two stated that as soon as they were out of the hospital they would stop taking their meds. Since they did not believe they had an illness, they saw no reason to take medications.

"I'm not getting any treatment. Not taking any medicine at all because what I know is for real. Medicine ain't going to fix this...I'm not going to take any medicine because it's going to hurt me, or it's not benefiting me, so it's going to hurt me"

"I just try to deal with taking my medication, which sometimes I have to force myself to take it because I don't want to. Because I don't think I need it."

Others described previous non-adherence:

"At first, it was medicine all the time for two years, then the last two years it's been like medicine for two months then for six months I won't have medicine or something like that."

"I don't know why I go so long without taking my medicine. I have a really hard time remembering to go get my shot. Then when I don't I feel so bad. I'm like, "Okay. Let me call my caseworker. I need my shot." Then she's busy. I have to wait another week. Then, when she's free, I'm busy."

Eight participants reported unwanted and bothersome side effects of medications, and for some this contributed to non-adherence. Others described non-adherence in the context of medications not producing the desired results.

"It (medications) turns all the voices into like a mushy ball of loud. ... It sounds like a drunk or kind of like Snoopy's, or Charlie Brown's teacher. That's how it sounds a lot. Which is great. I'd rather hear blah, blah, blah instead of actually hearing voices telling me my impending doom is in 10 minutes. The medicine does help, but it doesn't do what I truly want it to do."

Ten participants related that the medications diminished but did not eliminate symptoms. For some this made them not want to take the medications, but for others it was better than nothing.

Subtheme: Sense of Belonging, Hope & Treatment

Some participants made connections between hope and belonging and treatment. One participant, when asked if she generally felt that she belonged, stated:

"When I'm on my medicine, yes. When I'm not on my medicine, I don't feel like I belong anywhere. That's why it's so important for me to stay on it. That's the only way I feel any hope, any sense of belonging."

Another participant expressed that:

"(Medications) help me feel level like a normal person. I feel like an outsider when I don't take my meds. I don't feel like I understand things and I don't feel like I fit in. I see and hear things that tell me I don't fit in. I just push myself back and don't come any closer to the crowd, if that makes any sense."

"I can maintain very well on my medicine and I'm so grateful for the medicine. It gives me so much hope."

The participants who clearly made associations between taking medications and sense of belonging or hope also described more positive experiences of sense of belonging and hope, whether in the present, or in the past.

Theme Overlap: Hope and Sense of Belonging

There was overlap between hope and sense of belonging in the transcripts of eight of the participants. One participant's hopes (goals) were specifically related to being with other people:

"I frequently hope that I'll be able to find some way to maintain my way of life, while also living around some of the people that I really enjoy."

Belonging was related to setting goals or having a purpose in life. There was hope in being with other people they could relate to and in communicating and connecting with others.

Discussion

Themes discussed in this article portray sense of belonging in the lives of persons with schizophrenia as having substantive meaning. Most participants could describe having had a sense of belonging at some point in their lives, if not current, and identified it as being a valuable, even an essential human experience. Participants described the need to be a part of the "outside world" and maintain communication and connection with others. Feeling a sense of belonging was best achieved by being with other people. There was a need to feel needed, and reciprocal relationships where the participants were able to be there for someone else contributed to having a sense of belonging. Being a part of something also evoked a sense of belonging, whether it was a family group, peer group, or a group of other people with mental illnesses with whom they could relate shared experiences and who would understand them.

There was a strong component to the narratives of the experience of not feeling a sense of belonging, of not fitting in. Being lonely and feeling like an outsider in most situations was a common experience for participants. Some of the lack of sense of belonging experienced by individuals with schizophrenia may be imposed by the illness. However, it may also be that the emotional distancing cultivated by some to protect themselves from the pain of this lack paradoxically keeps them distant from others and perpetuates feelings of not belonging.

Hope for the future is important to recovery and important to life for persons with schizophrenia. As one participant stated, "... everybody needs to hope in something or believe in something." Despite the importance of hope, the absence of hope was a common occurrence and participants described struggling with feelings of hopelessness. Severe symptoms of schizophrenia were a cause for many to experience a lack of hope, even to the point of feeling suicidal. One participant described the experience of hopelessness due to unrelenting auditory hallucinations "... the voices have harassed me to the point of where I was at a breaking point. Even though I didn't really feel that way emotionally. I felt that way because I felt like there was nothing left I could do. Hopelessness."

Participants in this study had varying experiences of treatment. For some, treatment was identified as necessary and something that they could not do without. Some of these participants identified that treatment made them more hopeful and that it enhanced their sense of belonging through increasing ability to interact with others. Others did not believe they needed treatment, or even that they had schizophrenia. For some, treatment did not make them feel more hopeful or make any difference in their sense of belonging. A major challenge of treatment for many was that it decreased, but did not fully eliminate symptoms. This may be a cause for treatment self-discontinuation if the person doesn't believe the benefits of the medication outweigh risks such as side effects.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. Participants were recruited from an inpatient psychosis unit with the intent to capture experiences at a time when they were recovering from a crisis period and would be able to recall contrasting experiences of illness and improving mental health. Narratives from this cross-section of time may not reflect their typical daily experience. Some of the participants had recent or current thoughts of suicide, which may have resulted in an overemphasis on hopelessness. Feelings of sense of belonging may have been different in the hospital environment than would have been the case in their home and other usual settings. Additionally, the depictions of experience of treatment may have been overly influenced by their hospital experience and inadequately reflected the outpatient treatment experience. Generalizability is limited to the geographical location, setting and sample composition. Inclusion of more stable and functioning outpatients from multiple sites in the U.S. could provide a more complete portrait of the lived experiences of persons with schizophrenia.

Conclusion

The study has confirmed that sense of belonging and hope are both important constructs in schizophrenia. Having a positive sense of belonging has been found to enhance interpersonal, professional and academic success, improve self-concept, to be a protective factor for suicide and overall to be vital to psychological functioning ( Brown, Silvia, Myin-Germeys, & Kwapil, 2007; Drolet, Arcand, Ducharme, & Leblanc, 2013; Hagerty, Williams, Coyne, & Early, 1996; Kissane & McLaren, 2006). The data underscore that meaningful connections and presence of others in the lives of persons with schizophrenia can impact well-being and mental health. The participants of this study commonly experienced a lack of hope and sense of belonging, and this lack negatively affected mental and emotional health, in some instances most severely. The findings indicate that sense of belonging is more than just having social contact with others, which has implications for research on sense of belonging in the context of social support interventions for schizophrenia. There is some indication that sense of belonging and hope may have a role in treatment adherence, and this needs to be more thoroughly investigated. These findings indicate that more quantifiable research on sense of belonging and hope is needed to examine the role these concepts play in mental health and recovery. Particularly, further study is needed to explore the possible link between sense of belonging and/or hope with treatment adherence to enable development of more effective strategies to promote recovery and even treatment adherence.

Acknowledgments

Funded by a grant from the Vanderbilt Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) UL1 TR000445 from NCATS/NIH

Footnotes

Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Contributor Information

Jennifer K. Barut, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing/Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, Address: 461 21 st Ave South, Nashville TN 37240, Phone: 615-875-4883.

Mary S. Dietrich, Biostatistics & Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Schools of Medicine & Nursing, Address: 461 21 st Ave South, Nashville TN 37240, Phone: 615-343-1620.

Paul A. Zanoni, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, Address: 1601 23rd Ave South, Nashville TN 37212, Phone: 615-327-7172.

Sheila H. Ridner, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Address: 461 21 st Ave South, Nashville TN 37240, Phone: 615-322-0831.

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Sense of Belonging and Hope in the Lives of Persons with Schizophrenia

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This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to explore the meaning of sense of belonging and hope in the lived experiences of 20 persons with chronic schizophrenia-spectrum disorders receiving acute inpatient treatment. Experience of treatment ...

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An Islamic research institution dedicated to dismantling doubts and nurturing conviction by addressing relevant topics affecting today's society.

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Buddhism and ADHD: Modern science & Ancient wisdom address ADHD 

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Buddhism and ADHD: Modern science & Ancient wisdom address ADHD 

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Explore how the meeting of cutting-edge scientific research and timeless wisdom holds the potential to address complex issues like ADHD and Alzheimer's through this website. A lot of studies showed that Buddhist tradition - the centuries-old meditation demonstrated positive effects in people who are suffering with ADHD. Check it out!

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Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays

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Can a Meeting of Modern Science and Ancient Wisdom Solve Problems Like ADHD and Alzheimer's?

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Author, scholar and renowned Tibetan Buddhism expert B. Alan Wallace was meditating in a hut in the California desert when he received an offer he couldn't

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How to meditate effectively in the right way - Even with ADHD

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How to meditate effectively in the right way - Even with ADHD

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Discover the art of meditation specially crafted for individuals with ADHD through this website. Let's learn how to practise mindfulness techniques to calm a restless mind and develop focus in the face of distractions!

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If you come to us as a coaching client, we will mention the "M" word to you.

Meditation, that is. Most people with attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) we encounter seem to be allergic to the word. So were we, until we had calmed down, with the aid of medication and other self-care techniques. If you have spent a lifetime with a pinball machine in your brain, it is hard to imagine yourself peacefully sitting in the lotus position.

The big secret, which nobody seems to clue those with ADHD in on, is that you don't have to sit in the lotus position at all... you don't even have to sit down to meditate or (thank God!) stop moving. You don't need a mantra, a guru, or notes from your trek to India to do the meditation thing correctly.

How to meditate effectively is easy, since it's not possible to fail at meditation. It is astonishing how many of our clients have told us that they tried meditation and found it frustrating. These clients thought that if there was a lot of activity going on in their brains, they were not doing it right. In fact, everybody has a lot of stuff going on in their brain most of the time. Buddhists refer to it as "monkey chatter."

We believe that meditation is critical for individuals with ADHD. We pick up some habits in compensating for ADHD that serve us poorly in the long run. One of the worst is the habit of running on adrenaline. This is how it begins: Early on, we discover that excitement wakes up our sleepy brains. We then, without conscious thought or choice, arrange our lives in such a way as to keep some crisis happening on a regular basis. We scare ourselves (by waiting until the last minute to do something), we create excitement. We are hooked on drama and having lots of things to do - and we beat ourselves up over nothing. Why? Because it is stimulating.
[Click to Download: The ADDitude Guide to Alternative ADHD Treatment]
Why We Must Slow Down

Those with ADHD can become hooked on adrenaline. But waking up our sluggish frontal lobes with an injection of stress has consequences for the body. When we are stressed, adrenal hormones raise our heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar. They also dampen the immune system. The adrenaline junkie is, in effect, paying for focus at high interest rates. Yes, you get a few hours of higher performance, but you pay for those hours in stress on your brain and body.

It is possible for children and adults with ADHD to have a peaceful, still mind. We have been in that pleasant place called peaceful, and we like spending as much of our time there as we can. We promise that you can go there, too. Here is your road map and tools for the journey.

How Can Meditation Help with ADHD?

To meditate effectively with a racing brain, follow these steps:

1) Repeat to yourself a thousand times (or as often as necessary): "Meditation is a practice. I intend to enjoy and learn from the experience. There are no wrong ways to do it, and I will refrain from grading myself."
[Read This: 9 Days to a Less Stressed You]
2) Get comfortable. Many meditation books and teachers warn you to avoid getting too comfortable, because you might fall asleep. Our thought is that if you fall asleep, you probably need to sleep. If you got relaxed enough to fall asleep... terrific! If you are concerned that you will sleep the day away and miss work, set an alarm.

3) Find your own comfort zone. Getting comfortable for you might involve standing on your head or lying in your bed - you are the best judge of what works for you. No meditator needs the additional distraction of physical discomfort.

4) Take slow, even breaths. Don't worry if you begin in out-of-breath mode. As you relax, your breathing will slow naturally.

5) If you are in full, high-speed adrenaline mode, you won't be able to stop on a dime, change gears, and get into meditation mode. When you have calmed your system through meditation and a meditative approach to life, going to a deep state of relaxation will not be such a major transition. In the meantime, take time to settle down before you meditate. A hot bath might do the trick, or listening to soothing music. Set a timer for a wind-down ritual. Put your planner and your "to do" list away; get into comfortable clothing.

6) Use sensory cues to move from one mental state to another. You might wear a special hat, sit in a special chair, or play certain kinds of music to make your transition to meditation.

7) Choose a focus for yourself, something to listen to or watch while you meditate. Some people pay attention to their breathing, while others repeat a word or phrase in their minds. You can make it up. One of our favorites is "let go." You can also use a visual focus, such as a candle flame.

With ADHD, some of us are more visually distractible, others are more distracted by sounds. Find out what works best for you.

8) You can also use music as your focus. Steven Halpern's music is especially good for meditation. We recommend that any music you choose be instrumental - it is too easy for you to get caught up in lyrics.

9) Don't "should" yourself. Some do fine sitting or lying down, but many of us get unbearably restless when we are required to be still for any length of time. Don't "should" all over yourself if you have a higher need for activity than someone else. Instead, work with it.

10) Moving meditation is as good as the sitting variety. It is a better choice for the active individual with ADHD. You don't need the additional distraction of an antsy body when your goal is to calm the mind. We recommend that the activity you choose for meditation be something simple and repetitive, like walking.

11) It's time to meditate. The thoughts in your head may still be clamoring for your attention. What do you do? When you notice your attention drifting toward that thought salad, gently disengage your attention and bring your mind back to your focus. At first, and especially on those bad brain days, you will repeat this process a lot.

12) Stick with it. Meditation will get easier as you go along. The key to success is to take it in small bites. Meditate for five minutes a few times a day. As you become more comfortable doing it, you will want to increase the length of your sessions because they have become so enjoyable. And soon you will begin to see meditation's benefits.

13) When you have gotten into the meditation groove, you can attain a state of deep relaxation more quickly. Sometimes a few deep breaths will do the trick. When the workplace or a social situation is getting you into a tizzy, you can retire to an empty conference room or the men's or women's room and "take five" to get centered.

14) Remind yourself why you are meditating. It is not to clear your mind, but to step back from the noise, to put your attention on your chosen focus.

15) You may need to medicate before you meditate. The right dose of stimulant medicine can turn the brain noise down to acceptable levels.

16) Make it a routine. Yes, but don't those of us with ADHD have trouble sticking with a routine? There are ways around it. Get an ADHD coach to keep you on track. A good coach will help you achieve your goals without blaming you if you fall short.

Accountability is not about guilt or failure. It is about not letting the goal drop, working to accomplish it, and celebrating little victories as well as big ones. If you forget to practice meditation for days, or even weeks, you can get back on the horse at a better time. That's what we did.
[Get This Free Download: Mindful Meditation for ADHD]

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Forget the Lotus Position: How to Meditate - ADHD Style

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ADHD brains love adrenaline. For some, this means trying sky diving and roller derby. For others, it means seeking out stress and drama, which are even tougher on the body. Meditation can counteract these stresses; here's how to do it right.

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How much do you know about ADHD? Do you know there are several types of ADHD? Come and learn more about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with us!

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As a Board member of a national Hindu advocacy organization , I have the opportunity to work closely with people whose advocacy efforts are rooted in the first of the four-fold spiritual path a Hindu follows: dharma, or justice, fairness and equality. One of HAF's objectives is to "solve contemporary problems by applying Hindu philosophy," with an emphasis on "promoting the Hindu teaching of every person's inherent divinity regardless of race, religion, caste, gender, age, or sexual orientation, or physical and/or mental disability." My personal experiences have led me to realize that when we face challenges related to mental or physical abilities, spiritual practice and faith based support structures are essential to rising beyond them - or sometimes, to simply to keep one's head above water. Through interfaith friends like Gail Katz, I've learned that faith based groups like the Jewish organization Kadima exist to provide support and that it is often times directed at parents who are struggling with ways to help their children. I someday hope to see support for and from Hindus along these lines.

Since April is Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month, my HAF colleague Murali Balaji, in explaining how critical education and empowerment are to erasing stigmas associated with autism , focused on the challenges faced by communities of color. I reached out to my fellow blogger Dilshad Ali, to discover if she knew of any support groups targeted to help with mental health issues and/or autism, and specifically if she knew of anything for and by Hindu Americans - after all, they are just as likely to be impacted by autism as any other group. As shown in a study done in March 2014 , "every 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 186 girls) are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autism is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders in the US and on average, costs a family $60,000 a year. As seen in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), there are five main points in the diagnostic criteria: persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests and patterns, symptoms may be present in the early developmental period but may not become fully manifested until social demands exceed limited capacities, symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning, lastly these disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability or global developmental delay."

Dilshad, the Managing Editor of the Muslim channel at patheos.com writes under the by-line Muslimah Next Door: Faith, Family and Autism - Not Always in That Order . As I expected, she had much to share about the role of faith based groups in providing social services centered around mental health issues. She spoke about American Muslim Health Professionals , (AMHP), a national nonprofit organization "focused on professional development, health education centered around the unique needs of American-Muslims, and advocacy for minorities and underserved communities." EnabledMuslim , a project of AMHP, is an online community for spiritual and practical support for Muslims with disabilities and their loved ones and provides Muslims with access to relevant information about their situation and the ability to connect and sustain long-lasting relationships with others who have similar experiences. While she did not know if there is any Hindu group, she referred me to someone in India, the inspirational Madhusudan Srinivasa, and his son Abhi, an autistic teen. Srinivasa, an NDTV journalist takes his son everywhere - with the sage advice "when you gotta go, ya gotta go!" - one should take an autistic child to social occasions, and choose not to hide the condition. Dilshad agrees with Srinivasa, that there should be a way to overcome the stigma and stereotypes associated with mental health issues, and parents should seek necessary support from society, along with making sure that the individual impacted gets the proper care. In the face of my disappointment that there are no Hindu or dharmic organizations, she also pointed out that the advantage of being farther behind than similar Christian and Jewish organizations is that we can learn from them.

But lack of Hindu organizations does not indicate a lack of Hindu perspectives on disability and autism support. Fellow Michigander, writer and leader in the Hindu community, Chitra Raman speaks of how and Hinduism have helped on her journey as the mother of an autistic child. Scholars in the Hindu community, like Arvind Sharma, Birks Professor of Comparative Religion at McGill University, also provide guidance on what we can do to help with mental and physical disability. Prof. Sharma offers offers clarity on how Hinduism offers a compelling rationale for respect and proper treatment of the disabled:
When I encounter disability, how, from my Hindu perspective, should I react? ... the question before me is not, "Why him or her?" It is, "Given the situation, what is my duty? ... One can now look to the future, for the doctrine of karma does not end with the proposition that what happens to us is the result of what we have done. It equally advances the proposition that we create our future by how we act now. So, do not wallow in self-pity but strive for a better future, an endeavor in which all others should readily help."
His perspective is a call to action, and provides impetus to take our , our search for what is just and compassionate, into the realm of serving and support - a way to turn into the yoga of action, through which we can help others. So what are we waiting for?
Note to readers: If I inadvertently am missing a Hindu organization that is doing work in this space, my apologies. Please leave a comment below, with ways to get in touch and other info such as the organization's website, and I will update the post and also be in touch!

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As a Board member of a national Hindu advocacy organization , I have the opportunity to work closely with people whose advocacy efforts are rooted in the first of the four-fold spiritual path a Hindu follows: dharma, or justice, fairness and equality.

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Hello everyone, these are the motions for our debate!

Motion 1

This house prefers individuals who speak out their difficulties/ trauma over those who face their problems alone.

Motion 2

This house believes that maladaptation is a choice.

Motion 3

This house proposes that therapeutic relationships matter more than the rest.

Motion 4

This house prefers group therapy over individual therapy.

Motion 5

This house believes that the pressure from society is greater than the pressure within yourself.

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This is a pretty cool framework to get to know. Do navigate the website or other search websites on ICF with your groupies!

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The ICF is a classification of health and health-related conditions for children and adults that was developed by World Health Organization (WHO) and published in 2001. The ICF framework can be used in interprofessional collaborative practice and person-centered care.

Functional Goal Writing Using ICF

Components of ICF

The ICF framework consists of two parts: Functioning and Disability and Contextual Factors. These parts are further broken down in the following manner:

Functioning and Disability includes:

Body Functions and Structures-describes actual anatomy and physiology/psychology of the human body.

Activity and Participation-describes the person's functional status, including communication, mobility, interpersonal interactions, self-care, learning, applying knowledge, etc.

Contextual Factors include:

Environmental Factors-factors that are not within the person's control, such as family, work, government agencies, laws, and cultural beliefs.

Personal Factors-include race, gender, age, educational level, coping styles, etc. Personal factors are not specifically coded in the ICF because of the wide variability among cultures. They are included in the framework, however, because although they are independent of the health condition they may have an influence on how a person functions.

Key Points

The ICD (International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) classifies disease, the ICF looks at functioning. Therefore, the use of the two together would provide a more comprehensive picture of the health of persons and populations.

The ICF is not based on etiology or "consequence of disease," but as a component of health. Thus, while functional status may be related to a health condition, knowing the health condition does not predict functional status.

The World Health Organization defines "health" as "the complete physical, mental, and social functioning of a person and not merely the absence of disease." In this definition, functioning as classified in the ICF is an essential component of health.

The ICF describes health and health related domains using standard language.

The purposes of the ICF include:

Collection of statistical data

Clinical research

Clinical use

Social policy use

The ICF is stated as the framework for the field in both the Scope of Practice for Speech-Language Pathology (2001) and the Scope of Practice for Audiology (2004).

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International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF)

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The ICF is a classification of health and health-related conditions for children and adults that was developed by World Health Organization (WHO) and published in 2001. The ICF framework can be used in interprofessional collaborative practice and person-centered care. The ICF framework consists of two parts: Functioning and Disability and Contextual Factors.

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1. Harissa Amiera binti Abd Razak (A194688)
2. Nur Alyssa Fika binti Mohd Rafizal (A194285)
3. Allysa Emmil binti Mohd Najib (A196339)
4. Nur Alya Nabila binti Sazali (A195482)

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The complications of borderline personality disorder include:

Engaging in risky behavior (e.g., rash driving)

Drug abuse

Not completing education

Job loss

Getting in trouble with the law

Problems with relationships

Suicide attempts

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Continuing Education Activity

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) lists ten personality disorders that are divided into three clusters, clusters A, B, and C. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a cluster B disorder that is characterized by hypersensitivity to rejection and resulting instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, affect and behavior. Borderline personality disorder causes significant impairment and distress and is associated with multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidities. Surveys have estimated the prevalence of borderline personality disorder to be 1.6% in the general population and 20% in the inpatient psychiatric population. This activity examines the presentation and evaluation of borderline personality disorder and highlights the role of the interprofessional team in its management.

Objectives:

Identify the epidemiology of borderline personality disorder.

Describe the presentation of a patient with a borderline personality disorder.

Outline the treatment options available for borderline personality disorder.

Explain interprofessional team strategies for improving care coordination and communication to advance the management of borderline personality disorder and optimize patient outcomes.

Access free multiple choice questions on this topic.
Introduction

A personality disorder is a disorder involving a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking. Personality disorders are prevalent in the general population and more so in clinical populations. In the pediatric population, all personality disorders can be diagnosed, except antisocial personality disorder, as long as the pathologic behavior has been present for a year or more. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition(DSM-5) lists ten personality disorders divided into the 3 clusters (A, B, and C).[1] Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is 1 of 4 cluster-B disorders that include borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, and histrionic. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by hypersensitivity to rejection and resulting instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, affect, and behavior.[2] Borderline personality disorder causes significant impairment and distress and is associated with multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidities. Surveys have estimated the prevalence of borderline personality disorder to be 1.6% in the general population and 20% of the psychiatric inpatient population.[3]

In contrast, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) appears to be the most prevalent personality disorder, with rates around 5% of the general population in some studies.[4] Patients with borderline personality disorder have been shown to utilize extensive treatment resources and are at increased morbidity and mortality compared with the general populations. This is perhaps the reason why borderline personality disorder has been studied more extensively than other personality disorders.

Etiology

Borderline personality disorder is multifactorial in etiology. There is a genetic predisposition. Twin studies show over 50% heritability (greater than that for major depression).[5] Twin studies performed in 2000 and 2008 both demonstrated higher concordance of the rate of borderline personality disorder for monozygotic versus dizygotic twins. Environmental factors that have been identified as contributing to the development of borderline personality disorder include primarily childhood maltreatment (physical, sexual, or neglect), found in up to 70% of people with BPD, as well as maternal separation, poor maternal attachment, inappropriate family boundaries, parental substance abuse, and serious parental psychopathology.

There are many theories about the development of borderline personality disorder. In the mentalizing model of Peter Fonagy and Anthony Bateman, borderline personality disorder is the result of a lack of resilience against psychological stressors. In this framework, Fonagy and Bateman define resilience as the ability to generate adaptive re-appraisal of negative events or stressors; patients with impaired re-appraisal accumulate negative experiences and fail to learn from good experiences.[6] In the biosocial model popularized by Dr. Marsha Linehan, genetic vulnerability interacts with a "chronically invalidating environment" to produce the constellation of borderline personality disorder symptoms. In another theory, borderline personality disorder arises from the inability to regulate effect and the lack of formation of appropriate coping mechanisms in response to stress.[7] Otto Kernberg theorized that lack of integration in the early material relationship led to borderline personality disorder.[8] Kernberg hypothesized that the infant experiences the maternal figure in a dichotomous framework, the loving and nurturing mother who provides for the child and the punishing, hateful mother who deprives the child. This contradiction causes intense anxiety and, if not integrated into a more moderate unitary concept, ultimately leads to the development of splitting. The term "splitting" refers to the defense mechanism in which the patient cannot form a realistic view of another person. At any given time, the other person is viewed as entirely good or entirely bad. This inability to view others as having both positive and negative attributes impairs personal relationships.

Neuroimaging studies have identified differences in the amygdala, hippocampus, and medial temporal lobes in patients with borderline personality disorder. Such studies also suggest that patients with borderline personality disorder misattribute negative emotions (fear, anger, disgust) to neutral faces more so than controls or other patients, despite having the perception of happy and upset faces equivalent to those groups. Neurobiological studies have suggested that impaired neuropeptide function, particularly serotonin, may be present in patients with a borderline personality disorder. On neuropsychological testing, a meta-analysis published in 2005 showed that patients with borderline personality disorder had lower performance on neurocognitive testing in the following domains: attention, cognitive flexibility, learning and memory, planning, speed processing, and visuospatial abilities.[9]

Epidemiology

Large, nationwide, epidemiologic studies published in 2007 and 2008, estimated the point prevalence of borderline personality disorder in the general population at 1.6% with a lifetime prevalence of 5.9%. No significant difference in rates of borderline personality disorder was found between females and males in the general population. In the clinical setting, however, the ratio of female to male has been reported as 3:1. These studies challenged previous reports that borderline personality disorder was more prevalent in women. The prevalence of borderline personality disorder in the psychiatric, outpatient population has been estimated at 11%, and in the psychiatric, inpatient population as high as 20%. Multiple studies examining the relationship between ethnicity and borderline personality disorder have not produced similar results.[10][11]

Pathophysiology

The pathophysiology of borderline personality disorder is likely a combination of genetic predisposition combined with early childhood environmental factors and neurobiological dysfunction. A greater understanding of neurobiology and specifically neurotransmitter dysfunction may lead to improved therapeutic options for treating borderline personality disorder. A recent study published in 2015 examined the role of oxytocin in the regulation of social reward and empathy networks as a contributing cause of borderline personality disorder and other personality disorders. Specifically, serotonin dysregulation reducing the sensitivity of the 5HT-1A receptor may contribute to borderline personality disorder. Increased rates of learning disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and neurocognitive deficits, as well as abnormal electroencephalographic findings, have also been reported in patients with borderline personality disorder.

History and Physical

A careful history and physical examination should be performed before performing a comprehensive psychiatric assessment. There are structured diagnostic screening tools that are used to assess personality disorders and specifically borderline personality disorder, for example, the Zanarini Rating Scale for borderline personality disorder.

The DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder

A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, of self-image, and affects as well as marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts as indicated by five or more of the following:

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in criterion 5.

2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.

3. Identity disturbance: Markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.

4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging, for example, spending, substance abuse, reckless driving, sex, binge eating, etc. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in criterion 5.

5. Affective instability caused by a marked reactivity of mood, for example, intense episodic dysphoria, anxiety, or irritability, usually lasting a few hours and rarely more than a few days.

6. Chronic feelings of emptiness.

7. Inappropriate, intense anger, or difficulty controlling anger, for example, frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights.

8. Transient paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

Evaluation

Several diagnostic instruments are available to aid in diagnosis, such as:

The McClean screening instrument for borderline personality disorder

Personality diagnostic questionnaire

Structured clinical interview for DSM-5 personality disorders

The Minnesota borderline personality disorder scale

The personality assessment inventory-borderline features scale

Diagnostic tools may be separated into the general categories of the self-report and structured interview.

Patients with borderline personality disorder have been shown to have high rates of comorbid disorders:

Treatment / Management

Treatment of borderline personality disorder relies on psychotherapy. Three evidence-based therapies are effective for patients with borderline personality disorder. First, mentalizing-based therapy (MBT) helps patients manage emotion dysregulation by feeling understood, allowing them to be more curious and make fewer assumptions about the intentions of the people around them. A second therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) combines mindfulness practices with concrete interpersonal and emotion regulation skills. Third, transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) focuses on using the patient-therapist relationship to develop the patient's awareness of problematic interpersonal dynamics. MBT and DBT each incorporate individual and group treatment over 12 to 18 months. For adolescents, family therapy may be an appropriate substitute for group therapy, though not always.

No medications are FDA-approved for the treatment of borderline personality disorder. Medications such as SSRIs, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics have shown limited effectiveness in trials aiming at control of symptoms such as anxiety, sleep disturbance, depression, or psychotic symptoms. Anxiety can be challenging to treat because patients may label their internal experiences with the word anxiety, even when they are not truly based on fear. Thus, "anxiety" may need to be accurately re-labeled, with treatment recommendations stemming from the patient's specific internal experience. The exception to the misleading use of the word anxiety is that patients with borderline personality disorder often have a fear of being alone; in other words, they have attachment-related anxiety. However, attachment-related anxiety is not necessarily similar in etiology or treatment to recognized anxiety disorders.

Self-injurious behavior, boundary issues, and frequent suicidal threats present therapeutic challenges specific to the treatment of patients with borderline personality disorder. High rates of comorbid substance abuse may also confound the treatment of borderline personality disorder patients. Patients with borderline personality disorder do not typically require hospitalization; however, inpatient care may be required in certain situations such as:

Imminent risk of high lethality behaviors due to overt suicidal ideation or impulsivity

Severe social stressors causing intense negative thoughts or transient psychosis

The rapid escalation in the severity of self-injurious behavior

Decompensation of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses or severe substance abuse

The traditional belief that prolonged (longer than one week) inpatient hospitalization is counterproductive or even deleterious for patients with borderline personality disorder was not supported in a recent study. The data showed equal improvement among inpatients with and without borderline personality disorder over several weeks of hospitalization.

Given high comorbidity with ADHD, all patients with borderline personality disorder should be screened for this condition. When dealing with adolescents, parents and teachers should be asked to fill out a standardized questionnaire (Conners, SNAP, Vanderbilt). For adults, no standard of care is established for self-report or observer-report of inattentive or hyperactive symptoms. A combination of 2 self-reports to guide clinical decision-making, the ADHD Symptom Rating Scale (World Health Organization), and the Wender-Utah ADHD Rating Scale (WURS-25) provide more than 80% sensitivity and specificity.

Differential Diagnosis

When considering a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, the differential diagnosis should always include other personality disorders, since overlap is common, especially within cluster B. Other diagnostic considerations include:

Non-suicidal self-injury disorder (a time-limited phenomenon in many patients)

Bipolar disorder (5-times less prevalent, but co-morbidity approaches 15%)

Autism spectrum disorder (patients with congenital deficits in theory of mind may also show severe mood dysregulation)

Prognosis

There is a good prognosis for patients with borderline personality disorder. A longitudinal study of 290 inpatients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and reassessed at 2-year intervals over 16 years yielded the following rates of remission:[12]

Unfortunately, the authors of this study noted that remission was associated with impoverished social relationships, leading them to suggest that patients may appear to remit because they avoid interpersonal relationships, rather than gradually developing better interpersonal skills. Once achieved, remission was nonetheless sustained for over eight years in 75% of patients. Several factors were associated with the faster onset of remission, including lack of co-morbid, axis-1 disorders, no history of childhood sexual abuse, no history of family substance abuse, high baseline functioning (demonstrated at school or in the workplace), and age less than 25 years. Sustained remission from borderline personality disorder has been demonstrated in several other studies as well.[13][14]

Complications

The complications of borderline personality disorder include:

Deterrence and Patient Education

Patients and their families should be educated about borderline personality disorder and be provided with the necessary literature to learn about the condition. The families should be advised that the patients may get angry and suicidal and told to seek help immediately. In addition, patients should be encouraged to seek and continue psychotherapy until they experience sustained benefit.

Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes

Borderline personality disorder is one of the most difficult mental health disorders to manage; it is best managed with an interprofessional team, including psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, mental health nurses, and social workers. Pharmacists review prescribed medications, check for drug-drug interactions, and provide patients education. Mental health nurses and social workers provide care, monitor patients, participate in the education of patients and their families, and provide follow-up to the team. Unfortunately, there are no medications that seem to help; psychotherapy may help some patients, but compliance with treatment is low. The outcomes for most patients are poor, with many running into legal, social, and personal problems. [Level 5]

References

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A personality disorder is a disorder involving a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking. Personality disorders are prevalent in the general population and more so in clinical populations. In the pediatric population, all personality disorders can be diagnosed, except antisocial personality disorder, as long as the pathologic behavior has been present for a year or more.

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Every Religion opinions about ASD

How they adapt/fit themselves in society

Are there any privileges

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What you'll see! ❤

How is Autism Diagnosed?

Standard Assessments used

Q&Ass

Can someone 'Heal' from Autism?

Can a person with Autism heal naturally?

How does an individual know that he/she has autism?

Tests & tools for diagnosing Autism

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People with borderline personality disorder may experience intense mood swings and feel uncertainty about how they see themselves. Their feelings for others can change quickly, and swing from extreme closeness to extreme dislike. These changing feelings can lead to unstable relationships and emotional pain.

People with borderline personality disorder also tend to view things in extremes, such as all good or all bad. Their interests and values can change quickly, and they may act impulsively or recklessly.

Other signs or symptoms may include:

Efforts to avoid real or perceived abandonment, such as plunging headfirst into relationships—or ending them just as quickly.

A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones.

A distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self.

Impulsive and often dangerous behaviors, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance misuse, reckless driving, and binge eating. However, if these behaviors happen mostly during times of elevated mood or energy, they may be symptoms of a mood disorder and not borderline personality disorder.

Self-harming behavior, such as cutting.

Recurring thoughts of suicidal behaviors or threats.

Intense and highly variable moods, with episodes lasting from a few hours to a few days.

Chronic feelings of emptiness.

Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger.

Feelings of dissociation, such as feeling cut off from oneself, observing oneself from outside one’s body, or feelings of unreality.

Not everyone with borderline personality disorder will experience all of these symptoms. The severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms depend on the person and their illness.

People with borderline personality disorder have a significantly higher rate of self-harming and suicidal behavior than the general population.

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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

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What is borderline personality disorder?

Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness that severely impacts a person's ability to manage their emotions. This loss of emotional control can increase impulsivity, affect how a person feels about themselves, and negatively impact their relationships with others. Effective treatments are available that can help people manage the symptoms of borderline personality disorder.

What are the signs and symptoms of borderline personality disorder?

What are the risk factors for borderline personality disorder?

How is borderline personality disorder diagnosed?

How is borderline personality disorder treated?

How can I find help for borderline personality disorder?

How can I find a clinical trial for borderline personality disorder?

Where can I learn more about borderline personality disorder?

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Learn about borderline personality disorder, including signs and symptoms, risk factors, treatments and therapies, and tips for family and caregivers.

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Feel free to visit their page and get to know the facilities & treatments provided .

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On mental health & gender dysphoria from the Islamic perspective-- awesome resources fr Yaqeen Institute :)

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On mental health & gender dysphoria from the Islamic perspective-- awesome resources fr Yaqeen Institute :)

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Sharing my personal favourite resources for your reference. It's always good to find a balance in where we look for information.

**I would love to read & learn perspectives from other faiths as well on similar topics, do plug them in here! Thank you!

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This year on May 17, Canada's International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, a poster, promoted under the auspices of a Canadian university, depicted two Muslim women in headscarves on the verge of kissing. A number of other Canadian universities and high schools allowed the poster to circulate as a way of promoting "diversity in love." The poster also featured a biracial homosexual couple, a black heterosexual couple, and a couple consisting of a fully-abled and a disabled person, alongside the two Muslim women, with each couple engaging in a romantic act. Many Canadian Muslims were enraged after the release of this poster, and rightfully so considering the appropriation of a patent Muslim symbol (i.e., the hijab) for a cause that is explicitly prohibited in Islam. The Muslim community organized collectively and submitted a petition signed by thousands of individuals, from young students in high school to leaders of Muslim organizations, demanding that the university take down the poster. One Muslim wrote to the university, "Shame on you [...] for such an insulting mockery post to my religion."

In the end, however, the university acquiesced to the demands of the Muslim community and pulled the poster down. There is an uplifting lesson here. The Muslim community-starting with the young students who had the intelligence and awareness to decipher the subversion of Islamic teachings and the courage to raise their voices against it and the Muslim organizations who came to their aid-is to be congratulated. Even against the aggressive agenda of the cultural, political, and capitalist elites, the Muslim community scored a small but significant victory for their faith and in favor of truth and reason.

As elaborated below, Islam's prohibition of homosexual acts is categorical, and its teachings on gender relations and sexual norms are foundational and inseparable from belief in Allah and His revelation. There is no room in Islam for the new direction in which the liberal culture appears to be dragging the West and, through its coercive ideological apparatus, the world as a whole. It is a culture that denies the natural and divinely ordained norms of union between men and women, erasing sexual differences in favor of a utopian, ideological, anti-religious, and anti-scientific androgyny. One would have to reject Islamic guidance root and branch in order to incorporate this radical gender egalitarianism. This agenda requires, and has already mobilized, rigorous social engineering domestically, as well as neocolonial wars and anti-religious propaganda in the Muslim world in particular and the Global South generally. Muslims must, therefore, establish and advocate for the Islamic paradigm of gender and sexuality over and against modern and postmodern perversions, while also supporting those Muslims who acknowledge orthodox Islamic teachings, but who struggle with same-sex attractions and/or gender dysphoria, in their struggle to live lives of virtue in conformity with the will of Allah and the teachings of Islam.

We cannot explore the Islamic paradigm of sexual morality without first understanding where morality itself comes from. A theocentric worldview, such as that of Islam, takes God as the ultimate source of morality. Our very purpose for existence is to uphold God's command to the best of our ability: "I have not created jinnand humankind but to worship Me." We maintain that God and His Messenger alone are the legislators of what is right and wrong, permitted and prohibited. Allah states in the Qur'an, "It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed strayed into a plain error." Islamic morality is not arbitrary; although the divine command is at the heart of our rich tradition, Muslims have long engaged in rational reflection on the wisdom of divine creation and the divine word for centuries, producing a comprehensive discourse on the consequences of acts for the individual and the community, and incorporating it into the fiqh tradition.

The "diversity in love" poster, discussed above, reminds us that over the last couple of decades, the perspectives and claims of the LGBT movement have become not merely tolerated but championed. They are now pervasive, ubiquitous, and irresistible. Within one generation, LGBT ideas and behaviors have gone from being taboo to mainstream. The questions we need to ask are:

1. How did we get here and why should we care?

2. How can we build a conceptual framework on gender, sex, and morality based on Islamic sources?

Given the prodigious changing of the cultural winds, it is no longer sufficient for Muslims-and others who disapprove of same-sex relationships-simply to say that they do not approve of homosexual behavior in the same way that they do not approve of drinking or premarital sex between men and women. The discourse on homosexuality has shifted so quickly and radically that the old Muslim defenses and attitudes ("It is not our problem," "How is this different for us Muslims from fornication or wine-drinking?," or "Live and let live") have become ineffective and we are confronted with grave challenges. Most well-meaning and sincere Muslims are either complacent, helpless, or both. They fail to realize that unlike the haram acts of drinking alcohol and illicit (heterosexual) sex, the affirmation of same-sex relationships and transgenderism is presented as a positive moral cause, undergirded by contentious metaphysical assumptions regarding, among other things, the human self, the place of sex and sexuality in human identity, and the proper balance between the individual and society. It is a discourse that appeals to universal notions of human dignity, justice, respect, and autonomy. Only by engaging with these issues holistically can we properly understand and respond to this challenge.

Throughout the past century, so much has changed deep within our conscious understanding that we must expend considerableeffort to understand that we, as Muslims in the contemporary West, are dealing with two very different conceptual paradigms. Consider the common occurrence of a young Western Muslim saying to an Islamic religious authority, "I think I'm gay. What does Islam have to say about that?" The shaykh may simply respond, "It's haram (prohibited)!" The youth in this scenario, however, is asking about an individual and political identity situated within a paradigm without truth or metaphysics-a paradigm that views sexual feeling as being as close to unassailable truth as one can get. To our young, college-going American Muslim, who generally champions liberal causes in the name of justice and love, to say that "being gay" is haram might be like saying that being Arab or South Asian is haram. There is miscommunication between the two because each is operating from a different paradigm. On the one hand, we have the Islamic worldview as it pertains to morality-and to gender and sexuality in particular-and, on the other hand, we have the modern/post-modern secular worldview. The two start from diametrically opposed assumptions.

This article sets out to distinguish these worldviews before exploring more specifically the Islamic paradigm on gender, sex, and sexual morality. It then discusses homosexuality and transgenderism from two angles: from the Islamic moral and legal ( sharʿī) considerations, followed by a discussion of how to support Muslims who struggle with same-sex attractions. By doing so, we hope to illustrate the urgency of challenging the contemporary discourse around sex, gender, and sexuality and equipping ourselves with the proper conceptual framework to better help Muslims struggling with this issue. We conclude with additional resources on the subject that may be of help in providing further direction.
What does Islam say about LGBTQ? Watch the video below:

The proliferation of the LGBT movement

Over the past decade, there has been a significant growth of LGBT literature geared towards youth in particular. The Lumberjanes, for example, is a popular comic book series consisting of seventy-five issues. Its protagonist is a Navajo trans woman (i.e., a biological male who has transitioned to being female) with two gay fathers. In the year 2010, there were approximately ten books published by mainstream publishers for young adults with LGBT characters. By 2016, a mere six years later, that number had climbed to eighty. We also now see the release of an annual "Rainbow Book List" that provides updates on LGBT-themed books for children of all ages-from infants all the way up to 18-year-olds. Public libraries and elementary schools throughout the United States even host "drag queen story hours," where men dressed in flamboyant wigs and makeup read to children and, in the process, inculcate highly sexualized caricatures in their young minds.

The same representational shift has occurred in film. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) found that of the 118 major studio films released in 2019, twenty-two (18.6%) contained characters who identified as LGBT. Furthermore, more than 250 LGBT characters were counted in children's cartoons dating back to 1983. Looking at the data from 2010 through 2020-especially in the latter five years of this period-the representation of overtly queer characters skyrockets. This increase correlates with the US Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges decision that legalized gay marriage. In the years following gay marriage legalization, Sesame Street, SpongeBob, and other such cartoons were also featuring openly LGBT-identifying characters.

One popular means of teaching gender fluidity and sexual identity to students involves the "Genderbread Person." This diagram uses a gingerbread man-like figure with a multicolored brain as a teaching tool to explain gender and orientation. It asserts that gender identity is not binary as is traditionally believed; rather, it is fluid and based on one's self-perception. The red heart in the genderbread person's chest symbolizes attraction, communicating the belief that sexual attraction can be whatever a person's heart feels, regardless of his or her biological sex. The diagram states:

The diagram also defines the terms "gender identity," "gender expression," and "biological sex" as follows:

Gender identity: how you, in your head, define your gender, based on how much you align or don't align with what you understand to be the options for gender.

Gender expression: the ways you present gender through your actions, dress, and demeanor, and how those presentations are interpreted based on gender norms.

Biological sex: the physical sex characteristics you're born with and develop, including genitalia, body shape, voice pitch, body hair, hormones, chromosomes, etc.

What is problematic about the "genderbread person" is that it presents natural binaries as a spectrum-a fluid and flexible identity that one chooses based on one's emotions and desires, effectively robbing biological sex markers of any necessary connection or normative relevance to questions of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

So deeply and so rapidly has this cultural crusade penetrated young American Muslim minds that many are growing increasingly sympathetic to statements like: " I feel this way internally; therefore, I'm an inauthentic person unless I'm allowed to live my life according to this feeling. And if the Muslim community doesn't accept my sexual orientation, then they are rejecting me and undermining my dignity as a person." As Muslims respond to such individuals and to concepts such as authenticity, identity, choice, and dignity, it behooves us to take stock of the colossal cultural shifts introduced almost overnight into American society and their deeper roots in the modern West. These shifts have also been accompanied by some political and cultural resistance within the United States. Some states and individuals have challenged the institutionalization of LGBT curricula. Recently, for example, the governor of Florida moved to ban all teacher-led LGBT-related instruction in state classrooms from kindergarten to grade 3. This legislation, however, was immediately met with opposition. Faced by mounting pressure from certain groups, the multi-billion dollar Disney corporation came out in full force to reject this proposition on the grounds that it is wrong and homophobic. This represents a prime example of how an allegedly entertainment-oriented corporation, known for producing cartoons and movies, can be politicized and absorbed by the burning questions of the day.

In a similar move earlier this year, a Burger King ad in Austria proudly featured the "Pride Whopper," a burger with matching top and bottom buns-a not so subtle reference to homosexual male intercourse where one partner plays the top role and the other the bottom role. The company quickly apologized after facing backlash for a "tone deaf" marketing campaign. Ironically, the criticism was directed not at this vulgar sexual representation in a decades-old fast food corporation but at the chain's failure to understand "how gay sex works" and the accusation of "rainbow-washing" during Pride Month. In response, Burger King Austria issued an apology and promised to properly communicate with experts from the LBGTQ community for future campaigns, as "equal love and equal rights" remain their priority.

Beyond the omnipresence of the LGBT narrative in the West, Muslim countries are under growing pressure to also become "LGBT-affirming." For example, earlier this year, in June, the US embassy in Kuwait tweeted in support of Pride Month:

All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love. @POTUS [the president of the United States] is a champion for the human rights of #LGBTQI persons. #Pride2022 #YouAreIncluded.

US embassies in other Muslim countries did the same. It is thus important to remember that the LGBT movement not only seeks to radically reshape society on a domestic level, but is at the vanguard of a neo-colonial project on an international scale as well.

Needless to say, as Muslims we agree that all human beings should be treated with respect and dignity. We learn from the sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that we are to, "give everything its due right." As Muslims, therefore, we believe in giving all people their due rights. Justice is central to Islam. We disagree, however, with what respect and dignity entail in certain cases. In this context, these terms are used with very specific definitions to imply that if one does not fully endorse homosexual behavior, relationships, and family structures, then one lacks respect for people's dignity-a serious moral charge. This loaded terminology is then used as a tool for social and political demonization.

Here lies the ultimate challenge: the current LGBT discourse, as mentioned above, is presented as a moral discourse. We are given to believe that questions surrounding sexual desires and behavior, family structure, and so forth are primarily questions of equality, dignity, and human rights and that any opposition to the goals of the organized LGBT movement constitutes opposition to those three values. But contemporary LGBT discourse has defined equality, justice, human rights, and compassion in ways that have radically altered their meanings. In order to comprehend how this shift in understanding has occurred, we have to look back to the last few decades of Western cultural history.

Tracing its roots: The sexual revolution

The Western sexual revolution, which began in the late 1960s, may be taken as the proximate cause for where we are today. The sexual revolution constituted a fundamental rejection of Christian religious and moral norms surrounding gender, sex, and sexuality. Before the 60s, premarital sex and homosexual acts were taboo, and it was rare to find non-married couples living together. People were generally reticent about discussing sex in both public and private settings. For example, soap operas replaced the word "pregnant" with euphemisms like "she is expecting" or is "with child" since the word "pregnant" was considered too direct. If a film had a scene with a bare-chested woman for even a few seconds, it would be given an R rating. The marketing and sale of pornography and salacious erotic novels were also prohibited by law across the Western world at this time.

These sexual norms were born from a cultural understanding that sex is a reproductive act that should only occur in the context of marriage. This is not to say that sex was not also for experiencing pleasure or for cultivating intimacy and love between a couple. But traditionally, before the advent of the first FDA-approved birth control pill in 1960, there was no form of contraception as effective as there is today. If a couple were to engage in intercourse, they were always running a fairly substantial risk of experiencing the natural consequences of that act: pregnancy. In such a climate, it would be unwise for any society to allow for unregulated sex outside of marriage. Children would be born without knowing the identity of their fathers, without a traceable lineage, and without knowing from whom to seek protection. Mothers would be left to care for these children on their own without anyone to provide for them.

Sex out of wedlock, as a rampant cultural phenomenon, directly undermines the structure of society and the stability of the family unit. Family has been the core institution in all societies, historically and anthropologically speaking, even in the modern West. Because sex and reproduction are tightly bound to one another, moral duty requires that sex between two people be confined to those who are lawful to one another. This ensures that a child entering the world has a father to provide for it and a mother to care for it, that it is received in stable circumstances conducive to its flourishing, that it has known lineage and extended family connections, along with all the rights, duties, and protections that flow from such fundamental human relationships. It is no casual thing to conceive a child. It was, therefore, naturally considered immoral and detrimental to interfere with a child's right to enter the world with these safety measures in place. Illicit sex (i.e., fornication, or sex out of wedlock) was recognized as a direct threat to the social fabric because it was understood to undermine the family unit and, most especially, to jeopardize the well-being of the mother and child.

The Pill

First marketed a few years before the onset of the sexual revolution, the birth control pill became its catalyst. As a more effective form of contraception, the Pill allowed people to divorce the sex act from reproduction. The moral norm that once bound these two variables together increasingly came to be seen as irrelevant. Yet the advent of the birth control pill and the subsequent separation of sex, reproduction, and family were only two of the factors that drove this titanic social change.

But this was just the beginning. The sexual revolution also spawned the gay liberation movement. Relations between two men or two women came to seem less objectionable because they, just like heterosexual relationships, now also fulfilled the new sole prerequisite for morally acceptable sex: mutual interest and consent. The civil rights movement, once specifically aimed at the protection and promotion of Black civil rights, expanded beyond race to encompass gender and sexual orientation as well. In doing so, for reasons that lie beyond our scope, powerful groups in Western culture seeking sexual liberation drew a false equivalence between themselves and victims of longstanding racial violence, positioning themselves as equally oppressed by the mainstream.

In the wake of the sexual revolution, many denominations of mainstream Protestant Christianity, as well as Reform and Conservative Judaism, have taken on the basic assumptions of the sexual revolution (such as the elective nature of sex that is legitimized through consent alone). Those still trying to hold on to religious moral values, find themselves isolated and alienated.

Sexual attitudes in Christianity and Islam

The sexual revolution in the West may have been in part an extreme reaction to the "sex-negative" attitudes that have dominated Christian teaching throughout the centuries. Celibacy has always been considered a high calling in Christianity. Mary was a virgin at the time of her miraculous conception of Jesus, even if she married thereafter (hence the "Virgin Mary"). Jesus was also celibate, as are all leaders of the Catholic church. Saint Augustine, who was a licentious man before converting to Christianity in the fourth century, was so disgusted by his previous life of profligacy that he ended up holding a thoroughly mistrustful view of sex. He spread the idea that pure spirituality meant denying oneself all carnal pleasure. Though this attitude aligned more with trends in Greek and Hellenistic philosophy than with biblical scripture, it nonetheless spread throughout Christian lands. The Qur'an addresses this trend among Christians in the following verse:

Islam, on the other hand, is the middle path-the path of moderation, balance, and reason in harmony with God-given nature. Allah describes Paradise in the Qur'an as the perfect and perpetual fulfillment while regulating all kinds of behavior in this life, refusing the dualism between physical and spiritual bliss.

The antecedents to the sexual revolution

To better understand and deconstruct the underpinnings of recent Western movements of sexual licentiousness, we must explore the antecedents of the sexual revolution. Starting around the seventeenth century, sections of Western societies began drifting from a theocentric worldview toward a materialistic, mechanical one. People no longer saw God's hand in His creation, and this blindness severed every object in the universe, humans included, from its true purpose and nature. Scientists and empirical data alone-to the exclusion of prophets and revelation-became the bearers of truth and knowledge. Meaning, purpose, and natural order all began to fall by the wayside. Enlightenment thinkers in the eighteenth century pushed further, making human reason the standard for all knowledge, including morality. The human mind became the primary moral arbiter in place of God. Revelation in the Christian world became largely discredited through geological and historical criticism of the Bible, whose cultural authority was further undermined by Darwin's theory of evolution in the mid-nineteenth century. By the closing decades of that century, Nietzsche was able to declare that (for Western man, at least) "God is dead."

In the centuries that followed this epistemic explosion, increasing numbers of people were left to grapple with the meaninglessness that comes from an individualized, self-generated purpose disconnected from a Creator. Just as our existence was stripped of higher purpose, so too were our bodies. No longer were male and female bodies endowed with a natural complementarity whose violation would constitute a moral transgression; they became material "stuff," untethered to natural and supernatural laws that could be transgressed without consequence.

Another antecedent to the sexual revolution was the rise of liberalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which ultimately placed individual freedom and personal autonomy above things like community and family. Freedom as a value is widely appreciated: political freedom from tyranny, freedom from oppression, and so on. But modern liberalism has reified and fetishized it, placing it above all other, and even nobler, values, in the process enslaving humans in worse ways than through merely physical and conventional constraints. Modern humans are born into this world demanding complete freedom from all external limitations, be they moral, religious, cultural, familial, or other. Every constraint is perceived as a new barrier to be broken, another boundary to be transgressed on the path to self-actualization. Understanding this mentality is absolutely critical because it informs much of the current discourse around gender and sexuality in the West.

The root of all evil lies in turning away from God. With God no longer at the center of human devotion, the individual self became the single most valuable thing. In other words, man himself became deified. A helpful guide in tracing these transformations in the West is a book by Christian theologian Carl R. Trueman titled The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution. In it, Trueman traces the roots of this inflated modern notion of the self to the famous eighteenth-century Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), who located the core identity of the human being in the inner psychological life of the individual, positing that feelings are central to who we are and that an individual's authenticity is tied to his or her outward expression of inner feelings. Rousseau's writings on selfhood are what Trueman calls the beginning of the "psychologization" of the human being: Who I am is no longer the role I play in society (father, wife, guildsman, etc.); rather, it's my inner feelings. And to be authentic is to express freely and outwardly the full depth and breadth of my inner feelings. Any discrepancy between my inner feelings and outward expression is a lack of self-realization.This captures well the character of contemporary LGBT discourse, as shall be explained presently.

When tracing the epistemology of the Western secular paradigm on sexual morality, we must bear in mind that the defining figures of today's Western ideologies were nearly all staunch atheists. Their atheism had a definitive influence on their ideas of sexual morality and secular values more broadly, and help explain today's resistance against God, religion, and nature.Without God to provide objective stability to the cosmos, human nature becomes untethered from its source of teleology and definition.

As Muslims, we affirm the reality of the unseen, and our revelation informs us that our worst enemies, Satan and his ilk, are at work to pervert our notions of good and evil so that we prefer our judgments over God's. We reject the secular European psychologization of the self and its attendant notion of radical autonomy, as these ideas are inherently un-Islamic. Allah declares in Sūrat al-Ḥashr: "And be not like those who forgot God so He caused them to forget themselves." Modern Western history is replete with people who have forgotten God and subsequently forgotten themselves. Having lost God, they have little more than their whims to worship: "Have you seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god?" Replacing revealed guidance with personal sensibilities and emotional judgments as the arbiters of morality turns the human lower self ( nafs) into a plaything for Satan. It turns vice into virtue and evil into good, like "those whose evil deeds are made alluring to them so that they think they are good."

Homosexuality in the wake of the sexual revolution

Central to LGBT discourse is the formation of identity around sexual desire. If we understand the aforementioned historical and cultural groundwork, we can see how fundamentally problematic this movement is for Muslims.

Another crucial move in modern sexual delinquence has been to reject the divinely inspired soul as the essence of the human being, as it had been for Muslims as well as Christians, Jews, and others, and to replace it with sexual identity. As Carl Trueman observes, "It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this moveto make the sexual desire central to human identity. In modern society, everything from the common use of terms such as 'straight' and 'gay' in everyday conversation to the underlying assumptions of international human rights law presupposes that this is the case. And the idea that human flourishing is virtually synonymous with sexual fulfillment is a commonplace-in fact, virtually an intuition-of modern Western culture."

Like all religions, the beliefs of this religion of sexual libertinism demands political expression. Thus, Trueman says: "If we are at root defined in large part by our sexual desires-if sexual desire (or 'orientation,' as we now say) is who we are-then sex must be political because rules governing sexual behavior are rules that govern what is and what is not considered by society to be legitimate as an identity. " This has a further consequence: "The old chestnut of 'love the sinner, hate the sin' simply does not work," Trueman writes, "in a world where the sin is the identity of the sinner and the two cannot be separated even at a conceptual level."

Being "authentic" is not inherently objectionable, but our true self is that which aspires to the ultimate truth of God, not the one that is given to transgression, lust, prejudice, and satanic whispers. As Muslims, we affirm that the human being must be considered holistically in mind, body, and soul. Every self is unique and precious, but nurturing the self is a moral choice, and our duty is to nurture our potentials, train our bodies, and shape our desires in accordance with God's revealed guidance, which is the reflection of our truest and deepest human nature. The ultimate expression of submission in Islam is prostration: the lowering of one's mindto the ground while uttering subḥāna rabbī al-aʿlā, "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High." While in this position, we realize our teleology and embody our most authentic selves, namely, as creations of God humbled before our Creator. It is as God states in the Qur'an, "And I have not created the jinnand humankind except to worship Me." Worshiping God, then, is the most authentic human good.

After the Ball: The plan to alter America's sexual morality

Unfortunately, Western Muslims who parrot LGBT talking points do not realize that much of their moral sensibility has been shaped by people with a deliberate agenda to destroy religious mores. In 1989, neuropsychologist Marshall Kirk and social marketing and advertising executive Hunter Madsen co-authored the book After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s. Both these Harvard-trained authors identified as gay, and their book served as a manifesto for normalizing homosexuality in Western societies. Since its release, the book's plan has been implemented lock, stock, and barrel by members of the LGBT movement. The authors boldly state early on in the book: "The campaign we outline in this book, though complex, depends centrally upon a program of unabashed propaganda, firmly grounded in long-established principles of psychology and advertising." Kirk and Madsen employed the principles of desensitization in their campaigning. They sought to build on people's primal instincts, whereby "a flood of gay-related advertising, presented in the least offensive fashion possible," would get the job done. "If straights can't shut off the shower," the authors quip, "they may at least eventually get used to being wet." On their notion of "conversion," the authors write, "We mean conversion of the average American's emotions, mind, and will through a planned psychological attack in the form of propaganda fed to the nation via the media." As Muslims, it is paramount that we recognize and stand firm against such calculated efforts to desensitize us to the limits set by Allah.

Contemporary moral discourse

It goes without saying that in stark contrast to Islam, in the West the divine command bears practically no relevance whatsoever to contemporary moral discourse. Subordinating divine omniscience to the temporal and temperamental whims of modern society is bound to bring ruin, and its effects are only beginning to be seen. Allah tells us in the Qur'an that "It could be that you dislike something, when it is good for you; and it could be that you like something when it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know" (2:216). When religion becomes irrelevant to sexual behavior and life at large, people feel compelled to form their own, thoroughly personal and subjective moral frameworks regarding sexuality. People's emotions, personal taste, sensibilities, or even perverse desires guide their notions of acceptable sexual behavior. Furthermore, contemporary moral and ethical discoursereplaces central religious concepts with ersatz (i.e., substitute) notionssuch as:

Freedom: In popular culture, this is understood as the radical elimination of external barriers to achieve maximum happiness. In Islam, freedom is based on servitude to God, which frees us from serving our desires, material things, and falsehood.

Individual autonomy: The latter is a word formed from the suffixes auto, meaning "self," and nomos, meaning "law." The West's notion of autonomy literally means "giving oneself the law" whereby each person determines what is right and wrong without recourse to a higher power. In Islam, by contrast, God and His messenger alone have the right to legislate.

Authenticity: The modern West defines this as complete, unfettered expression of the inner self (thoughts, feelings, desires), whereas in Islam, we are our true authentic selves as human beings only when we have found and submitted to our Creator (in consonance with our fiṭra, that is, natural or inborn, inclinations).

Consent: The modern world has come to fetishize choice and consent, which are derivatives of the notions listed above. Any action a person takes is legitimized by his choice and consent to do it so long as there is no harm to others, and this is especially the case for sexual activity. In contemporary culture, notions of "moral character," and particularly any consideration of "virtue," are deemed antiquated, old-fashioned, and unnecessary for the cultivation of authentic selfhood. In this vein, how a person behaves sexually has no bearing on his or her moral character as long as the acts are consensual. Given the postmodern premise that all notions are socially constructed, the emphasis on consent as the fulcrum of moral validity is utterly incoherent. In Islam, choice and consent are balanced through revelation and reason with other desiderata critical to human flourishing, such as the maintenance of the family, the cultivation of piety, and the repeated divine command to "enjoin good and forbid evil."

In contrast to the rapidly changing societal attitudes towards sex, gender, and sexuality in secular societies, we find in Islam a timeless framework for approaching these topics, rooted in the Qur'an as well as the prophetic Sunnah.

On the creation of the male and female

A fixed principle in Islamic law and theology is the creation of only two genders, the male and the female: "And He created the two sexes, male and female." The Shariah makes no distinctionbetween biological sex and what people in the West today (mostly from the 1970s onward) refer to as "psychological gender." If a person is born in a male body, then the norm is that he would identify and express himself as a male (and vice versa for females). For him to identify otherwise would be an exception, comparable to the modern notions of gender identity disorder or gender dysphoria.

The Islamic paradigm for gender and sexuality is reflected in a number of verses:

And [by] His creation of the male and the female.

And that He created the two mates: the male and the female.

And the male is not like the female.

And of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect.

O mankind! Be mindful of your Lord Who created you from a single soul, and from it He created its mate, and through both He spread countless men and women.

These verses recognize two genders, distinct yet complementary in nature, that were created by intentional design to be companions of one another. In another verse, Allah Almighty stresses both the uniqueness of men and women and their spiritual equality:

In the following, Allah declares men and women allies:

The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those-Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise.

Through this description, Allah teaches us not to compete for the same roles and responsibilities, but rather to work alongside one another in enjoining good, forbidding evil, and forming communities that exalt the Divine Command:

Despite their spiritual equality, men and women are different on a practical level: they have different roles, rights, and responsibilities that guide how they interact in the domestic sphere and in society at large. In short, they are not treated the same because they are not created the same.

Allah declares the equality of men and women in the Qur'an in their duty to worship Him, as well as in their ability to develop themselves morally and spiritually in fulfillment of that duty. In various biological, psychological, dispositional, and physiological ways, however, men and women are different by God's intentional design. These differences, now rejected or resisted by extreme leftist ideology, have in fact been documented in scientific literature for a very long time. For example, Allah declares that "men are the protectors and maintainers of women" ( al-rijālu qawwāmūna ʿalā al-nisāʾ). Men also take on certain leadership roles, such as head of the household and, paradigmatically speaking, religious leadership (e.g., as imamsin places of worship). Women, on the other hand, are granted the right to be supported financially throughout their lives.

We maintain that male and female bodies each have an inherent teleology, a God-given purpose- hence their obvious biological complementarity. Reproduction is the primary purpose of this complementarity, but unlike in traditional Christianity, not every sexual act in Islam necessarily has to allow for the possibility of conception, as the Shariah permits spouses to enjoy each other also for the purpose of pleasure.

The complementarity of men and women goes beyond biology, however. In our dispositions ( khilqah), we find a duality of masculine and feminine traits. Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable. God's law, the Shariah, takes these differences into account. Although by default men and women follow the same religious rulings, in certain aspects the rulings pertaining to the two sexes differ (e.g., in aspects of prayer, inheritance, or dress code).

Ultimately, as the Creator of our bodies, God has the categorical prerogative to endow them with meaning and to place limits on how we use them. It is not for us to devise purposes or assign meanings of our own accord, or to dispose of our bodies (which ultimately belong to God) as we see fit. The slogan "My body, my choice" is therefore antithetical to Islam. It challenges God's moral authority by denying Him that right and placing it in the hands of individuals.

Mind the difference

Cultivation of behavior that accords with one's biological gender is an Islamic obligation, and deliberate imitation of the opposite sex in dress and behavior is forbidden. The Prophet ﷺ cursed men who purposely imitate women and women who purposely imitate men.

This hadith, it should be noted, is not about men who naturally exhibit more effeminate traits (e.g., a soft voice or effeminate mannerisms or gait) or women who naturally exhibit some masculine traits. Rather, the hadith pertains to individuals who deliberately impersonate the opposite sex in speech, mannerisms, dress, and so on. Drag queens may be the most conspicuous and exaggerated example of this behavior cursed by our Prophet ﷺ, who was sent as mercy to all the worlds and who would not curse a thing unless that thing were a cause of corruption and evil.

Islamic sexual morality: "Do not go near zinā"

Immersed in this secular paradigm, many Muslims are not fully aware of Islam's sexual and gender norms. Islam has a rich, comprehensive moral system that concerns itself with human sexual behavior because it is so intimately tied to one of the most central and vital of human institutions, namely, the family. The importance of the family derives from the fact that it constitutes the very basis of society, and not just Muslim societies. As mentioned earlier, sex is reproductive; it gives rise to dependent children. Children and parents need stability. In addition to its familial and societal ramifications, zinā gravely compromises personal virtue, moral character, and one's standing before Allah.

The scriptural texts concerning the norms of proper gender and sexual behavior are so numerous, clear, and foundational that the jurists categorize them under one of the five objectives of the Shariah. The objective of Islam's legislation on sexuality is to preserve the family and the extensive network of relations and community around any child, which is of paramount importance for human flourishing. Engaging in unlawful sex ( zinā) is strictly forbidden and constitutes a major sin ( kabīrah). In fact, illicit sexual behavior is not merely a personal sin, but a crime, potentially adjudicable in an Islamic court of law.

So how does Islam render its prohibition of zinā a realizable moral norm for the average man and woman? It begins by limiting or regulating any act that opens the doorto temptation and desire. Men and women alike are commanded to lower their gaze and not to look at one another with sexual lust, to cover their bodies, and to maintain modest dress, speech and, behavior. Muslims are also expected to avoid both physical contact and isolation ( khalwah) with unrelated (non- maḥram) individuals of the opposite gender.

When it comes to sexual behavior, all acts are forbidden by default unless specifically permitted by divine revelation ( al-aṣl fī al-abḍāʿ al-taḥrīm). Allah states in Sūrat al-Muʾminūn, "[Successful are] those who guard their chastity, except from their spouses or those whom their right hands possess--for these are free from blame." Everything outside of an explicitly sanctioned union between a man and a woman is prohibited. This includes anal intercourse, sexual acts short of intercourse (such as manual stimulation or oral sex), exposing one's ʿawrah (i.e., private parts) to anyone other than a lawful partner (or for medical need). The prohibition is extended to any behavior that systematically threatens to lead to illicit relations or creates such desires, such as touching, gazing, isolation ( khalwah), immodest speech, dress, behavior, and so on. God commands us in the Qur'an to avoid any act that potentially leads to zinā: "And go not near zinā; verily it is iniquity and an evil way."

Protection of family and lineage in the Shariah

Adhering to the bounds of permissible sexual activity within Islamic law fulfills a key objective of the Shariah: the protection of family and lineage ( nasl and nasab). Non-marital sex entails the risk of obscuring(or "mixing") lineage, known as khalṭ al-ansāb. This is crucial for a number of reasons. First, a fraction of a person's inheritance devolves upon close relatives according to predetermined shares. The rights of inheritance cannot be fulfilled by individuals who cannot identify their blood relatives. For example, a man needs to know the identity of his children in order to spend on them just as he needs to know the identity of his parents in order to receive inheritance from them.

Furthermore, blood ties as a basis of lineage must be established through natural reproduction, not artificialmeans. The Shariahprohibits surrogacy, egg donors, and sperm donors and considers such reproductive practices as tantamount to zinā. The only exception to prohibition of artificial insemination, according to most Islamic scholars, is in the case of a married man and woman: if, for example, the husband has healthy sperm and the wife has healthy eggs (but, say, her fallopian tubes are blocked and she thus cannot conceive through natural means) and she carries the baby, in such a case the couple may seek artificial insemination. The child in this situation will have been delivered by his biological mother and with the fertilized egg and sperm of his biological parents, thus honoring God's intended reproductive order for His human creation. Reproductive techniques that rely on sperm donors, egg donors, or surrogate wombs are prohibited because, ultimately, they reproduce the consequences of zinā, such as khalṭ al-ansāb, by mixing lineage and blurring natural family lines.

Protection of lineage and family is one of the many wise purposes of the divine law against illicit sexual behavior. There may be even more important reasons, such as the protection of the children from the harms that come from being born outside of a normal and complete family and protection of the mind and heart from unbridled sexual lust, which is one of the greatest obstacles to focused worship and a God-centered life-worship being the very purpose of our creation.

Contemporary liberalism severs natural, biological sex from both gender identity and expression, on the one hand, and sexual orientation, on the other. Less than a decade ago, a person experiencing such a dissonance between his or her biological sex and gender identity would have been clinically diagnosed with a condition called Gender Identity Disorder. This term signaled an understanding that one's sex/gender was based primarily in biology and that a mismatch between one's external sex and one's internal gender identification constituted an objective psychological disorder. Over time, however, Gender Dysphoria replaced Gender Identity Disorder as the condition requiring treatment. What is now deemed acceptable to treat are the feelings of anxiety and depression experienced by those struggling to identify with their biological sex.

Today, it is unacceptable to do anything other than validate a person's feeling that"I am in the wrong body." One's objective physiology and biology have lost all meaning in Western culture, as deference to biological facts is seen by the postmodernist and post-truth mind as offensive and unjust, to be resisted and overcome. Although the original advocates of liberalism and the modern self might be aghast at these consequences, by rejecting divine guidance these champions of reason paved the way for these most frivolous displays of unreason.

According to Islamic guidance, God Almighty has intentionally designed the human body such that these three things are normatively aligned. When they are not aligned, people with Gender Identity Disorder (GID) and same-sex attraction should make reasonable efforts to conform to God's objective and intentional design of their biology. Exceptions to the rule where a person may fall subjectively outside the natural gender binary or normative opposite-sex attraction do not undermine the rule itself or the normativity of the conjunction between biological sex, psychological gender identification, and sexual attraction.

Given the key Islamic principle that one is only responsible for what one has control over, people are not morally responsible for gender dysphoria or same-sex attraction to the extent that they did not choose to feel what they feel. However, we are all responsible for our actions. Engaging in prohibitedsexual behavior or deliberate impersonation of the opposite sex would, therefore,be sinful. This includes cross-dressing and socially, chemically, or surgically transitioning to the opposite sex, as well as engaging in any form of sexual behavior or intimacy with members of one's own sex.

In distinguishing masculinity and femininity, scholars take into account the societal conventions ( ʿurf) to which individuals are subject. The ʿurf may be referenced in order to determine what specific dress, interests, and mannerisms are perceived as masculine or feminine in a given time and place. The bottom line is that, despite cross-cultural and cross-historical differences, every society differentiates between its male and female members, even if the specifics of that differentiation are, to an extent, socially dependent. For example, if we traveled back in time and visited eighteenth-century Americans, we would find the men dressed in big, white, curly wigs, frilly blouses, and tight stockings. Such sartorial features strike us as decidedly feminine given our current-day norms, to the extent that dressing in such a manner today would likely be identified as drag. This example demonstrates that conventions of masculine and feminine dress are often unique to particular times and places. So long as ʿurf does not violate the rights and responsibilities of men and women as outlined by Islam, a Muslim is typically required to respect the known conventions ( ʿurf) of his or her gender. However, as we note below, there are limits to this expectation, as Islam guides and corrects customs that go to extremes, transgressing both nature and human interest.

Scholars recognize that a person can have gender-atypical mannerisms, gait, voice, and so on, which manifest in a person either naturally ( khilqī)or through deliberate affectation ( ghayr khilqī). The term mukhannath refers to a male with effeminate mannerisms, while the term mudhakkarah refers to a female with masculine mannerisms. Purposefully affecting gender atypical mannerisms is prohibited by our revealed texts and the consensus of Muslim scholars. As for those whose gender-atypical mannerisms are khilqī, scholars have differed: some rule that the mukhannath and the mudhakkarah must make reasonable attempts to recondition their mannerisms in order to align more closely with those of their own sex, while other scholars have ruled that they are under no obligation to attempt such reconditioning.

Islam, as a rule, is not overly prescriptive concerning the specifics of what counts as masculine versus feminine, and we must be mindful of false ʿurf-one that has been socially engineered for excessive profit or other immoral ends. Girls are free to pursue sports and bricolage, just as boys are free to pursue art and cooking. Our Prophet's sīrah and the sīrah of his companions present us with many examples of men and women behaving in ways that violated pre-Islamic Arab gender norms, such as men crying profusely, women fighting in battle, or the Prophet ﷺ participating in domestic chores. Similarly, certain Victorian notions of womanhood, which presented the ideal woman as a dainty, delicate, ever-fainting damsel in distress, are not to be mistaken for indigenous Islamic norms.

Similarly, what constitutes appropriate same-sex interaction in Islam is also, to a fair extent, conventional and based on a society's ʿ urf. For example, many Muslim men, particularly in the Arab world, are rather "touchy-feely" compared to their Western counterparts. Such men may be seen kissing one another on the cheeks upon meeting, holding hands or hooking arms in public, or calling one another by names of endearment (e.g., ḥabībī, meaning literally "my love"). For Western men, these platonic acts would be interpreted as overtly homosexual.

Norms of Arab male friendship are changing, though, as the West continues to propagate its gender and sexual paradigm globally through mass media. Muslims are not immune to this propaganda, which pushes Western norms as morally necessary. We must be vigilant against the impact of such norms on our psyches and maintain our commitment to Islamic guidelines on gender and sexuality.

Questioning the terms: Homosexuality and LGBT

To understand homosexuality-as well as the broader trends and identities included under the LGBT label-from within an Islamic framework, we must begin by questioning the terms of the discourse and the underlying assumptions they encode. As one principle in the Shariah states, "passing judgment on something is contingent upon its (proper) conceptualization" ( al-ḥukm ʿalā al-shayʾ farʿ ʿan taṣawwurihi). There is no word in classical Arabic-or any other Islamicate language, for that matter-that is equivalent to "homosexuality," just as there had traditionally been no concept of a gay or LGBT identity (with corresponding vocabulary) even in the West before the late nineteenth century. The term "homosexual," first coined in Germany in the 1860s as a medical term to study (and, if possible, to treat) individuals who had sexual relations with members of the same sex, has been elevated to a sexual identity. "Sexuality" itself is a fairly recent neologism in the West. Traditionally, in both East and West, sexual behavior has been something an individual does, not what a person is.

On its own, the word "homosexuality"-formed from the Greek word "homos," meaning "the same," added to the Latin-derived word "sexuality"-preserves a scientific and purely descriptive connotation, meaning simply "same-sex" in plain English. In contemporary parlance, homosexuality could refer to feelings of romantic and or/sexual attraction to members of one's own sex, as well as to behavior based on those feelings. More poignantly, however, it typically also refers to a full-blown personal and social identity based on such feelings and behaviors. Collectively, these three meanings mirror the contemporary Western understanding of the self and its conflation of desire, behavior, and identity.

Only in contemporary Western liberalism are desires, behaviors, and identities inextricably fused together. It is from this paradigm that the identities "gay," "lesbian," "queer," and so on were born. This is all very new and specific to the contemporary West, and, as Muslims, we must resist taking on terminology fraught with un-Islamic beliefs and ideas, such as this inextricable conflation of desire, behavior, and identity. It is morally problematic to elide any meaningful distinction between desires and actions, for the mere existence of a desire can never be a moral justification for acting on it. Rather, we must appeal to independent moral criteria in order to evaluate any given desire and the moral status of acting upon it. For the post-sexual revolution West, that criterion is consent: as long as two adults consent, the act shared between them is seen as justified and unassailable. Compare this to the verse in Sūrat al-Aḥzāb:

Reflecting upon this verse highlights the dilemma Muslims face today. On the one hand, we must look to revelation to know what is permitted and prohibited of the various desires we experience. On the other hand, the hegemonic discourse of the liberal West insists upon treating homosexuality and other prohibited behaviors as identities needing to be preserved, defended, even honored, in the social, political, and moral arenas. Bombarded with this attack on the fundamentals of their religion, young Muslims today start with the deck already stacked against them. Any disapproval of homosexual or transgender behavior is immediately perceived as an attack on a personal identity, accompanied by accusations of "denying people's dignity," practicing "exclusion," or otherwise being motivated by hate, bigotry, or prejudice.

To reclaim our language and conceptual framework, let us turn to how homosexual acts are characterized by our Creator and Lord Almighty.

Verses on the people of Lot (pbuh)

A discussion of Islamic sexual ethics, and homosexuality in particular, would be incomplete without mentioning the Qur'anic verses on the people of Lot. In recent years, the clear and traditionally undisputed interpretation of these verses has been questioned by secularly-trained Western academics, including those who identify as Muslims. Let us take a look at these passages.

The people of Lot are mentioned in at least nine different places in the Qur'an, in a total of more than seventy-five verses. The emblematic sin of Lot's people, according to the Qur'an, is their engagement in sexual behavior with other men. A few verses (e.g., Sūrat al-ʿAnkabūt, 29:29) make incidental mention of other misdeeds on their part, but their primary transgression mentioned in all cases is "approaching males with desire ( shahwah) instead of females." Revisionists, who are often open about their desire to read whatever meaning they need to into the Qur'an, have attempted to reinterpret their sin as one of rape or inhospitality to Lot's guests. This flies in the face of plain, academically rigorous, and historically unanimous readings of the passage. One verse states:

And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Do you approach iniquity ( fāḥishah) such as none in creation have committed before you? Verily, you come with desire unto men instead of women. Nay, you are a people transgressing [beyond bounds]." But the only reply of his people was to say, "Turn them out from your town. Surely, they are a people who make themselves pure."

In an exercise of eisegesis (reading meaning into a text, as opposed to exegesis, which involves reading out of a text the meaning imbedded in it as intended by its author), many of these revisionists draw from contemporary Christian and/or Jewish reinterpretations of the biblical story of Lot in the Book of Genesis and read these-no matter how implausibly-back into the Qur'an as a rape narrative. Other verses that bring clarity to the story include:

And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Do you commit iniquity ( fāḥishah) with eyes wide open? Do you indeed come with desire unto men instead of women? Nay, but you are a people behaving foolishly."

And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "You commit iniquity ( fāḥishah) such as none in creation have committed before you. Do you indeed come unto men, and cut off the path, and practice evil deeds in your assemblies?" The reply of his people was but to say, "Bring upon us God's punishment, if you are among the truthful."

Revisionists have presented this last verse as evidence that Lot's people were punished for rape, the highest crime being attempted rape of God's messengers (angels) who visited their city in the form of men. But if their crime were rape, then why would Lot offer his daughters (which some have understood as a reference to the women of the town) to his people instead? In addition to this, Lot concludes by reaffirming God's standard for sexual morality: "O my people, these are my daughters; they are purer for you." This reinforces the fact that their crime was intended sodomy, not rape, for one does not decry rape on account of its being "impure," proposing non-rape as the "purer" alternative. Indeed, it would be abusive to interpret this verse as anything other than a condemnation of (male-male) anal intercourse-which it would be perfectly conventional to denounce as "impure"-and a commendation of the "purer" ( aṭhar) alternative of male-female intercourse as designed and intended by the Creator. The only morally pure avenue for fulfilling one's sexual desires is in the manner that God has decreed, and He has clearly prohibited sexual relations with members of the same sex. Furthermore, the highest crime of Lot's people could not have been the rape of the angels, for the angels were sent to punish them for the crime of "approaching men with lust instead of women" in which they had hitherto long been engaged.

Reinterpreting this narrative as rape is a classic example of anachronistically projecting contemporary notions-such as the post-sexual revolution fixation on "consent" as the only relevant criteria for sexual relations-onto the revealed texts and their exegesis. Only in the last three decades has "consent" become the one and only measuring stick of sexual morality in the West. Projecting this peculiar moral outlook thousands of years into the past, and reading it into a text where an alternative narrative is explicit, is unacceptable. Some of the world's leading biblical scholars, such as John Barton and others (who themselves are not literal followers of the Bible), emphatically state that the revisionist case on the story of Sodom and Gomorrah has failed. In the only acceptable reading of the story, the primary sin of Lot's people was homosexual acts, not rape. Others have tried to historicize the moral implications of Lot's story by arguing that God had decreed such ethical standards to an ancient society in their Near Eastern context and that His standard no longer applies to us today. We refer our readers here to one of the best written works debunking this argument found in "Can Islam Accommodate Homosexual Acts? Qur'anic Revisionism and the Case of Scott Kugle," by Mobeen Vaid.

Building an Islamic framework

To begin building an Islamic framework, we note that Islam does not categorize human beings on the basis of mere desires, especially if such desires are for acts declared not only illicit but also unnatural and deserving of punishment. Accusing someone of being a lūṭī, for instance, carries a ḥadd punishment for libel or slander ( qadhf) according to most schools.

Accepting a Western sexual identity framework changes the discussion, elides moral concerns, and frames the issue as one of social justice (defined subjectively) as opposed to Allah's command, which embodies perfect justice. We cannot claim to be more just and compassionate than God, for He is al-Raḥmān al-Raḥī m.

Next, we note that the Shariahcategorizes sexual acts-not sexual identities-as halaland haram. Halalsexual relations are those between a man and a woman in marriage bound by an Islamically valid contract; all else is illegitimate. Haramacts are further subdivided into enormities ( kabāʾir), which include male-female zinā (fornication and adultery) and (male-male) sodomy ( liwāṭ), and non-penetrative sexual acts such as siḥāq (female genital rubbing), manual and intercrural stimulation, oral sex, and all other such acts between any two persons (of either sex). All of these are classified as muḥarram li-dhātihi (prohibited intrinsically). Furthermore, the Shariahrecognizes and prohibits preludes to these sexual acts, such as touching, gazing, khalwah, and immodest dress, speech, and behavior. These are considered muḥarram li-ghayrihi (prohibited on account of another, i.e., because they lead to that which is prohibited intrinsically).

Faithful strugglers

It is a fact that there are Muslims-including very faithful and practicing ones-who experience same-sex attractions and/or gender dysphoria. How do we respond when they say that their inner feelings and desires make them feel like a "lesser" Muslim or ask, "Does Allah hate me? Am I a walking sin? Am I going to hell for these desires?"

Our response to these individuals ought to begin with the principle that we have noted earlier, namely, that Islam does not define or categorize people on the basis of internal feelings, sexual or otherwise. Rather, it affirms our core identity as servants of God, defined essentially and primarily in terms of our belief in Allah, our love of and submission to Him, and our devotion to Allah's Messenger ﷺ and obedience to the path he was sent to establish for the welfare and success of mankind until the Day of Judgment. In addition, the Shariah differentiates between feelingsand acts and, further, between the commission of (private) sins and (public) advocacy on behalf of those sins. Given these considerations, it is necessary for us to deconstruct the contemporary liberal paradigm and, by doing so, properly historicize and provincialize it. By offering Muslims who contend with same-sex attractions and/or gender dysphoria an Islamic paradigm and language through which to conceive and express their experiences, we reassure them that their faithful struggle with such challenges may even be a means for them to attain unto the rank of true mujāhidūn in the path of God. As the Prophet ﷺ has said:

A striver ( mujāhid) is he who strives in God's obedience, and a migrant is he who migrates from sin and error.

Furthermore, we should emphasize that falling into a sin does not make one unworthy of God's love, forgiveness, and mercy. Sexual transgressions, while serious, do not amount to kufr, and many are those in our day who struggle with pornography, zinā, and related trespasses. We ought to remind those who wish to live in the path of Allah-regardless of the specific nature of their challenges-that the door of tawbah is forever open and that, indeed, as the Prophet ﷺ has emphatically reassured us, "Allah rejoices more at the repentance of His slave than one of you (would rejoice) upon finding his mount after having lost it in a waterless desert." It is important that Muslims dealing with same-sex attractions and/or gender dysphoria be able to find support among trusted individuals within the Muslim community, be they imams, counselors, family, friends, or others. Concomitantly, Muslims who do not experience same-sex attraction or GID should understand that such feelings cannot simply be turned on and off like a switch, that they are frequently intertwined with painful emotional wounds and experiences, and that they can represent a substantial challenge on various levels for those who must deal with them. In light of these factors, it can be particularly unhelpful when individuals who may be well-meaning but who are unfamiliar with the territory, so to speak, volunteer facile advice suggesting that a person "merely need do x or y " for all his problems to be solved.

In addition to providing general emotional and spiritual support, family, friends, and community leaders should direct those struggling with same-sex attraction and/or gender identity issues to the numerous specialized resources that now exist in the Muslim community. The most important of these is the 88-episode podcast A Way Beyond the Rainbow, produced by Br. Waheed Jensen, a physician, medical researcher, and practicing Muslim who understands the struggle with same-sex attraction from within and has produced a comprehensive resource that deals with the issue from all conceivable angles-psychological, spiritual, medical, emotional, sociopolitical, personal, familial, and communal. (Many episodes, in fact, explore topics in a manner that is useful even for Muslims who do not deal specifically with same-sex attraction or gender identity issues.) In addition, two support networks currently exist for Muslims experiencing same-sex attraction and/or GID, namely, the Straight Struggle Discord group and the UK-based Strong Support foundation. Finally, Br. Yousef Salam, the longtime moderator of Straight Struggle, has published an insightful and well-written article that serves as an excellent introduction to, and statement of principle on, homosexuality in Islam and the Muslim community. This article is well worth the read for any Muslim who is concerned about this issue.

To reiterate a point raised above, in responding to those dealing with such issues within our community, we must emphasize that one of the most perilous traps for Muslims in the West is the ubiquitous gay identity paradigm, which insists that one must, as a question of core identity, conceive of and present oneself as "gay" or "lesbian" if one is attracted to the same sex. This is the language and attendant conceptual framework that the dominant secular culture of the West has prescribed for interpreting and processing such feelings. Despite its seeming ubiquity, however, the current paradigm in fact represents a very particular and idiosyncratic way of construing such experiences, one that is neither transhistorical nor cross-culturally universal. To accept this paradigm, moreover, is to completely upend the moral discourse of the Shariah by incriminating it in the exclusion of people's core identities and the undermining of their human dignity. As Muslims, we do not base our identities on our sexual drives, but rather on our commitment and submission to God and His purpose for us.

Conclusion: From challenging the framework to recovering morality

The foregoing treatment has shown how contemporary Western liberalism unknots three dimensions of the human experience once recognized as being bound together by nature and religious law: sex, reproduction, and marriage/morality. At the same time, it conflates three things that ought to be differentiated: desire, action, and identity. If our desires transgress divine law, they should not be acted upon; and even if they are acted upon, they should not become our identity. Up until the recent past, religious morality had furnished social meaning, norms, and structure and disciplined desires by determining which of them should be actualized and which should not. In today's liberal extremism-which has overtaken, eliminated, or disfigured nearly all traditions-the only sacred deity is the subjective desire of the nafs.

In this liberal extremist dogma, as long as two parties consent, whatever action they decide to engage in is morally unobjectionable assuming no harm results (or at least does not appear to). In reality, the desires to which such parties consent are mass manufactured, and the definition of "harm" by which they abide is carefully determined by a self-serving elite. What was once morally unobjectionable only for that extremist elite has been mainstreamed and then forced down the throats of populations unable to resist. Crucial to this agenda is the transformation of the non-normative desires of the few into a sacred right that must be approved and then celebrated by all. This process necessitated the transmutation of desire into identity, such that objecting to someone's desires and/or concomitant acts becomes synonymous with objecting to their very existence, and hence comparable to a violation of basic human rights and fundamental dignity.

The following summarizes a number of recommendations that result from the exposition offered above.

1. Reclaiming our language

We must begin by reclaiming our language. Key terms of discourse on sexual desire, behavior, and identity have been infused with enormous political and social baggage as part of a deliberate campaign. For this reason, it is best for us to avoid using terms such as LGBT-whether the acronym itself or its constituent labels-as a description of reality, limiting it to critical analytic discourse. Rather, when discussing the issue in terms of unchosen tendencies that Muslims and others experience, we should opt for descriptive terms devoid of identitarian baggage such as "same-sex attractions," "homosexual inclinations," "gender dysphoria," and the like. When speaking of prohibited sexual behaviors-whether male-female zinā, male-male sodomy ( liwāṭ), lesbian sex ( siḥāq), or any other-we should be forthright, in appropriate contexts, in using language that conveys the moral opprobrium attached to such acts by the Shariah (such as fā ḥ ishah, etc., or English equivalents).

2. Clearly establishing the Islamic gender and sexuality paradigm

As a community, how do we deal with this issue effectively in a just and compassionate way? First, we need to strongly and confidently establish our Islamic gender and sexuality paradigm as independent and distinct from the one inhabited by the contemporary West. Though stating this is taboo, we regard gender as something essential and not merely incidental or socially constructed. We affirm gender differences as real and God-given. Deconstructing the conflated sexual desire-behavior-identity framework of the West allows us, and teaches others, to appreciatethe wisdom and legislation of our Creator.

We should also continue actively critiquing and deconstructing the Western paradigm post-sexual revolution while simultaneously asserting our own paradigm. Condemning post-sexual revolution norms does not make Muslims "prudes." Licit sexual activity is not only permissible in Islam but celebrated and rewarded. Illicit sexual expression-whether it be heterosexual or homosexual-leads to individual and communal destruction and chaos.

3. Pointing out the neocolonial nature of the LGBT project for the Muslim world

We should also stress that the spread of the LGBT paradigm throughout the world today begins with cultural imperialism and brainwashing but, like feminism in the Second Gulf War, could be easily weaponized as part of the attempt to justify neocolonial coercion and sanction. In other words, the LGBT normalization project that originated in the West is being forced upon other societies as a non-negotiable "truth." Others are expected to align themselves with Western interests, ideas, and ideologies as a matter of principle because "the West knows best; it always has and it always will." Advocates of the progressive left in the West speak of "deconstructing" and challenging neocolonialism yet have done little more than trade one kind of neocolonialism for another. We cannot criticize Victorian morality imposed on the Muslim world by British colonizers in the nineteenth century while turning a blind eye to the post-sexual revolution paradigm imposed on the Muslim world today.

4. Rejecting the sexual identity paradigm

Individuals in Islam are not identified by their sexuality, and normative Islamic sources and tradition have no terms by which to mark people off in terms of a "sexual identity." We dignify people with respect to their having been created by God, not the kind of desires they experience. The sexual identity paradigm is inherently incompatible with Islam. We should use descriptive terms and adjectives, such as "he experiences same-sex attraction" or "she experiences gender dysphoria," rather than essentializing identitarian language, like saying that "he is gay" or "she is trans." Doing so allows us to avoid reducing these individuals to a single facet of their existence, namely, their sexual desires. It also helps Muslims who experience such challenges avoid seeing themselves in essentialized and reductive sexual identity terms that are likely to lead to an unresolvable head-on collision with Islamic teachings.

5. No gay exceptionalism

What is meant by "gay exceptionalism" (either positive or negative) is simply this: pushing for the acceptance of same-sex or "gender-bending" acts in an Islamic environment is just as unacceptable as pushing alcohol, zinā, and so on. There is no special license to act upon, or to promote acting upon, what Allah has prohibited simply because it is acceptable in contemporary Western societies or because one has embraced the current Western sexual identity paradigm. As Muslims, we do not tie homosexual acts to identity. Therefore, disallowing or condemning such acts in Muslim spaces is not a violation of a person's human rights or a rejection of their dignity. In the same manner, we should not stigmatize or single out other Muslims for merely having and faithfully struggling with gender identity and/or same-sex attractions. If another Muslim confides in you about this issue, embrace them and support them in their efforts to realize their purpose as a Muslim and live their life in submission to God and His religion. Every person battles with things that they did not necessarily bring upon themselves. In Islam, the test of submission is reforming the nafs to align with God's commands. Whether the struggle concerns drugs, alcohol, same-sex attraction or gender identity, envy, or backbiting-"successful indeed is the one who purifies his self [from what God has prohibited]."

6. Balancing subjective feelings with objective truths

Another necessary component of realizing our principles is balancing individual and communal needs, as well as subjective feelings and objective truths concerning what is right and wrong. To achieve this balance, we should offer struggling Muslims private support and consultationas opposed to public"accommodation" or "inclusion." Defiant activist types should notbe allowed to disrupt Islamic spaces or impose their will on the community. This is similar to how one might treat a Muslim who drinks alcohol: we would ban them from selling alcohol at an Eidcarnival while also providing private support to them if they struggle with a drinking habit.

7. Supporting the faithful struggler

We should show empathy and understanding to Muslims dealing with same-sex attractions or gender identity issues for what is often a very difficult and emotionally taxing issue. As mentioned above, one should support the person in their general spirituality and in other ways: finding them mentors, advising them, lending them a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. But one should also know one's limits: the issues involved are often complex and deeply embedded. Do not pretend to know everything about how the person should deal with things. Rather, be there for general support, but point them in the right direction to find the resources they need. For additional resources on this topic and other general background information, please see the references cited below.

8. Upholding the Straight Path

When engaging with this issue on an individual and/or communal level, we should remember the "three Cs" for maintaining the Straight Path: clarity, compassion, and conviction. Being compassionate toward someone struggling with gender identity or same-sex attraction does not mean bending God's commands or misrepresenting the Islamic paradigm on gender, sexuality, morality, and identity. No one is more merciful or compassionate than God; true compassion thusinvolves guiding others to the truth and what pleases the Creator.

Contemporary LGBT discourse often makes Western Muslims feel embarrassed by Islamic teachings on sexual ethics. Islam's sexual ethics are not the problem, however. Rather, they are the only solutionto our problems-the solutionthat the West and all of the world desperately needs. It is a Qur'anic imperative to uphold our ethical standard with confidence, as Allah states: "Call [people] to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful admonition, and dispute with them in the most courteous of ways; for your Lord knows best who has strayed from His way and who is rightly guided." This is the command that we have been given, and this is the command that we are bound to fulfill.
O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant that we may follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant that we may avoid it. Ameen!

1 Carl Sharif El-Tobgui, "Islam and 'LGBTQ': Gender, Sexuality, Morality & Identity," Blogging Theology, YouTube video, June 17, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M4aHFvrCuI

2 Adan Butt, "Western University: Remove the Depiction of Hijab from Your LGBTQ Post," Change.org, https://www.change.org/p/western-university-remove-the-depiction-of-hijab-from-your-lgbtq-post.

3 Daniel Villarreal, "University Pulls Image of Women in Hijabs Kissing after Muslim Community Protests," LGBTQ Nation, May 19, 2022, https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/05/university-pulls-image-women-hijabs-kissing-muslim-community-protests/.

4 Villarreal, "University Pulls Image."

5 Qur'an 51:56.

6 Qur'an 33:36.

8 Victoria Whitley-Berry, "After Decades in the Background, Queer Characters Step to the Front in Kids' Media," NPR, June 30, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/06/30/1011310695/after-decades-in-the-background-queer-characters-step-to-the-front-in-kids-media.

9 SOGI 1 2 3, 2019, www.sogieducation.org/, accessed September 13, 2022.

10 "Results," SOGI 1 2 3, https://www.sogieducation.org/results.

11 Sam Killermann, "The Genderbread Person V4.0," The Genderbread Person, 2017, www.genderbread.org/resource/genderbread-person-v4-0, accessed September 13, 2022.

12 Sam Killermann, "Breaking through the Binary: Gender Explained Using Continuums," March 27, 2015, https://www.genderbread.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Breaking-through-the-Binary-by-Sam-Killermann.pdf.

13 Killerman, "Breaking through the Binary."

14 Wikipedia, s.v. "Florida Parental Rights in Education Act," last modified October 6, 2022, 07:11, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Parental_Rights_in_Education_Act.

15 Wikipedia, s.v. "Florida Parental Rights in Education Act," sec. The Walt Disney Company.

16 Anna Cooban, "Burger King Has a 'Pride Whopper' with 'Two Equal Buns,'" CNN, June 7, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/07/business-food/burger-king-pride-whopper.

17 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 1968.

"Cohabitation in the United States has increased by more than 1,500 percent in the past half century. In 1960, about 450,000 unmarried couples lived together. Now the number is more than 7.5 million. The majority of young adults in their 20s will live with a romantic partner at least once, and more than half of all marriages will be preceded by cohabitation. This shift has been attributed to the sexual revolution and the availability of birth control, and in our current economy, sharing the bills makes cohabiting appealing."

19 See Mary Eberstadt, Adam and Eve After the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012).

20 See Katy Faust, Them Before Us (New York: Post Hill Press, 2021).

24 Nicholas Eberstadt and Apoorva Shah, "Fertility Decline in the Muslim World: A Demographic Sea Change Goes Largely Unnoticed," Hoover Institution, June 1, 2012, https://www.hoover.org/research/fertility-decline-muslim-world.

25 For a short but useful treatment on the problematic notion of "consent" as employed in contemporary liberal discourses surrounding sex and sexuality, see Timothy Hsiao, "The Limits of Consent," Public Discourse, September 23, 2015.

26 Qur'an 57:27.

27 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 1674.

28 For one such instance where spiritual ecstasy is likened to sexual climax, see Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-sālikīn, translated by Ovamir Anjum as Ranks of Divine Seekers (Leiden: Brill, 2020), 2:224-25.

29 Qur'an 8:20-23.

30 The concept of psychologization is discussed in Carl R. Trueman, Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), Ch. 4.

31 For a relevant discussion of the thinkers named here, see the aforementioned work by Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), chap. 5 and 6.

32 This idea, called emotivism, was studied and critiqued at length by Catholic philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre in After Virtue (1980).

33 Qur'an 59:19.

34 Qur'an 25:43.

35 Qur'an 35:8.

36 Trueman, Strange New World, 74.

37 Trueman, Strange New World,79.

38 Trueman, Strange New World, 157.

39 For more on this, see Dr. Shabbir Akhtar's essay, which discusses the Qur'anic notion of and its corruption: Shabbir Akhtar, "A Path Straightened Out: Perspectives on Human Nature in the Qur'an," Yaqeen, October 22, 2020, updated November 5, 2020, https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/a-path-straightened-out-perspectives-on-human-nature-in-the-quran.

40 Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s (N.p.: Plume, 1989), xxviii.

41 Kirk and Madsen, After the Ball, 149.

42 Qur'an 53:45.

43 Qur'an 92:3.

44 Qur'an 53:45.

45 Qur'an 3:36.

46 Qur'an 30:21.

47 Qur'an 4:1.

48 Qur'an 33:35.

49 Qur'an 9:71.

50 Qur'an 4:32.

51 See, for instance, Leonard Sax, Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences, 2nd ed. (New York: Harmony Books, 2017). See also Steven E. Rhoads, Taking Sex Differences Seriously (New York: Encounter Books, 2005); Peter J. O'Connor and Cressida M. Brown, "Sex-Linked Personality Traits and Stress: Emotional Skills Protect Feminine Women from Stress but Not Feminine Men," Science Direct 99 (September 2016), 28-32; Ron Su et al., "Men and Things, Women and People: A Meta-analysis of Sex Differences in Interests," Psychological Bulletin 135, no. 6, National Library of Medicine (Nov. 2009), 859-884; "Sex Differences in Brain Anatomy," National Institutes of Health (July 28, 2020).

52 For instance, in all major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, men can be imams and lead a congregation in prayer, whereas women cannot; men are strongly recommended to pray in congregation at the masjid, while women are given a free choice, and it is preferred for them to pray at home (some schools strongly recommend against women praying in masjids); the ideal row for men is the front row, while for women it is the back row. One hadith states: "The best rows for men are the front rows and the worst are the back rows. The best rows for women are the back rows and the worst are the front rows." Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 440.

55 Qur'an 23:5-6.

56 Anal intercourse is categorically prohibited, including between a man and woman who are lawful to each other (such as in marriage), because the rectal cavity is not a proper or suitable receptacle for the male organ and its fluids. Such an action is considered a gross misuse of the body, as well as a violation of the God-given teleology of our sexual and other organs.

57 Qur'an 17:32.

60 For the notion of ʿ urf in Islamic law, see Ayman Shabana, Custom in Islamic Law and Legal Theory: The Development of the Concepts of ʿURF and ʿĀDAH in the Islamic Legal Tradition (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2010), especially chap. 2. For a thorough discussion on the role of culture in determining gender norms, how these norms change over time, and how Muslims should relate to them at various stages of their transformation, consult the interview with Shaykh Mustafa Umar and Waheed Jensen on the A Way Beyond the Rainbow podcast, episode 77 "On Shar'i Perspectives: Gender Roles and Gender Nonconformity," February 14, 2022, https://awaybeyondtherainbow.buzzsprout.com/746186/9323916-77-on-shar-i-perspectives-gender-roles-and-gender-nonconformity.

61 Qur'an 33:36.

62 Qur'an 7:80-81.

63 For a detailed examination and thorough deconstruction of such revisionist attempts, see Mobeen Vaid, "Can Islam Accommodate Homosexual Acts? Quranic Revisionism and the Case of Scott Kugle," MuslimMatters, July 11, 2016, https://muslimmatters.org/2016/07/11/can-islam-accommodate-homosexual-acts-quranic-revisionism-and-the-case-of-scott-kugle/.

64 Qur'an 26:160-70.

65 Qur'an 27:54-55.

66 Qur'an 29:28-29.

67 Qur'an 11:77-79.

68 A strong case for this is made in the highly regarded work on biblical scholarship by Robert A. J. Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (‎Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002).

69 Vaid, "Can Islam Accommodate Homosexual Acts?"

70 See, for instance, Ibn Qudāma, al-Mughnī, 10 vols. (Cairo: Maktabat al-Qāhira, 1388/1968), 9:87.

71 Musnad Aḥmad, no. 23958, declared sound by al-Albānī.

73 Straight Struggle, Discord server, https://discordservers.com/server/686461916939288584.

74 Strong Support, https://www.strongsupport.co.uk/.

75 Br. Yousef, "From a Same-Sex Attracted Muslim: Between Denial of Reality and Distortion of Religion," MuslimMatters, August 22, 2016, https://muslimmatters.org/2016/08/22/from-a-same-sex-attracted-muslim-between-denial-of-reality-and-distortion-of-religion/.

76 For the role of liberalism and feminism in justifying the Second Gulf War, see Lila Abu-Lughod, Do Muslim Women Need Saving? (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015), 29-34.

77 Qur'an 91:9.

78 Waheed Jensen, "Straight Struggle | The Human Component | LGBTQ+ Conference," EPIC MASJID, YouTube video, March 3, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipxCFABfYjA; Yousef, "From a Same-Sex Attracted Muslim"; Omar Suleiman, Mustafa Umar, Sarah Sultan, and Ubaydallah Evans, "Islam and LGBTQ," Yaqeen Institute, YouTube video, June 16, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_aqp3yAho; El-Tobgui, "Islam and 'LGBTQ'"; Mobeen Vaid, "Where The Rainbow Ends: American Muslims And LGBT Activism," MuslimMatters, January 7, 2022, https://muslimmatters.org/2022/01/07/where-the-rainbow-ends-american-muslims-lgbt-activism/; Mobeen Vaid, "And the Male Is Not like the Female: Sunni Islam and Gender Nonconformity," MuslimMatters, July 24, 2017, https://muslimmatters.org/2017/07/24/and-the-male-is-not-like-the-female-sunni-islam-and-gender-nonconformity/; Mobeen Vaid and Waheed Jensen, "'And the Male Is Not like the Female': Sunni Islam and Gender Nonconformity (Part 2)," MuslimMatters, December 30, 2020, https://muslimmatters.org/2020/12/30/and-the-male-is-not-like-the-female-sunni-islam-and-gender-nonconformity-part-2/; Abdul-Hakim Murad, "Boys Will Be Boys . . . Reflections on Gender Identity and Relations," About Islam, September 2018, https://aboutislam.net/shariah/contemporary-issues/boys-will-boys/; Abdul-Hakim Murad, "Islam, Irigaray, and the Retrieval of Gender," April 1999, http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/gender.htm; Abdul-Hakim Murad. "Fall of the Family," The Silva Initiative, July 12, 2021, https://thesilainitiative.org/articles/fall-of-the-family/20210712/by-abdal-hakim/; "Islam and LGBT Issues: Reading Material," Muhammadan Discourse, May 20, 2021, https://muhammadandiscourse.blogspot.com/2021/05/islam-and-homosexuality-reading-material.html.

79 Qur'an 16:125.

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Islam and the LGBT Question: Reframing the Narrative | Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research

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This year on May 17, Canada's International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, a poster, promoted under the auspices of a Canadian university, depicted two Muslim women in headscarves on the verge of kissing. A number of other Canadian universities and high schools allowed the poster to circulate as a way of promoting "diversity in love."

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Hi everyone, hope you're having a great term break & have some time to prep for next Mon!
I've some titles that you can view for inspiration for your own projects & to cleverly weave in key terms/concepts from our discussions on development and pathology thus far. Do refer to the course evaluation for guidelines :)

We will confirm the venue before the end of the week (f2f), preferable the second floor classrooms in PKP. You'll be presenting & rating each other's presentations in 6 small groups simultaneously (G1 & 2; G3 & 4; so on), so bring along your laptops for each group. See you all soon!

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This series is so valuable to our discussion on mental health. It encompasses most major relatable conditions in our current time. A MUST SEE, so let’s.

Grab your afternoon snacks, popcorns/ movie food & curl up in your classroom seats (Ah!) & listen, process, reflect - we have a lot of room to agree to disagree on things. Here’s hoping that reception will be good!

We will view 5 episodes in class; it would help you to have some guiding questions in thinking through about the series. Feel free to add on what helps you & your groups to uncover more about the disorders that you’ll be in-charge of researching.

e.g.,

1. How do these shared experiences help you understand more about the nature of mental health conditions/disorders, in terms of:

a. relating them to your own observations around you? Real life experiences allow us to have unique perspectives/ interpretations on similar observations.
b. to understanding the mechanisms underlying these
conditions/disorders?
c. listing the common traits shared by/ is unique to a psychopathological condition.

2. What sayings/quotes strikes or stays with you the most from this episode?

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Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry join forces to guide honest discussions about mental health. This series features illuminating stories from across the globe, giving us the opportunity to seek truth, understanding, and a newfound hope for the future.

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Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry join forces to guide honest discussions about mental health. This series features illuminating stories from across the globe, giving us the opportunity to seek truth, understanding, and a newfound hope for the future.

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How do people with Autism love? and how can we love them?

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The Relationships surrounding the individual

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Causes and risk factors of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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Causes and risk factors of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/causes/

There’s no single cause of borderline personality disorders (BPD) and it’s likely to be caused by a combi factors such as :-

1.  Genetics
2. Problem with brain chemicals
3. Problem with brain development
4. Environmental factors

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There's no single cause of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and it's likely to be caused by a combination of factors.

Genetics

Genes you inherit from your parents may make you more vulnerable to developing BPD.

A study found that if 1 identical twin had BPD, there was a 2-in-3 chance that the other identical twin would also have BPD.

However, these results have to be treated with caution, and there's no evidence of a gene for BPD.

Problem with brain chemicals

It's thought that many people with BPD have something wrong with the neurotransmitters in their brain, particularly serotonin.

Neurotransmitters are "messenger chemicals" used by your brain to transmit signals between brain cells. Altered levels of serotonin have been linked to depression, aggression and difficulty controlling destructive urges.

Problem with brain development

Researchers have used MRI to study the brains of people with BPD. MRI scans use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a detailed image of the inside of the body.

The scans revealed that in many people with BPD, 3 parts of the brain were either smaller than expected or had unusual levels of activity. These parts were:

the amygdala - which plays an important role in regulating emotions, especially the more "negative" emotions, such as fear, aggression and anxiety

the hippocampus - which helps regulate behaviour and self-control

the orbitofrontal cortex - which is involved in planning and decision making

Problems with these parts of the brain may well contribute to symptoms of BPD.

The development of these parts of the brain is affected by your early upbringing. These parts of your brain are also responsible for mood regulation, which may account for some of the problems people with BPD have in close relationships.

Environmental factors

A number of environmental factors seem to be common and widespread among people with BPD. These include:

being a victim of emotional, physical or sexual abuse

being exposed to long-term fear or distress as a child

being neglected by 1 or both parents

growing up with another family member who had a serious mental health condition, such as bipolar disorder or a drink or drug misuse problem

A person's relationship with their parents and family has a strong influence on how they come to see the world and what they believe about other people.

Unresolved fear, anger and distress from childhood can lead to a variety of distorted adult thinking patterns, such as:

idealising others

expecting others to be a parent to you

expecting other people to bully you

behaving as if other people are adults and you're not

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Causes - Borderline personality disorder

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There's no single cause of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and it's likely to be caused by a combination of factors. Genes you inherit from your parents may make you more vulnerable to developing BPD. A study found that if 1 identical twin had BPD, there was a 2-in-3 chance that the other identical twin would also have BPD.

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Diagnosis
Borderline personality disorder is diagnosed based on a detailed interview with your doctor or mental health provider, which would include:

Psychological evaluation (usually by completing questionnaires)

Medical history and exam

Discussion of your signs and symptoms

Treatment Approaches
1. Psychotherapy
2. Medications
3. Hospitalization

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Ways to cope with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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Ways to cope with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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It is important to find ways to cope with BPD for them to manage their emotion better. Person with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can have a normal life by learning this coping skills.

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Support for a Person with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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Support for a Person with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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The family and friends of a person diagnosed with BPD should give support for them to overcome it and manage their emotions better. Support from family give a great impact to the person.

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Some of the sharing about BPD (borderline personality disorder)

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Some of the sharing about BPD (borderline personality disorder)

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https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/borderline-personality-disorder-bpd/experiences-of-bpd/

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This is not intended to make mental diseases more admirable or to minimise the suffering caused by enduring emotional upheaval. What you don't need is further criticism if you've already been diagnosed with BPD. You need to have a thorough grasp of what led to these symptoms, realise that it is not your "fault" that you are ill, and learn to maximise your personality's strengths. Again, the benefits of BPD do exist on the other side of the shadow.

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Personality disorders is considered an impairment of the way one thinks. People with BPD face the struggles of the condition on a daily basis, and on top of that often experience stigma, discrimination, isolation and insults. Most of what's written about BPD doesn't sound overly positive with many being portrayed as manipulative, hopeless and dangerous. In fact, individuals presenting with BPD experience an extraordinarily rich and intense life of both highs and lows - higher than the highest of highs and lowered than the lowest of lows for most people all year. Here is a list on the upsides of BPD.

Resilience - Many people with BPD have battled struggles with drug and alcohol addictions, self-harm, suicidal behaviour, and eating disorders. Many are survivors of trauma and therefore the ability to manage the emotional dysregulations on a daily basis is nothing short of being warriors.

Empathy and compassion - People with BPD experience greater internal and external turmoil. However, this in turn allows for the ability to recognise and have greater insight for others in similar situations. Sharing stories of lived experience about emotional pain encourages others to open up and gives a sense of belonging and freedom from stigma. For instance, a has shown that people with BPD are able to read facial expressions and emotions better than those without BPD.

Curiosity - Being extra sensitive and connection emotions, senses and surroundings allows for greater curiosity in the minds of those with BPD.

Bold - Impulsivity is a BPD trait that can be positively linked to being bold, courageous and having the ability to speak one's mind.

Creative - The high intensity of emotions can be released into creative endeavours. Many people with BPD put their entire emotional expression into music, art, performance and writing.

Intuition - High sensitivity to surroundings learned from childhood means people with BPD are more aware of other people's emotional states. Sometimes the intuition may be overwhelming but when managed, people with BPD can help others in distress rather than exacerbate the pain.

Passionate and emotional - When a person with BPD loves, the love is deep, highly committed and loyal to the relationship. Even though there may be struggles with attachment and fears of abandonment, these are ultimately manifestations of love. When the emotions are managed, liveliness and wittiness become the dominant qualities.

Protective - The care and intensity a person with BPD feels towards another person or situation may be translated into high aggression as a method of protecting others and the self.

Hope - The negative symptoms of BPD are indeed manageable with a combination of psychotherapy, a support network and long-term commitment. This is worth fighting for each day!

The intensity and irrationality from BPD symptoms is equally matched by happiness, creativity and empathy for others. People with BPD are healers, lovers and most of all are fighters of their internal pain. No individual with BPD is the same and it is time to see more than just the diagnosis.

Articles to read
Healthy Place - Embrace the benefits of Borderline Personality Disorder
BPD Connects - The advantages of having BPD

The Mighty - The best parts of Borderline Personality Disorder

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Strengths and qualities of BPD - Borderline in the ACT

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Personality disorders is considered an impairment of the way one thinks. People with BPD face the struggles of the condition on a daily basis, and on top of that often experience stigma, discrimination, isolation and insults. Most of what's written about BPD doesn't sound overly positive with many being portrayed as manipulative, hopeless and dangerous.

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WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER?

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WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER?

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https://youtu.be/acGcQQ1X74M

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What It's Like to Live With Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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Psychology Professor Dr. Jordan B. Peterson talks about (BPD) 

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Psychology Professor Dr. Jordan B. Peterson talks about (BPD) 

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Jordan Peterson - Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

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How to Cope with the Challenges of Living with BPD

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Not To Confuse; Borderline Personality Disorder vs Bipolar Disorder

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Not To Confuse; Borderline Personality Disorder vs Bipolar Disorder

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Borderline Personality Disorder vs Bipolar Disorder – How to tell the difference

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Pink And Yellow Colorful Doodle Mind Map Brainstorming

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In this short video, parents of autistic children talk about everyday family life. They discuss the value of planning and structure, explaining the schedule and giving their autistic child a breakdown of events. One mum says this ‘gives him a roadmap of what his day is going to look like’.

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Autistic children & family life _ Raising Children Network 2023-05-31 21_59

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Sexuality, relationships and autistic teenagers

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Sexuality, relationships and autistic teenagers

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Sexuality and relationships: teenagers with autism spectrum disorder

# data[].attributes.body
Learning more about autism;

1. What is autism

2. History of Autism

3. Cause of autism

Nature vs Gene

4. Characteristics of autism

5. Effect of autism to

Individual

Family

Friend

Society

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Does OCD really just about perfectionism?

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Does OCD really just about perfectionism?

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Often a lot of people just thought that people with OCD just have those traits of wanting everything to be perfectly in place, neat—in easy word a perfectionist. However, in reality its more than that. This video is very helpful in understanding their struggles and what really is OCD. Enjoy the video!

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Living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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In this video parents talk about about noticing early signs of autism in children’s development and behaviour. It’s good to act early if you’re concerned.

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A short video on how the Brain works in an individual with Autism!

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There's no I in team ... But there are two in schizophrenia 😉

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There's no I in team ... But there are two in schizophrenia 😉

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our team members ✨

- Adriana Kaisah Binti Kushsairy (A194517)
- Harshina a/p Anbarasu
(A191620)
- Nur Farah Athira Binti Mohd Zaid (A193416)
- Aina Nadiha Mohd Shariff (A194685)

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"Social anxiety is more than shyness. It's a fear that does not go away and affects everyday activities, self confidence, relationships and work or school life."

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Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a long-term and overwhelming fear of social situations.
It's a common problem that usually starts during the teenage years. It can be very distressing and have a big impact on your life.

For some people it gets better as they get older. But for many people it does not go away on its own without treatment.

It's important to get help if you are having symptoms. There are treatments that can help you manage it.

Symptoms of social anxiety

Social anxiety is more than shyness. It's a fear that does not go away and affects everyday activities, self confidence, relationships and work or school life.

Many people occasionally worry about social situations, but someone with social anxiety feels overly worried before, during and after them.

You may have social anxiety if you:

worry about everyday activities, such as meeting strangers, starting conversations, speaking on the phone, working or shopping

avoid or worry a lot about social activities, such as group conversations, eating with company and parties

always worry about doing something you think is embarrassing, such as blushing, sweating or appearing incompetent

find it difficult to do things when others are watching - you may feel like you're being watched and judged all the time

fear being criticised, avoid eye contact or have low self-esteem

often have symptoms like feeling sick, sweating, trembling or a pounding heartbeat (palpitations)

have panic attacks, where you have an overwhelming sense of fear and anxiety, usually only for a few minutes

Many people with social anxiety also have other mental health issues, such as depression, generalised anxiety disorder or panic disorder.

When to get help for social anxiety

It's a good idea to see a GP if you think you have social anxiety, especially if it's having a big impact on your life.

It's a common problem and there are treatments that can help.

Asking for help can be difficult, but a GP will be aware that many people struggle with social anxiety and will try to put you at ease.

They'll ask you about your feelings, behaviours and symptoms to find out about your anxiety in social situations.

If they think you could have social anxiety, you'll be referred to a mental health specialist to have a full assessment and talk about treatments.

You can also refer yourself directly to an NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT) without a referral from a GP.

Things you can try to overcome social anxiety

Self-help can help reduce social anxiety and you might find it a useful first step before trying other treatments.

The following tips may help:

try to understand more about your anxiety - by thinking about or writing down what goes through your mind and how you behave in certain social situations, it can help to keep a diary

try some relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises for stress

break down challenging situations into smaller parts and work on feeling more relaxed with each part

try to focus on what people are saying rather than just assuming the worst

Read more about anxiety, fear and panic and how to manage them.

You may also find it useful to read an NHS self-help guide for social anxiety.

Audio: Anxiety control training

In this audio guide, a doctor explains how you can take control of anxiety.

Treatments for social anxiety

A number of treatments are available for social anxiety.

The main options are:

CBT is generally considered the best treatment, but other treatments may help if it does not work or you do not want to try it.

Some people need to try a combination of treatments.

Support groups

There are several charities, support groups and online forums for people with social anxiety and other anxiety disorders, including:

Social anxiety in children

Social anxiety can also affect children.

Signs of social anxiety in a child include:

crying or getting upset more often than usual

getting angry a lot

avoiding interaction with other children and adults

fear of going to school or taking part in classroom activities, school performances and social events

not asking for help at school

being very reliant on their parents or carer

Speak to a GP if you're worried about your child. They'll ask you about your child's behaviour and talk to them about how they feel.

Treatments for social anxiety in children are similar to those for teenagers and adults, although medicines are not normally used.

Therapy will be tailored to your child's age and will often involve help from you.

You may be given training and self-help materials to use between sessions. It may also take place in a small group.

Video: Psychological therapies for stress, anxiety and depression

Animated video explaining self-referral to psychological therapies services for stress, anxiety or depression.

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Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a long-term and overwhelming fear of social situations. It's a common problem that usually starts during the teenage years. It can be very distressing and have a big impact on your life. For some people it gets better as they get older.

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According to a study, students' anxiety is linked to poor academics, unhealthy relationships, and social isolation.

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As many as 22 per cent of UK university students face some kind of social anxiety during their studies

Anxiety attributed to lower grades, poor relationships, and social isolation among students, claims study

Study authors warn anxiety among students is a growing concern for UK universities - with many cases going unreported

Students experiencing social anxiety at university often achieve lower academic grades and are less likely to forge meaningful relationships, according to a new study.

A team of psychologists investigating the effects of anxiety on undergraduates revealed the mental health condition can have a lasting impact on their studies. They also found those with anxiety regularly experience negative thoughts and often find themselves isolated from others.

The release of the study coincides with national University Mental Health Day, which aims to bring together all UK higher education providers to encourage open conversations about student welfare.

Psychologist and co-author Dr Ian Tyndall, from the University of Chichester, said there are more students experiencing social anxiety than many realise - as many cases are missed or go unreported.

He added: "For those with feelings of social anxiety, university can present unique challenges, but there is surprisingly little research into the problem. Undiagnosed and moderate feelings of social anxiety can result in numerous impairments for students at university."

According to scientific data, as many as 22 per cent of UK university students face some kind of social anxiety while studying for a degree, with one report claiming that figure is as high as 80 per cent.

The psychologists involved in the new study interviewed a sample of students from UK universities - all of whom experienced social anxiety - and discovered five common characteristics among the group.

It included heighted self-consciousness, brought on by negative emotions, which often resulted in over-thinking and greater expectations of being judged by others. Participants also admitted to purposely changing their personality around groups to tackle anxiety, with one revealing they used alcohol to reduce anxiety and appear more confident.

The students also regularly isolated themselves after a negative social experience - such as feeling anxious in a large crowd - which often resulted in missing lectures and, as a consequence, poor academic achievement, claimed the report.

Study co-author Dr Moitree Banerjee said there was no doubt that social anxiety in students is a growing concern and is one which can have a significant impact on people's education.

She added: "From this investigation, we can see that students' social fears created difficulty in social and academic contexts, often resulting in negative self-concepts and generally poor emotional experiences. This includes deficits in relationships with others, potential academic disruption, safety behaviours to reduce anxiety, and excessive anticipatory worry and rumination after the event."

The paper, Feeling Socially Anxious at University: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, is a collaboration between academics from the universities of Chichester, Coventry, and University College London.

Read the paper in full.

Find out more about research conducted by Dr Ian Tyndall and Dr Moitree Banerjee.

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Anxious students more likely to struggle socially and academically at university, study finds - University of Chichester

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Students experiencing social anxiety often achieve lower academic grades and are less likely to forge meaningful relationships, claims study

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Psychopathology As An Outcome of Development 1

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#OCD can latch onto anything... even OCD! #MetaOCD is obsessing about #obsessing and can show up in various ways. 

Meta OCD is not resistant to #ERP and can be treated! 

Do you resonate with any of these?

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
#OCD can latch onto anything... even OCD! #MetaOCD is obsessing about #obsessing and can show up in various ways. 

Meta OCD is not resistant to #ERP and can be treated! 

Do you resonate with any of these? https://t.co/Uw9pCCh7iK

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#OCD can latch onto anything... even OCD! #MetaOCD is obsessing about #obsessing and can show up in various ways.

Meta OCD is not resistant to #ERP and can be treated!

Do you resonate with any of these? pic.twitter.com/Uw9pCCh7iK
— Nathan Peterson, LCSW (@ocdandanxiety1) May 15, 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
#OCD can latch onto anything... even OCD! #MetaOCD is obsessing about #obsessing and can show up in various ways. 

Meta OCD is not resistant to #ERP and can be treated! 

Do you resonate with any of these? https://t.co/Uw9pCCh7iK

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
#OCD can latch onto anything... even OCD! #MetaOCD is obsessing about #obsessing and can show up in various ways. 

Meta OCD is not resistant to #ERP and can be treated! 

Do you resonate with any of these? https://t.co/Uw9pCCh7iK

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
#OCD can latch onto anything... even OCD! #MetaOCD is obsessing about #obsessing and can show up in various ways. 

Meta OCD is not resistant to #ERP and can be treated! 

Do you resonate with any of these?

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Here is our highlights for chapter 1 of "Development and Psychopathology" by Dante Cicchetti

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Chapter 1 of "Development and Psychopathology" by Dante Cicchetti 📖

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Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

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Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

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There are 8 stages in this development:

Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy from birth to 18 months)

Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Toddler years from 18 months to three years)

Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt (Preschool years from three to five)

Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority (Middle school years from six to 11)

Stage 5: Identity vs. Confusion (Teen years from 12 to 18)

Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young adult years from 18 to 40)

Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle age from 40 to 65)

Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair (Older adulthood from 65 to death)

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Possibilities of a person's developmental trajectories

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Development and Psychopathology DANTE CICCHETTI

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1. Rashidatul aqilah bt munim (A194361)
2. Ooi Chien Yi（A193176）
3. Nur Aqilah Zainol (A191512)
4. Aliyah Afifah Azman  (A195475)

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265786355_Case_Study_Using_Erikson%27s_Developmental_Stages

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In your groups, revisit Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. There are many references online that you can access on the topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYCBdZLCDBQ

The task is to tie in your points from the previous readings to these life stages by:  mapping out 'possibilities' of a person's developmental trajectories-- in instances with & without maladaptations.

You can start with the first stage & see how far you can get for the hour. Looking forward to hearing them in the final hour of class today!

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The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Excerpt

Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development is a theory introduced in the 1950s by the psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson. It built upon Freud's theory of psychosexual development by drawing parallels in childhood stages while expanding it to include the influence of social dynamics as well as the extension of psychosocial development into adulthood. It posits eight sequential stages of individual human development influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors throughout the lifespan. This bio-psychosocial approach has influenced several fields of study, including gerontology, personality development, identity formation, life cycle development, and more.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Gabriel Orenstein declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Lindsay Lewis declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

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Knight ZG. A proposed model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2017 Sep;24(5):1047-1058. - PubMed

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national center for biotechnology information

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Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development is a theory introduced in the 1950s by the psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson. It built upon Freud's theory of psychosexual development by drawing parallels in childhood stages while expanding it to include the influence of social dynamics as wel ...