On Life, Death, and Suicide: Lessons for Better Mental Health from the History of Psychology, Theology, and Philosophy

By Muhammad Hashemi

The Socratic dialogue in this book discusses life & death with reference to the prominent suicides of so-called “successful people”. The narrative presents classical & modern philosophies, Judeo-Islamo-Christian & Eastern theologies, secular psychology, and world history in simple easy-to-read language.

•The philosophical study deeply investigates the plausibility of atheism through an exploration of existentialism, nihilism, Marxism, bad faith, and the problem of evil.
•The theological study is a comparative analysis of Judeo-Islamo-Christian & Eastern theologies with regards to modern spirituality, hypocrisy, basis for faith, mysticism, and martyrdom.
•The psychological study explores Freud’s focus on pleasure & sexuality, Adler’s focus on power & dominance, Frankl’s focus on suffering & meaning, and Jung’s focus on self-actualization.
•The historical study investigates various topics in social history, the histories of the three Abrahamic civilizations (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), and the history of Marxism.

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These keywords describe what is covered in this book.

Thinkers: Rashi & Maimonides, Blaise Pascal, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Carl Gustav Jung, Viktor Frankl, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Michel Foucault, Murtadha Mutahhiri.

Philosophy: Atheism & Agnosticism & Faith, Self & Soul & Psyche, Existence & Identity & Ancestry, Tribe & Race & Social Status, Meaning & Power & Pleasure, Inferiority & Superiority & Compensation, Ethics & Bad Faith & Hypocrisy, White Privilege & anti-Semitism & Islamophobia, Revolution & War & Marxism, Science & Religion & Spirituality, Problem of Evil & Leap of Faith & Just-World Fallacy, Blank Slate (Tabula Rasa) & Innatism & Platonic Forms, Homosexuality & Bisexuality & Free Sexuality, Sufism & Kabbalah & Mysticism, Islamic Kalam & Jewish Kalam & Christian Scholasticism, Suicide & Self-Sacrifice & Martyrdom, Reincarnation & Resurrection & Day of Judgement, Persona & Archetypes & Individuation.

History: Biblical History & Babylonian Captivity & Second Temple, Greco-Roman Persecution of Jews, Maccabean Revolt, Jewish-Roman Wars, Persecution of Christians in Roman Empire, Christianity as State Religion of Roman Empire, Christianization of Germanic Tribes, Arian & Nicene & Filioque Creed, Rightly Guided Caliphate & First Fitna & Second Fitna, Rashidun & Umayyad & Abbasid Caliphates, Persianization of Islamic civilization, Turko-Mongolian tradition, Islamic Golden Age, Golden Age of Judaism in Achaemenid Empire & Moorish Spain & Ottoman Empire, American Revolution & French Revolution & Russian Revolution, Marxism-Leninism & Soviet Union & Communist China, Kate Spade & Anthony Bourdain & Donald J. Trump.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes & Koheleth, Torah & Gospels & Quran, Hebrew Bible & Old Testament & New Testament, Dhammapada & Mahabharata & Bhagavad Gita, Matthew & Mark & Luke & John, Mishnah & Pirke Avoth & Talmud, Romans & Philippians & James, Sunnah & Hadith & Tasawwuf.

Religion: Prophets of God, Saints & Auliya & Tzadikim, Abraham & Sarah, Hagar & Keturah, Ishmael & Isaac, Jacob & Israel & Israelites, Israelites & Ishmaelites & Midianites, Joseph in Egypt, Moses & Aaron, Joshua & Judges, David & Solomon, Elijah, Cyrus the Great, Krishna & the Buddha, Zechariah & John the Baptist, Virgin Mary & Jesus Christ, St. Peter & St. James, St. Paul of Tarsus, Orthodoxy & Catholicism & Protestantism, Muhammad & Ali & Hussain, Sunni & Twelver Shia & Ismaili Shia, Creed & Jurisprudence & Spirituality, Imam Mahdi al-Qaim, Kohanim & Ahlul Bayt, Levites & Hashemites, Bab & Bahaullah & Baha’i Faith, Imam Mahdi & Jesus Christ & End Times, Messiah in Judaism & Islam & Christianity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Muhammad Hashemi
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781777382506

Muhammad Hashemi

Muhammad Hashemi is a Canadian economist, historian, and theologian. He holds a master's degree in economic history, two bachelor's degrees in economics and business, and minors in theology and philosophy. He is a polyglot who speaks twelve languages: in particular, he is fluent in English, French, German, Persian, and Urdu. Born in a family of Afghan-Arab ancestry in Pakistan, he grew up Malaysia and Canada, and spent much of his adult life in Germany and the European Union. He is a former atheist and currently a practicing Shia Muslim. He supports initiatives related to psychiatric illness and better mental health.

Book preview

Lessons for Better Mental Health from the History of Psychology, Theology, and Philosophy

Muhammad Hashemi

Copyright © 2020 Muhammad Hashemi

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.

Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-7773825-0-6

Printed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

This book is dedicated to my late father, who passed away in 2012 at the young age of 51 after a two-year battle with gastric cancer.

Thank You

Please support this project.

Request your free copy of the complete e-book:

https://muhammadhashemi.wixsite.com/book

Rate and review the book on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55310155-on-life-death-and-suicide

Email me your ideas to advance this project:

[e-mail]

If you want to make any monetary contribution, please email me for details about the process for this.

Yours Faithfully,

Muhammad Hashemi

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Suicide Help

There is help available if you are struggling with suicide, depression, or anxiety.

Suicide Help Line

1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)

this number is only valid in British Columbia, Canada

Since this number is only valid in a particular region, please find comparable phone numbers for your local Suicide & Distress Help Lines and save them into your phone immediately

Emergency Planning

Designate emergency contacts ahead of time: they can be friends, loved ones, or anyone who can visit you in an emergency, accompany you to the hospital, etc.

Go to any hospital emergency department if you are feeling suicidal: they will keep you at the hospital overnight for your safety and connect you with a doctor

Call the Suicide Help Line and tell them to send someone to take you to hospital: they will send an officer immediately who can drive you to the hospital

Long-Term Treatment

Mental health treatment is fully covered by government health insurance: it is important to mention this because most people don’t know this

Talk to your family doctor very openly about your mental health: they will connect you to proper treatment options, including counsellors, therapies, and psychiatrists

Get mental health treatment from proper medical professionals: please stay away from naturopaths, mindfulness gurus, spiritual healers, life coaches, etc.

Please don’t hesitate to email me if you need my help or advice with anything.

[e-mail]

Yours Faithfully,

Muhammad Hashemi

Preface

"The words of Koheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem."

Kohelet - Ecclesiastes, 1:1

Wisdom of Solomon

Each chapter starts with a quote from the Hebrew Bible book Kohelet (Hebrew for Ecclesiastes)[1]. The Hebrew word Kohelet means Preacher or Teacher. In the narrative of Kohelet, the Prophet-King Solomon is teaching his wisdom on the vanities of life and death. You can read Kohelet with commentary by Rashi online here.

Conversation about Life

My Friend and I traded detailed email letters with each other focusing on the meaning and purpose of life, death, and suicide from June 22, 2018, until October 07, 2018. The structure of this book is a Socratic dialogue between us. I have organized and preserved the rawness of our rich conversation for your reading pleasure in the following pages.

Moments for special reflection will be highlighted in this manner.

The goal of the narrative is to present complex concepts from philosophy, theology, and psychology in simple language. To help you to explore definitions and topics further, I have included over 1,000 endnote references to mostly public online sources.

The invisible fibres which bind the fabric of this conversation are the stigma around mental health. I recommend the following short articles by CMHA-BC[2] and CAMH[3] that discuss the stigma of mental health. I owe special thanks to my mentors and friends, especially Rabbi T.D., Dr. F.H., K.N., and Y.U., who supported me regularly with their voice of reason and counselled me toward seeking proper mental health treatment.

I trust that you will enjoy the experience of reflecting deeply on life, finding yourself in the dialogue, and challenging your worldview.

Real Hope Exists

Mental health is a serious health matter. It is neither a spiritual deficiency nor a lack of will power. At best, these kinds of misconceptions significantly damage our quality of life and, at worst, they lead to suicide and death. As my mentor and good friend, K.N., said, It is like a broken arm or a broken leg. With the right treatment, you will get better.

My mental health treatment started in 2014 with an initial diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)[4]. It took until 2020, which is six long years, for the schizophrenia and depression I live with to be properly diagnosed. When I now reflect on this long journey, it was the correct decision for me to prioritize my health above everything else and get the proper medical treatment I urgently needed. I have accepted that I will need to stay connected with my medical team and the medical system for my whole lifetime.

There is simply no quick solution though, so I must emphasize that you will need to be patient. The proper medical treatment worked for me, and I promise you that it will work for you too. Since getting proper diagnoses and treatment, things have significantly improved. In addition to taking regular medication for schizophrenia and depression, I completed Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)[5] skills training which is excellent for managing suicidal ideation.

Please trust that your doctors will understand, and talk very openly about your mental health with them. Have those uncomfortable conversations with them. Your doctors are there to help you. Most importantly, to use the case of British Columbians in Canada, the province of British Columbia covers all mental health treatments under the government’s MSP health insurance[6]. Sadly, most people who need mental health treatment simply aren’t aware of this, and incorrectly think they need to pay out of pocket for services that are fully covered under MSP. Please use your health benefits. You are already paying for them.

Good spiritual practice can be a supporting element for good mental health[7]. Spirituality is not the same as religion. At the core of DBT skills training is the module on mindfulness, which entails being as present as possible in each moment as it occurs[8]. No matter what activity you are engaged in, mindfulness helps you to stay calm and observe your deeper self. Deep spirituality is a journey in which you can start anywhere. Keep studying during your journey to get answers. Do not be shy to look inside yourself: talk to your deeper spiritual Self if you are an atheist[9], talk to the Universe if you follow the Eastern traditions[10], or talk to God Almighty if you follow the Abrahamic traditions[11].

Most importantly, always remember there are many good professionals whose purpose in life is to help you gain perspective on your life: chaplains, counsellors, doctors, imams, monks, pandits, pastors, priests, professors, psychologists, rabbis, teachers, ulema, etc. Don’t be shy to talk to them. They would love to be of service.

Stigmatized by Mental Health

My family and many from their community dehumanized me for getting proper medical treatment for my psychiatric illnesses. Ironically, that didn’t stop my family from recommending the best that pseudo-medicine has to offer, including exorcism for demonic possession (my mother), seeing a spiritual healer (one sister), homeopathy and alternative medicine (the other sister), or smoking marijuana (my brother). Fortunately, I rationally held my ground and pursued none of the above ridiculous options.

Not only did my family suggest this pseudo-medicinal garbage, they dogmatically enforced a toxic environment fully opposed to me getting proper medical treatment for years. They regularly spewed nonsense like doctors don’t know anything, the medical system is run by moneymaking crooks, psychiatric medications are a trap, and XYZ narcotics cured my buddy’s depression. It took ages before I could filter this toxic sludge of negative peer pressure from my family. The deep trauma I suffered from years of experiencing this toxic behaviour from my own family haunts me to this day.

The medical system itself creates a lot of stigma against mental health patients, which creates unnecessary barriers that delay proper diagnosis and treatment. Though my mental health treatment started in 2014, it wasn’t until three long years later in 2017 that my symptoms of schizophrenia and depression were first detected. It happened in Germany, during the final year of my Master’s studies in Berlin when I was hospitalized as an inpatient for four whole months for a schizophrenic episode[12]. I returned to my native Canada for further treatment in October 2017. However, it took over a year for the Canadian system to diagnose my illnesses, until December 2018, when I ended up hospitalized for a second time for a severe schizophrenic episode. Even after this initial diagnosis in 2018, it still took until 2020 for my medications to be correctly adjusted. The moral here is to stay persistent in seeking proper medical treatment for psychiatric illness.

Myths and Misconceptions

As someone who lives with schizophrenia[13] and major depression[14], I have observed that most people believe many myths about psychiatric illness. In general, mental health is arguably the most misunderstood category of health. To illustrate, here are two public health articles about common misconceptions about schizophrenia[15] and depression[16].

The one illness that has dehumanized me more than any other in the eyes of people is schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is the scariest illness for most people to digest. Personally, no psychiatric illness scared me more than schizophrenia a decade ago, and here I am now living with it. The misconceptions most people have about schizophrenia are things like it is having multiple personalities, or that it makes those living with it chaotic and dangerous. This is certainly not accurate, nor true. The main feature of schizophrenia is hallucinatory experiences called psychosis[17], similar to what people experience from hallucinogens[18]. Anyone who has used a hallucinogenic narcotic, like marijuana, has experienced psychosis. A hallucinatory experience that results from a hallucinogen is often called drug-induced psychosis. The difference is that for people living with schizophrenia, what most people would call hallucinatory experience are a permanent feature of their lives. I believe most of my hallucinatory experiences are completely real spiritual experiences; this is a common belief among people living with schizophrenia. My medical team, of course, has identified these experiences as delusions and hallucinations that indicate schizophrenia.

Major depression is probably the most misunderstood psychiatric illness. I too am guilty of having had misconceptions about depression as recently as five years ago. Most people imagine depression as being emotional, probably because in common language we use phrases like you seem depressed to refer to sadness. Most people simply cannot imagine that a psychiatric illness like depression has severe physical effects. Far from what most people imagine it to be, depression is more like paralysis. Beyond the severe loss of motivation and energy, your mind and body go into a deep drowsy state. As a result, your entire bodily system shuts down to minimum function: your appetite, libido, and other bodily functions crash. This horrific drowsy paralysis-like state can last for days on end.

Yours Faithfully,

Muhammad Hashemi

‘Having it All’

"Vanity of vanities, said Koheleth; vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

Kohelet - Ecclesiastes, 1:2

I

My dear friend Y.U., you may have heard of the recent suicide deaths of Kate Spade[19] and Anthony Bourdain[20]. As you know too well, our university friend A.T. passed away from suicide 10 years ago as well. My neighbour’s son, who was just a few years younger than me, too passed away from suicide. What do you make of this insightful article about suicide, titled Anthony Bourdain And The Dangerous Myth of ‘Having It All’[21]?

You can read this article online here.

Success and Suicide

"And I praise the dead who have already died, more than the living who are still alive."

Kohelet - Ecclesiastes, 4:2

My Friend

My dear friend M.D., thanks for sharing. It is an excellent article. Suicide is always difficult to process[22]. It was difficult for me to process the suicide death of our friend, A.T., who was a recognized genius in his field of theoretical physics. I know you too have been similarly traumatized and suicidal for many years. Plus, you lost your faith over the past few years. The shock of losing your father at a relatively young age hit you very deeply too, which I can imagine must have only intensified your trauma[23].

When I first heard about the suicide of Kate Spade, my initial reaction was that if I have her wealth and fame, I wouldn’t want to die. We will perhaps never know the exact reason why Ms. Spade decided to commit suicide. The media tried to suggest it’s because of her rocky relationship with her husband, but that is pure speculation. The same for Anthony Bourdain, which hit me a bit more deeply. As you know, I love to cook and am a food enthusiast. He was an inspiration for me and will be missed.

We all know wealth and influence can only buy you pleasure, not true happiness.

I think sadness and happiness are more or less a choice we make. One of my favourite movies is an Italian comedy-drama movie called La Vita e Bella (Italian for Life is Beautiful)[24]. The movie is split into two main parts. The first part is about how a jolly, goofy, and funny Italian Jewish man named Guido successfully chases his dream girl, Dora, through his humour, integrity and intelligence. The second part takes place years later.

We have little control over what happens to us in our life.

Italy has become a Fascist state allied with Nazi Germany[25]. As the oppression of the Jews in Italy worsens, Guido, Dora (who is not Jewish, but is married to a Jewish man), and their young son Joshua end up in the concentration camp system[26]. Guido and Joshua end up together in a men’s concentration camp. Dora ends up in a different camp. A young boy like Joshua doesn’t understand why he is being locked up and is initially depressed.

How we react to the events in our life is completely within our hands.

Guido tells his son this is a game and the prize of the game is a tank. By making Joshua believe that their experience is just a game, Guido keeps Joshua’s spirit up. Indirectly, he causes Joshua to miraculously survive the Holocaust and to be reunited with Dora at the end of the war. Guido, sadly, sacrifices himself to protect his son in the concentration camp.

I

Yes, as you know well, my dear father was my best friend. He went through immense suffering in his last two years of life from the chemotherapy treatment[27]. Despite his effort, he passed away from stomach cancer[28] at the relatively young age of 51.

I have seen the film Life is Beautiful. It is one of my favourites too. This scene affected me the most, of this Nazi doctor more obsessed with getting the answer to a stupid riddle than helping out a suffering human being[29].

Regarding the Holocaust, have you heard of Viktor Frankl[30]? Frankl was an Austrian Jewish physician and psychiatrist who lived through the horrors of the Holocaust concentration camp system.

He survived.

He wrote a book, titled Man’s Search for Meaning, about how the psychological will to survive was maintained by some victims through the horrors of life in the concentration camps, and how other victims lost their will to live[31].

At the root of dissatisfaction with life is a lack of genuine meaning and purpose.

He says exactly what you said: that what happens to us is often not in our control, but how we interpret it and react to it is a choice in our hands.

Frankl calls this idea will to meaning[32], referring to our infinite ability to create meaning and find meaning in our life[33]. He affirms that this will to meaning applies even in the most terrible situations, such as living as a malnourished, overworked, and abused prisoner in the Holocaust concentration camps.

Specifically, Frankl identifies three modes for creating meaning:

a. by creating a work or doing a deed (e.g. career)

b. by experiencing something or encountering someone (e.g. wife and children)

c. by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering (e.g. critical illness)

Frankl, who is part of the existentialist school[34], argues that a will to meaning alone is sufficient and that having any meaning or purpose is sufficient. Though I generally agree with Frankl’s assessment, I do not agree with his conclusion that any meaning is sufficient.