Fasting and Human Emotion
Tommy
Dharmawan, Jakarta | Opinion | Tue, August 14 2012, 6:09 AM
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Every
year, Muslims celebrate a whole month of fasting called Ramadhan. In this holy
month, Muslims refrain from food, drink, sex and tobacco from dawn (subuh)
until dusk (maghrib). Every adult Muslim must undertake this ritual as a
religious obligation, except for the sick; women who are menstruating, pregnant
or breast-feeding; and the elderly.
Fasting
is not only about shifting the pattern of intake from the daytime to the hours
of darkness; every Muslim has to control their emotions in Ramadhan to get
through the fast. However, it is very hard to cope with stress and to control
our emotions when our stomachs are empty. Humans are exposed to many stresses.
The stress in turn is a major risk factor for the development of physical and
psychological illnesses. Therapy for stress disorders is focused on coping
strategies. This hypothesis leads to the idea that the severity of stress is
not solely due to the stress itself, but it largely depends on the way of
evaluating and coping with the stress.
One effective method of coping with stress is through religion — a
behavioral-cognitive method to overcome tension and physical and psychological
discomfort.
Ramadhan
fasting can influence the psychological status of Muslims. Different studies
regarding the effect of fasting on physical and psychological status have been
performed. One review said that coping with stress was largely dependent on
religion. As Muslims pay more attention to their religious tasks during
Ramadhan, it is believed that their physical and psychological status can be
affected positively during the holy month.
M. Kazemi from Iran conducted a research on relationship between fasting
and emotions in 2004. He studied the effect of Ramadhan fasting on the
psychological health and depression in university students.
Three-hundred-sixty-one students were randomly selected and their demographic
information was collected. The data were collected on two different occasions,
10 days before and 10 days after Ramadhan. The results said that the
psychological health of participants before Ramadhan increased and their
depression decreased after Ramadhan. The differences were statistically
significant. The conclusion of the researcher was that Ramadhan fasting can be
an important factor for improving mental health and for eliminating of
depression. Another study on the relationship between fasting and self esteem
was conducted by Javanbakht in 2007. This study was carried out to clarify the
effects of Ramadhan fasting on self-esteem and mental health. This
descriptive-comparative study surveyed 60 apparently healthy medical students
(38 female and 22 male) who decided to fast during Ramadhan in 2007. The
students in the sample completed the demographic and Cooper-Smith self-esteem
and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaires at the beginning of
Ramadhan and after at least 21 days of fasting. The answers were compared with
those from the beginning of Ramadhan. Students’ self-esteem increased after 21
days of fasting. Some dimensions of human emotion were also significantly
diminished, such as depression, anxiety, obsession, interpersonal sensitivity,
phobias, hostility and paranoid thinking. The conclusion was that Ramadhan
fasting improves human self-esteem and mental health. Michaelsen from the
Kliniken Essen Mitte, Germany, stated that short-term fasting leads to mood
enhancement and emotional harmonization. Michaelsen investigated psychosocial
well-being and the neuroendocrine response, assessed by nightly urinary
excretion of cortisol and catecholamines hormones in 28 inpatients with chronic
pain syndromes during and after a one-week modified fast. Mood and well-being
increased non-significantly in both groups. The results show fasting was well
tolerated, and regarded as beneficial by most of the patients. Another study
that shows the benefit of fasting on human emotion was conducted by Goldhamer
in 2004. It was found that fasting greatly reduced the length of time addicts
of nicotine, caffeine, cocaine and alcohol suffered withdrawal symptoms. Some
people only think that the benefit of fasting is to decrease weight. But
according to research by Salloum, the greatest benefit of fasting goes beyond
decreasing weight, increasing relaxation and saving money.
According
to Salloum, the greatest benefit of fasting is the satisfaction in improving
one’s health. From the stand point of biology, it is believed that cortisol
rises as an adaptation phenomenon to control emaciation in fasting people. On
the other hand, cortisol can also be a stress hormone which allows for physical
and psychological adaptation with stress. Besides that, plasma level of
beta-endorphin rises in fasting people. High levels of endogenous opioids could
decrease the desire and crave for abusive substances such as methamphetamine.
Although
most of the research showed an improvement of emotional control after fasting,
the Minnesota Starvation Experiment study in 1945 stated a different point of
view. It stated that prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases
in depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis as measured using the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
Most
of the subjects experienced periods of severe emotional distress, depression,
social withdrawal and isolation. The participants reported a decline in
concentration, comprehension and judgment capabilities, although the
standardized tests administered showed no actual signs of diminished capacity.
Finally, Ramadhan fasting can give us many advantages, not only to our physical
health but also to our psychological health. We can reshape and rebalance our
body and emotional health in this holy month. Happy Ramadhan fasting!
The writer, a medical doctor, lives
in Jakarta.
Analysis of The
Article
(Fasting and
Human Emotion)
Islam
is religion which have the greatest follower in the world. So that, many people from different education
background interest to research anything about religious services in Islam:
pray, fast, give, pilgrimate to mecca, etc.
One of the issue that most spoken
is fast. We often hear about function of
fast maybe. In this article, we will analyze
it.
After reading as whole, I decide
this article is enjoyable. Why could I say like that, because this article not
only scientific article , but also religious article. Of course, from the title
and I think also as topic: Fasting and Human Emotion, we can know it directly.
In the first paragraph, the writer remind us about people who don’t have
obligation to undertake this ritual. But it is just overview, there is no
in-depth explanation. This article consists of six paragraphs. Generally, the
article’s thesis is located on the last paragraph: “Ramadhan can give us many
advantages, not only to our physical health but also to our psychological
health.”. Because of there are six paragraphs, there are also six main ideas.
For first paragraph: Every year, Muslims celebrate a whole month of fasting
called Ramadhan. Second paragraph: Fasting is not only about shifting the
pattern of intake from the daytime to the hours of darkness; every Muslim has
to control their emotions in Ramadhan to get through the fast. Third paragraph:
Ramadhan fasting can influence the psychological status of Muslims. Fourth
paragraph: the greatest benefit of fasting is the satisfaction in improving
one’s health. Fifth Paragraph: prolonged semi-starvation produces significant
increases in depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis as measured using the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. And sixth paragraph: Ramadhan
fasting can give us many advantages, not only to our physical health but also
to our psychological health. From the topic and main ideas above, I think that
this article is important, because explain other side of fasting: influence to
our emotion. This is overview of this article.
Now, we go to the context. The
article written by
Tommy Dharmawan , a medical doctor who lives in
Jakarta. This is printed in Opinion
column of The Jakarta Post, a national daily newspaper in English. Opinion
column is daily professional publication for people in a particular field. This
article is printed about two months ago, on 14th August 2012. But, although this
is old, the topic is update because every year always be spoken by many people.
This article is not difficult to be
understood. Just little of science terms are used, and they can be understood
by know the meaning context.
For
the audience, as i have explained above, there are little technical terms are
used. For example: hypochondriasis. This term is not important to be explained,
because the reader just know enough that this terms is one of the other result
of fasting. There are some references relate to this article, book and research. If the reader want to know more,
can search the references. So, from the information above, I feel I am part of
target audience. Not only because of this is public newspaper, but also because
of I am muslim and the article is readable.
The
article organized in a way that is specific field, just speak about fasting and
human emotion. In writing this article, the writer is not using his argument,
but he also take some opinions and reseachs from the experts. The writer
develop the written by describing what is true definition of fasting, what is
the relation with the emotion, etc. In addition, the writer also take the
research that not support his argument, but the writer give argument back to
make his argument is true : fasting can make the emotion easy to be controlled.
This
article is not new research, just
summarize of several previous researchs. Then, the writer developes and makes
it more easy to be understood. Because of the writer is medical doctor (the
writer not mention he is muslim or not), the reader will more trust him. So
that, the reader want to know about what is the function oaf fasting to the
human emotion and the writer’s expectation
to make the reader know more about advantages of fasting for human emotion can
be reached. So after the readers know and
belive it, they will be spirit and sincere to fast.
Texture of The
Text
References
Anaphoric
references
Ø Every
year, Muslims celebrate a whole month of fasting called Ramadhan. In this
holy month, ... (1st paragraph)
Ø Fasting
is not only about shifting the pattern of intake from the daytime to the hours
of darkness; every Muslim.... . This hypothesis
leads to the idea.. (2nd paragraph)
Ø As
Muslims pay more attention to their religious tasks during
Ramadhan, it is believed that their physical and psychological status can
be affected positively during the holy month (3rd paragraph)
Ø M.
Kazemi from Iran conducted a research on
relationship between fasting and emotions in 2004. He studied the effect of
Ramadhan fasting... (3rd paragraph)
Ø Another
study on the relationship between fasting and self esteem was conducted by
Javanbakht in 2007. This study was carried
out to clarify the effects of Ramadhan fasting on self-esteem and mental
health. This descriptive-comparative study surveyed 60 apparently
healthy medical students (38 female and 22 male) who decided to fast during
Ramadhan in 2007. (3rd paragraph)
Ø Although
most of the research showed an improvement of emotional control after fasting, the
Minnesota Starvation Experiment study in 1945 stated a different point
of view. It stated that prolonged semi-starvation..... (5th paragraph)
Cataphoric
References
Ø One
effective method of coping with stress is through religion — a
behavioral-cognitive method to overcome tension and physical and psychological
discomfort. ( 2nd paragraph)
Ø Although
most of the research showed an improvement of emotional control after fasting,
the Minnesota Starvation Experiment study in 1945 stated a different point of view.
It stated that prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases in depression,
hysteria and hypochondriasis as measured using the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory. (5th
paragraph)
Exophoric
References
Ø Hypochondriasis
(5th paragraph)
Ellipsis and Subtitution
Ellipsis
Ø The
stress in turn is a major risk factor for the development of physical and
psychological illnesses. (2nd paragraph)
Ø —a
behavioral-cognitive method to overcome tension and physical and psychological discomfort.
(2nd paragraph)
Conjunction
Ø except
for the sick; women who are menstruating, pregnant or breast-feeding; and the
elderly. (1st paragraph)
Ø every
Muslim has to control their emotions in Ramadhan to get through the fast. However,
it is very hard to cope with stress and to control our emotions when our
stomachs are empty. (2nd paragraph)
Ø This
hypothesis leads to the idea that the severity of stress is not solely due to
the stress itself, but it largely depends on the way of evaluating and coping with
the stress. (2nd paragraph)
Ø One
effective method of coping with stress is through religion — a
behavioral-cognitive method to overcome tension and physical and
psychological discomfort. (2nd paragraph)
Ø M.
Kazemi from Iran conducted a research on relationship between fasting and emotions
in 2004. (3rd paragraph)
Ø He
studied the effect of Ramadhan fasting on the psychological health and
depression in university students. (3rd paragraph)
Ø Three-hundred-sixty-one
students were randomly selected and their demographic information
was collected. The data were collected on two different occasions, 10 days before
and 10 days after Ramadhan. (3rd paragraph)
Ø The
results said that the psychological health of participants before Ramadhan
increased and their depression decreased after Ramadhan. (3rd paragraph)
Ø The
conclusion of the researcher was that Ramadhan fasting can be an important
factor for improving mental health and for eliminating of depression.
(3rd paragraph)
Ø Another
study on the relationship between fasting and self esteem was conducted by
Javanbakht in 2007. (3rd paragraph)
Ø This
study was carried out to clarify the effects of Ramadhan fasting on self-esteem
and
mental health. (3rd paragraph)
Ø This
descriptive-comparative study surveyed 60 apparently healthy medical students
(38 female and 22 male) who decided to fast during Ramadhan in 2007. (3rd
paragraph)
Ø The
students in the sample completed the demographic and Cooper-Smith
self-esteem and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaires at
the beginning of Ramadhan and after at least 21 days of
fasting. (3rd paragraph)
Ø Some
dimensions of human emotion were also significantly diminished, such as
depression, anxiety, obsession, interpersonal sensitivity, phobias, hostility and
paranoid thinking. (3rd paragraph)
Ø The
conclusion was that Ramadhan fasting improves human self-esteem and
mental health. Michaelsen from the Kliniken Essen Mitte, Germany, stated that
short-term fasting leads to mood enhancement and emotional harmonization. (3rd
paragraph)
Ø Michaelsen
investigated psychosocial well-being and the neuroendocrine response,
assessed by nightly urinary excretion of cortisol and catecholamines hormones
in 28 inpatients with chronic pain syndromes during and after a one-week
modified fast. (3rd paragraph)
Ø Mood
and
well-being increased non-significantly in both groups. The results show fasting
was well tolerated, and regarded as beneficial by most of the patients. It was
found that fasting greatly reduced the length of time addicts of nicotine,
caffeine, cocaine and alcohol suffered withdrawal symptoms. (3rd paragraph)
Ø But
according to research by Salloum, the greatest benefit of fasting goes beyond
decreasing weight, increasing relaxation and saving money. (3rd paragraph)
Ø On
the other hand, cortisol can also be a stress hormone
which allows for physical and psychological adaptation with
stress. (4th paragraph)
Ø Besides
that, plasma level of beta-endorphin rises in fasting
people. High levels of endogenous opioids could decrease the desire and
crave for abusive substances such as methamphetamine. (4th paragraph)
Ø Although
most of the research showed an improvement of emotional control after fasting,
the Minnesota Starvation Experiment study in 1945 stated a different point of
view. (5th paragraph)
Ø It
stated that prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases in
depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis as measured
using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. (5th paragraph)
Ø Most
of the subjects experienced periods of severe emotional distress, depression,
social withdrawal and isolation. The participants reported a decline in
concentration, comprehension and judgment capabilities, although
the standardized tests administered showed no actual signs of diminished
capacity. (6th paragraph)
Ø Finally,
Ramadhan fasting can give us many advantages, not only to our physical health but also to our
psychological health. (6th paragraph)
Ø We
can reshape and rebalance our body and emotional health in this holy
month. (6th paragraph)
Lexical Cohesion
Reiteration
Ø Some
dimensions of human emotion were also significantly diminished, such as depression,
anxiety, obsession, interpersonal sensitivity, phobias, hostility and paranoid
thinking. (3rd paragraph)