InInshirahislamically integrated self-help
ThemeObsessions and compulsions
Time60 seconds
MomentUnder stress
1Try not to talk the worry through in detail, even with someone kind. Going over the specifics feels like sorting it out, and it is closer to watering it.
cbtObsessions and compulsions60 secondsQur'an 13:28

Mental review and asking for reassurance are the same move in different clothes. Both give a short drop in distress and a stronger pull next time. You can tell someone you are having a hard hour without narrating what the hour is about, and if they ask, one sentence is enough.

Islamic evidence

truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace (Quran 13:28). There is somewhere else to put the restlessness that is not another round of going over it.

those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God- truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace

Qur'an 13:28

Psychological evidence

In an experiment using health-related triggers, patients who were allowed to check and seek reassurance stayed anxious, while those asked to refrain saw their anxiety fall. That is fairly direct evidence that the relief-seeking act is what keeps the fear alive. It was a single experimental study built around health worry, so read it as a demonstration of the mechanism rather than the last word on it.

Abramowitz JS, Moore EL. (2007). Behaviour research and therapy · doi

Review detail

Why it works. Relief arriving straight after checking teaches your brain that checking is what saved you.

anxietyUnder stressscholar review pendingadhd-1706-do-not-talk-it-through

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