Dementia Theory from the Perspective of Islam

Objectives: Islam acknowledges the possibility of recognition by the soul and introduces “revelation epistemology" as the basis for knowing the soul and the unseen world. The purpose of this study was "investigating the dementia theory from the perspective of Islam.
Methods: In this qualitative evolutionary study, a systematic and targeted review was conducted to answer the question “what are the spiritual causes of dementia in Islam? Articles published between 1990 and 2018 were extracted in the Pub Med, science direct, Google scholar, SID, and Cochrane databases. At the same time, Islamic religious evidence (Quran and habits) was investigated for understanding the concept and cause of the dementia. The “Shia Seminary” research methodology was used to avoid interpretations of the Quran verses and to ensure the authenticity of the Habits. Five commentary books and three authentic Shi’a narrative books were used. The spiritual causes of the dementia were obtained from the "religious evidence" with sound heart model approach.
Results: From the perspective of Islam, perception, cognition, memory, emotions and behavioral control are performed by the soul (heart).The truth of worship is the source of spiritual health ) sound heart).The sound heart owners only know God as the owner of world. They are safe from the fear of the future and regret the past. They always remember God and live without anxiety; depression, anger and grudge. They ignore the mistakes of others and forgive them. They do not "ruminate" at bedtime. By self-purification, achieve true dream and find the illumination of science in their heart. But spiritual distress such as hatred and revenge lead to rumination, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and impairment of data transmission from short-term memory to long-term memory, exposing the individual to dementia.
Discussion: Due to the increasing frequency of dementia, it is essential for therapists to pay attention to the effect of spiritual distress on brain function. Therapists can treat patients’ spiritual distresses (grudge, hatred, jealousy, revenge) by faith. They can reduce the risk of dementia by teaching the spiritual skill of forgiveness and treating "rumination" and providing proper sleep.
Keywords: Islam; Dementia; sound heart; spiritual health.