Psychiatry in Ayurveda
Ayurveda describes health as the condition which includes physical and mental health. The word disease or disorders generally refers to abnormal physical and mental functions.
Ayurvedic definition of mental disorder, characterized by
1. Impairment of mental functions – Perception, mental control, guess etc
2. Less consciousnessCommon causes of mental diseases
a. Acquisition of undesired objects
b. loss of desired one
c. Vitiation of Mano Doshas like Rajas / Tamas
d. Non-homologatory contact of senses
e. Intellectual errors
f. Changes in the seasons
g. Mental qualities like anger, grief, fear etc.
Entities of mind
Humans want to retain many things with them, while they try to keep away from so many others. They desire for someone while they may hate many others. Thus emotions/entities of mind can be divided broadly into two, namely
• Likes
• Dislikes
Anger – Having a sense of enmity with someone.
Grief – A condition of the mind due to the loss of desired things.
Fear – Occurs due to failure
Happiness – Mental emotion due to success/getting desired ones
Depression – Loss of efficacy in working capacity due to failure or any other cause.
Jealous – Sense of intolerance with the wealth/success of someone
Envy – Searching demerits/faults in others
Dejection – Feeling oneself inferior and of less worth having seen better capacity.
Malice – Sense of cruelty
Lust/Passion – Desire to achieve objects
Greed – Passion to obtain things which are not one’s own.
Pride – Sense of superiority complex
Neurosis – Madness/intoxication
Ignorance – Delusion
Intolerance – Inability to withstand others
Sense of boasting / hypocrisy – Overstating oneself
Non-capacity to take decisions – Always in dilemma
Terrifying temperament – Dangerous/violent
Classification of mental diseases
• Mental diseases Psychic origin affecting the body Somatic origin affecting the mind
• This classification divides the mental diseases into three:
◦ Pure psychic origin◦ Somatic origin affecting the mind
◦ Disorders originating due to the three doshas
• Based on the vivid description of Charaka, cluster of clinical symptomatology and pattern, the diseases of the mind can be classified as four, namely:
◦ Psychosis – Unmada
◦ Convulsive disorders – Apasmara
◦ Psychoneurosis – Atatwabinesha
◦ Personality disorders Emotional/Neurotic disorders
It refers to the emotional disturbances having mind as their primary seat, they are caused due to initial impairment of the Mano doshas that is Rajas and Tamas. Examples – Jealousy, fear, inferiority complex, exhilaration, desire, anger, greed, arrogance, pride, confusion, grief, anguish, envy, worry and anxiety.
The first kind is the reflection of the mind on the body. Although, clinically they are present in the body as physical illness, they are relieved only when the causative emotional disturbances are treated with advisory/counselling therapy. These conditions can be compared to certain somatic- neurotic / psychosomatic illness.
Examples:
• Fever due to grief, fear, anger etc.
• Diarrhea due to grief, fear
• Wasting due to grief
• Vomiting due to non-agreeable objects
• Tastelessness due to mental disturbance
• The second condition consists of mental disorders that are caused due to the primary impairment of body doshas and sub sequent involvement of Mano doshas. Clinically they present themselves with abnormal mental conditions.
Example:
• Psychosis (Unmada)
• Epilepsy (Apasmara)
• Obsessive syndrome (Atatvabhinesha)
• Hysteria (Apatantraka)
• Intoxication (Mada)
• Fainting (Moorcha)
• Coma (Sanyasa)
• Alcoholic psychosis (Madatyaya) Pathogenesis of Mental diseases
Pathogenesis refers to the process of disease production and manifestation. On the basis of classical descriptions, pathogenesis can be presented as follows:
•Unwholesome foods & drinks Unwholesome practices
•Vitiation of Doshas Vitiation of Mental doshas
•Derangement of functions of mind and systems
•Derangement of mind functions
•Diseases / Disorders of the mind
Symptomatology
In mental diseases, clinical signs and symptoms are present due to the impairment of mind, knowledge, remembrance etc., individually or separately. These can be considered as general symptoms of mental diseases. On the basis of classical and other references, and clinical observations, signs and symptoms can be worked out in the following way:
Neurosis symptoms (Udvega), Depressed symptoms (Visada)
Fear Sadness
Lack of resolution Loss of enthusiasm
Tremor Grief
Palpitations Frustration
Irritability Lack of motivation
Excessive perspiration
Lack of interest in food
Excessive thirst
Reduced speech
Dryness of the mouth & throat
Reduced psycho-motor sensitivity
Heaviness in the chest
Sleeplessness
Fatigue/always feeling tired
Ayurvedic methodology of clinical examination (Mental diseases)
•Habits: temperaments, personal care, leisure time activity and physiological functions
•Psycho-motor activity: General motor activity, speech, facial expression and posture
•Conduct: Personal standards, Social standards
Mind
•Perception and motor control
•Mental control
•Guess
•Thought
Decision
•Imitation of different sounds
•Beating oneself
•Mentally dull
Memory
•Intact memory
•Temporary / permanent loss of memory
Orientation & Responsiveness
•Orientation of place/time and person
•Responsiveness to external stimuli
Desire
Desire in relation to
•Food
•Sex
•Dress
•Entertainment
•Others
Preventive measures
Preservation and promotion of health and prevention of illness are the main purposes of Ayurveda; it lays due stress on various measures to be adopted in order to promote mental heath and to prevent psychological disorders. These measures find lucid description in the context of daily regimen, seasonal regimen, code of conduct, etc.
In order to be free from mental disorders, Ayurveda recommends numerous ways. They are as follows:
•Avoiding the intellectual errors – Restraint of sense organs, good memory, knowledge of place, time and one’s own capability and good conduct.
•Performance of duties after duly considering their pros & cons with the help of intellect together with the sense faculties applied to their respective wholesome objects; and by acting in contradistinction, with qualities of place, season and one’s own constitution.
•To be friendly to all creatures, reconcile the angry, console the frightened, be merciful to the poor,be truthful and be predominantly of compromising nature and tolerant towards unpalatable words uttered by others; to be of peaceful disposition and conquer the very roots of attachments and hatred.
•One should not be impatient or overbold; one should not neglect the maintenance of servants; one should not have unpleasant character, conduct, manners; one should neither rely on everybody nor suspect everybody; one should not be in the habit of postponing things nor should be indulging in any activity without proper examination.
•One should assiduously follow the path of celibacy, knowledge, creativity, charity, friendship, compassion, happiness, detachment and peace.
•A person, who abstains from eating meat and drinking alcohol and takes only wholesome food; who is disciplined and pure and who has strong will-power, does not get affected by either endogenous or exogenous factors.
All above factors can be grouped as “code of conducts”. This concept mainly discusses the influence of good character/value-based life. It rests on the four important values. They are:
•Truth – Honesty, simplicity etc
•Purity – Controlled sexual life and sublimation of sexual energies through spiritual channels of philanthropy, selfless service, perfection in all activities.
•Faith in one’s own abilities
•Fearlessness
Common treatments for mental diseases
Ayurvedic treatment for mitigation of the diseases has always been through the medium of mind (Manas).Ayurveda recommends three types of treatment for mental disorders. They are as follows:
•Spiritual therapy/Divine therapy
•Psycho-behavioral therapy
•Rational therapy
Spiritual/divine therapy
This mode of treatment depends upon faith. The word ‘Daiva’ refers to non- physical causes i.e. those relating to divinity or a deity or divine or celestial derived from the root ‘di’ that is ‘to shine’. It also means destiny, fate and fortune. The term ‘Daiva- vyapasraya’ there fore relates to all the unknown circumstances,which cannot be reasoned out and explained by existing human knowledge. It refers the following measures:
•Holy Chants (Mantra): Use of sacred hymns/words having spiritual potency.
•Types of herbs (Aushadhi): Contact with or mere touch of some potent plants, amulets.
•Wearing gems (Mani): The touch of precious stones and gems influence the actinic rays.
•Propitiatory rights (Mangala): The influence of auspicious ceremonies invoking the blessings and good wishes of others.
•Oblations (Bali): Practice of self-denial and sacrifice
•Offerings (Upahara) – Feeding of lower animals and the poor etc. as a symbol of mercy and comradeship towards the helpless and distressed.
•Sacrifice (Homa) – Sacrifice of ghee, fragrant substances accompanied by auspicious prayers. Fire is considered as a visible symbol of god.
•Vows (Niyama) – Practice of healthy habits and religious observances conductive to cleanliness and self-control.
•Ceremonial penitence (Prayachitta) – Atonement for evil deeds committed in the past either knowingly or unknowingly.
•Fasting (Upavasa) – Fasting as a means of self-purification of mind and the body.
•Prostration (Swastyayana) – Benediction after presentation of offerings.
•Surrender (Pranipata) – Falling prostrate on the ground as a symbol of humility and self-surrender.
•Pilgrimage (Yatra gamana) – Visiting sacred places in order to divert the attention towards pious thinking and also to promote the influence of the change of climate, change of scenery, and physical exercise.This mode of treatment is recommended for diseases caused by external factors, where the cause is invisible.
Psycho-behavioral therapy
The term ‘Satvavajaya’ implies therapeutics for mental and emotional disturbances.
It means restraining the mind from desire for unwholesome objects. This is achieved by increasing Satva quality to subdue exaggerated Rajas and Tamas. The best approach to achieve the goal of psycho-behavioral therapy is through propagation of knowledge to self, professional/analytical knowledge, confidence, scriptural wisdom and concentration.
Vagbhatta says that the body is like a chariot. The senses are like horses and mind is like their reins. Only by holding firmly to the reins one can keep control the horses. If we do not control these senses, they will drag us away like horses. This treatment enables one to have control over his senses.
Mental disorders caused by desire, anger, grief etc. should be countered by inducing positive emotions in order to neutralize the negative ones. This therapy can be summarized as follows:
•Assurance
•Interaction between mind and knowledge
•Mind rejuvenating therapies
•Practicality of the life
•Kindling of the consciousness
•Pleasing the mind
•Counseling
Keeping all the above factors in view, treatment can be directed as follows:
•To help the individuals to discriminate between thoughts and actions to accept his condition as common to most people and integrate them into self- structure.
•To help the individual to discriminate between the objective and imagined dangers and to respond selectively to each.
•To reward the person when he departs from or abandons the use of such neurotic behaviour and encounters the person involved in such acts.
•To divert the mind and make the person to involve in other activities with commitment.
•To initiate regard/strengthen his belief in God and advise him to leave upon the God to look after things for his benefit so that he does not worry frequently.
Rational therapy
The term ‘Yukti’ means rational thinking, therefore therapeutic measures undertaken, keeping in view the vitiated doshas etc., is considered as ‘Yukti vyapasraya Chikitsa’, which mainly deals with the administration of foods and drinks, medicines and activities.
For practical purposes, this is again divided into two, namely
•With objects
•Without objects
With objects: It can be incorporated into foods & drinks, medicines, activities etc. Foods & drinks: Foods like milk, ghee, grapes, jackfruit, wood apple, peacock meat, buffalo meat, snake meat, etc. are recommended for this condition.
Medicines under drug therapy: It is said that most of the mental diseases are caused by derangement of doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha). That is the reason purification therapy is strongly recommended in mental diseases.
Activities: Several special measures are prescribed for treatment of many diseases to promote the Satva Guna. For example:
•Exposure to moonlight, listening to music and stories, seeing/spending time in garden.
•Musical therapy, meditation etc.
Without objects
The drugs are generally not prescribed under this mode of treatment. Specific measures are employed in this treatment and these can be for both physical and mental disturbances. They are:
•Causing fright
•Causing surprise
•Obsignation of memory
•Administration of shock
•Causation of elation of spirits
•Threats
•Thrashings
•Bindings
•Induction of hypnosis
•Gentle touch & mild massage
For one to one mental health program please click the rVita personalized consultation at the home page Or Call 9500123416/ 9500123412/ 044 45584488
No comments:
Post a Comment