How Do The Ayurvedic Treatments For Depression And Anxiety Work
As per the Ayurveda theory, aggravation of Prana Vayu affects the normal functioning of the nervous system thereby triggering mental imbalance. Hence Ayurvedic treatments for Depression and Anxiety focus on pacifying the aggravation of Vata to regain normal functions. Ayurveda has some excellent and 100% safe and proven therapies to manage anxiety. Shirodhara and Nasyam have been proven to be the most effective line of treatments to counter Anxiety.
Stimulation of vital centers through Shirodhara and Nasyam with the proper nourishment of the brain helps improve the pre-existing conditions. Moreover, Ayurvedic medicines rich in calcified butter helps cross the blood-brain barriers and provide nourishment to the brain.
Anxiety Disorder Treatment In Ayurveda:
When anxiety strikes the breathing is affected the most, it is shallow and fast which is the common symptom of anxiety. It increases the heart rate, the head starts spinning, or a feeling of lightheadedness. Deep breathing emphasizes going slow, taking deliberate slow, deep breaths that help to manage the breath and anxiety.
Meditation is done to detangle the web of thought that is constantly weaving through in your mind. Bringing your mind to calm down and focus on the present.
Sleep Well And At Regular Timings
Good sleep is one of the natural remedies for depression. It helps maintain a proper balance of hormones necessary for mental well-being. These include thyroid, serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline. Disturbances in this delicate balance can cause or aggravate depression, insomnia as well as anxiety. Here are some Ayurvedic tips for sleeping well.
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Role Of Meditation In Healing Anxiety
Meditation is a wonderful, evidence-based tool for healing anxiety. It is an ancient technology for gaining mastery over the mind. Meditation involves diligent practice letting go of thoughts, regulating the breath, and surrendering to the open space of the current moment. Meditation could be considered training for the rest of life. If you become skilled at controlling your mind while seated on the meditation cushion, you can more easily manage your mind during the rest of the day. In meditation, you become humbled by the strength of your thoughts. You learn to be compassionate to the strugglethe struggle to have a moment of stillness and the struggle to have peace in the rest of your life. The gift of struggle is surrender. It is the ultimate antidote to resistance. And, it is also a key in the healing of anxiety.
Surrender allows you to become less attached to what could happen, is happening, or did happen and helps you focus instead on finding your way to your heart in every moment. To heal anxiety at its roots you want to try to find a way to be loving in the face of fear.
Ayurvedic Approaches To The Treatment Of Depression: By Laura Perlin
- negative distortion of worldview/negative attitude/hopelessness/pessismism
- helplessness/low self esteem
- changes in appetite/weight gain/weight loss
- difficulty concentrating
1 Incidence of Depression and Anxiety: the Stirling County Study. articles/PMC1349333/2 Major Depression. Causes, Incidences, and Risk Factors. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/ PMH0001941/3 Major Depression. Symptoms. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001941/4 Understanding Depression. Symptoms. http://www.webmd.com/depression/default.htm
- loss of interest/pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed
- suicidal tendencies/preoccupation with death
- worsening of co-existing chronic disease
5 Major Depressive Disorder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder6 Major Depression. Treatment. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001941/ 7 Light Therapy. METHOD=print& DSECTION=all
- Buddhi is the aspect of consciousness that is filled with light and reveals the truth. When ones Buddhi becomes fully developed, one becomes a Buddha or enlightened one. The main action of intelligence is to discern the true and real from the false and unreal.10
8 Ayurveda and the Mind. Ch 6 Conditioned Consciousness: The Greater Mental Field.9 Ibid. p.75.10 Ayurveda and the Mind. p. 93-94.11 Principles of Ayurvedic Medicine. p.5.13 Ibid. p. 50-51.
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Ayurvedic Treatment For Anxiety:
Just like our body processes and digests the food that we take in. Similarly, our mind processes and digests everything it is fed from our senses. It could be anything, be it tv shows, movies, podcasts, or even the books you read. Try to maintain a mood journal, the impression journal, and note everything in these journals of the incidents that made you happy, the elements that provoked or triggered your anger or anxiety. Include everything in your diary over the period the journal will guide you on what makes you anxious, what should be avoided or reduced.
Finding A Natural Balance
For much of my life, I struggled trying to figure out how to get rid of my own anxiety.
Taking supplements like the Natural Stacks mood stack, a balanced serotonin supplement, changing my diet, and incorporating meditation has brought about huge changes.
Incorporating natural alternatives like exercise and meditation and supplementing my diet with herbs for natural anxiety relief brought me feeling of wellbeing Id been seeking for years.
I now find it much easier to control my moods, and tend to just be happier on a day-to-day basis.
In short: everything in life feels easier.
When it comes to natural anxiety help, do you have any strategies for easing your symptoms?Let us know what works for you by commenting below!
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Ayurvedic Treatment For Stress
At Ideal Ayurvedic Resort, each individual is analyzed constitutionally followed by proper ayurvedic disease diagnosis and then therapies are started for the same. We provide Ayurvedic Treatment for stress that is unique to each individual and their body type , identifying the underlying factors in the ailment.
Common Herbs In Ayurveda That Helps Reduce Stress And Anxiety
Some of the common herbs that can help in this condition are:
Ashwagandha is an excellent natural adaptogen that helps the body adapt to stressful and emotional situations. It also helps boost energy, stamina and endurance power. It also promotes sound sleep. One of the most powerful ingredients that supportsbrain function, lower cortisol levels, and help fight symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Brahmi is also widely used and well-known for reducing stress and anxiety. It also works in reducing levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. It further enhances your concentration, revitalizing the brain cells leaving a soothing effect on the nervous system and promotes great memory.
Bhringraj is a powerful ingredient in Ayurveda that can be taken as tea and also used in oils for massage. It promotes blood circulation and promotes the blood flow towards the brain for relaxation and detoxification. It also has a relaxing effect on the brain and helps calm the mind thereby reducing stress.
Jatamasi is a powerful anti-stress and anti-fatigue herb that is also used in the treatment of insomnia. The roots of Jatamasi are known for their therapeutic effects and work on reducing stress and calming the mind.
Vacha is an ayurvedic herb that is used in many mental disorders. It is also a memory enhancer and is a potent antioxidant which fights against free radicals. It protects the brain cells from inflammation and degeneration. It helps support brain functioning and memory.
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How Effective Are Your Treatments In Removing Toxins
The Raj has offered spa-goers the benefits of the worlds oldest system of natural healthcare for 20 years. The results are profound and have been well documented both in research and case studies. One very remarkable study, led by Robert Herron, Ph.D., in 2002, found a significant reduction of dangerous chemicals in the blood after only 5 days of treatment.
Dangerous chemicals in blood reduced by 50%
A study published in the Sept./Oct. 2002 issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine found that Panchakarma, the centuries-old Ayurveda purification program, reduced fat-soluble toxicants such as DDE and PCBs by about 50 percent. Such toxins tend to remain in the body for a very long time . To date there is no other proven means of eliminating this class of disruptive chemicals from the physiology.
Lipophilic toxicants are generally considered to be among the most problematic of environmental contaminants. They accumulate in plants and animals and thus accumulate in higher quantity up the food chain. For this reason levels of lipophilic toxicants increase in humans with age and can be passed from mother to child. These toxicants have been associated with hormone disruption, immune system suppression, reproductive disorders, several types of cancer, including breast cancer, and other diseases, including childhood obesity. DDE has recently been linked to Alzheimers disease.
Mental Ailments And Treatments In Ayurveda
Just as the modern medicine has allocated mental illness to the psychiatry division, Ayurveda too has several treatment methods detailed in the ancient scripts. Ayurveda psychiatry is always been successful in treating a number of mental disorders. There are certain herbs of medicinal effect used in Ayurveda. These herbs are collectively called medya rasayanas. Clinically these herbs are proved to nourish neurological tissues. These rasayanas are use as nerve tonics. Panchakarma treatment is a common method to treat mental illness. Panchakarma is a combination of five treatment processes. The five processes are namely nasya, vamana, virechana, vasti. Vasti are of two kinds in panchakarma. Nasya is a nasal therapy of poring certain medicinal liquids into the nose. Vamana is vomiting. Purging is named virechana in Ayurveda. Vasti is nothing but therapeutic enema. Depression, insomnia etc are treated effectively in Ayurvedic psychiatry. Aswaganda and Bacopa are two herbs which are important tonics for nourishment of brain and also to treat mental illnesses. Ayurveda is more of a preventing method than a curing therapy. Ailments once cured ayurvedically has only rare chances to reoccur.
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What Ayurveda Has To Say About Stress And Anxiety
Ayurveda as a science is centuries old and is based on the principle of balancing the doshas. From Ayurveda’s perspective, stress and anxiety are caused by an imbalance in Vata Dosha.
An excess of vata affects the Mano vaha srota, the channel of the mind, which implies that you have a windy mind.
Here we are focusing on balancing the Vata dosha to bring in more peace and calm in the mind.
The Chakras And Mental Health
As you might know, Ayurveda recognizes 114 chakrasor energy centerswithin the body. Of these 114, there are seven primary chakras, located throughout the head and spinal column.
One good way to conceptualize these is that theyre places where the mind-body connection manifests as our physical sensations and feelings intertwine. For example, we experience sexual feelings in our sacral center, and we feel love from our heart, and we sense a connection to the universe from the crown of our head.
When it comes to negative emotions, anxiety typically stems from the root chakra, which resides at the base of our spine. This is due to the fact that this area represents our stability and grounding in the world. If we arent properly grounded, fear and anxiety can easily overtake us. The root chakra can be balanced by enjoying the color red, sitting on the floor, walking barefoot on the earth, and immersing yourself in water.
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Ayurvedic Treatment For Stress & Anxiety Includes :
Snehapana : This is an oleation therapy which involves taking medicated ghee on empty stomach.
Tailadhara : The therapy involves continuously pouring a stream of warm medicated oil on the body as well as massage with the medicated oil. It is meant to induce active perspiration.
Lepanam : This involves the application of a paste of medicinal herbs on the whole body or certain parts.
Shirodhara : This is a practice where warm medicated oil is gently poured in a continuous stream on the forehead. It is thought to work mainly on the mental health. The mental health is the place where the mind holds on to past impressions and where imbalanced desires and habits are formed.
Ksheera Dhara : During this therapy, medicated milk is rhythmically poured over the individuals forehead or body. Medicated herbs are used to infuse the milk with medicinal properties.Panchakarma TreatmentsVirechana, Vasti, and Nasya are commonly adopted for managing stress.
Nasyam : This therapy involves pouring medicated oil into the nostrils. It is thought to open up channels, enabling the herbal extracts to work directly on your central nervous system.
Virechana : During this therapy, evacuation of the bowels is initiated through herbs. This helps eliminate toxic wastes.
Vasti : Vasti is enema therapy which is designed to cleanse your colon. Medicines are introduced into the body through the anal route for evacuating accumulated metabolic wastes and toxins.
Ayurvedic Treatment For Anxiety Stress And Depression
Todays most commonly searched keywords are Anxietyor Depressionor Stress. Why these terms suddenly becoming important in our life? Reason may be factors like our disordered lifestyle, influence of modern gadgets, excessive use of internet, social media, junk foods, nuclear family, environment, toxin accumulation, exercise levels and many more.
If we try to understand this mental health disorders in a layman’s language
- Anxiety /fear is a mental disturbance caused by overthinking about Future, eg – Fear about exams, interviews, job security, maintaining a relationship, marriage, career, financial risks etc.
- Stress/Tension is a mental disturbance caused by overthinking about Present”, eg- achieving goal, commitments, pressure to meet schedules, race against time etc.
- Depression/Worry is a mental disturbance caused by overthinking about Past, ex: failure in exams, relationship failure, death in the family, loss of money /business etc.
- As the body and mind are interconnected, such emotional disturbance can easily influence body functions by creating health issues and dysfunctions. In medical terms, such disease is called as “psychosomatic diseases”.
AyurvedaApproach
In Ayurveda, these mental factors are directly linked with the characteristics of 5 energy elements of the universe in the name of Vata , Pitta and Kapha called as Tridosha. Tridhosa is the driving forces behind everything happening from creation to death at atomic to cosmic level in this universe.
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Colours: An Unexpected Depression Treatment
Surrounding yourself with the right colours is one of the powerful depression remedies. You can use them in your clothes, room decor as well as office space.
In general, these colours help soothe depression:
- Brown, green, and olive bring grounding and stability.
- Shades of green calm, refresh as well as uplift the mind.
- White and pastel shades support mental clarity and peace.
- Yellow, orange, and red boost energy, positivity, motivation, and vitality.
- Golden boosts vitality as well as overall mental wellness.
Avoid blue, grey, and excess black.
Vatas should favour mild, warm as well as earthy shades.
Pittas feel best with slightly cool, mild, and light colours.
Kaphas should favour warm, energetic, and vibrant colours.
Reduce Caffeine And Alcohol
For many of us, a cup of coffee at the start of the day gets us going, and a glass of wine in the evening will help us relax.
But too much of either can seriously affect our bodies ability to manage anxiety.
Caffeine can trigger cortisol production, the hormone that triggers the fight or flight stress response.
And as for alcohol, drinking too much will change your brain chemistry over time, thus lowering its ability to cope with stress.
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Mental Health And Ayurveda
Ayurveda has many branches to treat disease. It does not target any specific organs instead it will treat the system in the body. This approach is quite evident in the choice of medication. They can be used for several other purposes also. Ayurveda sees mind and body as one. What is there in your mind is reflected through your body. Depression in Ayurveda is a lowered state of mind psychologically.
Managing Anxiety & Depression With Ayurveda
Each year millions of people worldwide fall victim to depression. India is no different in this regard. In fact, cases of depression are increasing in the country with each passing year.
According to a survey conducted by the WHO in 2015, 4.5 per cent of the Indian population suffered from mental disorder, which amounts to more than 5 Crore people. Anxiety accounts for another 3 per cent of the population. Furthermore, due to the negative stigma attached with most mental disorders, many depression and anxiety cases go unreported.
Options available to treat depression and anxiety:
Conventional, allopathic treatment is the most commonly used route when it comes to managing mental disorders of any kind. However, such treatment procedures may lead to greater harm than good.
Antidepressants can cause adverse side effects, such as weight gain, nausea, insomnia, constipation and sexual dysfunctions.
Therefore, it is better to consider an alternative remedy for mental disorders, which is full of benefits, but do not possess any side effect. Ayurvedic treatment is the best option in this regard since it uses completely natural ingredients in preparing the medications. Because of the herbal compositions, ayurvedic remedies do not have any side effects.
Panchakarma therapy for depression and anxiety:
Abhyanga
While all of these remedies are useful to combat depression and anxiety, Shirodhara is especially beneficial.
What is Shirodhara?
Home remedies to fight depression:
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Get Counseling From Our Experts To Manage Stress And Anxiety
Depression and anxiety are often observed to co-exist. Too much mental stress is a trigger that can result in mental disturbances leading to depression or anxiety. Stress is actually a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened. When you sense danger whether itâs real or imagined, the bodyâs defence kicks into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the âfight-or-flightâ reaction, or the stress response. However, excessive stress when left unmanaged can result in several illnesses including mental disorders such as Depression and Anxiety.
How Does Body React When You Are Stressed?
When body perceives a threat, the nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. This actually prepares your body to be more alert. However, when stress becomes a regular phenomenon, high levels of cortisol can show several detrimental effects on body. Increased cortisol level is associated with high blood pressure, sugar imbalance, muscle stiffness, and increased heart rate. These physiological effects lead to health issues such as pain, fatigue, low immunity, sleep problems, depression & anxiety, etc.Ayurvedic Treatment for Depression & AnxietyNuayurvedaSeptember 27, 2021
What Is Ayurveda’s Treatment Approach to Depression and Anxiety?
How Do The Ayurvedic Treatments For Depression And Anxiety Work?