Depression

According to Ayurveda Depression is called as Vishaada. Ayurvedically it is believed that depression is caused by the vitiation of  either the  vata or the kapha dosha or by  the lack of awareness of one's deeper, inner Self.

Vata represents the air and ether element and its sub humor is the Prana vata which is responsible for the proper functioning of the brain.and the nervous system.Hence vitiation in this Prana vata causes depression.

Another humor responsible for the depression is the  Tarpaka kapha , a sub humor of the Kapha dosha . Tarpaka kapha is responsible for the proper communication between the brain and the spinal cord via the cerebro spinal fluid .

Causes of Depression according to modern science :

here are a variety of causes of depression

1. Psychological factors : A person with a very low self-esteem or has a self-defeating attitude towards life are linked to depression.
2. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a kind of depressive disorder, which occurs in the winter when daylight-hours are short. It is thought that the production of melotonin in the body, which is produced at higher levels in the dark, has an important role in the onset of SAD; and that many patients respond well to bright-light therapy, also known as phototherapy.
3. Emotional distubances : Events like the death of  parents or any close relative ,  rejection, neglection, strain in relations both in married and unmarried life, and physical, psychological, or sexual abuse can also increase the chances of depression later in life.
4. Increased Stress level in the life : Stress in job, strain in family relations both in married and unmarried life, financial difficulties, long term unemployment may cause depression  .
5. Medical condition: Long term illness like cancer, paralysis, hepatitis, cardio vasculardisease thyroid, parkinsons disease, diabetes  also results in depression.
6. Alcohol and other drugs: Alcohol can have a poor effect on mood; and the abuse of alcohol, benzodiazepine-based tranquilizers, and sleeping medications can all play a major role in the duration and severity of depression.
7. Diet: Excessive intake of omega-6 fatty acids in the diet was shown to cause depression in experimental rats.
8. Living with a depressed person: People living with a person suffering from Depression also experience higher levels of anxiety and life disruption, which in turn increases the possibility of the caregiver becoming depressed.
9. Failure:  Failure in examination or sports or failure in love is on e of the major cause of depression.
10. Social environment: According to Evolutionary Theory, depression is a protective mechanism. If an individual perceives himself to be involved in a lengthy fight for dominance in a social group and finds himself clearly losing, depression makes the person back off and accept the submissive role. When this happens, the person is protected from unnecessary harm. Consequently, depression helps maintain a social hierarchy.One other evolutionary theory suggests that the cognitive response that produces modern-day depression has evolved as a mechanism that allows persons to assess whether they are in pursuit of an unreachable goal. Others also claim that depression is associated to perfectionism.
11. Postpartum Depression (also known as Postnatal Depression): While many women have some mood fluctuations following labor, 10-15 percent women experience a more disabling and persistent form of mood disturbance (e.g., Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Psychosis." When this occurs, the onset typically is within three months after delivery and it could be prolonged for many months. Approximately two new mothers out of a 1000 experience the more serious depressive disorder referred to as Postnatal Psychosis, which induces hallucinations and/or delusions.
12. Physiology: There may be imbalances or modifications in chemicals, called neurotransmitters, which transmit information in the brain. Many recent antidepressant drugs increase levels of certain neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and norpinephrine. Though the causal relationship is unclear, it is commonly known that antidepressant medications can alleviate certain symptoms of depression; although critics argue that the relationship between serotonin, Neurotransmitters allow electrical signals to move from the axon of one nerve cell to another. A lack of neurotransmitters will actually impair a persons brain communication levels. 

Types of Depression (Vishaada)

There are different types of depression based on the severity of the symptoms.

Types of Depression

Depression is classified into various types on the basis of the symptoms.

(i) Mild Depression – Mild vishaada or depression is the kind of depression that is very commonly observed. This is a short-lived depression, whose effects wear off in a day or two. Scoring less marks in an examination or being cheated by someone are examples of causes that could lead to mild depression. The person who suffers from mild depression will not stop his or her daily activities completely, but will be disinterested in doing them.

(ii) Major Depression – Depression that lasts for a couple of weeks is major depression. This could be triggered by being jilted in love or by the death of someone dear. Major depression interferes in a huge manner with the day-to-day life of the person. Though the major depression may wear off in a couple of weeks, some effects of the depression could last throughout the person’s life.

(iii) Dysthymia – Dysthymia is a long term depression illness whose effects can last for as long as two years. There are alternating periods of minor and major depressions. Hence, dysthymia is also called as double depression.

(iv) Seasonal Affective Disorder – Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a special type of depression which affects people with certain climatic changes. The onset of autumn or the rainy season may trigger such kind of depressions. There is no apparent reason except the changing weather. Some people also feel depressed in particular months of the year even if the climate has not changed. As an example, if a beloved one has died in the month of February, the person might feel depressed every February month after that.

(v) Bipolar Disorder – This is what is termed in simple language as mood swings. A person suffering from bipolar disorder will suddenly change from being very happy to being very gloomy. This will lead to unpredictable nature of the person and he or she will find it difficult to make lasting friendships with other people.

Psychological Symptoms:

• Depressed mood
• Loss of interest in activities, including sex
• Unexplained feeling of guilt, worthlessness and hopelessness
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
• Change in sleep patterns
• Change in appetite or weight
• Problems concentrating, remembering or thinking clearly
• Lack of energy, fatigue
• Psychomotor disturbances 
• Continuous feeling of sadness or blankness
• A continual guilty conscience and no confidence in oneself
• A pessimistic approach towards life
• Loss of interest in activities such as outings, hobbies, work and even sex
• Persistent fatigue
• Sleep disturbances
• Loss of energy or enthusiasm
• Difficulty in focusing concentration and making decisive strategies
• Headaches
• Regular stomach upsets
• External symptoms such as crying and brooding
• Being worried and fearful
• Either weight loss due to poor appetite, or weight gain due to overeating

Also from the standpoint of Ayurveda there are two main causes of depression.

1.    An imbalance in the three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.

2.     Lack of awareness of one's deeper, inner Self.

 Complications Caused due to Depression (Vishaada )

Vishaada does cause several complications in people. Some of them are enumerated below:-

If a minor depression is kept unchecked, then it may transfer into a major depression or dysthymia, which is a more serious condition.

Depression  affects the  daily routine of an  individual. The person will find it difficult to concentrate in work, despite knowing fully well how important that particular work could be. Memory becomes erratic.

Constant depressed state of an individual causes strain on other relationships of the person. For example, a man going under constant depression over the death of his parents could strain his relation with his wife.

There can be a serious toll over the involuntary functions of the body. Depression  increases the rate of heart beat resulting in palpitations and even strokes.

Several people who are depressed may turn to  addictions such as smoking, alcoholism or drugs in order  to obtain temporary releases.

People who are constantly in depression could develop suicidal tendencies or other socially dangerous vices if they are not counseled and treated at proper time.

Diet during Depression (Vishaada)

Though not much beneficial, some dietary strictures can be followed to allay the mind of depression.

• The diet must be light and easy to digest.
• Avoid Hot, oily , spicy food and  pulses like Bengal gram. 
• Avoid meats and milk products during bouts of depression.
• It is better to have a fruit diet.
• Include lots of vitamin C in your diet. Vitamin C releases stress-relieving hormones. Amla (Indian gooseberry), lemons, oranges, etc. are foods that have large amount of vitamin C.

Ayurvedic Classification of Depression

Ayurveda defines depression as Vishaada which is classified into three types .The treatment is done according to the classification.

•  A Vata-Type Depression
•  A Pitta-Type Depression
•  A Kapha-Type Depression

How To Heal A Vata-Type Depression

1. Indications For  Vata Imbalance

In addition to your subjective feelings of depression or low mood and energy:

• Vata pulse
• Skin feels cold to touch
• Poor appetite, weight loss
• Digestive problems such as bloating , constipation
• Restlessness, anxiousness and worry
• Sleeplessness
• Excessive and irrelevent  talking
• Frequent urination
• Vata constitution and appearance: thin body, small eyes, dry skin, cracking joints, etc.

2. Causes of  Vata Depression

• Too much sex or frequent masturbation

• Hyperactivity and over exursion

• Exposure to cold or wind

• Staying up late

• Excessive intake of caffeine

3. Treatment of Vata Depression

• Follow Vata-pacifying diet. Eat warm and  well cooked food. Avoid cool and raw food .Avoid dryfruits, popcorns or crackers. Include  fat like butter, ghee in your food. Avoid too spicy food.

• Maintain a regular daily routine with early to bed and early to rise concept.

• Do regular massages especially, headmassage and foot massage.

• Do mild  exercises such as walking or yoga . Do not overexert yourself.

• Perform  meditation regularly.

• Soft relaxation music will be helpful.

• Use Vata-balancing herbs such as anise, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, gotu kola, licorice, nutmeg, sesame seeds, and valerian (for sleep).   

4. Herbal Remedies for Vata Dosha Imbalance

• A herbal compound powder made of Brahmi, Vacha, Jatamansi, Shankhpushpi in the dose of 1tsp. twice a day.

• Dashmool decoction would be helpful.

• Another domestic remedy for depression is a tea made of Indian basil (tulsi) and sage. Use 1/4 teaspoon tulsi and 1/2 teaspoon of sage per cup of hot water; drink twice a day.

• Nasyam with warm sesame oil , anu oil empty stomach in the morning is good.

• Head massage and foot massage is good. 

5. Five Senses Remedies

• Taste. Use bitter, pungent, and astringent foods, herbs, and spices.

• Smell. Warm aromas such as cloves, calamus, and camphor are effective aromatherapy.

• Sight. Use  yellow, white, violet and blue colors.

• Hearing. Listen to soft music

• Touch: Masssage yourself daily with Dashmoola bala oil.

How To Heal A Pitta-Type Depression

1. Indication For  Pitta Imbalance

In addition to your subjective feelings of depression and low energy or dark mood:

• Pitta pulse
• Pitta appearance and constitution: medium to strong build, often red or light hair, fair complexion, freckles.
• Skin feels hot and is  sensitive to heat ,eyes are reddish.
• Tendency of premature greying of hair and hair fall.
• Tendency of diarrhea or ulceration in stomach.
• Desire to eat sweets a lot, and butter, ghee, or creamy desserts

2. Causes  of  Pitta Depression

• Occurs mostly in  summer months
• Keeping the head uncovered in the sun and hot water showers.
• Skipping meals  or consuming too spicy or  hat food.
• Getting  angry or irritated easily.

3. Treatment of Pitta Depression

• Follow Pitta-pacifying diet. Avoid hot and spicy foods, red meat, fish, vinegar, cheese, alcohol, and tobacco. Prefer cool (not ice cold) drinks, a vegetarian diet, dairy products (not yogurt), sweet fruit, most vegetables and grains.

• Do not stay out in  sun. Stay indoors keep yourself cool.  Do not take hot showers.

• Do not skip meals. Make lunch as the heaviest meal of the day.

• Exercise  moderately such as swimming, bicycling.

• Listen to soft relaxing music.

• Perform  meditation daily .

• Massage yourself daily with Ksheerbala oil.

• Use Pitta-reducing herbs such as aloe, burdock, chrysanthemum, coconut, coriander, cumin, mint, pomegranate, sandalwood, shatavari (Indian asparagus), and natural sugar.

4. Herbal Remedies for  pitta dosha imbalace

• Take a compound powder made of shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) , guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) , amalaki (Embellica officinalis)combined with 1/2 cup warm water.

• Herbal teas made of  gotu kola or brahmi  or ginkgo are helpful..

• Nasyam  with Brahmi  ghrit should be performed daily empty stomach .

5. Five Senses Remedies

• Taste. Use bitter, pungent, and astringent foods, herbs, and spices.

• Smell. Warm aromas such as cloves, calamus, and camphor are effective aromatherapy.

• Sight. pink, green and blue are helpful.

• Hearing. Listen to soft and soothing music.

• Touch: Massage yourself  daily.

How To Heal A Kapha-Type Depression

1. Indications For  Kapha Imbalance

In addition to your subjective feelings of depression and low energy or dark mood:

• Kapha pulse

• Body  feels cold

• Tendency of overeating, and over sleeping

• Tendeny  of low energy level with pale skin

• Loss of ability to experience pleasure

2. Cause of  Kapha Depression

• Tendency of drowsiness ,inactivity and laziness.

• Eating  food that is cold and heavy to digest.

• Taking  day naps

• Deposition of Ama due to wrong food habits  such as not chewing food sufficiently, reading or watching TV while eating, etc.

• Tendency of no exercise

3. Treatment of Kapha Depression

•  Follow Kapha-pacifying diet, especially spicy, hot foods, light soups. Favor apples and pears, grains such as barley, buckwheat, millet, and corn. Honey is the only sweetener good for Kapha. All spices (except salt) are good. Minimize oils and fats, wheat and rice, cold food in general, sweets, nuts, rich desserts, red meat, most dairy.

• Use heating herbs such as ginger, pepper, turmeric. Drink ginger tea.

• Do strong exercises such as jogging, bicycling, aerobics.

• Panchakarma (detoxification )  is good.

• Daily practice  meditation.

• Avoid daynaps.

4. Herbal Remedies for Kapha Dosha Imbalance

• Take a herbal compound powder made of brahmi, trikatu, jatamansi,yastimadhu, vacha with warm water.

• Fasting once a week on apple juice would be helpful.

• Drink ginger tea (1/2 to 1 teaspoon of ginger powder steeped in hot water) twice a day

• Another herbal compound  powder made of Sarasvat , Punarnava, Chitrak with warm water.

5. Five Senses Remedies

• Taste. Use bitter, pungent, and astringent foods, herbs, and spices.

• Smell. Warm aromas such as cloves, calamus, and camphor are effective aromatherapy.

• Sight. Vibrant colors like orange and  red is good..

• Hearing. Listen to upbeat music.

• Touch: Massage yourself with Karpooradi oil mixed with Dashmoola bala oil.

• Heal Depression by Shining Your Inner Light

Symptoms of Depression (Vishaada)

People who are depressed show the following symptoms:-

• Continuous feeling of sadness or blankness

• A  guilty conscience and no confidence in oneself

• A pessimistic approach towards life

• Loss of interest in activities such as outings, hobbies, work and even sex

• Persistent fatigue

• Sleep disturbances

• Loss of energy or enthusiasm

• Difficulty in focusing concentration and making decisive strategies

• Headaches

• Regular stomach upsets

• External symptoms such as crying and brooding

• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

• Either weight loss due to poor appetite, or weight gain due to overeating

• Unexplained feelings of guilt, worthlessness and/or hopelessness

• Lack of energy, fatigue

• Psychomotor disturbances

• Problems concentrating, remembering or thinking clearly

Do's and Dont's for a person suffering from Depression

• The depressed patient needs continual positive reinforcement to improve his self-esteem. Provide him a structured routine, including activities to boost her self-confidence and promote interactions with others (for instance, group therapy). Keep him reassuring  that he will be fine soon.
• Encourage the patients to talk or to write down his feelings if he is having trouble expressing them. Listen attentively and respectfully; give him time to formulate his  thoughts if he seems sluggish. Record your observations and conversations with him.
• Don't forget the patient's physical needs. If she's too depressed to care for herself, help her with personal hygiene measures. Encourage her to eat, if she's constipated, add fibrous food in her diet,offer small, frequent meals; and encourage some physical activity.

Diet for Depression (Vishaada)

Some dietary strictures can be followed to calm  the mind of a depressed person.

• The diet of a depressed person should  be light and easy to digest.
• Hot foods ,oily foods, spicy foods and pulses like Bengal gramshould be avoided .
• Avoid meats and milk products during bouts of depression.
• It is better to have a fruit diet.
• Include lots of vitamin C in the patients  diet. Vitamin C releases stress-relieving hormones. Amla (Indian gooseberry), lemons, oranges, etc. are foods that have a large amount of vitamin C.  Amla is the richest source of vitamin c.

Ayurvedic Treatment for Depression (Vishaada)

Every person has a different treatment for depression, as depression is quite an individualistic matter. The surest way of reducing depression is to engross yourself in activities that give you pleasure. This kind of treatment works more at a psychological level than at a physiological level. Some of the non-medicinal treatments for depression are as follows:-

• Read a light book. Even reading comics or children’s fairy tales would do if you have liking for the same. Reading light stories have a stimulating effect on the mind.
• Listen to music that you like. Music soothes the nerves and can release stress-boosting hormones within the body.
• Go on an outing. You can go alone if you think you are fit enough to do so. Visit a place that you have never visited before. Outings create a great diversion for overworked minds.
• Sometimes talking to someone close helps. The person you talk to must be sympathetic to your concerns and give you friendly advice without too much sermonizing.

Healing through Meditation

According to Ayurveda, the main  cause of  depression was lack of contact with a deep aspect of oneself that was a field of happiness and fullness. So, the goal of the therapy (meditation) is to enable you to rediscover your inner Self. Meditation can do wonders to anyone having depression.

Meditation is often used to discover one's inner bliss and inner self.  The therapy,  has no side effects. It can be performed in the comfort of your home by yourself.

Useful Herbs in the Treatment of Depression:

1. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)

Ashwagandha is a revitalising herb  which can restore the neurotransmitters and hence it is very helpful in depression. The aphrodisiac properties of ashwagandha also help in improving the mind and removing depression.

2. Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri)

Brahmi is a herb that is always prescribed before a yogic session. The reason is that brahmi helps to relax the mind and bring it to a comfortable state. We can use Brahmi in form of powder, tablets, oils , ghee.. It has a cooling and soothing effect on the mind. One can massage self with Brahmi oil and do nasyam with Brahmi ghee.Regular use of these helps in Depression.

3. Cardamom (Elettaria cardamom)

Cardamom has a very pleasing odor which can soothe the nerves. When a person is depressed, a tea made by putting cardamom in it can have almost miraculous effects.

4. Guggulu (Commiphora wightii)

Guggulu has become the focus of attention recently due to the presence of special chemicals in it called as guggulsterones. These chemicals improve the nervous coordination and hence are beneficial in the treatment of depression. Guggulu is more effective in depression caused due to seasonal affective disorder.

5. Jatamansi (Nardostachys jatamansi)

Jatamansi brings a calming effect on the mind. It helps in diverting the  energies of  mind in the right direction. Jatamansi can remove the depressive thoughts.

6. Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

Turmeric is effective in treating depression that is caused by the change of seasons, i.e. seasonal affective disorder.