Whenever someone speaks of something
like an alternative system of medicine, such as Ayurveda, most people think of
the physical aspects of health. Most people don’t associate things like
emotional development, psychology, and anxiety medication to a system like
Ayurveda. This is a reasonable assumption to make, mainly because systems like
Ayurveda have always focused more on a combination of the physical and
spiritual. Matters of the mind were viewed as outside the physical realm and,
in a Western context, were seen as affairs to be handled by religious
authorities. Other problems, such as anxiety and depression, may not have been
recognized and, thus, were not studied under the purview of medicinal systems.
Some doctors, most notably neurologist Dr. David Simon of the Chopra Center,
believes that Ayurveda might be a legitimate alternative to anxiety medication
and treatment.
Anxiety, in the context of Ayurveda, is
rooted in movements of things within a person’s perception of what he is and
what is in his domain. In theory, things that enter into a person’s sphere of
influence by force, such as a critical comment or pressures from work, can
cause an imbalance in the mind and body. In a similar manner, a person would
also need anxiety medication if something that was within their sphere of
influence was forcibly taken from it, such as their sense of security or
ability to perform certain tasks. These unwanted gains and losses can create
imbalances in the harmony of the body that will persist until properly treated.
Ultimately, the pain caused by this violation of one’s sphere of influence
causes pain that people must deal with. However, by ignoring it, bottling it up
inside, denying it, or not dealing with it, that pain can cause further
imbalance. Such imbalances, in the context of Ayurveda, can cause problems like
depression, mood disorders, and anxiety.
How, then, would Ayurveda propose to fix
this problem? Like Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda is about restoring
balance to the body. Problems that create the need for medical intervention,
whether it come in the form of antihistamines or anxiety medication, are caused
by imbalances of certain factors in the body. These imbalances can be corrected
using a variety of means, which include herbal tinctures, special massage
techniques, meditation, and even the appropriate dietary adjustments. However,
anxiety is a problem firmly rooted in things like emotions and thoughts,
factors that Western medicine views as being controlled by the chemical balance
of the brain. To the average patient, who likely does not have too much
knowledge of Ayurveda or how it works, there is very little that any
alternative medical system can do to alleviate psychological or psychiatric
conditions.
Ayurveda’s philosophy with dealing with
something like anxiety reflects a staple of psychiatric therapy: release.
Practitioners, as stated above, believe that pain caused by violations of a
person’s sphere of self can cause anxiety among other mental and mood
conditions. This build-up of pain and emotions causes more than just cognitive
effects; it also touches upon a person’s physical well-being. Ayurveda
practitioners help their patients locate this physical manifestation and
proceed to attempt to correct it. They also promote finding ways to physically
release that pain, but are not specific on how. It could be taking a walk or
hitting a pillow, so long as it allows the patient to acknowledge, accept, and
release the emotional build-up inside them.