Ayurvedic Treatment Of Depression
What is Depression?
Depression is a common and serious mood disorder that causes a negative feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It may be characterized as feelings of sadness, loss, or anger that distrub a person’s regular activities. Due to Depression, your productivity become lower and lost of time occur. It is a ongoing problem, but curable problem. Depression can last for several weeks, months, or years.
Depression is the main reason of mental disorder worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It can affect adults, adolescents, and children.
Types of Depression
There are many types of depression. The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders lists nine distinct types:
- Major Depression: It is the most common type of depression. People having major depression may experience recurrent episodes throughout their lives.
- Dysthymia: It can cause constant low mood over a a year or more. It could be described as feeling like you’re living on autopilot.
- Seasonal Affective Disorder: In Wintertime this mood disorder happens due to lack of natural sunlight.
- Atypical Depression: If you feel heaviness in your limbs, there might be a chance of this type of depression. You may suffer from irritability and relationship problems, as well as be prone to overeating and oversleeping.
- Bipolar Disorder: is also called Manic Depressive Disorder because it involves alternating between mania and depressive episodes.
- Psychotic Depression: Hallucinations or disturbing false fixed beliefs are the main causes of this disorder. The effective person becomes catatonic or they feel stuck in bed.
- Postpartum Depression: Many women experience this tyoe of depression after giving birth. The feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion are the main symptoms of this.
- Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: Severe depression that shows up during the second half of the menstrual cycle is called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.It affects the individual’s ability to function normally.
- Situational Depression: It is a life-changing event. It can cause anything, from losing your job to the death of an immediate family member.
Causes Of Depression
There are many causes of depression. They can range from biological to circumstantial.
Common causes include:
- Family History. If someone in your people already affected by depression, then your chance of developing depression increased.
- Early Childhood Trauma. Some events impact the way that body reacts to fear and stressful situations.
- Brain Structure. Chance of depression is also increased if frontal lobe of your brain is less active. However, there are different opinion if this happens before or after the onset of depressive symptoms.
- Medical Conditions. Chronic illness, Insomnia, Chronic pain or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are the other cause of depression.
- Drug Use. Long term use of drug or alcohol can put you at higher risk to develop this.
- Hormone changes (menstrual cycles, pregnancy)
- Personal history of mental illness
- Stressful events, such as loss of a loved one, economic problems, or a divorce
Sign and Symptoms Of Depression
Although depression can be classified of different types, many of them have similar recognizable symptoms such as:
- Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
- Feelings of hopelessness, or pessimism
- Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters
- Lack of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities such as sex, hobbies or sports
- Feeling restless or having trouble to Sleep well
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
- Moving or talking more slowly
- Tiredness and Decreased energy, so even small tasks take extra effort
- Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain
- Anxiety, agitation or restlessness
- Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
- Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
- Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
What Are The Complications Of Depression?
Depression is a serious disorder that can take a terrible toll on you and your family. If untreated, depression gets worse, resulting in emotional, behavioral and health problems that affect daily activities of your life.
Examples of complications associated with depression include:
- Excess weight or obesity, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes
- Alcohol or drug misuse
- Substance use problems
- Anxiety, panic disorder or social phobia
- Physical pain
- Suicidal thoughts
- Family conflicts, relationship difficulties, and work or school problems
- Social isolation
- Self-mutilation, such as cutting
- Premature death from medical conditions
Depression in Ayurveda
According to Ayurveda, many physiological and environmental factors can contribute to depression and anxiety. In brief, we can say that in certain conditions, vata from the colon, pitta from the intestine or kapha from the stomach enters the general circulation and lodges in the nervous system, interfering with its functioning.
Herbal Remedies For Depression
The Herb House provides some herbal remedies for the treatment of Depression. Made from best quality herbs this remedies strictly follow the principles of Ayurveda. All these herbal remedies of The Herb House are 100 percent pure, natural and vegetarian. These are free from chemicals, additives and preservatives. These are safe to use as these are free from side effects.
