Break the stigma through therapy

Traditional therapies such as yoga, meditation and sound healing are efficacious in coping with mental health issues, writes Dr Prakriti Poddar

With 7.5 per cent of India’s population afflicted by some kind of mental health disorder, the country faces a huge burden of mental illnesses. Can leveraging the benefits of alternative traditional therapies along with modern medicine-based treatments help achieve better mental health for the masses? Health experts today are discussing and debating this question.

When used individually, or as adjuvant therapies alongside mainstream treatments, a number of alternative practices can help people achieve better mental health and wellness. A study published in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine journal concluded that yoga, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy were effective in promoting overall mental health. Similarly, a study published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine found that an hour-long sound meditation session helped people reduce tension, anger, fatigue, anxiety, and depression while increasing a sense of spiritual well-being. Here are some therapies that can help:

Sound healing

Sound healing or music therapy is an ancient knowledge that has been used for centuries as a healing tool. The use of music, singing, and instruments that release vibrations to improve the mental, emotional and physical state of a person is a practice that can effectively be termed as vibrational medicine.

Sound healing creates a shift in the brainwave state allowing the mind to go from the normal beta state (normal waking consciousness) to the alpha state (relaxed consciousness), quite similar to meditation. Sound healing particularly helps in conditions like anxiety, stress, depression and sleep disorders.

Mindfulness meditation

Sages and saints spent years meditating on the truth of the ‘self’ and achieved a higher mental and spiritual elevation through the process. Mindfulness meditation is a process that trains the mind to focus on the present, moment by moment, breath by breath. Rooted in Buddhism, it involves using breathing techniques and generating complete awareness of the mind and body by becoming highly aware of the present. People who learn the art are said to be calmer, clearer and less stressed in their daily lives.

Yoga

Yoga helps achieve a peaceful alignment between the body and mind. It modulates the stress response systems by training the mind to perceive stress and anxiety differently. It not only relieves symptoms of stress and anxiety, but also helps curtail the negative impact of stress on the body and reduces risk factors for chronic diseases, such as heart disease and high blood pressure.

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry found that yoga had positive effects on people with mild depression and sleep problems. It also improved symptoms of psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and ADHD among patients using medication.

(The author is director Poddar Wellness Ltd)