Ayurvedic Management for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Abstract
Post traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced a traumatic event. Examples include intimate partner violence, historical trauma, rape/sexual assault, war, terrorist acts, serious accidents, and natural disasters etc. This may affect mental as well as physical health. Women are more affected by this disease. People who are suffering with post traumatic stress disorder have disturbing thoughts, sadness, anger and they may feel detached from other people. In this article we will discuss post traumatic stress disorder in detail and its ayurvedic management.
Introduction
Post traumatic stress disorder was formerly known as shell shock during world war 1 and combat fatigue after world war 2. It is a very serious condition which develops after someone has experienced a stressful or terrifying event. The main Symptoms shown by PTSD are anxiety, avoidance, feeling outside from his body and panic disorders etc. Stress, prolonged traumatic experience, physical abuse and sexual violence are the major causes of this disease and its diagnoses mainly on the basis of symptoms. But this disease can be manageable by ayurvedic herbs and therapies easily. Let’s discuss Post traumatic stress disorder in detail.
Types
Post traumatic stress disorder is mainly of four types
1. Acute stress disorder (ASD)
In this anxiety and avoidance develops within a month after a traumatic event. The people who are suffering from acute stress disorder go on to develop post traumatic stress disorder.
2. Dissociative post traumatic stress disorder
It develops when a patient detaches himself from the trauma. Patient feel separated from the event or feel outside from his body
3. Uncomplicated post traumatic stress disorder
In this symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder appear in the patient but the patient dont have any other mental health issues. People suffering from this type often respond well to treatment.
4. Comorbid PTSD
This type involves symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder along with other mental health disorders such as depression and panic disorders.
Causes
- Stress
- Prolonged traumatic experience
- Physical abuse
- Sexual violence
- Family history
Symptoms
Symptoms shown by post traumatic stress disorder are divided into four categories.
1. Intrusion
- It includes intrusive thoughts such as flashbacks of the traumatic event, distressing dreams, involuntary dreams etc.
2. Avoidance
- People will try to avoid people, places, activities, objects and situations that may trigger distressing memories. People may try to avoid remembering about the past event.
3. Alterations in cognition and mood
- People have inability to remember important aspects of the traumatic event, negative thoughts, distorted thoughts about cause, feeling detached from others, inability to experience positive emotions
4. Alterations in arousal and reactivity
- It includes having problem with sleeping, having problem with concentrating, being easily startled, behaving in a self destructive way, having angry outbursts and being irritable.
Post traumatic stress disorder risk factors
The traumatic events which are more likely to trigger post traumatic stress disorder are:-
- Disasters
- Childhood abuse
- Accident
- Assault
- Sexual violence
- Military combat
Other factors that may also increase risk of post traumatic stress disorder include:-
- Genetic history
- Lack of support
- Substance misuse
- Depression
Diagnosis
Post traumatic stress disorder can be diagnosed only on the basis of symptoms. There is no lab test to diagnose PTSD but physicians may use various tests to rule out post traumatic stress disorder. Some test are as follows:-
- Physical examination
- Psychological examination
- Use the criteria in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder.
Treatment
It includes a number of different treatments such as talk therapy, medication, and personal lifestyle changes. Some therapies treating post traumatic stress disorder are:-
- Cognitive behavioural therapy
- Exposure therapy
- Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy
- Medicine
- Lifestyle changes
- Emergency treatment
Ayurvedic overview
Ayurveda simply means knowledge of life which includes many therapies such as herbal medicines, oils, enemas, laxatives, massage, yoga and special diet etc. According to ayurveda our body is composed of three components such as dhatu, mal and doshas. Doshas is of two types sharirk doshas and mansik doshas. According to ayurveda mind disorders occur due to imbalance of mansik doshas i.e. raja and tama. The person who shows high emotions such as anger, horror, fear, and negative thoughts are due to imbalance of rajas dosha. Imbalance of vata and pitta may also cause symptoms at the physical level. These doshas contaminate the mind and mind carrying channels that lead to post traumatic stress disorder. Some people show low end emotions such a void of happiness, loss of interest, shame, worry, guilt, depression and are detached from everything and everyone. These symptoms are due to imbalance of tama dosha.
Imbalance of dhee, dhruti, and smriti
In this condition three important faculties of mind i.e. memory, courage and intellect are all disturbed.
Dhee- Negative thoughts, alterations in arousal, avoidance,and negative thoughts shows the disturbance of dhee.
Smriti- flashbacks of traumatic events, distressing dreams, repeated involuntary memories, reliving the bad experiences and recollecting them shows the imbalance the smriti
Dhruti- void of satisfaction, feeling detached, loss of interest in activities, horror and guilt explain the imbalance of dhriti
Post traumatic stress disorder can be manageable by some ayurvedic therapies such as shirodhara, meditation etc. and also manageable by some ayurvedic herbs such as ashwagandha, brahmi, tagar, daru haridra, dalchini and arjuna. These herbs mainly work on the brain to reduce the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.
Herbal remedies by planet ayurveda for post traumatic stress disorder
Planet ayurveda is a worldwide company which treats humans as well as animals. This is a GMP certified company. All the medicines made by this company are natural and free from side effects. This company makes medicines under the observation of MD ayurveda doctors. Planet Ayurveda makes medicine in the form of tablets, syrup and churna. All the products are gluten free. In case of post traumatic stress disorder following products are offered by Planet ayurveda:-
Product list
- Neurogenie capsules
- Stress support
- Mahakalyanaka ghrit
- Arjun tea
Product Description
1.Neurogenie capsules
This capsule is formulated using extract of two medicinal herbs i.e. brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) and ashwagandha (Withania somnifera). Both of the ingredients in this capsule are natural and help in management of mental illness, anxiety and maintain healthy functions of the brain. Ashwagandha and brahmi both are very helpful in the health of the brain. Thus these capsules are very helpful in the management of brain disorders.
Dosage:- 2 capsules twice daily with plain water after meals.
2. Stress support
These are the herbal capsules that consist mainly of three wonderful herbs such as tagar (Valeriana wallichii), ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and brahmi (Bacopa monnieri). Stress is the main symptom of post traumatic stress disorder so as the name suggests help in treating the stress. Ashwagandha present in this capsule maintains brain health. Brahmi has anxiolytic properties that help in reducing the symptoms of anxiety and mental fatigue while increasing memory span. It also reduces the inflammation of nervous tissue which is responsible for anxiety.
Dose:- 1 capsule twice daily after meals
3. Mahakalyanaka ghrita
Maha kalyanaka ghrita is an ayurvedic medicine in which ghee is used as a base. There are a number of medicinal herbs present in this ghrit. Some of them are daru haridra (Berberis aristata), prishniparni (Urara picta), shweta sariva (Hemidesmus indicus) and krishna sariva (Ichnocarpus frutescens). This ghrit calms the mind and also helps in treating other mental disorders such as schizophrenia, epilepsy etc. it also helps in treating inflammation in the body.
Dose:- 1 teaspoon twice daily with warm water.
4. Arjun Tea
This herbal tea is the combination of purely herbal ingredients described in ancient ayurvedic texts. The herbs used in this tea are pipal tavak (Ficus religiosa), chhoti elaichi (Elettaria cardamomum), punarnava (Boerhavia diffusa), dalchini (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and arjuna (Terminalia arjuna). These herbs mainly work on the heart and control blood pressure. It is the safest choice for problems like hypertension and high cholesterol etc. This tea provides nutrition to the heart and maintains cholesterol and blood pressure. It is totally free from nicotine and caffeine. This tea also relaxes the mind and keeps our mind stress free.
Dosage:- take one cup of tea daily
Conclusion
A person who is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder needs professional help because post traumatic stress disorder is a serious condition which may affect mental as well as physical health. It develops after someone has experienced a stressful or terrifying event. People who are suffering from this disease have disturbing thoughts, sadness, anger and they may feel detached from other people. Here in this article we have learnt post traumatic stress disorder in detail and its ayurvedic management.
