Ayurveda and Mental Health Practice: How Distress Is Described and Treated

If you are in crisis, start here

If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. If you are suicidal or in emotional distress, you can call or text 988 or chat online with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US. [1] The Lifeline is available around the clock, and conversations are free and confidential. [2] Ayurvedic care is not a substitute for emergency or psychiatric care.

How Ayurveda describes the mind

Classical Ayurvedic writing treats the mind as manas and mental illness as manovikara or manasa roga. A review of the classical material covers the definition of manas, its functions and qualities, classification of mental disorders, and prevention and treatment. [3] Psychosis is explained as "unmada". [4] Hallucinations are described as symptoms of a mental disorder or of illness of tridosha origin, called false perception (mithyajnana) or confusion (bhrama). [5] These are traditional descriptions in their own terms. They are not diagnoses, and they do not map exactly onto modern conditions such as depression, anxiety or schizophrenia.

How practice differs from the texts

Practitioners may combine herbs, oil treatments such as Shirodhara (oil poured on the forehead), diet, routine, yoga and meditation. Which of these a person receives varies by practitioner and country. This page covers what has been studied; see Ayurveda and meditation and Ayurveda, yoga and pranayama for those practices.

What research shows

Evidence is tied to specific interventions, not to "Ayurveda for the mind" as a whole.

A caution about numbers: effect sizes in some ashwagandha meta-analyses are very large compared with most mental health treatments, and the authors themselves point to differences between trials. [6] Treat them as a reason for better trials, not a promise.

Safety

• Liver. NCCIH notes rare cases of liver injury linked to ashwagandha. [10] A case series described jaundice 2 to 12 weeks after starting. [11]
• Interactions. NCCIH says ashwagandha might interact with sedatives, anticonvulsants and other medicines. [10] People taking psychiatric medicines should ask a pharmacist before adding any herb.
• Product quality. Some Ayurvedic preparations may contain lead, mercury or arsenic in toxic amounts. [12] See Ayurvedic products: heavy metals and product quality.
• Inconsistent reporting. Reviewers note that side effects are inconsistently recorded in these trials. [8]

Do not stop or reduce psychiatric medicine because of anything you read here. Changes belong with your prescriber.

Who should seek conventional care first

Anyone with thoughts of self-harm, severe low mood, panic, hearing or seeing things others do not, confusion, or symptoms that make daily life hard. For general guidance see Stress vs anxiety, burnout and depression and therapy for anxiety and stress.

Qualifications and regulation

There is no significant regulation of Ayurvedic practice or education in the United States, and no state requires a license. [12] An Ayurvedic practitioner is not a mental health clinician unless they also hold a separate license. See choosing an Ayurvedic practitioner and Ayurveda for stress, anxiety and depression.