"The doctor of the future will not give more medicine,
but it will interest the patient in the care of the human structure,
They seemed to be lacking a vital part of their human makeup.
The patient takes care of the oral cavity with the help of a doctor
to diet and disease prevention "
Thomas Edison
The idea of treating the subject of the alternative to the use of drugs in various mental disorders arises from observation, in the context of yoga classes where I teach, especially in those I do with university students, of a situation in my opinion, worrying: that is, the fact that many, especially among young people, are calmly directed to using psychotropic drugs to treat anxieties, anxieties and trivial headaches.
The idea of treating the subject of the alternative to the use of drugs in various mental disorders arises from observation, in the context of yoga classes where I teach, especially in those I do with university students, of a situation in my opinion, worrying: that is, the fact that many, especially among young people, are calmly directed to using psychotropic drugs to treat anxieties, anxieties and trivial headaches.
The idea of treating the subject of the alternative to the use of drugs in various mental disorders arises from observation, in the context of yoga classes where I teach, especially in those I do with university students, of a situation in my opinion, worrying: that is, the fact that many, especially among young people, are calmly directed to using psychotropic drugs to treat anxieties, anxieties and trivial headaches.
All without having a real awareness of the risks in which you can incur the prolonged intake of these drugs; first and foremost that of addiction.
This situation, I believe, is the result of the actual lack of knowledge of what may be the contraindications in the use of the various psychotropic drugs but also of the fact that they are often not proposed to the individual who turns to the specialists of the sector alternative instruments with which face and solve various problems.
The disorders on which I would like to dwell today are those where the request for help is greater and which involve a large part of the population; they fall into the category of anxiety disorders (which includes generalized anxiety disorders, panic attacks, various social phobias, specific, obsessive-compulsive disorders, acute stress distress).
Anxiety sprays cause as many as seven and a half million Italians to be habitual consumers of "anxiolytics"; in addition to these it appears that another five million people suffer from anxiety, or simply believe they suffer from it.
According to psychology these disorders are considered as the degeneration of an emotional reaction that is part of our emotional genetic background.
There is in fact an anxiety of a "physiological" type that would represent a psychological and bodily state of the human being in relation to the vicissitudes of life; state that differs as a manifestation from actual anxiety disorders.
(Let's take an example: when a person has to face a test, he is generally in a mild state of anxiety. His body and his psyche are "oriented" towards the imminent event almost to prepare themselves to solve it in the best possible way.
In this case, "moderate" and short-term anxiety seems to be a sign of the individual's adaptation to an environmental situation that requires satisfactory answers.
The increase in attention, concentration, memory, muscle tension and other psychophysical functions (such as raising the blood pressure, heart rate) is considered as a sort of "energy charge" aimed at overcoming of the test.
However, when in other situations this state is continuous or becomes too intense, on the contrary, it causes the "fall" of the functions described above.
In other words the person can lose memory, concentration, be inattentive, feel too tired and suddenly "empty" from the mental point of view so as to be unable to adapt normally to everyday life.This case is part of the field of mild anxiety disorders).
The panic attack is characterized by a sudden and unexpected sensation of terror and anxiety during which within a few minutes different symptoms can appear such as palpitations, sweating, tremors, a feeling of suffocation, pain or discomfort to the pedicel or abdominal discomfort sensations of heeling, or fainting; derealization (feeling of reality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself); fear of losing control or going crazy; to die; chills or hot flashes.
One of the possible complications of panic attacks, especially when repeated, is that most people gradually develop an "anticipatory" anxiety (ie the fear of new episodes of panic) and consequently try to avoid the situations that have been associated with attacks; a certain isolation ensues.
The treatments usually adopted include:
Drug therapy: widely used, it is usually prescribed for short periods since generally addictive and addictive phenomena develop, which push the individual to take more and more drugs. Among the side effects of these drugs are drowsiness, weight gain, skin disorders, headache, impotence, dizziness, menstrual irregularities.
Moreover, in some cases, the interruption of the use of these drugs can, in the short or long term, make the initial symptoms associated with new ones reappear, even in an amplified way.
Usually drug therapy is accompanied by congitive-behavioral psychotherapy which is aimed at correcting dysfunctional behaviors through practical techniques (including relaxation techniques) and transforming certain fixed patterns of reasoning considered to be the cause of symptoms.
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder is instead characterized by at least six months of anxiety and uncontrolled concerns present for most of the day; that negatively affect sleep, mood and concentration, create muscular tension and fatigue; tachycardia, dizziness, dry mouth, increased sweating, tingling.
Treatment is always pharmacological with anxiolytics associated with cognitive-behavioral or psychodynamic therapy.
According to the Yoga teaching, the various physical, mental and mental dysfunctions with which the human being confronts, reflect the inability to adequately distribute energy in the various nerve centers that are present in each individual.
The basic assumption from which we start is that according to which these nerve centers called Chakras represent focus points of emission and reception of the energy of being; in these points at the bioenergetic level the energy has a greater concentration and from the anatomical point of view the nerves unite to form the most important plexuses (such as the cardiac, solar...).
These centers have specific characteristics that the individual manifests when he has an energy predominance in one or more of them; they also regulate the activity of the glands and the organs that correspond to them from the anatomical point of view (eg Anahata Chakra-plexocardiac center-controls the activity of the heart, lungs etc… - high affectivity, pure love, altruism etc...)
According to this view, anxiety disorders are the expression of an energy imbalance at the level of three Chakras: Muladhara, Manipura and Anahata.
The first of these Chakras, Muladhara (at the base of the spine) is mainly linked to the instinct of conservation, to the concern for physical and bodily survival, to the most material aspect of being; its disharmonious activation is expressed with excessive fear of being attacked, annihilated, of losing control.
By making a parallel with the classification of anxiety disorders we can observe a similarity between the previously stated characteristics and some of the symptoms such as the fear of going crazy or losing control; the feeling of heeling, instability, light-headedness or fainting; the fear of dying.
We can also observe how in the professional performance anxiety or in social phobias it is always the material plan that is implicated as a manifestation of the disharmony in Muladhara Chakra.
The energetic imbalance concerns we have also said the third Chakra Manipura (two cm under the navel) center that controls the activity of the solar plexus and that we find mainly tied to the dynamism of the being, to the passionality, to the control; its disharmonious activation is expressed in a behavior characterized by the dynamical domain / submission.
In some manifestations of anxiety, such as agoraphobia, the psychological dynamics underlying the disorder concern the conflict between dependence and independence present in the individual; in summary, the disorder is often a modality implemented to have control of oneself and of the other and even it is a modality of sadisticizing the other (as often the companion wears out and is exhausted).
The correlation can continue between the fear of losing control, typical of anxiety disorders, and the impulsiveness and irreducibility of excessive and uncontrolled energy in Manipura Chakra.
As physical symptoms of anxiety as an expression of energy imbalance in Manipura we have nausea, abdominal discomfort, hot flushes etc.
Anahata Chakra (located in the center of the chest) controls the cardiac plexus and is linked to the emotions, affectivity and empathy of the individual.
We can observe how panic attacks often occur in situations of separation and abandonment (for this reason the issues concerning the subject's dependence are usually explored); moreover, a typical manifestation of Anahata's disharmony is the mental and physical agitation that we find in anxiety disorders such as palpitations, a feeling of suffocation, pain or discomfort in the chest.
The elective mode for recreating balance and for harmonizing the energies in the Chakras is represented by Hatha Yoga: in fact, asanas allow the flow of energies in being and their harmonious distribution; in the case of anxiety disorders it is therefore necessary to set a daily and constant practice that prefers the postures that activate the three chakras mentioned above.
Through yoga practice, in addition to acting on the physical symptoms, and therefore on the body, one also works on the mental and psychic level; in this way it is possible to achieve greater self-esteem, increase self-confidence and inner strength.
The realization of relaxation techniques (also present in behavioral therapy) and autogenic training techniques allow a relaxation of the blood vessels, a reduction of muscle tension, a greater flow of blood in almost all the organs and a better respiratory function.
Specifically it is recommended the realization of Yoga Nidra (= yoga sleep), a yogic method that allows you to enter a special yogic sleep without dreams in which the consciousness remains suspended but hyper vigilant and appears a deep relaxation at muscular, nervous and psychic level. During the realization of this technique the consciousness comes into contact with the beneficial energies of the macrocosm refining its level, and the being experiences a state of extraordinary fullness.
Performing a conscious breathing allows, if practiced systematically, to maintain a state of mental relaxation and calmness; in particular it is indicated to realize in moments of crisis (when the breath becomes labored or there is the sensation of "lack of air") of deep and abdominal breathing.
The practice of meditation is specific on the activation of the Chakras that is realized with the mantras, by the one who has received the initiation from a Master, allows to experiment and acquire both a state of detachment and to develop a perspective of problem analysis and of the wider situations, with a consequent emotional stability.
It is also possible to combine a therapy based on medicinal plants such as valerian, mint, basil, ashwaganda and hypericum or to use Bach flowers, or homeopathy; these treatments have no contraindications or side effects and are not addictive.
Oligotherapy (treatment with minerals) advises the anxious state to take manganese - cobalt.
It is possible to help with chromotherapy using blue and yellow both in clothing and as a form of treatment; indicated are pranotherapy and music therapy.
It is also good to use strength ideas such as "I am serene, calm and at peace with myself and with everything that surrounds me" which allows us to dynamize the subconscious in a positive way.
The idea will be repeated as soon as you wake up and before falling asleep for 21 times; during the day it is good to use it to control mental fluctuations; the dynamization of the subconscious is also obtained by writing e and keeping the respective sentence in places accessible to our eyes.
Spending time in the midst of nature is a great way to recreate a contact with oneself and to restore an inner state of tranquility.
Also the food must be taken care of, avoiding exciting substances such as coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, coca-cola and exciting drugs like saffron, pepper, curry.
It seems that a "bioelectronic", non-invasive and called Vega test exists to treat anxiety, through which it is possible to identify classes of foods (yeasts, milk and derivatives, cereals) that often favor anxious reactivity and are therefore eliminated from the diet.
Last but not least it would be good to learn to really love ourselves to have more self-confidence and to have a more positive vision of the reality that surrounds us; learning to let things flow without living in trouble, to relate to something Superior that allows us to experience a state of active and conscious abandonment to what life holds for us.
