Psychotherapy in Ancient India

“Beta, the best remedy for depression is to just stand under the Sun & be happy.”

”Not again uncle! Because Sanatan literature not only understood psychological disorders (like we saw in part 1) but had real remedies for them, too.”

So here’s the tea!

Let’s start with psychotherapy. A lot of parents have a problem with kids taking medicine for mental problems because unlike physical problems, we can’t see them, so they don’t feel real.

But it was common in ancient India.

As part of one of the oldest medical systems from South India called as “siddha medicine,” the Agastiyar Kirigai Nool, written by Rishi Agastya, lists treatments for up to 18 disorders including bipolarism & panic attacks.

It suggests syrups made from Brahmi, Jatamansi, Ashwagandha, Shankhapushpi, Vacha, Shatavari and Tulsi, which are all medicinal herbs that our generation isn’t taught about because we’d rather study Western medicine than do scientific research on our own Ayurveda.

You see these herbs also appear in Charaka & Sushruta Samhitas, too.

We had detox procedures like Panchakarma to cleanse the mind & therapies like Shirodhara & Dhara which involve pouring warm or normal herbal liquids over our heads to soothe anxiety & help us relax.

Not just that, going to therapy, i.e. counseling was also pretty chill as disturbed people were taken to rishis & gurus to learn yoga asanas & mantras that would calm down & balance their minds.

In fact, as per the Vedas, Upanishads & Srimad Bhagavad Gita, bringing our mind under control is, in one way, considered as the most important goal of life - so our rituals, like chanting mantras loudly, have probably been designed to help us create & maintain that sharp focus, memory & emotional equilibrium.