A healthy individual according to Ayurveda is the one who is both physically and mentally free from any illness and has a balance of all the Doshas. Mind plays a very important part in leading a healthy life which is unfortunately said to be imbalanced these days due to improper lifestyle, diet & regimens and stress. Mental illness has been alarmingly increasing in these days which mainly include conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression etc.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness in which the patient has distorted mental thoughts and behavioral changes which can affect his /her personal, professional and social life. Major symptoms of schizophrenia include delusion, hallucinations, thought disorders and depression. In an attempt to unravel the etiology and risk factors of schizophrenia, the elucidation of the term urbanicity becomes more important. According to the research conducted, urbanicity and improper upbringing during childhood can be a major risk factor causing schizophrenic changes with a stage of psychosis during his/her adulthood. Incidence of risk factor of schizophrenia in urban population is around 30 percent with 10 to 20 percent patients with subtle psychosis.
Frequency of schizophrenia compared to other mental disorders is also found to be more in immigrants. Therefore since it is a mental illness which is deeply associated with the lifestyle, Ayurveda being a life science along with yoga can give wonderful relief in these mental imbalances without side effects. The psychological imbalances in schizophrenia like lack of pleasure, trouble with speech, apathy, struggling with basic activities of daily life, difficulty to finish a task which has been started, all these can have severe negative effects one's educational, social and family life. Patients may experience trouble in concentrating or focusing, movement disorders etc. Most of the patients start losing hope on life as depression is also a part of this mental condition.
Proper counselling has to be provided to the patient and has to be trained with yoga and relevant meditation techniques along with the medications. Counselling regarding lifestyle, food habits, following proper sleep has to be conveyed to the patient and to patient’s relatives. Educating the relatives is of prime importance as the patient needs proper care and support during those episodes. Since schizophrenia is a serious mental illness which affects a person’s thought, perception and emotions, promoting a positive family environment can definitely help to prevent the relapse.