Interview of Dr. Madan Gulati (MD – Ayurveda)
INTERVIEWER: Hello friends! Welcome to our show “Swasthya Gyan Health Diary”. Friends, in today’s modern and busy lifestyle we’re unable to take care of our health. Due to which, we invite lethal diseases like hypertension, obesity and diabetes in our body at a very young age. The reasons for this are our eating habits and lifestyle. Today, we’ll talk about Depression. Depression, a deadly disease that has very badly encircled kids, youngsters and old aged people. With a solution for this problem, we have amongst us Dr. Madan Gulati. Dr. Gulati, we heartily welcome you to our show.
DR. MADAN GULATI: Thank You!
INTERVIEWER: Let’s first know about depression. What is Depression? Dr. Gulati, first of all tell our viewers, what depression is?
DR. MADAN GULATI: Today, depression has affected 350 million or 35 crores people are affected by depression. 36% of the total population affected by depression are in India itself. 10 million people are added in this list every year. It is also said that 1 lac (100 thousand) people are committing suicide due to depression. Depression is an ailment that causes continuous sadness. Rather I would say that depression is the opposite of happiness. If we’re depressed constantly for a few days and have no interest in doing any work or talking to someone. We call this disorder as Depression. When days of sadness convert into weeks or months then the problem keeps getting severe as the patient keeps crying without a reason and he is disinterested in almost everything. The word Depression refers to being depressed or depress that means a ditch that signifies emptiness in life. If there is a ditch on the floor or road then we fill it to make it functional. Similarly in depression, a ditch is made due to being jobless or several other reason. Just like the state of being happy is happiness, similarly depression is also a state of sadness which is continuous.
INTERVIEWER: Sir, what are its symptoms?
DR. MADAN GULATI: The patient loses appetite, has a disturbed sleep pattern. He might spend the entire night staying wide awake and he would be surrounded by negative thoughts. He feels helpless and has an irritable behavior. He just walks out of an active conversation. There is a sudden loss of excitement in the patient’s life. These are a few symptoms which are commonly seen in depression patients. They start crying without a cause right after waking up in the morning. He is always surrounded by a feeling of guilt and defeat. The body language and posture is not appropriate, his face looks dull and shoulders are also droopy. The patient has no confidence. His mind and body are not in sync. Our brain has neurotransmitters that release chemicals. Serotonin, is a very important hormone that affects mood lacks in a depression patient. Dopamine, endorphin are also mood elevating hormones. The lack of these hormones causes biological changes also. This phenomena doesn’t only affect the psychological condition of a person but also causes a stir biologically. This is caused by hereditary also. If the patient has a family history of depression that can also cause depression in him. We have heard renowned people like actress Deepika Padukone also suffering from Depression. In holy books like “The Gita”, the name of the very first chapter is “Arjunvishadyog”, in hindi vishad means depression. A great and focused personality like Arjun was also suffering from Depression. He gave up before war. Lord Krishna gave him spiritual knowledge, he made Arjun perform the RajYoga. He didn’t make him do Pranayama or ask him to take some drugs or herbs like Brahmi. Lord Krishna simply made him aware of who he was, that he’s not a body but a soul. He also said that Arjuna’s opponent were already dead. After attaining this knowledge, the feeling of enchantment and attachment vanished in Arjun. Attachment is the root cause of Depression. When you have some sort of attachment with a person, suppose if a loved one dies, then the related person goes into depression. There is an Ayurvedic verse which says, “Nashtomoha gatsandeha smritilabhta||” It means you have gained wisdom and self-consciousness.
INTERVIEWER: Sir, nowadays, it is seen that mostly youngsters are affected by depression. What is the reason behind that?
DR. MADAN GULATI: That is absolutely correct. Nowadays, little kids also suffer from depression. If there are 2 siblings and their age gap is of around 2 years than they can play together but if the gap is longer and there is no one to play with than the child feels lonely. Depression is commonly seen in kids because of longer age gap or in some cases there is a single child, they go into depression due to lack of companionship.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Gulati, tell us about the types of depression.
DR. MADAN GULATI: Depression is of various types. If the symptoms of sadness persist for a few days or the person has kept a condition that if I get this than I’ll be happy, it is known as Reactive Depression. Another type is Endogenic depression that is caused due to biological reasons or imbalance of hormones. Then there is severe or high risk depression in which the patient might commit suicide. These patients require medical help, we generally prescribe Brahmi, Ashwagandha and in modern science, Tab Talopram is usually prescribed. But in most patients, it’s all in the mind and for that they need counseling and should be taught meditation or Rajyog meditation. Until, they are taught how to meditate, they can’t defeat depression. I always stress on doing meditation to cure depression to my patients. The word meditation is originated from an Italian word Meditary and it means to heal. Now, what do we need to heal? Our mental injuries which have been caused by bad experiences in the past or uncertainties towards our future that have been caused by the accumulation of negative thoughts. The Depression patient needs to meditate. Meditation is a form of art which is taught by letting us know who we are, we are the children of Lord Almighty. To unite the soul to the Supreme powers, the patient needs to practice Rajyog meditation. When he’s able to recognize his inner self then patients easily escape from depression. For depression, my message to the viewers is that if you need medicines then there are very simple medications that can be taken like Saraswatarishta, Manasamitra Vatakam and then we have a formulation of Planet Ayurveda called Stress Support then there is Brahmi, Gotukola, Ashwagandha, Vacha, Tagar then we have Medhya churna and in females we give Naari kalyan churna and the ingredients in it are Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Brahmi, Jatamansi. These formulations are given to patients and in modern sciences also we need to give certain medications to balance chemicals. We need to take strict care of diet in depression. A depression patients should definitely eat 1 or 2 bananas as they increase the level of Tryptophan and serotonin levels. A recent study suggests that earlier it was thought that Serotonin was created by the brain but according to Dr. John, 95% of the serotonin is made in our gut. It is said that Happiness lies under the diaphragm and it is absolutely true. This justifies Ayurveda because Ayurveda says the Vata dosha is situated in the large intestine. As depression is a Vataj disorder, Ayurveda says “Krodharth pittam bhayarthvayu||” there is a fear created in the gut and that is why Vata gets vitiated in a depression patient. Therefore, serotonin is not related to the brain but to the gut, if our diet is balanced then Depression can’t occur. According to Ayurveda, Satvik bhojan, it is divided into categories like Satvik, Rajsik and Tamsik. There is a saying that food decides our mood. We are controlled by our hormones and hormones are controlled by our thoughts. If negative thoughts are overpowering you then you’ll fall prey to depression but if you have made up your mind to stay happy and you don’t let situations affect your happiness then such people get out of depression very easily and the ultimate ocean of happiness is the Lord Almighty, he is an ocean of knowledge, love, delight, joy and serenity. When we connect with the Lord almighty it gives us inner peace and happiness because more than a physical ailment depression is a mental ailment and connecting with spirituality automatically regulates our hormones.
INTERVIEWER: So, Dr. Gulati tell us that does depression also depend on our dietary habits?
DR. MADAN GULATI: As far as diet is concerned, consumption of Satvik foods like milk and milk products, bananas and other fruits is beneficial and avoid Rajsik and Tamsik foods. Depression patients should totally stop non vegetarian and start taking satvik diet along with lots of salads. A diet like this along with some Ayurvedic formulations will prove to be very beneficial to depression patients and not to forget meditation.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Gulati, how can depression be curbed?
DR. MADAN GULATI: If you want to be saved from depression than it’s better to keep yourself busy. They say that work creates happiness. Plan your day and try to finish as much work as you can. Just get out of your past. I once had a depression patient who just stuck to his past relationship with his wife and couldn’t forget her even after separation. You should never allow such things to tag along, just let it go. You should never live with your past, past is a cancelled cheque. Start living in your present and think about your future. Think that whatever is happening in your life is good and whatever will happen will be good too. Enjoy each and every moment and just live in your present and you’ll never suffer from depression. You should understand one thing that you’re not dependent on these superficial things to be happy, your happiness comes from within. Nothing can affect your happiness unless you allow. If you surround yourself with such positive thoughts you’ll always be happy. One more thing I would like to say to my viewers is that the first thing in the morning that we feed our brain with is newspaper, news channels or whatsapp puts a negative impact on our mind. Reading about negative things like rape, murder etc. gives rise to negative thoughts. If your child gets late in reaching home then you’ll have negative thoughts about that but he could be busy with some better things also but the first thought would be negative. I would suggest you not to read such news in the morning. Wake up early during the Brahm muhurta. There’s an Ayuvedic verse which says, “Brahmmuhurta uttishthit swasthrakhshart Ayushya||. It means that if you want to stay healthy then wake up in the Brahm muhurta as it will help in the proper functioning of 18 hormones, 9 hormones are given by the hypothalamus, 8 by the pituitary gland and 1 by the pineal body which is very important for proper sleep. This total of 18 hormones is attained by us if we rise in the Brahm muhurta and keep ourselves busy and happy because there is no better diet and medicine than happiness. Keep yourself attached to the the supreme powers and gain some spiritual knowledge. Always give credit to God for the good deeds done by you and be thankful and you will never be depressed.
INTERVIEWER: Dr. Gulati, what message would you like to give to our viewers through our show?
DR. MADAN GULATI: I would like to give this message to my viewers that don’t let sadness show on your face, make it your slave. Thank you!
INTERVIEWER: Friends, I hope that you would have noted down all the important information given by Dr. Gulati. Tomorrow, we’ll be back with a solution for another problem. Till then Dr Gulati and I will take your leave. Namaskar (Greetings)!
