Depression and Unani management
A number of approaches promote mental and emotional recovery by encouraging both relaxation and a positive image of oneself
. A good way to start is with a progressive unani muscular relaxation exercise. Sit in a comfortable position (it is better not to lie down or you may fall asleep). Start with your feet by wiggling your toes. Then squeeze your feet with your hands and let them go. Now rotate your ankles. Squeeze or tense your calves, knees, and thighs in turn before relaxing. At each stage, be conscious of the difference in feeling before and after. Next clench your buttocks and relax them. Tighten the stomach muscles, and slowly breathe in before more slowly breathing out. When you reach your shoulders hunch them up and release (many people hold tension in their shoulders without realizing it). Do this a few times. Finish by screwing your face up and stretching your jaw before releasing. Relax. At the end of this routine you should feel quite relaxed. See if you can keep this feeling of relaxation during the rest of the day. Test your body from time to time. If you think you have tensed up, run through the sequence again. It does not take long no more than a few minutes and is easy to fit into even the busiest routine. With practice you will find it will help you cope better and give you more stamina and clarity of mind. Combining the relaxation exercise with any of the following therapies can produce an extremely powerful healing force. Visualization In the unani therapy, foocus on the pain you are feeling. Whether it is a physical or psychological pain, try and get a sense of it a feeling for it almost. What exactly is it like (throbbing, sharp, dull)? What "shape" is it (small, wide, large)? What "weight" is it (light, heavy)? Identify it as precisely as you can. The aim is having identified it, to decide to change it by imagining something appropriate in your mind's eye that will best deal with it. For example, a "heavy, wide, dull" pain may be seen as a large rock pressing down on that part of you; or a "sharp, thin, light" pain as a needle sticking into you. So, in the first example, you could visualize a crane or a giant gently lifting the rock off you and crushing it to powder. Or, in the second, reaching down and slowly pulling the needle out and throwing it into the sea.
Psychological pain is often harder to "picture", but not impossible. If depression is the basic problem, try to identify the cause, if it is not already obvious. Rejection, for example, may be seen as a small, lost child, crying and alone. A smiling angel may be visualized walking up to the child and taking it by the hand into a room full of warmth and light, where other people come up, also smiling, and hug and talk to the child. Equally, an aching heart may be seen as bruised, and benefit from being surrounded by purple light, or warm sea -water, or a soft hand; mental turmoil or confusion as a cage that is unlocked and lets all the chaos escape, leaving a clear, empty, silent space.
The possibilites are endless. The illogicality or unlikelihood of the image is not important. If the result makes you feel good or atleast better then let it happen, whatever it is. Sustain the picture as long as you like, go in any direction you like, see whatever you want to see. The important thing is to think of a positive image, an image that is a solution, at least in your mind's eye.
Having found an effective image, visualize it regularly. And if it ceases to be effective, simply change it for something that is and do that regularly. Continue until your mind is in control of the pain and not the other way around. At best, you will find that your mind can literally think the pain away. At worst, it will give other methods a better chance of helping you recover, or enable you to face life with more strength and so allow more positive experiences to come your way that will displace the old negative thoughts and feelings more completely. Unani Meditation Anyone can meditate, but it takes a little practice to do it properly. That is why it is a good idea to be shown how to do it by someone experienced. The basic idea is to begin by relaxing the body and then try to do the same with the mind to reach a state of what is often termed "passive concentration." This can be a bit difficult to achieve at first, but it becomes easier with practice.
Sit upright in a comfortable and well-supported position (do not lie down, or you could fall asleep and remove the point of the exercise). Close your eyes, or if this makes you feel sleepy, try fixing your gaze on a single, simple object, such as a lighted candle or a stone. The aim is to remain mentally relaxed yet alert.
Do not worry about stray thoughts that flit through your mind (they usually do). Do not be concerned about how well you may (or may not) be doing it is not a test. The most important thing is to adopt a "let it all happen" approach. Experienced meditators say: "Don't push the river, let it flow by itself."
Try and retain your "passive concentration" for at least 20-30 minutes. When ready to stop, get up quietly and slowly. The effects of meditation are often hard to pinpoint at first, but regular meditators claim dramatic increases in energy, stamina, and resistance to diseases of all kinds, including the effects of pain, in the long-term. The lession is that for meditation to be successful and it can be extremely successful for some people it needs to be practiced regularly. Self hypnosis The ability of the mind to "hypnotize" or "reprogram" itself to think itself and therefore the rest of the body better is not only powerful but immensely effective. This has obvious implications in the natural treatment of pain, both mental and physical. The best known recent exponent of the process of self-hypnosis is the who coined the term "affirmations" to describe the process.
Another, older description is "autosuggestion," who launched the technique more than a century ago with his famous phrase: "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better." Examples of affirmations useful for mental and emotional pain are the following (they are best performed looking into a mirror).
"I am calm and confident"
"I love and approve of myself".
"I am a wonderful human being."
"I am the power and authority in my life and no one else is."
"I am strong and my mind/heart is healing itself."
"I am filled with healing power."
Affirmations can be learned easily from books, tapes, and videos, but sometimes initial guidance from a specialist teacher, or perhaps an experienced acquaintance, can put you on the right track and save time and effort. Biofeedback The use of a brain wave metering device to discover control of one's own mental activity, biofeedback must be learned under professional guidance. Once learned, it is an effective way of educating the mind into better habits by doing more of what is good for the body and less of what is bad. Flower remedies Self diagnosis and self-selection is very much the rule in using flower remedies for psychological pain. Bluebell, violet butterfly, and mariposa lily, for example, are recommended for depression of various kinds, but it is for the individual to decide which "feels" right. These days, with some two dozen suppliers making more than 100 remedies in over 50 countries around the world, the choice is enormous. The box below gives an idea of some of the original Bach flower remedies available for psychological pain. Unani Exercise Any form of exercise is one of the best ways of helping with mental and emotional pain of almost any kind, especially if the exercise is energetic and emotions are prevented from "taking over." In addition to promoting heart and lung health, physical exercise naturally releases the so-called "pleasure hormones" (endorphis) that dampen down psychological and physical pain. Running, walking, climbing, swimming, and cycling are all excellent ways of using exercise to help with psychological pain. Exercise with someone, or alone if you prefer : the choice is yours. But exercising at the first sign of a depression can often stop it in its tracks and you will be better physically for it too. Unani Massage Massaging, or being massaged, is a wonderful de-stressor and psychological pain-reliever, especially if used with aromatic or essential oils. There are a number of recognized techniques taught to professional massage therapists but using firm, flowing strokes and doing what you or your partner likes is more important than formal techniques in self help. Aromatherapy The range of essential oils is wide, and almost all have a useful role in treating psychological pain of all kinds, whether used in massage, inhaled, or vaporized in a burner. Oils most favored are shown below, but if you are unsure, ask at a store that supplies them (they usually also have samples for you to try), or seek the advice of a qualified clinical aromatherapist. Reflexology Manipulating the soles and sides of the feet is another excellent relaxer that benefits the mind and emotions as much as the body especially, as with massage, when done with an essential oil. Because so many organs are said to correspond to do so many different parts of the foot making specific treatment complicated for a non-specialist a good overall massage of the entire foot, but particularly the top half including the toes, is best. For even better results, get someone else to do it to you.
Depression and Unani management
By: Dr Izharul Hasan
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