Ayurveda, in its rich history, approaches each aspect of a human, including psychological health, as the whole of mind, body, spirit. Ayurveda builds in the understanding that what is happening in our body is also reflected in our mind and that disease in the mind begins in the whole physiology of a person. Each person is unique in their mind and physiology which we can see when two people experience the same stressful event, but manifest different symptoms. When clients are struggling with anxiety, not all symptoms for each are the same. Ayurveda’s strength is understanding the uniqueness of an individual and approaching their psychological needs with a personalized approach.

Ayurveda sees the mind as being responsible for our perception of the world and approaches treatment through the Prakruti (baseline of Vata, Putta, Kapha) & Vikruti (Imbalance of Vata, Pitta, Kapha) of each person. Each Prakruti has certain tendencies that make their mind unique. It is widely understood in Ayurveda that poor digestion is the creator of imbalance and if there is care taken to make changes in a person’s lifestyle, diet, etc... to improve digestion then healing will happen.

Digestion is affected by everything we do, not just everything we eat. If we take into consideration that our mind has to digest everything we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste, a simple thing we can begin to watch is how big is the load we are feeding the mind everyday? How many videos did I scroll through on Instagram? How much yelling and criticism did I listen to today? What was the nature of my environment today? What is so unique about Ayurveda is it gives each person the knowledge of how to manage their psychological health. The client has the power to take specific actions to improve how they feel everyday. It also empowers each person to know that variations in the mind don’t have to be something abnormal about you, it can be a sign that you are taking in too much content, you are out of balance, or even eating the wrong things and, if you make some changes, you can make your mind feel more calm and clear. 

For example, Vata mind generally shows characteristics of being creative, inspired, ready for change, energetic, enthusiastic, expressive and can be quick to forget. When Vata dosa is not in balance, then the mind may show qualities such as unpredictable, indecisive, superficial, moody, nervous and anxious. The latter of this list are descriptions that would be common in a diagnostic chart for someone seeking traditional mental health treatment. The difference is the approach. 

Traditional mental health will address the symptoms and try to alter behavior through systematic approaches that isolate thoughts and behaviors from the whole physiology. Ayurveda will look first at understanding the uniqueness of that person through their Prakruti, then will address the whole scope of a persons’ experience, from what time they go to bed, wake-up, eat, drink, exercise, spend free time, how they think and past and present environment. Ayurveda will approach changes in all areas that are necessary to support the change on all levels working towards rebalancing a person to their normalized state of physiology and mind together. Ayurveda looks beyond the tangible symptoms with a framework to locate the root issues and help clients to build a deeper connection to themselves and the mind as an instrument. Seeing the mind as an instrument, something we can teach, shift, and mold through daily choices, gives us power over how we experience ourselves and the world around us.

When we understand that we have a baseline (physiology) for the mind and can have direct impact on how to manage and evolve this instrument to work for us instead of what may feel like against us, we begin to build empowered and more self aware individuals and communities. Let’s allow ourselves to see beyond the fear of our thoughts and become curious and interested in why we think the way we do and what tangible ayurvedic practices we can implement to adjust the scope of our mental state. With practice, awareness and the support of an ayurvedic professional, we can start to see that mental health is an equal part of us, something that is not separate when it “acts up” but something we tune into daily, we work on in everyday action, and have the absolute power to develop to work in our best interest.