Background: Depersonalization and derealization (DPDR) syndrome results from complex interwoven sensory motor experiences seen across psychiatric disorders. There is sparse literature from India on DPDR symptoms, their clinical and research utility. This study focuses frequency of coding the diagnosis of DPDR (ICD-10) and critical discussion about its clinical and research utility. Methods: A...
Background: It is well known that depression improves faster with electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) than with antidepressant medications. N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor antagonists (ketamine) have been shown to have rapid antidepressant effects when given as an intravenous infusion. Faster recovery with ECT is likely when used with ketamine as anesthetic. Aim: The aim of the study is to compare...
BACKGROUND: Severe depressive disorder is among most debilitating condition. Conventional pharmacotherapy usually takes several weeks (usually 4-12 weeks) to improve symptoms. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D aspartate receptor antagonist having rapid action on depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVES: The effect of subanesthetic dose of ketamine was assessed on depressive and anxiety symptoms. Illness...
Indian Journal of PsychiatryJuly 1, 2018Seshadri Sekhar Chatterjee, Didakamiwan Khonglah, Sayantanava Mitra et al.
Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) typically occurs in elderly people with peripheral vision impairment, or interruptions in the connections from eyes to visual cortex. The heterogeneity of presentations and causal mechanisms warrants clinical caution. In this report, we describe a case of CBS developing in the form of Lilliputian Hallucinations in an elderly gentleman, on the background of cataract...
Vaishnavism, the other important Hindu tradition besides Saivism, gained importance by the Bhakti movement sprouting from the Tamil land in the 7th-9th centuries Common Era and spreading all over the subcontinent, and as preached by the Alvars, which is discussed along with the evolution of the Godhead of Lord Vishnu is briefly mentioned. The maternal care of the divine child Sri Krishna by...
1. Osborne TR, Bhugra D. Practical and theoretical interactions of Buddhism and psychiatry: A view from the west. Indian J Psychiatry 2003;45:142-6. 2. Meadows G. Buddhism and psychiatry: Confluence and conflict. Australas Psychiatry 2003;11:16-20. 3. Wallace BA, Shapiro SL. Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and western psychology. Am Psychol 2006;61:690-701. 4....
Context: Dissociation is understood as maladaptive coping and is common in children and adolescents. Treatment outcome studies show improvement in comorbid conditions suggesting the need to implement programs that target dissociative pathology. Aim: To study the effect of practicing mindfulness among adolescents diagnosed with dissociative disorders. Settings and Design: It was a hospital-based...
Sir, Ms. Sufentanyl, a charming “China girl,” and Ms. Mescaline, the cute Mexican lady, were invited by Mr. Marijuana at a dinner in “Chinese restaurant” in an “angel dusty” evening. Ms. Mescaline felt “ecstatic” and “Echo de la pensee” and on the occasion she “DRESS”ed herself with “heavenly blue” frock and adorned her eyes with mascara of “belladonna.” Ms. Sufentanyl wore a necklace with...
Background: Usually remembered in the context of Narcolepsy-Cataplexy syndrome, isolated sleep paralysis (SP) and hypnic hallucination are widely prevalent and because of the overlap of symptoms with schizophrenia, their identification is important but unrecognized. Aims: To determine the presence of SP and hypnic hallucinations (HH) in people with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder...
Background: Of various spiritual care methods, mindfulness meditation has found consistent application in clinical intervention and research. "Listening presence," a chaplain's model of mindfulness and its trans-personal application in spiritual care is least understood and studied. Aim: The aim was to develop a conceptualized understanding of chaplain's spiritual care process based on...
Four noble truths as preached by Buddha are that the life is full of suffering (Duhkha), that there is a cause of this suffering (Duhkha-samudaya), it is possible to stop suffering (Duhkha-nirodha), and there is a way to extinguish suffering (Duhkha-nirodha-marga). Eight fold Path (astangika-marga) as advocated by Buddha as a way to extinguish the sufferings are right views, right...
Most of the psychiatry practice in India is guided by the western concepts of mental health and illness, which have largely ignored the role of religion, family, eastern philosophy, and medicine in understanding and managing the psychiatric disorders. India comprises of diverse cultures, languages, ethnicities, and religious affiliations. However, besides these diversities, there are certain...
The trance states in yoga and hypnosis are associated with similar phenomena like relaxation, disinclination to talk, unreality, misrepresentation, alterations in perception, increased concentration, suspension of normal reality testing, and the temporary nature of the phenomena. While some researchers consider yoga to be a form of hypnosis, others note that there are many similarities between...
Study of mind and consciousness through established scientific methods is often difficult due to the observed-observer dichotomy. Cartesian approach of dualism considering the mind and matter as two diverse and unconnected entities has been questioned by oriental schools of Yoga and Vedanta as well as the recent quantum theories of modern physics. Freudian and Neo-freudian schools based on the...
Human experience in, health and disease, always has a spiritual dimension. pirituality is accepted as one of the defining determinants of health and it no more remains a sole preserve of religion and mysticism. In recent years, pirituality has been an area of research in neurosciences and both in the nderstanding of psychiatric morbidity and extending therapeutic interventions it seems to be...
Karma yoga is the path that leads to salvation through action. Salvation is the ultimate state of consciousness. Work is the central and defining characteristic of life. It may have intrinsic value, instrumental value, or both. Instrumental value includes incentive, dignity and power, etc., which is the result expected from the work. The Gita teaches us to do work without thinking of result...
Sir, Dr. Satwant Pasricha's Guest Editorial[1] (Vol. 53 Number 1), ‘Relevance of para-psychology in psychiatric practice’, makes an interesting reading. There is no denying the fact that many people have personally experienced intuition, gut-feelings, premonitions and dreams, empathy, and inspired creativity. They also include more extreme experience, such as telepathy, clairvoyance,...
This review considers the effects of cannabis on cognitive functioning, in both short and long term. Although the general impression supported by many studies is that cannabis causes cognitive decline, particularly with long-term usage, some research suggests that this may not be the case. Nevertheless, certain specific neuropsychological parameters have been found to be affected. Most commonly...
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and experience. Para-psychology studies anomalies of behavior and experience, called paranormal experiences. Paranormal phenomena transcend the boundaries of time, space and force. Para-psychology is divided into two main branches: a) extra-sensory perception (ESP) which is the study of communications ostensibly without the known sensory organs...
Cannabis has been associated with transient psychotic states; however, the causal relationship between cannabis and schizophrenia continues to remain a matter of debate. Epidemiological and some biological studies hint at cannabis being an independent risk factor for schizophrenia; this has not been definitively proved. We aimed to understand the patterns of glucose uptake in important brain...
Byline: T.S. Rao, Chittaranjan. Andrade Antidepressant drugs have traditionally addressed the monoamine triumvirate: serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine. There have been predominantly two mechanisms recruited in drug action - inhibition of monoamine reuptake and inhibition of intravesicular monoamine catabolism. Tianeptine, which increases the synaptic reuptake of serotonin, and mirtazapine,...
The ancient Indian concepts and paradigms relating to mental health are holistic and cover aspects that have been neglected by the modern mental health literature. The latter can borrow, study, and incorporate them in their text books to advantage. The current trend in mental health research is heavily biased in favour of biological aspects of psychological phenomena neglecting the basic...
The phenomenon of conscious awareness or consciousness is complicated but fascinating. Although this concept has intrigued the mankind since antiquity, exploration of consciousness from scientific perspectives is not very old. Among myriad of theories regarding nature, functions and mechanism of consciousness, off late, cognitive theories have received wider acceptance. One of the most exciting...
The correlation between cannabis and negative mental health outcomes has been unequivocally established. Nevertheless, there is still a great need to research different dimensions of cannabis-related disorders, among which the study of cannabis-related psychosis is very important. There is a dearth of research regarding phenomenology and effect of abstinence, particularly from India. This study...
Association between cannabis use and various psychiatric syndromes does exist, but their nature remains elusive. Cannabis intoxication, ‘cannabis psychosis’ and certain other conditions related with cannabis use like flashbacks and prolonged depersonalization are discussed in this paper. The controversial nature of the cannabis - schizophrenia link is noted, and various methodological issues in...