Indian journal of psychiatry
January 1, 2013
Tapas Kumar Aich
49 citations
Buddha's Four Noble Truths describe life as suffering (Duhkha), its cause (Duhkha-samudaya), its cessation (Duhkha-nirodha), and the Eightfold Path (right views, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration) as the way to end suffering. Mid-20th-century collaborations between psychoanalysts and Buddhist scholars are seen as a meeting of two powerful forces in the Western mind. Buddhism and Western psychology overlap in theory and practice, with parallels to phenomenological, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive, and existential psychology. Alan Watts noted Buddhism resembles psychotherapy more than Western philosophy or religion. The author considers Buddha a unique psychotherapist whose methods helped millions.
Indian journal of psychiatry
June 1, 2025
Ranjan Das, Rajarshi Chakravarty, Varaha V Gantait et al.
4 citations
About 30% of people with depression do not respond to two adequate trials of antidepressants from different classes, a condition known as treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Existing options for TRD include olanzapine-fluoxetine, rTMS, intravenous ketamine, and electroconvulsive therapy. The newer antidepressant dextromethorphan-bupropion has been found effective, fast-acting, and well tolerated for depression. In three cases of TRD, this medication, used alone or in combination, produced satisfactory improvement within two weeks.
Indian journal of psychiatry
June 1, 2025
Dushad Ram, Akash Mathew
4 citations
Dissociative and conversion disorders in India are more common among young married women from rural, low-socioeconomic backgrounds. The most frequent clinical presentations are pseudoseizures, paralysis, and trance. Key contributing factors include childhood trauma, family dysfunction, and psychosocial stress. Common psychiatric comorbidities are depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and personality issues. Cultural and religious beliefs strongly shape symptom presentation and treatment-seeking behavior. The findings highlight the need for culturally sensitive, multidisciplinary care and call for future prospective research on long-term outcomes and underlying neuropathophysiological mechanisms.
Indian journal of psychiatry
May 1, 2025
Varsha Sriperambudoori, Siddharth Sarkar, Anju Dhawan
4 citations
An online survey of 136 Indian adults (75.7% male, 44.1% homosexual) found that 33.8% had engaged in chemsex—using substances to initiate, facilitate, improve, or prolong sexual experiences, excluding alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis. Methamphetamine ("Meth," "Yaba," or "Ice") was the most common substance, followed by MDMA, poppers, and cocaine. Among those reporting chemsex, 45.7% also engaged in slamsex (injection drug use during sex). About two-thirds said their partners also used drugs. The primary motivation was enhancing sexual pleasure. Adverse effects included memory gaps and fear or anxiety. Chemsex was more common among participants with more sexual partners, group sex, HIV-positive status, STIs, or PrEP use. The findings suggest risk mitigation strategies may be needed for this population.
Indian journal of psychiatry
June 1, 2025
Suparna Kumar, Jigyansa Ipsita Pattnaik, Udit Kumar Panda et al.
3 citations
Ketamine infusion (0.5 mg/kg) every other day for six sessions led to progressive improvement in three of four adolescents with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder, with benefits maintained at two-month follow-up. One patient developed ketamine-induced psychosis. Ketamine shows promise as an adjuvant treatment for adolescent OCD, but psychomimetic risks require careful consideration.
Indian journal of psychiatry
March 1, 2025
Kamlesh Jha, Pankaj Kumar, Yogesh Kumar et al.
3 citations
Patients with panic disorder who completed eight weeks of Rajyoga mindfulness meditation training showed significant increases in heart rate variability measures—SDRR, RMSSD, pNN50, and total power—compared to a waitlist control group receiving standard treatment alone. The LF/HF ratio decreased in the meditation group, indicating a shift toward greater parasympathetic activity. These findings suggest that Rajyoga meditation may improve autonomic regulation and could serve as a beneficial adjunctive intervention for panic disorder.
Indian journal of psychiatry
October 1, 2023
Anirban Pal, Purnava Mukhopadhyay, Rajasree Biswas et al.
2 citations
A randomized controlled trial in West Bengal, India, tested the effects of five weekly in-person mindfulness sessions on chronic pain patients. Compared to usual care, the mindfulness group showed significant improvements in pain intensity, pain acceptance, and perceived stress. Changes in pain catastrophizing, well-being, and mindfulness characteristics were not statistically significant. The findings suggest that mindfulness can positively influence pain intensity, pain acceptance, and perceived stress among Indian chronic pain patients, though further studies are needed to confirm these results.
Indian journal of psychiatry
May 1, 2025
Mohammad Asif Sheikh, Thaddeus Alfonso
1 citation
Mindfulness is linked to reduced symptom severity in adults with both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), but through different pathways. In 60 treatment-seeking adults with comorbid OCD and MDD, mindfulness was significantly associated with lower OCD and MDD symptoms. For MDD, this effect was mediated by reductions in obsessive beliefs and improvements in mental well-being. However, these mediators did not significantly explain mindfulness's effect on OCD symptoms, suggesting that mindfulness works through distinct mechanisms for each condition and that tailored interventions may be needed.