A scoping review on emotion regulation mechanisms employed in the control of Dharaneeya vegas (emotions that should be restrained) in light of Modern psychology and Ayurveda

Abstract

Experiencing positive emotions are now becoming one among the highest virtues. It becomes important for individuals to develop emotional intelligence competencies. There are many ways through which positive emotions can be reinforced. Modern psychology also encourages cultivation of emotional regulation capacity. This article describes modern as well as Ayurvedic mechanisms for emotional regulation to cultivate healthy emotion regulation competency. After database search from PUBMED, total 14 articles, 11 from modern psychiatry and 3 Ayurveda were reviewed and following results are obtained. There are five instances in which emotion regulation may occur: Situation Selection, Situation Modification, Attention Deployment, Cognitive Change and Response Modulation. Ayurveda observes that the main reason for mental disequilibrium is taking extreme or minimal stance in mano-arthas. Ayurveda perceive that dhee, dhriti and smrithi are tripods that helps a person regulate his inclination towards mano-arthas. Ayurveda advices certain conducts to be followed by every person irrespective of Manasa prakriti. Ayurveda insist to control certain urges and those urges are termed as dharaneeya vegas. It preached some conducts to strengthen dhee, dhrithi and smrithi and they can be collectively called sadvrittam. Sadvrittam advocates human to always engage in learning (education) all existing science, persuades a person with ultimate aim of salvation by following right conduct, incentivisation with incentives health and prosperity, coercion through fear of diseases, rebirths, bad offspring’s, training through detachment, restriction by morality, environmental restructuring by execution in community level, modelling by showing aptas and enablement by teaching it to every one irrespective of inequality.