Ayurvedic management of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) induced insomnia- A case report

Abstract

This case report is the description of Ayurvedic management of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) induced insomnia of a 22 years old male. Apart from insomnia, the patient suffered from both physical and psychological symptoms of GAD for about 7 months. Diagnosis was made as per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria. Without approaching conventional medicine, patient came directly to the Out Patient Department (OPD) of Regional Ayurveda Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala for management. In Ayurveda, insomnia can be considered as Nidranasha; for GAD exact neck to neck correlation cannot be made. Internal medications and external procedures with nidrajanak, rasayana, Ojaskara, medhya, unmadahar properties were applied. Assessments were conducted through Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), GAD 7 scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), WHO Quality of Life- BREF, and Clinical Global Improvement scale (CGI) on Day 1, Day 20 and Day 34 of intervention. The case is unique in the sense that complete relief from all symptoms was obtained after 20 days with cost effective measures and nil side effects. Ayurvedic intervention was found to be a good alternative therapy in the management of GAD induced insomnia.