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. 2024 Jan-Dec:29:2515690X241284280.
doi: 10.1177/2515690X241284280.

An Application of Yagna Pathy: A Spiritual, Cost-Effective, Indigenous Low-Intensity Psychological Intervention to Manage Common Mental Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study in India

Acharya Balkrishna  1   2   3 , Anuradha Gupta  1 , Sourav Ghosh  2   4 , Vedpriya Arya  2   3
Affiliations

An Application of Yagna Pathy: A Spiritual, Cost-Effective, Indigenous Low-Intensity Psychological Intervention to Manage Common Mental Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study in India

Acharya Balkrishna et al. J Evid Based Integr Med. 2024 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Elements of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) like stress, depression and anxiety are significant contributors to the global burden of disease. Even though they affect people at all socioeconomic levels, most of those in the low-income and middle-income populations lack access to efficient psychological and pharmaceutical interventions. One potential solution to this issue is the application of indigenous low-intensity psychological interventions like Yagna Pathy. The current cross sectional pilot study includes a total of 426 heterogenous group of people suffering from Stress, Anxiety and Depression (both in normal and diseased range) received Yagna pathy for 30 days. The severity of the stress, anxiety and depression was evaluated using a validated depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) score questionnaire. A significant association (chi square, p < 0.001) was found between the mental healing with gender and activity status of the participants. Strong inter-correlation (R2 > 0.7; p < 0.001) among features of stress, anxiety and depression also proved the manifoldness of the CMD. Improvements in DAS scores demonstrate the effectiveness of a well-directed Yagna practice maintained for a predetermined amount of time in managing stress, anxiety, and depression. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) of the responses was also found to be "excellent". Therefore, the study showcased that indigenous practices like Yagna Pathy could effectively minimize the severity of CMD. This approach is non-medicated, non-invasive, and cost-effective, making it a practicable therapy for global implementation.

Keywords: Hawan; India‌; Yagna Pathy; anxiety; depression; psychology; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Design of participants recruitment for the study.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Association among stress, anxiety, and depression.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Effect of Yagna Pathy on Mental illness of patients under normal category.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Effect of Yagna Pathy on Mental conditions of patients under the diseased category.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) of the stress (A), anxiety (B) and depression (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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