CASE HISTORY 8
Name: Narbheram
DOB: 1934
Sex: Male
Occupation: Senior Clerical Officer (1989)
Complaints and duration:
Recurrent fits, uncontrolled by maximal medication.
Past History:
History of epilepsy for some 30 years.
Treatment History
Consulted various doctors and psychiatrists.
Prognosis
In such uncontrolled epilepsy, refractive to normal treatment, the prognosis was very poor. The disease was liable to lead to serious consequences. Injury or even death could ensue, if unattended.
Discussion
The salient features of this case are:
- Severe epilepsy
- Depression
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is one of the most common of the serious neurological disorders. It is characterized by fits or seizures caused by abnormal or excessive activity in the brain. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 50 million people in the world have epilepsy.
Epilepsy is usually controlled, but cannot be cured with medication. It is nowadays considered not as a single disorder but rather as syndrome with vastly divergent symptoms but all involving episodic abnormal electrical activity in the brain.
The basis of treatment of epilepsy is anticonvulsant medications. Anticonvulsant medication treatment will be lifelong and can significantly affect quality of life. About 20% of patients with epilepsy continue to have breakthrough epileptic seizures despite best anticonvulsant treatment.
Yoga offers an ancient yet amazingly modern approach to treating seizures. It is believed that seizures, like physical diseases, result when there are imbalances in the various physical and psychological systems of the body. Yoga is one of the oldest practices known to restore this balance.
The practice of controlled deep diaphragmatic ‘yogic’ breathing helps restore normal respiration, which can reduce the chances of going into a seizure or stop seizures before they become full blown. The asanas aid in restoring balance to the body and its metabolic systems. Meditation soothes the mind as it heals the body. It is supposed to improve blood flow to the brain and slow the production of stress hormones. Research carried out at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS, New Delhi) found that meditation improved the brain wave activity of people with seizure disorders leading to a reduction in seizures. In a similar study conducted in the US concluded that patients who learned to control their breathing had an improvement in their seizure frequency.
Effects of yoga and meditation
Patient had his first attack at the age of about 25 yrs. At first he used to have fits after long intervals. But he did not mention it to his people, out of shame. When he was about 35 yrs old, he started having more frequent bouts of fits. He would fall unconscious anywhere, sometimes on the road. Still, he would never say anything to his close ones. He secretly sought medical advice and a doctor put him on medication, which he used to take without anyone’s knowledge. He sometimes did not return home at night or at the usual time.
Once, when he was about 45 years old while walking on the road with other relatives he suddenly had a severe attack. When they took him to hospital, the doctor diagnosed him as a severe case of epilepsy. It was then that his close links came to know about his disease and its gravity. He would not listen to anybody and carried on as before. He was subject to bouts of depression whenever he had his attacks. He believed he was doomed to a miserable life.
Mr Nownitlall, a relative of Mr Narbheram, had been cured from smoking after attending meditation. When relatives heard about this, they took him for meditation. When he was brought for meditation, he was already on heavy medication for epilepsy. Apparently, his case was refractive to normal treatment. But being on maximum dosage, his medication could not be increased. He knew the gravity of his disease.
“In fact my state of health was precarious. Consequently I was frequently subject to unexpected situations.”*
The precarious state of his health led him into depression. He lost weight and looked haggard.
“It was telling on me. I began to despair that my case was a difficult one, at the age of 55.”*
He was initiated in 1989 and used to come regularly for meditation. He looked much older than his age. Aged 55, he looked ten or more years older. Meditation worked for him too. Within a few sessions he started feeling better. Slowly he no longer had any fits.
“I am indeed very happy to confirm the change which has occurred in my life since my initiation in Siddha Yoga Meditation in February 1989. However when I started siddha meditation I realise it was a wise decision and most invaluable.”*
He put on weight and was feeling much better, physically and mentally. He lost his haggard, frail look.
“Today my general health condition has greatly improved”*
He carried on with his meditation, both at home and at the ashram. He got totally recovered and in good health. He was no longer depressed and in disarray. He regained faith in himself and in God.
“Besides my health recovery and sense of serenity, siddha meditation has disclosed to me the mystery of God communion. I remember once I sobbed, overwhelmed by the blissful state of divine presence.”*
(*Excerpts from Mr Narbheram’s article in Annual Magazine 1, 1990, page 18.)
Meditation acts on the whole system. In fact it probably has its effect basically and mainly on the brain and thus to the nervous system. The ‘prana’ which the patient absorbs through deep yogic breathing, mantra repetition and the meditative state goes directly to the brain. It has got a direct effect on the electrical makeup of the brain. Deep yogic breathing creates a rhythmic action in the body and through the respiratory center, controls all the other centers of the brain. Any abnormal centers creating abnormal electrical impulses are brought under control.
Every time the person goes into the meditative state the focus or foci of abnormal electrical activity are further neutralised. Any imbalance or disorder is gradually corrected. The brain is less and less subject to the effects of these ‘vagrant’ electrical impulses. Fits decrease over time. Eventually the whole nervous system is stabilized. A state of inner balance is achieved.
Conclusion
When the patient came for meditation he was already in a dire state. All family members were apprehensive that he may just die. He too was aware he might die a sudden death. The situation was having a deleterious effect on his physical make up. He would not dare think any long term planning, nor any long term decision. The feeling of life’s uncertainty always haunted him. His physical appearance showed his inner turmoil. He was ‘ghost-like’.
Within weeks of starting meditation, his mood started changing. He looked more positive and energetic. He became less pessimistic. He was very much less depressed. The frequency and seriousness of his attacks had decreased dramatically. Over the next few months he was completely transformed. He was no more subject to any epileptic fits. This brought him renewed confidence in the future. He could now plan long term projects.
Without meditation, the patient was doomed to gradual deterioration and eventual premature death. He would probably have committed suicide because of his severe depression or been subject to severe trauma from repeated seizures or subject to sudden death. He was already on maximal medication. The doses could not be increased. The only alternative appeared to be some completely new approach.
Meditation provided that approach. It compensated for the lack in conventional treatment. The prana which had been severely depleted through decades of disease was now being replenished through meditation. It was being brought into his system in ever increasing amounts and stored through his meditation. It went to re-equilibrate his disturbed homeostasis and give him back his health.