Efficacy of Yoga therapy for the management of psychopathology of patients having chronic schizophrenia

Abstract

Background:There is a large body of literature and scientific data regarding the efficacy of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia, however, studies on Yoga therapy is scanty. Yoga is a means of balancing and harmonizing the body, mind and emotion, and for enlightening the mind and upliftment of the total personality.Aims:The present study was conducted to determine the efficacy of Yoga therapy as an adjunctive therapy and to see its effects on psychopathology on the patients suffering from chronic schizophrenia.Settings and Design:Pre- and post-test design with the control group.Materials and Methods:It is a study using purposive sampling technique by which 30 chronic schizophrenic patients were selected and 15 patients were randomly assigned to Yoga therapy along with pharmacotherapy (experimental group), and 15 were assigned pharmacotherapy alone (control group) after the baseline assessment using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The Yoga group attended Yoga therapy everyday for about 1½ h including motivational and feedback session.Results:At the end of 1 month postassessment was done, and schizophrenic patients, who received the yogic intervention showed better rating than those in pharmacotherapy alone on PANSS variables.Conclusion:Yoga could be a right choice for improving psychopathology resulting in better quality of life along with other pharmacological management and psychosocial interventions.

Yoga practice and the preservation of mental health: The global and national perspectives

“…To be precise, after 4 months of practicing yoga, patients showed a significant reduction in the presence of psychopathological symptoms, as well as an improvement in prosocial activity and quality of life. Similar results have also been found in other studies devoted to the above problem (Behere et al, 2011;Jayaram et al, 2013;Paikkatt et al, 2015;Talwar et al, 2010;Varambally et al, 2012). The results of a study conducted with 95 respondents (Deuskar, 2010) showed that practicing yoga nidra 8 for a month and a half significantly reduced the symptoms of stress, which was confirmed by other similar studies (Malathi & Damodaran, 1999;Potey et al, 2016).…”

“…У конкретном случају, након 4 мјесеца практиковања јоге пацијенти су показали значајно смањење присутних психопатолошких симптома као и побољшање просоцијалног дјеловања и квалитета живота. До сличних резултата, дошла су и друга истраживања посвећена наведеној проблематици (Behere et al, 2011;Jayaram et al, 2013;Paikkatt et al, 2015;Talwar et al, 2010;Varambally et al, 2012). Резултати истраживања спроведеног са 95 испитаница (Deuskar, 2010) указују да је практиковање јога нидре 8 у периоду од мјесец и по дана, значајно довело до смањења симптома стреса, што потврђују и друга слична истраживања (Malathi & Damodaran, 1999;Potey et al, 2016).…”

Role of yoga and mindfulness in severe mental illnesses: A narrative review

“…[1314151617181920] The mean age ranged from 21.50 ± 3.21[21] to 65.5 ± 4.8[20] years in the YT studies and from 23.8 ± 6.8[13] to 53.2 ± 6.1[12] years in the MBI studies. YT and MBI studies included both genders, but few YT studies included either men[1822] or women,[1723] and one MBI study included only men. [6] Number of women in MBI studies ranged from 1[12] to 66.…”

“…[13] The patient group comprised mostly individuals with a diagnosis of either schizophrenia, MDD, or BD as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, except for a few studies which used the ICD-10 criteria. [18222425] Apart from individuals with schizophrenia, a few studies included certain other disorders such as schizoaffective disorder,[612172627] unspecified psychosis,[7172128] schizophreniform, brief psychotic and delusional disorders,[17] and psychotic depression. [1429] In YT studies, baseline mean total positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) score varied from 47.5 ± 15.4[17] to 85.10 ± 19.82[10] and positive subscale score ranged from 10.2 ± 3.7[17] to 21.60 ± 5.99.…”

“…YT demonstrated a significant improvement in PANSS total score,[262836] positive subscale,[103137] negative subscale,[101718313637] and general psychopathologic subscale. [101828] A few of the aforementioned studies have identified a significant improvement in specific domains of PANSS negative subscales such as blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, passive social withdrawal, and difficulty in abstract thinking with relatively better improvement in poor rapport and lack of spontaneity. [18] Similarly, in the general psychopathologic subscale, somatic concerns, guilt feelings, motor retardation, depression, unusual thought content, disorientation, preoccupation, and active social avoidance domains showed a significant improvement.…”