Natural Neurasthenia Treatments

Neurasthenia is a chronic debility of the nerve cells. It is a condition in which the whole nervous system has lost tone and become exhausted. This disease is commonly known under such names as nervous prostration, nervous weakness and nervous exhaustion. It is essentially the disease of civilisation and the direct outcome of modern ways of living and thinking.

Symptoms of Neurasthenia

There are many and varied symptoms of neurasthenia. Some of these symptoms are weakness of the mental faculties, coldness of the hands and feet, sleeplessness, digestive disturbances, sexual disorders, an apprehension of sexual impotence in the male, painful menstruation in the female, restlessness, fear, muscular weakness and a host of symptoms accompanying general nervousness.

Causes of Neurasthenia

The main causes of neurasthenia are mental exertion, overwork and sexual excesses. Other causes of this disease include use of tobacco, sedentary habits, neurotic temperament and various chronic diseases.

The real causes of neurasthenia are, faulty diet, wrong style of living and wrong thinking. The present-day dietary consisting of refined, tinned, processed and preserved foods, all have adverse effects upon the health of the system in general and upon the nerves in particular. Foods 'denatured' in this way are deprived to a very great extent of their invaluable mineral salts and vitamins. The lack of these nutrients cause nerve starvation and nervous disorders like neurasthenia. The present-day high pressure standards and artificial ways of living also contribute greatly to this disease.

Natural Treatment for Neurasthenia

There cannot be a hope for lasting cure for this disease, unless the whole life style of the patient is changed. Adequate rest is of utmost importance for those who have been overworked nervously and physically and for those who need a rapid gain of fat and blood. Muscular exercises and diversion are important factors for those who are mentally and nervously tired.

In the beginning of the treatment, the patient should adopt an exclusive diet of fresh fruits for about five days. During this period, he should take three meals a day of fresh juicy fruits such as orange, apple, pineapple, pear, peach, grapes and papaya at four-hourly intervals. While on the all-fruit diet, a warm-water enema should be administered daily to cleanse the bowels. Thereafter, the patient may spend further five to ten days on fruit and milk diet. In this regimen, the meals are exactly the same as the exclusive fresh fruit diet, but with milk added to each fruit meal. The patient should begin with one litre of milk, the first day and increases by 250 ml. daily upto two litres or more a day, according to how the milk agrees. The milk should be fresh and unboiled, but may be slightly warmed, if desired. It should be sipped very slowly.

After the fruit and milk diet, the patient may gradually adopt a well balanced diet consisting of seeds,nuts and grains, with emphasis on fresh fruits, raw vegetables and fruit and vegetable juices. This diet should be supplemented with vegetable oil, honey and milk, preferably in soured form like curd and buttermilk.

Further periods on the all-fruit diet followed by the fruit and milk diet may be necessary in some cases, depending on the progress being made. The patient should avoid all highly flavoured dishes, cakes, pastries, heavy puddings, pies and similar rich foods which over-tax digestion. He should also avoid white bread, sugar, refined cereals, condiments, tea, coffee and alcohol. He should drink liberal quantities of water. Smoking, if habitual, should be given up completely.

A regime of general health-building measures should be followed to improve the nervous and muscular systems. Mental exertion, sexual excess, worry and anxiety must be avoided. Ail steps should be taken to increase vitality and the nervous energy. These include the morning dry friction and sponge, as well as neutral immersion bath daily for one hour before retiring. The procedure for taking this bath has been explained in Chapter 3 on Therapeutic Baths'.

A hot epsom salt bath will also be beneficial and should be taken by the patient once or twice every week. This bath is prepared by dissolving one kg. of commercial epsom-salt in an ordinary bath of hot water. The patient should remain immersed in the bath from 10 to 20 minutes. Care should be taken not to get chilled afterwards. No soap should be used with the epsom-salt bath, as this interferes with its beneficial effects.

Fresh air, physical and breathing exercises and yogasanas should all form part of the treatment. The patient should take adequate rest, relax both mentally and physically. He should sleep In a well-ventilated room. He should avoid late hours and pay special attention to personal hygiene.