An Anatomical Approach towards Ashavadita (Optimism) and its Positive Impacts on Health
Author : Dr. Shaifali Sharma, Dr. Harvendra Devpal, Dr. Dinesh Kumar Sharma and Dr. Mahesh Dixit
Abstract :
An Ashavadi is someone who approaches everything with positivity. A person who is hopeful to complete any task in his life is an Ashavadi, where Asha stands for hope and vadi for the keeper. One who is hopeful about the future or the success of something, or if anybody is positive, hopeful, and confident, and thinks of the positive aspects of a situation rather than the negative ones, is optimistic, according to Collins Dictionary. It originated from the French term optimisme in the middle of the 18th century. Optimism is the expectation that the best will occur. The word is derived from the Latin word optimus, which meaning "best”. Although positive psychology is a relatively new field, but the fundamental ideas were present in Ayurveda thousands of years ago. The Ayurvedic texts do not contain a proper Ashavadi word. But few descriptions bring positivity with them. One of these, the Sattvavajaya Chikitsa, governs the Mana and treat its Vikara with positivity. Because of this, we can attempt to classify this word Ashavadi as a particular kind of Sattvavajaya Chikitsa. Sattvavajaya Chikitsa (SC), which is essentially an Ayurvedic kind of psychotherapy, is a branch of Ayurvedic medicine that Acharya Charaka brought to us. Ayurveda uses a non-pharmacological therapeutic method that is equivalent to behavioural psychology. The basic idea behind the Pratipaksha bhavana philosophy is to replace negative ideas with good ones. Basically, this means having contradictory thoughts in our head. Because a positive mind and body are linked, placing a strong emphasis on positivity is seen as essential for health and welfare. In yogic scriptures, the Pratipaksh Bhavna is a word that is comparable to Ashavadita. Pratipaksha bhavana is a simple practise that anybody can use to retrain their minds to think more optimistically and alleviate pain and delusional beliefs. The four chemicals known as the "happy hormones" in the brain are dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphin. These are also known as "success hormones" because, in addition to elevating our mood, they also give us optimism, energy, a stronger connection to others, and increased attention, all of which improve our drive, leadership, and confidence at work. It is believed that optimism has a positive impact on health in part because it reduces the body's physiological reaction to stress, which can be seen, for example, in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) systems. This article aims to explain every aspect related to optimism (Ashavadi), including its anatomical, physiological, and other characteristics.
Keywords :
Ashavadi, ayurveda psychotherapy, happiness hormones, optimistic, pratipaksh bhavna, sattvajaya chikitsa
