Question:

I am 27. I work for an IT company. I was in love with a colleague for the past 2 years. Even she seemed to be deeply in love with me. 2 months ago, she without reason, ruthlessly dumped me and married another guy and is living in Australia currently. I tried reaching her through phone, mail etc., but she has cut all channels of communication with me. I couldn’t take this betrayal too kindly. The agony it caused me, took a toll on my health. I have not been able to work properly and to top it I have been over-eating a lot lately. I have gained almost 10 kgs in these 2 months. I am at a risk of becoming severely obese and doctors said if I continue to over-eat, it is not too far off when I will find it difficult to walk as much as 100 meters without getting tired. I am unable to face people. Failure in love to one side and these weight issues to another side, I am totally devastated sir. Please help me.

Answer:

To begin with, please relax first. There is no problem on earth that doesn’t have a solution, so with some help even you can come out of this crisis situation and live a normal life again. As you have already observed, your psychological stress and your weight issues are interlinked. Hunger is monitored by Hypothalamus in the brain. When a person is psychologically stressed, hypothalamus doesn’t function as it is supposed to and some abnormalities can be observed. In such a scenario, a man tends to either eat too much or too little. So 90 out of 100 cases related to weight issues are due to psychological stress. So for you to first gain control of your weight, your psychological stress needs to be addressed. I have devised some good Relaxation Techniques in PranaYoga, learning and practicing which, you can definitely relax your body and mind and counter this psychological stress. Once this issue is resolved, the weight issue would be a cake walk. All The Best.

Question:

I am 26. I come from a well settled family and I am a major contributor to the business which is running very successfully. I have been a pretty normal person and I have stood my ground despite many ups and downs in life. But lately for the past 3 months, I have been experiencing some really severe mood swings. I go through a really low phase where I feel very sad, totally out of control of myself and also have suicidal tendencies. This feeling doesn’t last very long, I get back to normal in a day or two. I met a doctor recently and he diagnosed me of acute depression and also prescribed antidepressants. I have been on medication but I don’t see any marked improvement in my condition. Is it actually depression, whatever I am going through? Will Pranayoga really help me tackle it?

Answer:

Rocky, there is no human on this planet who is perfectly happy always with no form of emotional turmoil. Highs and lows are a part of life and our body and mind are designed perfectly to deal with this wear and tear to an extent. So going through a low phase once in a while isn’t something one should be really bothered about. However, if it lasts for anything more than a couple of weeks, then it is called clinical depression which needs to be addressed with some form of psychotherapy or medication depending on the severity of the condition. Some typical symptoms of clinical depression are:

• Very low feeling of self-worth (considering oneself fit for nothing)
• Long spells of guilt without any apparent concrete reason
• Loss of appetite/ Weight Loss or Over-eating/Too much of weight gain
• Inability to indulge in activities or interactions with people which give joy
• Loss of concentration or mental stability
• Sleep disturbances, lack of sleep
• Dwelling too much in the past and worrying or brooding excessively over it
• Inability to perform well at work and thereby complicating situations at workplace
• Losing rationality and reason in the thought processes
• Feeling of hopelessness and suicidal tendencies.

Any of the above conditions if present for a longer duration, need to be addressed and dealt with on priority. Your condition from whatever you have written, I don’t think You are going through Clinical Depression. With PranaYoga you can definitely come out of it if you learn and practice confidence-enhancement, relaxation and anti-depressive techniques. Know how you can invoke that positivity in you and how you can put it to use to achieve success in life.