CASE 1

Postpartum Depression

About 10 percent of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression (PPD).9  Postpartum depression is a traumatic event that may affect the mother herself and impact her child's emotional development. 10,11 Frau Schulz a 32-year-old happily married German woman gave birth to her son over a year ago.

 

A few months after the birth, she would constantly burst into tears for no apparent reason; feeling emotionally depressed. She and her family could not understand why these events occurred, as she was very happy with family life and her environment. She had no other health problems and her pregnancy was normal.

 

This was a mild case of PPD, as symptom(s) of severe cases often include weight loss or gain, thyroid dysfunction, insomnia, psychomotor agitation, fatigue, low self-esteem, and suicidal thoughts. Frau Schulz had tried mild pharmaceutical medications for her depression from her medical doctor, but all to no avail.

 

"NT nabhi diagnosis" confirmed that her digestive organs and general health were in good order. However, nabhi diagnosis revealed problems with the Left Ovary (++), Right Ovary (++), and Uterus (++). According to NT theory this indicated problems with estradiol balance.

 

The basic treatment regime was carried out, by stimulating the relevant energy channels on the arms that are related to the ovaries and uterus. After only a few minutes of treatment the pain and tightness in these referred areas (of the ovaries and uterus) had significantly diminished. After only 3 weekly treatments her PPD symptoms disappeared and never returned.

 

Discussion

Studies indicate that the peak age of incidence of depression, 18 to 44 years, coincides with the prime childbearing years. 12 Depression is twice as common in women as men, with women being particularly vulnerable at times of hormonal fluctuation thus suggesting that depression occurring at such times may be, in part, hormonally driven. 13

 

Furthermore as levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone are known to drop sharply in the hours after childbirth, this in some way may trigger depression. Because of this association, several investigators have examined the role of estrogen in the treatment and prophylaxis of PPD. These studies support the hypothesis that PPD may be triggered in part by estrogen withdrawal 14,15

This ancient rediscovered Vedic therapy detects the deficient organs using "nabhi diagnosis"; in this case the ovaries and uterus, and stimulates their respective nerve channels/nadis. NT theory suggests that stimulation of these organs will stimulate the production of estrogen.

 

NT has successfully treated numerous acute behavioral disorders such as Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit Disorder 16, and Panic Attacks. In these cases "nabhi diagnosis" often highlights problems in the stomach, which we treat accordingly by Neurotherapy.

 

Often the therapy here focuses on stimulating the energy channels of the Stomach by applying pressure on the nerve plexuses on the legs, which stimulate the blood flow/chi to the stomach /navel Chakra. A very recent research study using positron emission tomography (PET) scans on living humans demonstrated a significant deficit of serotonin receptors in patients with panic disorder. Smaller deficits are also seen in patients with depression.17

 

The development of 5-HT1A agents as "anxioselective" drugs by pharmaceutical companies indicates the importance of serotonin in the disease etiology of several behavioral disorders. Mechanosensitive enterochromaffin cells exist in the gastrointestinal epithelium, and these cells contain over 95% of the serotonin found in the body.18

 

Thus a possible mode of action would be that indirect stimulation of the stomach by Neurotherapy, may result in the production of this natural serotonin, which may have ameliorated the symptoms.

 

To say that these NT treatment plans are fortuitous or coincidental would be an error of judgment. One has to remember that this system of treatment is thousands of years old, but the rationale behind the treatment is contemporary.