Reduction in Depression and Anxiety and Return to Work with Meru Chikitsa in a Client with Bipolar Disorder and Chronic Insomnia: A Single-Case Report
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69919/5trnza77Keywords:
Meru Chikitsa, bipolar disorder, insomnia, DASS-21, PSQI, workforce re-entry, single-case report, yoga therapy, AyurvedaAbstract
Background: Mental ill-health is a leading cause of lost working days and of presenteeism, that is, being at work but unable to function. Pharmacotherapy can stabilize symptoms yet often leaves functional recovery incomplete. Meru Chikitsa is non-invasive, but single-case evidence for it is sparse. It is coherent with the Pātañjala Yoga Sūtra (YS 1.31), where disturbance of body and mind is described together. Case presentation: A 30-year-old woman with a master's degree in public health, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and chronic insomnia, presented in functional collapse despite more than a year of pharmacotherapy (divalproex sodium, desvenlafaxine, clonazepam, aripiprazole, melatonin) and regular spiritual practices. She reported suicidal ideation, sleep onset at 4–5 a.m., fear of public settings and psychosomatic back and shoulder pain, and attended work meetings lying in bed. Baseline Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) scores were 40 (depression), 30 (anxiety) and 26 (stress). The baseline Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global score was 18. Intervention: Twenty-four sessions of Meru Chikitsa, a gentle, non-manipulative, light-touch and breath-based therapy applied along the spine, were delivered over eleven weeks (April to July 2025). All medication changes were made by the treating psychiatrist. Outcomes: DASS-21 depression fell from 40 to 10 (−75%), anxiety from 30 to 8 (−73%) and stress from 26 to 6 (−77%). The PSQI global score fell from 18 to 5 (−72%). Pain resolved completely. Divalproex sodium was discontinued after session 12 and remaining agents were reduced to as-needed use. The client returned to full working days at a desk and attended interviews for new job opportunities. Conclusion: Meru Chikitsa sessions, integrated with psychiatric monitoring and care, were associated with a sustained shift from functional collapse to stable employment, following the body-first order that yoga and Ayurveda both describe. The case supports Meru Chikitsa as a practical instrument of recovery from psychosomatic disorders and of workforce re-entry.
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