Utilizing Ancient Hindu Scriptures to Conceptualize and Manage Anxiety Disorders

Hinduism is one of the oldest and most complex religious traditions and has experienced the transformational effects of geopolitical events for about 40 centuries. A modern Hindu patient may identify with diverse forms of religious identity, possessing variability of belief systems translating into a wide fluctuation in individual idioms of anxious distress. Generational trauma and associated stigma corresponding to the detrimental quartet of caste, immigration, region, and language may further complicate the presentation of anxiety disorders in this population. Understanding the patient’s religious belief system can help a psychiatrist establish a stronger therapeutic alliance, proactively work towards decreasing barriers to care, and provide religiously informed, culturally congruent treatment. This chapter aims to equip its reader with an elementary introduction to the evolution of Hinduism and the modern Hindu identity, a review of anxiety disorder-focused content within the Hindu scriptures, practical considerations while developing a psychiatric formulation, and culturally informed psychotherapeutic techniques in the spirit of furthering the clinician reader’s understanding of the Hindu patient.