3. India

Abstract

A. V. RAO confirms the common belief that depressive states are less common in India than in Europe and North America. An outstanding feature in thirty patients studied is the rarity of feelings of guilt, of having sinned, and of self- reproach. The low rate of depressive states in India is attributed to the effec tiveness of Hindu mourning ceremonies in providing an outlet for grief and in mitigating conscious and unconscious feelings of guilt. A sweet addiction (chatorpan) combined with various behavior anomalies occurring in Western Uttar Pradesh is described and interpreted by V. VATUK and S. VATUK. N. C. SURYA and his co-workers report on the effectiveness of indigenous (ayurvedic) methods in the treatment of mental disorders. They arrive at the conclusion that ayurvedic treatment (experimental group) is as effective as the standard forms of treatment (control group) presently employed in Indian hospitals and that it seems to be effective even in cases of schizophrenia.