195
6
w
6 Conclusion: Pleasure, Health and Speed
At the end of the last chapter, I began to depict a simplifi ed, but useful, dichot-
omy for understanding the changing meanings of the pleasantness of the pro-
cess of treatment and what is accomplished in healing. People suff ering mental
affl ictions who are able to choose between ayurvedic and allopathic treatments
generally prefer the more pleasant process of treatment that ayurveda off ers,
yet many say they do not have the time, given their current work and lifestyle
regimens, to indulge in the lengthier ayurvedic therapy. Th us people suff ering
mental affl ictions in Kerala appear to be on the horns of a dilemma, negotiat-
ing between speed and pleasure in their healing choices, a dilemma that has
profound implications for the quality of our health and our lives in the current
(post)modern era.
Most people we interviewed described their problems, or those of affl icted
family members, in terms of behaviors and mental and somatic symptoms,
among the most common of which are sleeplessness, headache, outbursts of
anger, refusing to eat and memory loss, and in many cases these symptoms
were instigated by a vitiation of consciousness. In addition, several informants
identifi ed problems using English-language terms, including “tension” and
“depression,” that derive from professional and lay western psychological con-
cepts and experiences.
Hanifa, the former Gulf migrant who was trying to cope with his “tension”
at Beemapalli mosque, experienced problems including sleeplessness, running
away from home and becoming easily distressed (veprālam—confused, worried),