Which symptom pattern best characterizes Kapha-type depression?

• A. Chronic heaviness with overeating and excessive sleep
• B. Anxiety with agitation
• C. Social withdrawal
• D. Rapid mood swings

Answer: (A)

In Kapha-type depression, the imbalance shows up as slow, heavy, and stagnant energy. Patients feel chronically weighed down, move and think slowly, crave sleep, and often overeat. These features reflect Kapha’s qualities of heaviness, coolness, and inertia, producing a depressive state marked by lethargy and increased appetite rather than agitation or mood volatility.

That’s why chronic heaviness with overeating and excessive sleep best fits this pattern. Anxiety with agitation points to a more fiery or restless imbalance, not the sluggish inertia of Kapha. Social withdrawal can occur in depression generally but doesn’t define Kapha-specific presentation, and rapid mood swings suggest more volatile or erratic patterns rather than the steady heaviness characteristic of Kapha-type depression.