Have you been diagnosed with some form of depression? Approximately 5% of adults around the world are estimated to be dealing with depression. It’s a disorder that involves frequent bouts of low mood and the loss of interest in daily activities. There are many known treatments that can ease the symptoms of depression. In some cases, people receive treatment for their depressive disorder and don’t see any significant improvements. This is called treatment-resistant depression. It results when a patient’s symptoms fail to improve even after traditional forms of treatment like antidepressants and psychotherapy.
Are you one of the many who aren’t seeing improvements from your depression treatments? You may be interested to learn more about the latest form of treatment for treatment-resistant depression.
What is TMS treatment?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a type of treatment for people with treatment-resistant depression, anxious depression and OCD. It’s an FDA-cleared noninvasive treatment where magnetic pulses are delivered to stimulate areas in the brain that regulate mood. Light clicking sounds similar to an MRI may be heard during treatment.
TMS treatment is sometimes compared to other types of brain stimulation therapy, like electroconvulsive (ECT) therapy. However, they are very different. Unlike ECT, TMS doesn’t require any anesthetic. Another difference between the two is that TMS does not induce seizures like ECT does.
How can TMS treatment help someone with depression?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a treatment that is known to work best for treatment-resistant depression. If you’re struggling with the symptoms of depression that haven’t responded to talk therapy or at least two trials of antidepressants, here’s what you need to know about how TMS treatment works:
- TMS stimulates areas of the brain that control mood.
- TMS stimulates areas of lower brain activity.
The magnetic pulses that are sent to specific areas of the brain during treatment are responsible for changing brain patterns that contribute to or exacerbate depression.
Is TMS actually effective at treating depression?
You might now be wondering, is TMS treatment really that effective? In short, yes, TMS can be very effective for someone struggling to manage their depression symptoms. It’s noninvasive with very few side effects: 79% of patients showed a 25% decrease in depression symptoms, and 56% of patients showed a 50% decrease. Of those who benefited from TMS treatment, 1 out of 3 people saw their depression symptoms go away completely.
Let Active Path Mental Health treat your depression symptoms with TMS
Mood disorders, like depression, can lead a person to feel as if their life is spiraling out of control. If you’re struggling to perform the tasks you used to enjoy, your personal relationships are affected or your quality of life has been negatively affected, you should consider treatment with us. Our Active Path Mental Health team can get you on the path toward improving depression symptoms and a better quality of life. You’ll get the treatment you need to start looking forward to a more hopeful future.
Active Path Mental Health is proud to say that patients can receive treatment from locations in both Oregon and Washington. The team members at each one of our locations are dedicated to helping patients recover from their mental health disorders. But don’t just take it from us, take it from our patient reviews.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.
