The battle
against clinical depression is growing stronger as many worldwide have begun
acknowledging the fact that it is a condition that is worth going up against.
Now that the fight against mental illnesses is getting more supporters, the
number of innovative treatment and revolutionary practices to fight them off
are increasing as well.
When it
comes to clinical depression, patients are no longer limited to taking
prescription drugs. The downsides to these traditional treatment programs are
that the patient could develop a dependence on the drug. They could also reel
in from the various side effects that it could have for them. Here are the
other ways we could combat depression.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive
Behavior Therapy or CBT is a psychological treatment that focuses more on how
our thought process and actions affect the way we feel. It is currently one of
the most effective treatments for depression and it can be used by almost
anyone affected by the condition.
Patients
that undergo CBT work together with a therapist to understand which of his
actions and thoughts make them depressed. The therapists also look into why a
patient isn’t getting any better from his previous treatments. In essence, CBT
is about changing the way a patient thinks and behaves in a bid to help them
get better. One great upside to CBT is that it can be done online via
e-therapies.
Transcranial Magnetic
Stimulation
There are people who suffer from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or clinical depression who don’t respond to traditional treatments well. In cases where they are unable to fend off the condition with medication, they suffer from what is called as Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD). With this knowledge in mind, TMS Health Solutions has introduced an innovative therapy called Transcranial Magnetic Simulation (TMS).
TMS
therapy is a brain stimulation technique specifically made for patients with
TRD. It is done using a machine that emits localized electromagnetic pulses to
the brain, specifically, the pulses are directed to the dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex. In doing so, the patient’s nerve cells are given the boost it needs to
combat depression. It has already been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drugs
Administration (FDA) as well. Each patient could undergo the treatment for at
least two months or earlier and each session could last up to an hour.
What’s
great about TMS is that it isn’t a surgical procedure that requires general anesthetics
and a long recovery phase. Upon each session, patients are free to resume their
regular activity. It will be as if they aren’t undergoing any treatment at all.
This will be great on their path to recovery as their lives aren’t controlled
by anything else. It is an outpatient treatment so they will have a lot of time
to be around family and friends as well.
Another
benefit of TMS is that since it is not a medication, it does not have any of
the side effects that aren’t typically found in antidepressants. These include
drowsiness, sexual dysfunctions, weight gain, and more.
The
treatment has been proven effective already. The depression scores of patients
undergoing the treatment begun declining upon the first treatment. After the
treatment, their scores went from 18 to 10. Of course, each patient responds to
the treatment differently so there are those that get better a lot faster.
TMS is one of the best alternative treatments for severe clinical depression currently. Its upsides are great enough on their own but the success rate of the treatment is something else. As an innovative therapy, TMS is able to completely change the lives of many patients and hopefully, it helps out more in the future.
Lifestyle Change
When
medications don’t work, some patients are asked to make a huge change in their
lifestyle. Although not always effective, changing the way a patient lives for
the better could drastically improve his condition without having them go
through the side effects of medication and other risky treatments.
A change
in lifestyle could mean a lot of things. These include getting more exercise
done, a better diet, more time for oneself and more time for others as well.
Generally, patients are guided to lifestyle changes that would help satisfy
their needs. One upside to this method is that it can be easily done, but that
isn’t to say that patients can simply execute this without proper guidance.
In most
cases, this treatment is suggested by a counselor or a therapist. Since they
know their patients very well, they are the proper authority to turn to when it
comes to understanding what could help someone fight depression. The results
may vary from person to person and this is just an alternative to meds and
other standard treatment.
These are
just some of the alternative treatments for depression. They are the most
effective and they are changing lives for the better as well.