Can Brain Stimulation Really Treat Mental Illnesses?
Brain stimulation just like other forms of mental illness treatment delivers the major treatment for a number of symptoms related to depression and anxiety. These symptoms include irregular sleep, irritability, loss of motivation, nervousness, fight or flight response, and a general inability to experience life at the moment. On a general note, brain stimulation aims to target the whole condition by treating the symptoms on an individual scale.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Depression and Anxiety
While there are different types of brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation acts as a non-invasive process that utilizes magnetic fields from a device. These fields together stimulate the nerve cells present in the brain so as to improve the overall symptoms of anxiety and depression. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, has a typical usage in patients with depression and anxiety when other treatments do not render effective.
TMS treatment has a 65% remission rate and 3/4 people achieve significant benefits from the treatment for depression (The rTMS Centre Stats).
The rTMS Treatment for Depression and Anxiety
In a TMS session, the coil running on the principle of electromagnetism gets placed on the scalp near the hairline of the individual. This electromagnet would deliver a magnetic pulse in a painless manner, stimulating the nerve cells in your brain region that is there for your mood stability, peace of mind, and alleviation from depressive episodes. It is generally thought that it stimulates the different brain regions that show a decreased activity when a person is showing symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression.
How Is it Performed?
The whole procedure is performed by conforming to the following steps:
- You will be required to sit in a chair and wear earplugs to become in a relaxed, meditative position. During this time, the TMS operator would be placing a magnetic coil against your head.
- As the machine gets turned on, you will get some clicking sounds that will make you feel a slight tap on your forehead.
- The whole process of passing the magnetic fields to stimulate your mind would take around 20 minutes in which you will stay conscious and aware of your environment.
Benefits of Using Repetitive TMS
The Repetitive TMS acts as a non-invasive form to stimulate the brain for the treatment of conditions like depression and anxiety. Unlike the other kinds of brain stimulatory factors, repetitive TMS is known to be a non-invasive method as it does not require any surgery or any implantation of the electrodes. Unlike other forms of brain stimulation such as Electroconvulsive Therapy, the rTMS does not induce any risk of seizures or demands the patient to enter the anaesthetic state.
If this kind of therapy works well for you, not only you might notice a significant improvement in your symptoms but it can also be the case that your depression gets reversed. With more research, experts will be able to improve the efficiency of this procedure to yield even faster and better results on patients with different situations.
NICE Guidelines on TMS
As of 2015 TMS hаѕ, bееn approved bу The Nаtiоnаl Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a treatment fоr depression. In addition, there hаѕ even been increasing evidence tо show its effectiveness аѕ a treatment for anxiety.
