YOUR HEALTH: Stimulate your depression
Treatments include counseling, medications, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS, to stimulate the mood-regulating parts of the brain.
"Not all patients respond to the medication or to the neuromodulation," explained Dr. Francisco Romo-Nava, a physician scientist at the University of Cincinnati's Lindner Center of HOPE.
Dr. Romo-Nava and his colleagues are studying a new way to treat mental health disorders.
The neuroscientists are testing a device that delivers stimulation to a patient's spine.
Dr. Romo-Nava says the stimulation will improve the feedback in the central nervous system that is sometimes disrupted when a person has a psychiatric disorder.
For now, patients undergo spinal stimulation for 20 minutes, three times a week, for eight weeks.
"The kind of stimulation that we use is very well tolerated," he explained.
"The most frequent description is like a tingling sensation
Researchers say this stimulation therapy could be the first step to developing better treatment for some patients.
Dr. Romo-Nava was granted a patent for the stimulation method that utilizes transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
He says his research team is trying to determine how often, and how long, patients should undergo the stimulation for the best results.
Between 80% and 90% of people with depression respond well to treatment, and almost all patients gain some relief from their symptoms.
A new form of magnetic brain stimulation relieved symptoms of severe depression in 90% of participants in a study conducted by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The researchers are conducting a larger, double-blinded trial in which half the participants are receiving fake treatment and are optimistic it will prove to be similarly effective in treating people whose condition hasn't improved with medication, talk therapy, or other forms of electromagnetic stimulation.
Fast And Useful Tips To Beating Depression
Many people think that living with depression is unmanageable. This can be the truth, but only if you allow it to be. If you want to be successful in dealing with depression and its symptoms, you have to become educated on the subject, which is what the goal of the following article is.
Do not be afraid to ask for help. Many people keep their problems and emotions all bottled up inside them. Obviously, this is not a healthy thing to do. Instead, you should reach out to a friend or family member. If you have no one who is close, seek out a professional.
Examine your life. If you are unhappy because you feel like you are being walked on, focus on becoming more assertive. If you find yourself assuming people are thinking badly of you, remind yourself that you are not a mind-reader and that you have no basis for that belief. Keep it light and humorous, as you cannot battle negative thoughts with more negativity.
Writing in your journal every day can be a very good way to begin getting a handle on your depression. Write out your thoughts at the beginning and end of each day. When you do this, you are enlisting the help of your subconscious mind to sort out your worries and problems while you sleep.
If you suffer from depression, it is important that you do not skip meals. Not eating anything can cause you to become irritable and tired, which can, in turn,cause your depression symptoms to flare up. Try to eat 3 meals every day, and space these meals about 4 to 6 hours apart.
Exercise is one of the best tools to help combat depression. Leading an active, physical lifestyle will help you to alleviate stress and increase your endorphin levels. The next time you feel sad, instead of wallowing in your depression, or engaging in negative activities like drinking alcohol or overeating, try going for a nice long walk or bike ride, and you will be amazed at how much better you feel.
These medications can help restore your brain's neurochemical balance. You should understand though, they only work when you use them along a good therapy and exercise regimen.
Keeping a personal journal can be a very effective method of trying to cope with your depression. A daily journal gives you a safe place to vent your frustrations and explore your feelings, safe from prying eyes and unwanted questions. As you reflect back on your journal over time, you can chart your progress, track your status emotionally and pick up patterns of behavior or possible triggers for problem issues.
Listening to your favorite music goes a long way in staving off depression, but playing music is even more effective. Take a liking to the arts, which can make you feel at peace.
Steer clear of modified and processed sugars. Avoid high fructose corn syrup and sugar substitutes. Your health and well being can be negatively impacted by too much sugar of any kind in your diet. A diet with too much sugar can be a one way ticket to depression, mood swings, and diabetes.
Understand and know that you are not insane, but depressed. Depression is the way the body tells us that something is wrong or out of balance with our body. The world around us is an insane place and our bodies react to this more info insanity by making us depressed. This does not mean that we are insane, it just means that you are a natural being living in an insane world.
It is important for people who suffer from Depression to re-examine their priorities and adjust their expectations. Depressed people often falsely believe that they cannot be happy in life without certain things, such as material possessions, higher wealth and income, or a certain romantic partner. Changing negative thinking patterns and learning acceptance is a great way to improve quality of life.
When you depression is getting the best of you, think of how much worse it can be. There are people in the world who are homeless or without food. Thinking of how worse your situation can be will make you grateful for what you have, thus reducing your depression symptoms.
Depression of all types is a dreadful condition that afflicts many people. This is a serious medical condition that needs to be treated as soon as possible. This article should have given you some advice on how to cope if you have depression.