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HOW TMS WORKS

U.S. Adults are Depressed

People Worldwide are Depressed

U.S. Depressed People Commit Suicide each Year

What is depression?

AN OVERVIEW OF DEPRESSION—Before learning more about TMS, I want to illustrate the severity of clinical depression in the United States.  1 in 4 women (& 1 in 8 men) will experience an episode of major depression during their lifetime.

Think about that.  Let’s put it in perspective. This means if you were to see 4 random women in a day, hypothetically, one of them will suffer from an episode of Depression in their lifetime. 

Depression is a lot more widespread than we think. Many people suffering from Depression live with it for YEARS. Many never find a cure.

Some of the reasons: they don’t recognize they are depressed so never seek treatment.  Others DO recognize they are depressed, they seek treatment, but are undertreated or misdiagnosed (maybe with an anxiety disorder) by their doctor.  Some people are too apprehensive about seeking help.   

At any one time, 7% of US adults (16 million people!) are battling Depression. This next statistic is staggering. If you have depression, you have a 30% chance of attempting suicide. Each year in the US, Depression will cause 25,000 COMPLETED suicides. Suicide is in the top ten leading causes of death in the US.

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

As you can see, Depression is a dark picture to paint.  The symptoms include at least five of the following symptoms present for at least two weeks:

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Pervasive Sadness

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Low Energy

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Low Motivation

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Loss of joy and Desire for pleasurable things

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Poor Concentration

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Isolation

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Sleep and Appetite disruption

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Hopelessness

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Negativity & Suicidal thoughts

Depressive Symptoms

greatly impair functional areas of your life at home, at work and in social activities. For example:

At Home

You may stop cleaning and picking up. You may stop showering and maintaining personal hygiene.

At Work

You may be taking more sick days and staying in bed. OR when you go to work, you make more mistakes and get less done.

Socially

You may stop going out, act more irritable toward others, and isolate at home.

Hobbies

You may lose all desire to do hobbies and fun things.  Depression can takeover and ruin your life.

CAUSES OF DEPRESSION

The frequency of depression can vary greatly from individual to individual—it may only be a one-time episode, or happen as repeating episodes, or it may be a chronic, never-ending episode of depression. 

There are four categorical causes of depression:

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First, you may have inherited a genetic predisposition for depression where it occurs in places of your family tree, like your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and/or siblings

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Second, depression could be triggered by very high levels of stress in your environment, such as being laid off and your finances are in ruin

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Third, you may have maladaptive coping skills where you habitually make bad decisions, such as choosing romances which make your life miserable

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Fourth, medical problems may cause depression, such as thyroid disease causing a “hormonal” depression, or the stress of chronic daily pain from a back injury causing disability and therefore depression.

Where in the Brain Depression Occurs

Next, I want to give some context on what depression looks like in the brain from a neurological perspective.   Depression occurs in the prefrontal cortex (upper left hand side of your brain).   More specifically, it occurs in the mood circuit – the part of the brain that regulates (you guessed it) your mood. 

So what exactly happens?

When depression occurs – either from elevated environmental stress, bad genes, poor coping skills,  bad life decisions, or medical conditions that cause depression – the mood circuit of the brain becomes underactive.  It falls asleep. In other words, some of the neurons (a.k.a brain cells) located in the mood circuit give off below average neurochemicals (dopamine, norepinephrine & serotonin) – the chemicals most commonly associated with happiness.

So what exactly is the purpose of TMS & antidepressant medication?
These treatments attempt to “wake up” the mood-regulation circuit by stimulating the brain cells and restoring the neurochemicals to normal levels. Both treatments are used to reverse depression and help get your life back.

antidepressant medication & TMS

The key difference between antidepressant medication & TMS is that one uses chemical stimulation & the other uses electromagnetic stimulation, respectively.  Before diving further into that difference, I want to explain why TMS is such an exciting clinical breakthrough for depression.

Why is TMS such an exciting clinical breakthrough for depression?

TMS is an FDA-approved treatment catered to those experiencing episodes of depression that haven’t had a satisfying response to medication or who suffer from unbearable side effects  TMS, a relatively new treatment, offers several unique advantages over medication.

Firstly, TMS is an intervention that uses electro-magnetic stimulation rather than chemical stimulation of brain cells. Which means…

Secondly, TMS has little to no side effects at all when compared to drug therapy.

Thirdly, unlike antidepressants, TMS has unprecedented accuracy when targeting depression because it targets only the area of the brain where depression occurs. 

Let’s look closer

First, let me explain how antidepressants work.  Antidepressant medications provide chemical stimulation to wake up the mood circuit. The mood circuit is a tiny area in your brain that is difficult to specifically target through chemical stimulation. 

Why? antidepressants don’t know ‘what’ to target per se, but rather, they are absorbed through your gut and carried everywhere by your bloodstream and distributed all throughout your body – from head to toe – and hopefully they reach & treat the relatively tiny mood circuit in your brain (where depression resides).  Your blood vessels feed your entire body – meaning that the chemicals absorbed go to all parts of your body & can potentially cause side effects on virtually every organ system in the body. 

For instance, too much serotonin in the gut causes nausea and loose stools. Too much in the spinal cord causes sexual side effects. Too much norepinephrine and dopamine can elevate blood pressure and heart rate. Antidepressants are not as accurate at treating depression as TMS Therapy. For this reason, antidepressants cause more side effects.

Other common side effects of antidepressants include:

Dry Mouth

Constipation

Sedation

Lightheaded

Weight Gain

Due to the side effects…

…caused by these antidepressants, sometimes, “the cure is worse than the disease.”   As you can see, this internal, widespread antidepressant distribution makes it extremely difficult to target the depression effectively & side-effect free.

This is important to understand because it illustrates the little control we have over where the antidepressants are distributed.  While antidepressants may work wonders for some, others are left with subpar results and unbearable, negative side effects.

Comparatively, TMS provides

An electromagnetic stimulation to ‘wake’ up the mood circuit.  Unlike antidepressants, TMS has the technology to accurately & efficiently target the mood circuit with minimal side effects (slight head discomfort that dissipates within a week of treatment).

TMS uniquely, stimulates the electrical system of neurons, and when neurons are electrically stimulated—just like when they are chemically stimulated—they release greater amounts of neurotransmitters—serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine—which helps reverse depression!!
TMS uses magnetic fields to stimulate the part of the brain associated with mood control and because of this, the treatment is localized to the small area.  To clarify, TMS is not distributed all throughout your body.  Instead, it focuses on the area that is depressed which, as a result, avoids causing side effects on the body.

Antidepressant Medications

Aren’t the only form of defense against the debilitating Major Depression disease.  If you have tried antidepressants and have had unsatisfactory results, seriously consider TMS. 

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Welcome to Dr. TMS Therapy. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about our policy or our practices with regards to your personal information, please contact us at [email protected]. We collect personal information that you provide to us. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the website, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include your name, email address, phone number, and other information necessary for the provision of our services. We use the information we collect or receive to communicate with you. We do not share any of your information with 3rd parties. We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. You have the right to request access, correction, or deletion of your personal information at any time.

Terms of Service

Welcome to Dr. TMS Therapy. These Terms of Service outline the rules and regulations for the use of our website. By accessing this website, you accept these Terms of Service in full. We provide mental health services as described on our website. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. We provide mental health services as described on our website. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. Appointments must be canceled at least 24 hours in advance, or a cancellation fee will apply.

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IS TMS RIGHT FOR YOU?

By signing up for text messages you agree to receive 3 text messages from Dr. TMS Therapy, at the number provided on the website, in an effort to schdule an appointment. Message & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. View our Privacy Policy & terms of service.
Privacy Policy (read below)
Welcome to Dr. TMS Therapy. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about our policy or our practices with regards to your personal information, please contact us at [email protected]. We collect personal information that you provide to us. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the website, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include your name, email address, phone number, and other information necessary for the provision of our services. We use the information we collect or receive to communicate with you. We do not share any of your information with 3rd parties. We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. You have the right to request access, correction, or deletion of your personal information at any time.

Terms of Service

Welcome to Dr. TMS Therapy. These Terms of Service outline the rules and regulations for the use of our website. By accessing this website, you accept these Terms of Service in full. We provide mental health services as described on our website. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. We provide mental health services as described on our website. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. Appointments must be canceled at least 24 hours in advance, or a cancellation fee will apply.

Logo Dr TMS Therapy St Petersburg

IS TMS RIGHT FOR YOU?

By signing up for text messages you agree to receive a text message from Dr. TMS Therapy, at the number provided on the website, in an effort to schdule an appointment. Message & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. View our Privacy Policy & terms of service.
Privacy Policy (read below)
Welcome to Dr. TMS Therapy. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about our policy or our practices with regards to your personal information, please contact us at [email protected]. We collect personal information that you provide to us. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the website, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include your name, email address, phone number, and other information necessary for the provision of our services. We use the information we collect or receive to communicate with you. We do not share any of your information with 3rd parties. We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. You have the right to request access, correction, or deletion of your personal information at any time.

Terms of Service

Welcome to Dr. TMS Therapy. These Terms of Service outline the rules and regulations for the use of our website. By accessing this website, you accept these Terms of Service in full. We provide mental health services as described on our website. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. We provide mental health services as described on our website. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. Appointments must be canceled at least 24 hours in advance, or a cancellation fee will apply.