When you’re suffering from depression, it can feel like nothing can help. Depression can make it seem like there’s no way that things will ever get better, that you’ll always be under its cloud. A specifically difficult kind of depression is referred to as “treatment-resistant depression,” which is everything that the name implies. It’s natural to feel as if there’s no way to alleviate this depression, but there is hope. At the holistic depression treatment centers at Irish Healing Retreat, we now offer Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

What Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Does

Simply put, it helps with the depression that no other form of treatment can deal with. When other therapeutic methods and medicines can’t get the job done, TMS often can. In fact, studies have shown that 58% of patients with depression make progress with TMS. That’s a staggeringly high number, especially when you take into account how other forms of therapy and medicine make basically no headway with this form of depression at all.

How it Works

When people suffer from treatment-resistant depression, some parts of their brain don’t have the same level of electrical activity that someone without that depression might. That doesn’t mean that they lack intelligence, it just means that they don’t have that same level of electrical activity. This lack of electrical activity can be closely related to their depression. That’s where this treatment comes in. TMS induces an electrical current in the brain. So, it brings electricity to those parts of the depressed person’s brain that lacked electricity. In turn, this stimulates the nerve cells and then ultimately brings the overall brain activity to the same level as someone who doesn’t suffer from treatment-resistant depression.

Noninvasive Holistic Depression Treatment Centers

The name “transcranial magnetic stimulation” may sound intimidating at first, but it’s important to keep in mind that this is a noninvasive, utterly safe form of depression treatment. Nothing goes into your body; you don’t “take” anything. Instead, what happens is that you sit in an extremely comfortable chair and then our doctor places a magnetic coil on your head. The magnetic coil is also very comfortable, too. When we say “placed on your head,” we don’t mean that it covers your head or anything like that. It’s not even like a helmet. To use an analogy, it covers just the top and one side of your head, almost like a hat that you’re wearing at an angle. You may be given earplugs, but you also may not need them. What makes this treatment especially favored among most people is that it is painless. You don’t have to “do” anything, you don’t have to worry about or recollect anything. You may not even feel much as it’s happening. For the most part, some patients feel a slight tapping on their head. That’s an important thing to remember: you feel this as it happens. You aren’t under any kind of anesthetic or anything like that. You’re awake, alert and fully in control of yourself throughout this treatment.
Safe and Effective Treatment
When people hear a name as dramatic as “transcranial magnetic stimulation,” it’s very easy to imagine something out of a sci-fi movie. That’s not what happens here, though. This treatment is entirely safe with no side effects. Some people have reported having mild headaches, but those are rare and typically tend not to last. In fact, you’ll be able to drive home as soon as your session ends. You can resume your regular activities that you had planned for the day. Many of our patients leave treatment and then go right to work. To be clear, this isn’t a “the doctor puts the coil on your head, you sit there for a few minutes, and your treatment-resistant depression is cured” kind of thing. It typically does take five sessions a week, each roughly taking 45 minutes over the course of six weeks. That may be a bit of a time commitment, but it’s worth it when you’re dealing with treatment-resistant depression. When other ways of combating depression fail, this can help. Of course, TMS is just one of the ways that we can help people with their depression. With all different kinds of therapy modalities available, we can find one that can work for you. Many of our patients have been helped by our TMS, but that’s far from the only way that we can assist folks in finding their way through depression. Even when you’re suffering from addiction, treatment-resistant depression, PTSD and other symptoms, there is hope. To learn more, schedule a free consultation by calling (818) 435-3936.