Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects millions of people globally. Meanwhile, managing MDD is sometimes difficult — even for those who use medication.
How Is Medication Used to Treat Depression?
Antidepressant medications are among the most common depression treatments. They are prescribed by doctors and help patients alleviate depression symptoms, such as:
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Lack of concentration
- Insomnia
- Suicidal thoughts
Many antidepressants are available, including:
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): Block the reabsorption of serotonin, a chemical in the brain that promotes wellbeing and happiness. In doing so, SSRIs help restore the proper balance of chemicals in the brain.
- Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): Block the reabsorption of serotonin and norepinephrine, which affects the body’s fight-or-flight response. Like SSRIs, SNRIs help restore the optimal balance of chemicals in the brain.
- Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs): Block the reabsorption of serotonin and noradrenaline, a brain chemical that functions as both a hormone and neurotransmitter. TCAs have been shown to help improve mood in depression patients.
An antidepressant does not guarantee instant depression symptom relief. Instead, individuals with depression may need to try multiple antidepressants before they find a medication that helps relieve their symptoms. And in instances where medications do not deliver the desired results, they may need to pursue alternative therapies.
Additionally, antidepressants sometimes cause side effects, such as:
- Nausea
- Insomnia
- Dry mouth
- Blurred vision
- Constipation
If you try various antidepressants but continue to struggle with depression symptoms, it is important to remember that alternative depression treatments are available. Common alternatives to depression medications include:
-
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy involves working with a mental health professional to treat depression and related issues. It often helps individuals cope with depression, as well as identify the root cause of their depression. Psychotherapy also helps people discover ways to deal with stress and anxiety, and prevent depression symptoms from becoming recurring problems.
-
Psychiatric Treatment
Psychiatric treatment at a hospital is sometimes used to help people dealing with severe depression. It involves staying at a hospital and receiving medical care until depression symptoms improve. Both hospitalization and day treatment programs are available to help depression patients. These treatment programs may include counseling to help individuals alleviate their depression symptoms.
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Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) Therapy
dTMS therapy is a revolutionary treatment that has been shown to provide long-lasting depression symptom relief. It involves the use of magnetic pulses sent to the brain; these pulses stimulate neural activity to help correct depression symptoms. To date, dTMS therapy has been FDA-approved for patients dealing with treatment-resistant depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and it has been CE-approved in Europe for patients dealing with bipolar disorder, chronic pain, and other medical conditions. Studies also indicate over 40% of dTMS therapy patients experience no depression symptoms after treatment.
By consulting with a doctor, you can take the first step to treat your depression. Your doctor may even recommend both medications and dTMS therapy to help you manage your depression symptoms both now and in the future.
Supplementing Your Medication Routine with dTMS Therapy: What You Need to Know
Your depression medication may deliver short-term results. But if you notice your depression symptoms worsen over time, you may want to consider dTMS therapy to supplement your medication routine.
Before you begin dTMS therapy, it is essential to meet with your doctor to discuss your depression medication and depression symptoms. Your doctor may offer alternative treatments to supplement your depression medication routine. Furthermore, your doctor may recommend dTMS therapy as a safe, effective depression treatment that you can use in conjunction with your medication.
dTMS therapy offers a number of benefits relative to other depression treatments, and these benefits include:
- Noninvasive: You won’t need to go under the knife as part of a dTMS therapy program. You won’t need to receive anesthesia or experience electrical shocks during dTMS therapy, either.
- Minimal Discomfort: dTMS therapy patients sometimes report slight headaches after treatment sessions. Comparatively, some dTMS therapy patients report no discomfort at all during treatment.
- In-House Therapy: A dTMS treatment session requires only about 20 minutes and is performed in a doctor’s office. After the session, you can resume your everyday activities, too.
If you currently use antidepressants but find these medications are ineffective or cause intolerable side effects, you may want to consider dTMS therapy. With an effective dTMS therapy program, you can get the help you need to permanently treat your depression symptoms.
If you or someone you know experiences mental health issues, it is important to seek help from a qualified professional. Our Resource Specialist can help you find expert mental health resources to recover in your community. Contact us now for more information on this free service to our users.
Author bio:
Achieve TMS is the nation’s most trusted deep TMS Therapy depression treatment provider, delivering over 30,000 treatments to date with a 49% remission rate and a 70% response rate. At Achieve TMS, we want our patients to feel comfortable with dTMS therapy. As such, we evaluate each patient closely to determine if he or she is a good candidate for dTMS therapy. We also craft a custom dTMS therapy program for each patient. Plus, we answer each patient’s dTMS therapy concerns and questions to help him or her make an informed treatment decision.
Sources:
- https://achievetms.com/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/depression-medications-and-side-effects#ssri-side-effects
- https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/coping-with-side-effects-of-depression-treatment#1
- https://achievetms.com/about-tms/
- https://www.caam.rice.edu/~cox/wrap/norepinephrine.pdf
Photo by Fineas Gavre on Unsplash
The opinions and views expressed in this guest blog do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in this article or linked to herein.
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No doubt consulting a registered practitioner is important. Treatment with medicine definitely helps but also has side effects. Nowadays people are trying alternative therapies. Reiki energy healing is most preferred. Besides Meditation Yoga also helps by uplifting the overall mood of the person.
That is pretty amazing that more than 300 million people suffer from depression at all ages. This should help and make you feel that you are not alone. There is no shame in seeking help and trying to better yourself.
Depression is a very common issue for our life. I think it is very important for young people today to know and understand the signs of depression. It is helpful to know that there are various ways to treat depression. Thank you for your superb post.