Far from being a case of being blue, depression is a neurotransmitter imbalance in the brain. Most educated people understand this. There are some forms of depression, though, that resist any therapy. This treatment resistant depression responds poorly to psychoactive medications, and cognitive behavioral therapy can have no help. Fortunately, there are several new advances that may cure treatment resistant depression.
One way of tackling treatment resistant depression is through mindful meditation. Practiced by Buddhists for thousands of years, mindful meditation began as an alternative treatment when doctors noticed an improved patient state of mind. Recent studies by both Harvard University and the National Institute for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine show that mindful meditation actually restructures part of the brain, and lessens mental activities associated with depression. That said, the strongest effects were on those who meditated over 20,000 hours, or one hour a day for five decades. For those with treatment resistant depression, decades are far too long.
Another promising alternative for treatment resistant depression is transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, or TMS therapy. Approved by the FDA in 2008 for major depressive disorder, TMS therapy involves a coil that produces a magnetic field, similar to that of a standard MRI. This field goes only 3 cm into the brain, typically the prefrontal cortex, and helps alters processes in the brain.
TMS therapy causes less side affects than other treatments, even though it works on treatment resistant depression. In a study of 10,000 patients, only five percent of patients stopped treatment for side affects. Often, side affects were just some scalp irritation, but it was rarely anything more serious than that.
How can one use TMS for depression? See about Tms los angeles or another city can offer, which is almost always in an outpatient setting. While it may be difficult to seek treatment at first, anything that helps treatment resistant depression is worth it.