Depression Anxiety Treatment: How Effective Are They?

There are many available depression anxiety treatments for you. There is medication and other cognitive, scientific means. Learn what they are to know which will work for you best.

There is no single depression anxiety treatment that can work for all people. The level of depression varies among individuals. Causes of depression differ and the effects of depression likewise differ. With these in mind, clinicians and researchers have devised ways on how to treat depression and anxiety in different types of people.

Some people respond well to alternative means of depression anxiety treatment, while others go better with medications. However, there are those, too, who don't get well with medications and alternative methods of depression anxiety treatment. Because of this, the following scientific approaches are used in conjunction with medications and psychotherapy:

TMS or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

In depressed people, it has been found that their left prefrontal cortex area has an abnormal activity as compared to people who are not suffering from anxiety or depression.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is being considered as a depression anxiety treatment option. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is primarily designed to study the physiological aspects of the brain by transmitting magnetic waves. These magnetic waves bounce back to the monitor to reveal images of the brain.

TMS works by stimulating the prefrontal cortex to normalize the activity in there. This depression anxiety treatment is effective, as shown by positive response shown by patients in Poland.

Electroconvulsive Therapy

It may sound primitive but electroconvulsive therapy or ECT is still being used today. ECT or electroshock treatment works by releasing short bursts of electrical current (amount of which is of course controlled) into the brain. This is to administer a seizure-like effect. Nonetheless, a patient is under a general anesthesia during ECT treatment.

Based on studies, the artificial seizure triggered by ECT brings a faster response rate as compared to use of medications. Also, many of those who do not respond to antidepressants are treated with ECT and are found to be effective in treating major depression disorders.

Today's electroconvulsive therapy is very different to the old ways of administering it. Use of anesthesia during treatment is now a standard procedure.

This depression anxiety treatment is very controversial. Many clinicians and advocacy groups call for its abolishment.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation

The vagus nerve is said to be a connector to the region of the brain that controls moods. Vagus nerve stimulation works by implanting a vagus nerve therapy device in the chest of a patient. There are wires in it that connects to the vagus nerve (and thereby stimulates the mood regulating region of the brain).

This therapy has been used to control and manage seizure episodes in patients with epilepsy since 1997. Today, this method has been approved for use on  people who have resistance to medications.

Effectiveness of these Treatments

These depression anxiety treatments, although scientific, may or may not work for you. Most of the times, these are administered only when a patient is not responding to dietary supplements, antidepressants and psychotherapy. In short, they are the last resort of depression anxiety treatment.

Consult your Doctor

You cannot just undergo any of these treatments without a doctor's consent. The reason is that these treatments require a machine or equipment for administration. For instance in a vagus nerve stimulation, it needs a VNS therapy device that is implanted into the chest; for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) it needs the electroshock machine that releases short bursts of current; and for transcranial magnetic stimulation, it needs the TMS machine that releases waves into the brain and the monitor that displays the image produced by waves.

If you want to know more about these methods of depression anxiety treatment, it would be best to ask your doctor about them. He can give you more information on how they work and if will work for you, in case you contemplate undergoing any of these treatment methods.