Improving the Symptoms of Depression with TMS

What is Depression?

Depression is a common mental illness that negatively affects feelings, thinking, and behavior. There are a lot of people who do not realize that they are sick, so they did not receive the treatment in time. 

Risk Factors for Depression

There are 3 main risk factors that cause depression; 

• Biochemistry: Changes in chemicals in the brain
• Genetics: Depression can run in families
• Stress: Some people might be easily overwhelmed by stress 

Effective Treatment for Depression

Receiving proper treatment can improve the symptoms of depression so that the patients can get back to their daily activities and be happy again. 

Currently, there is a safe and effective treatment option for improving the symptoms of depression, it is called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS in short. TMS is a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the area of the brain involved in mood control and depression in order to adjust and balance the function of the brain. By doing so, the brain will get back to its normal function and reduce the symptoms of depression. TMS is recommended for patients with depression who are not responding to the standard treatment. 

The TMS procedure will last about 20 – 30 minutes per session. In addition, it will not cause any pain or trauma, so that there is no need for hospital admission. The patient can go back home right after the treatment is finished. The doctor will adjust and determine the dosage and frequency of the treatment depending on the symptoms of each patient. Basically, the symptoms of depression will be improved within 1 month or after 3 – 5 treatment sessions.  Besides being a treatment option for depression, TMS can also be used to treat other types of mental illness, as well as other nervous system-related diseases, such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Post-stroke symptoms.