More than 264 million people worldwide suffer from depression. Depression does not discriminate against age, race, or gender. Everyone is susceptible. In these ever-changing times with the coronavirus, changing mask and distancing standards, and work-from-home mandates, depression is on the rise.

Read on to discover how you can cope with depression amid COVID-19 and when to seek professional help.

What does depression look like?

As a common, yet serious mental illness, depression affects your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Patients dealing with depression often have negative thoughts, feelings of sadness, emotional and physical problems, and decreased functioning.

Depression symptoms

Although depressive disorder may be mild to severe, the most common symptoms of depression include the following:

• Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness
• Angry outbursts
• Decreased interest in activities you used to enjoy
• Disrupted sleep patterns or sleeping during the day
• Tiredness
• Weight changes
• Agitation or restlessness
• Trouble concentrating
• Unexplained physical problems such as headaches
• Frequent thoughts of death or suicide

If you want to learn more about how having these symptoms of depression can affect your health, consider scheduling an appointment with a provider at Salveo to discuss your needs. 

What are the main causes of depression?

Depression is a complex disease without a known cause. However, there are links between this mental illness and potential risk factors.

Common causes

The most common causes, risk factors, or triggers for depression include:

• Abuse
• Advanced age
• Death or loss
• Gender
• Genetics
• Illnesses
• Major life events
• Medications
• Personal conflicts or disputes
• Personal problems
• Substance abuse

Depression during COVID

COVID-19 has been a major worldwide life-changing event. The added stress has triggered an upturn in depression.

Mental health during COVID-19 has taken a hit. The stress of the disease, quarantining, and work-at-home orders have brought about an increase in anxiety and depression. According to the CDC’s research, depressive disorder was nearly four times higher in the second quarter of 2020 than in the same time frame in 2019.

How to cope with depression

If you suffer from depression, there are tips to help you overcome your condition rather than feeling overwhelmed by it.

1. Do things that make you happy

Depression is often linked to not wanting to participate in activities that often bring you joy. Instead of giving in to fatigue, push back and do something that makes you happy. Go for a walk, plant flowers, do yoga, or ride your bike. These simple activities are a way to lift your mood and energy levels to help you cope with depression. 

2. Exercise to boost your mood

Physical activity is a great way to keep your body healthy. It helps you battle conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Exercise allows you to sleep better.

Exercise also helps people feel better. Physical activity releases endorphins which improve your mood. With continuous physical activity, your body releases growth factors which help new nerve cells grow and make new connections. When this happens in the brain, it improves your mood.

3. Eat a healthy diet

Your diet affects you physically and mentally. While there isn’t a specific “depression diet,” there are foods that may ease your symptoms or put you in a better mood. Consider the following good food choices:

• Foods rich in antioxidants
• Complex carbohydrates
• Healthy proteins
• Vitamins B and D
• Selenium-rich foods
• Omega-3 fatty acids

4. Go outside

While excess sun exposure can damage your skin, spending time in the sunlight can improve your mood. Exposure to sunlight may help release serotonin which boosts your mood and helps you feel calm and focused. Alternatively, decreased sun exposure can cause a drop in serotonin levels and trigger depression.

5. Reach out to your support system

Too often people with depression are embarrassed or choose to suffer in silence. If you are overwhelmed by depression, reach out to your friends and family for emotional support, find a support group, or seek professional help. 

At Salveo Integrative Health, we strive to provide a tranquil and comforting environment for our community. You are not alone in your battle against depression. Take back the control in your life.

Get depression treatment with Salveo Integrative Health

Depression impacts your everyday functioning. It keeps you from functioning and thriving at your fullest potential. The experienced professionals at Salveo Integrative Health are ready to help. 

Our team specializes in behavioral and mental health treatments. Our treatments for depression include therapy and our flagship non-medicated Neurostar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy. TMS therapy is designed for patients with major depressive disorder who have tried medications and other therapies without success.

For depression treatment in Lawrenceville or Flowery Branch, GA, contact us today. Book an appointment with Salveo Integrative Health for help coping with depression.

Imagine having severe depression and medication doesn’t help. That’s not a great thought, right? For some people, major depressive disorder is debilitating, causes mental and physical symptoms, and does not improve with treatment. 

Now, Salveo Integrative Health offers alternative treatment through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in Lawrenceville, GA. 

What is NeuroStar transcranial magnetic stimulation and how does it help treat major depression?

Read on to learn more about the revolutionary TMS treatment and its effectiveness as a therapy for depression.

What Is Depression?

Depression is a serious mental illness that affects the way an individual thinks, feels, and acts. It causes intense feelings of sadness or loss of interest in normal activities.

Patients with depression experience mental and physical problems. Common depression symptoms often include:

• Feelings of sadness, worthlessness, or guilt
• Disinterest in previously enjoyable activities
• Appetite changes
• Sleep changes
• Lack of energy
• Purposeless physical activity 
• Trouble concentrating or focusing
• Thoughts of suicide

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in adults under 45 in the United States. Approximately 16.1 million American adults are affected with the disorder being more common in women than men. 

NeuroStar TMS Therapy with Salveo Integrative Health

Thankfully, patients with depression no longer have to suffer from extreme symptoms. At Salveo Integrative Health, we offer treatment options for depression. For patients with severe depression, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy may be a treatment option. TMS therapy helps improve your mood and quality of life so you feel more like yourself again.

What Is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. The areas of the brain thought to control mood are targeted which helps improve symptoms of depression. 

When used to treat depression, repetitive magnetic pulses are used so the treatment is sometimes called TMS or rTMS.

How NeuroStar Treatment Works

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is safe, easy, and painless. Each treatment session begins with a magnetic coil placed on the head. Magnetic pulses stimulate nerves in the regions of the brain that control mood and depression.

TMS therapy is intensive. Patients must adhere to a strict schedule of sessions for five days per week for several weeks. Sessions are approximately 40 minutes long.

Due to the strict nature of these appointments, Salveo Integrative Health wants to ensure patient comfort. TMS treatment sessions are pre-set so patients do not have to check in or wait in the lobby. 

Our team prepares the room ahead of time so patients can be seen directly. Our TMS room is spacious, cozy, and equipped with a TV to ensure patient comfort throughout the treatment session.

Does TMS Treatment Work for Depression?

Depression is a treatable condition. However, not every treatment works for every patient. When typical prescription antidepressant medications or talk therapies fail, TMS therapy may be a successful alternative. 

Patients who undergo transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments often experience long-term results. The average patient experiences a reduction in their depression symptoms for about a year.

Consult your Salveo Integrative Health psychiatrist to find out if TMS is right for you.

Treat Depression with Salveo’s NeuroStar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Don’t let your depression keep you from living life to the fullest. Let us help get your mental health back on track.

Contact Salveo Integrative Health

At Salveo Integrative Health, we offer NeuroStar TMS Therapy in Lawrenceville, GA. 

NeuroStar is an FDA-cleared, non-drug, non-invasive treatment for depression. It is NOT an ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). Patients who receive NeuroStar TMS treatments achieve long-lasting relief from their depression symptoms.

Contact Salveo Integrative Health today to learn more about transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression.

The exact cause of depression is unknown. However, the leading scientific theory is that depression is caused by an imbalance in the brain. The neurotransmitters or chemical messengers that send signals are imbalanced. 

According to the WHO, more than 264 million people worldwide suffer from depression.

If you suffer from depression, you may have tried various courses of treatment including antidepressant medications. For qualified patients, an alternative treatment called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation may help improve the imbalance and improve your mood.

Salveo offers NeuroStar TMS therapy in Lawrenceville, GA. Salveo is a Neurostar Gold Circle Provider, which means we have performed over 500 treatments in the last 12 months. The patients we have treated with TMS have reported positive changes and effectiveness after completing the full series of treatment sessions. 

Read on to learn what TMS therapy is, how it works, and what the effects of treatment are for patients with depression.

What Is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Therapy?

As a non-invasive treatment, TMS uses repetitive magnetic pulses to stimulate nerves in the brain. This helps reduce and treat the symptoms of depression.  

Understanding TMS Treatment

Treatment is safe, easy, and painless. To start a treatment, a magnetic coil is placed on the head. The pulses stimulate nerves in the area of the brain thought to control mood and depression. 

Treatment plans may be intensive requiring sessions five days per week for several weeks to achieve the desired results. Each session may last 20-50 minutes.

Purpose and Uses of TMS Therapy

Depression can be damaging to the brain. It can physically shrink the brain, cause inflammation, restrict oxygen, and cause structural and connective changes. Patients who suffer from depression are affected physically and mentally. Treatment is necessary for improvement. 

TMS treatment is effective and can be used for patients with major depression when antidepressant medication is unsuccessful.

Does TMS Therapy Work?

The exact biology of why TMS works to stimulate the nerves and improve mood is unknown. When properly placed, the magnetic stimulation affects how the patient’s brain works. As a result, it positively impacts the patient’s mood.

How does TMS Treatment Help?

Depression is treatable. However, for some patients the typical medications or talk therapies may not work. When traditional treatments have been tried unsuccessfully, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is an alternative.

Benefits of TMS Treatment

TMS therapy is a non-invasive, non-surgical treatment for depression. Additional benefits of therapy include:

• Safe
• High success rate
• Long-term results
• Possible insurance coverage
• Use for patients with major depression

Risks of Treatment

Since it is not a drug or medication, patients experience fewer side effects. The most common side effects are headache, lightheadedness, or discomfort at the treatment site. These are temporary and should subside quickly.

TMS Therapy with Salveo Integrative Health

At Salveo Integrative Health in Lawrenceville, GA, we offer mental and behavioral health services including Neurostar TMS therapy for patients with depression.

NeuroStar TMS Therapy

NeuroStar treatment uses a magnet similar to the strength of the one used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. The magnetic fields stimulate nerve cells in the area of the brain where mood is controlled. The magnetic pulses positively impact the neurotransmitter levels and improve mood.

NeuroStar treatment works for patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). It is FDA-approved as a depression treatment, even after patients have taken antidepressant medication.

Schedule an Appointment

At Salveo Integrative Health, we put your mental health first! For qualified patients with depression, we offer TMS treatment in Lawrenceville, GA. 

 TMS patients have pre-set appointment times so they do not have to wait in a lobby or worry about checking in. The treatment room is prepared ahead of time so patients can be seen directly without any disruptions. The TMS room is spacious and cozy. It is equipped with a TV so patients are comfortable and at ease during their treatment sessions.

Contact us today to see if TMS services are the right fit for you.