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This article will provide a comprehensive overview of how DTMS therapy is transforming the treatment of anxiety and depression, highlighting its benefits, effectiveness, and future potential.

Introduction

DTMS (Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) therapy shows great promise for several forms of mental health disorders, particularly depression and anxiety. Today, rates of depression and anxiety are on the rise, making it essential to address both with innovative treatments.

What is DTMS?

The DTMS meaning is Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. This is a revolutionary form of treatment that involves electromagnetic pulses sent into the brain to reach deeper areas that cannot be accessed through traditional medicine or therapy. These types of changes bring about long-term reduction or removal of symptoms for several conditions, including depression and anxiety.

The Science Behind DTMS Therapy

Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation relies on magnetic fields to stimulate different neurons and neural connections in your brain. It does this by sending an electrical current into deeper regions of the brain associated with depression and anxiety, like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

For many people with depression and anxiety, these areas of the brain aren’t functioning the way they should, and things like glutamate receptors on the ends of neurons aren’t working. This inhibits communication and can be detrimental to proper function. Medication doesn’t necessarily fix these problems and instead acts like a band-aid. But DTMS therapy reaches areas that other treatment doesn’t and can be twice as effective as standard treatment for anxiety or depression.

Technological advancements indicate that DTMS therapy provides significant results for at least 75% of people, and of those, 50% of them tend to go into remission when being treated for depression or anxiety.

DTMS Therapy for Anxiety

Several studies have found that the use of DTMS therapy as a non-invasive brain stimulation method offers significant relief from anxiety symptoms.

When you receive this course of treatment for your anxiety symptoms, you will generally participate in between 20 and 40 sessions on average. These sessions last around 20 minutes each.

In some cases, you might get relief from your symptoms adequate enough that your doctor or therapist may no longer require that you take anti-anxiety or antidepression medications. This is, however, something that should be discussed with your medical team before you take action.

DTMS Therapy for Depression

Other studies have found that DTMS treatment is a highly effective form of antidepressant treatment, especially for those with treatment resistant depression.

The treatment protocols are much the same for depression, with participation between 20 and 40 sessions on average. Much the same as treatment for anxiety, your treatment for depression will last around 20 minutes per session. You can have an average of five sessions per week, coming to your facility every day of the week over the span of a couple of weeks.

-Effectiveness of DTMS in Treating Depression
-DTMS Treatment Protocols for Depression

Advantages of DTMS Therapy

So, what are the advantages of DTMS therapy?

Non-Invasive Nature

The first is that it’s not invasive. This procedure has no anesthesia, no invasive techniques, no injections of any kind which means it is significantly safer because it does away with these types of risks. It also means it’s an easier process to complete because you can drive yourself to your appointment, you don’t have to take off work, and there’s no recovery time.

Minimal Side Effects

The second is that there are minimal side effects. Side effects are minimal if at all. Most people do not experience side effects other than a little bit of discomfort or tingling during the process or within the first 30 minutes after the process. But in almost all cases these feelings go away after a few sessions.

Long-Term Benefits

The third is that you can enjoy long-term benefits. DTMS treatment is one of the few therapies that offers sustainable relief from anxiety and depression symptoms. It has been shown to provide remission for around 1/3 of people with depression, which means that you have a 33% chance of no longer experiencing depression symptoms after this treatment. For everyone else, symptoms were greatly reduced after this therapy.

It doesn’t last forever but it can certainly last for between 6 months and one year in between therapy sessions.

What to Expect During DTMS Therapy

There’s very minimal preparation required before DTMS therapy. That is one of the biggest benefits. you don’t need to arrange a ride nor are there restrictions on exercise or diet beforehand.

Preparation for Treatment

As part of your preparation for treatment you’ll be told what will happen, you’ll arrange the frequency of your sessions with the doctor in question and fill out generic paperwork as well as provide insurance information where applicable.

During the Treatment Sessions

During the treatment sessions, you’ll be seated in a comfortable chair, and a magnetic coil will be placed around your head. The coil will reach specific areas of the brain, like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is typically used to treat depression and anxiety. Once the coil is turned on, you’ll feel tapping against your scalp, and you’ll likely hear a sound from the magnetic pulses, but you won’t experience any discomfort aside from this.

Given that you are awake during the treatment sessions and there is no discomfort or medication required, you can choose to read, listen to things, or even catch up on emails during your session.

Post-Treatment Care

Again, one of the major benefits to DTMS treatment is how easy going it is as far as treatments are concerned. You don’t need anyone to drive you home nor are there any potential complications or risks associated with anesthesia. You can return to your normal activities after each of your sessions.

Summing Up

In summation, DTMS therapy’s role in treating anxiety and depression offers a revolutionary way to control or even stop symptoms of both conditions. There are limited, if any, side effects, with no contraindications, and the treatment can be used regularly. Talk to your doctor about DTMS treatment today.