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This article will provide a comprehensive overview of TMS therapy as a non-invasive alternative for treating panic disorder, highlighting its benefits, effectiveness, and role in modern mental health care.
Introduction
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a revolutionary therapy for several mental health disorders. TMS panic disorder treatment is becoming a popular treatment option for those with panic disorder. Panic disorder can have a detrimental impact on daily life not just because of unexpected panic attacks but because of the stress associated with anticipating when the next attack will occur.
Given that, most commonly, there are no triggers or cues before an attack, it can be very difficult to utilize regular therapy aside from basic stress management techniques in order to moderate the symptoms, but TMS therapy for panic disorder works differently by changing the brain itself, offering new relief for those who are struggling.
Understanding Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is a mental health condition under the category of “Anxiety Disorders” where an individual has recurring, unexpected panic attacks.
Definition and symptoms of panic disorder
Panic attacks are surges of intense fear and discomfort that lasts several minutes, during which time an individual will experience symptoms like:
- Accelerated heart rate or heart palpitations
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
- Feeling short of breath or as though they are being smothered
- Feeling like they are choking
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Nausea or related abdominal distress
- Chills or other hot flash sensations
- Numbness or tingling
- Feeling detached from
- Fear of losing controller going crazy
- Fear of dying
People who experience panic attacks will also have persistent worry about when the next attack will happen and will sometimes develop maladaptive behaviors to try and avoid them.
Common triggers and risk factors
The issue with a panic disorder is that the panic attacks are unexpected in most cases, which means they have no obvious trigger when they happen. They can happen out of the blue, even when someone is sleeping.
Some people with panic disorder do experience expected panic attacks, and those have an obvious trigger, often a situation where an individual has experienced a panic attack before and with some regularity.
Panic attack frequencies and severities will vary from one attack to the next. Someone might experience moderately frequent attacks, having one every week for several months at a time, or they might have daily panic attacks that come in short bursts. Some individuals have infrequent panic attacks that only come once every couple of months.
The risk factors for a panic disorder have to do primarily with genetics, environment, and temperament. Some individuals who have a genetic history of panic disorder are more likely to develop it themselves. Others might experience panic disorders because of chronic stress.
Between 10% and 60% of individuals diagnosed with panic disorder have a history of childhood adversities, stressful life experiences, or trauma.
Having parents who are overprotective or do not provide a lot of emotional warmth is a secondary risk factor as well. So, the way in which an individual is raised can put them at a higher risk of developing panic disorder.
TMS for Panic Disorder
TMS for panic disorder is a new form of treatment that is a non-invasive procedure easily incorporated into any existing treatment plan.
Comparison of TMS therapy for panic disorder with traditional treatments
So, how does TMS therapy for panic disorder compare to other treatments? One of the main treatments for panic disorder is medicine. Medication is used to handle acute panic attacks when they happen, including things like anti-anxiety medications and antipsychotics. However, these medications can have several harmful side effects. TMS therapy does not have any side effects other than slight discomfort at the site of the electrodes for the first few sessions, which goes away with time.
Because most people with panic disorder do not have many known triggers for panic attacks, it can be very difficult to manage with psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is most effective when providing mechanisms for controlling things like stress and environmental cues, which can exacerbate symptoms, but it doesn’t change the root cause, which is often an issue with brain function in the prefrontal cortex.
How TMS Therapy for Panic Disorder Works
So, how does TMS therapy actually work, and what makes it comparatively better than other options?
The TMS treatment process
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a process where you comfortably sit in a chair and have a TMS technician place a device over your head. That technician will control electrical impulses that are sent into deep areas of the brain that cannot be reached by things like medicine for panic disorder.
The process takes an average of 20 minutes per session, which makes it easily incorporated into an existing schedule. Moreover, it does not require anything like anesthesia, so you do not have to make accommodations for the rest of your schedule and can go back to your regular activities.
During this time, the TMS technician will target regions known to be associated with panic disorder symptoms, like the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. For those who have co-occurring disorders like depression or other anxiety disorders, the same or similar areas can also be reached with the magnetic pulses.
What to expect during a TMS therapy session
During a session, you can expect a slight tingling sensation as the technician controls the location and depth of the magnetic pulses. After your session, you can expect to return to your daily activities.
Side effects are minimal, with many people noting that, at most, they had a slight tingling sensation or discomfort where the tool was placed on their head, but that went away after the first session or two.
Duration and frequency of TMS treatments for panic disorder
Many clients consider the use of TMS therapy for panic disorder as somewhere in between a long-term and short-term solution. it will not cure a panic disorder and the brain is plastic. This plasticity means that the brain is constantly changing and regrowing things like neurons. The changes that are made with TMS therapy will last anywhere between 6 months and one year.
After that clients will need to return to a center for another round of treatment lasting an average of two or four weeks. These treatment sessions are relatively short and the longevity of the results make it well worth the investment. Moreover, there are no negative associations for those who seek TMS for panic disorder on an annual or somewhat regular basis.
Effectiveness of TMS Therapy for Panic Disorder
The efficacy of TMS therapy has been demonstrated in dozens of studies, having to do with other mental health disorders, particularly major depressive disorder, for which it has received FDA approval.
The same regions of the brain associated with poor blood flow or oxygenation that result in depression symptoms are also the regions associated with anxiety symptoms, particularly those from a panic disorder, and as such, the use of TMS therapy is particularly effective for those with anxiety disorders such as panic disorder.
Clinical studies and research on TMS therapy for panic disorder
Current studies, including the comparison of TMS therapy for panic disorder against sham treatments, have found that targeting the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for an average of two to four weeks saw a significant reduction in panic symptoms.
In a study targeting the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for those with panic disorder and co-occurring major depressive disorder, two weeks of transcranial magnetic stimulation saw clinical improvements as early as the first week for the majority of participants. 83.3% of participants showed improvements in their panic and anxiety after the second week and had sustained Improvement at the 6-month mark.
There is limited information on the comparison of TMS for panic disorder versus psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, or electroconvulsive therapy at this time.
Perhaps more impressive were studies that verified measurements of brain oxygenation during tests, which confirmed that after TMS panic disorder treatment, dysfunctions in the prefrontal areas of the brain related to panic disorders were improved. This study confirms that while the self-reporting tools from previous studies indicated an improvement in symptoms, TMS for panic disorder legitimately changes areas of the brain associated with panic attacks and anxiety symptoms, leading to subsequent relief.
Conclusion
TMS therapy for panic disorder is a revolutionary form of treatment that can help provide improved oxygen to areas of the prefrontal cortex that are experiencing limited oxygenation and subsequent issues with blood flow and brain function. All of this has been shown to significantly improve panic and anxiety-related symptoms.
If you are struggling with panic disorder, consider TMS as a treatment option. It can be combined with any other form of care you are currently using with next to no potential side effects. Talk to a doctor today.