There are millions of people in America who suffer from depression, a small minority of whom suffer from a form that does not respond to drug treatment. There is much work going on to try to find new treatments for severe and untreatable forms of depression as well as alternative treatments for people who prefer not to or are unable to take standard treatments. Many of the treatments are derived from homeopathic or eastern styles of medicine, but some are older treatments that were once traditional but were phased out when chemical drug treatments became the norm for handling depression. One treatment that had been phased out but is making a comeback is depression shock therapy. This treatment was started in the 1940s for treating depression but fell out of favor with the drug treatment options that sprung up in the 1970s. The resurgence of this treatment gives merit to the practice as a helpful tool in combating depression and the updates made to the treatment have improved its effectiveness and decreased the incidence of side effects.
Using depression shock therapy
One common method of depression shock therapy is through the stimulation of the vagus nerve which extends from the neck to the abdomen and relays information from the brain to regulate sleep and mood. A device is placed in the patient that connects to the device and delivers short electrical shocks to the nerve at five minute intervals. The shocks render changes in the brain’s neurotransmitters and alleviate the depression symptoms, in essence rewiring the brain to avoid the causes of depression. This depression shock therapy is known to decrease depression in at least half of all patients within a short period of time and has a lengthy period of delay n recurrence of the depression. Half of all patients may seem a low success rate, but it is higher than what is seen in patients who have low tolerance for side effects of drug treatments or those in whom drugs are ineffective.
A Great Alternative
People have lost a lot of faith in the efficacy of drug treatments and psychotherapy alone does not always improve depression, especially severe forms. When patients have tried everything else and nothing has worked, depression shock therapy can be a great alternative to what has not worked. There are few side effects associated with depression shock therapy and it is generally well tolerated. The major side effects include memory lost (which may or may not be permanent), mild headache and muscle twitching. These are certainly better than the nausea, insomnia, sexual side effects, dietary restrictions and other side effects that occur when you take MAOIs, SSRIs, SNRIs and other types of antidepressant medications.
Advocates and Opposition
While many psychiatrists and other medical professionals are advocates of depression shock therapy, there are still many who are quite vocal about being against the treatment. Of the opposition are psychiatrists who see little benefit in the treatment and former patients who may have been on the receiving end of poor treatments. Their major complaint is regarding the memory loss suffered even though it is usually temporary and the fact that there are few formal studies on the treatment and its long term effects. Another point held up by the opposition is the fact that depression shock therapy has limited term effectiveness and some patients still need drug treatments which could have been previously prescribed.
