Suffering With Joy

When Depression Just Won’t Go Away

April 8, 2010

On February 11, 2010 I wrote about a holistic approach to treating depression where I presented a combination of actions one can take to feel better without going on anti-depressants.  Since the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that “depression is the leading cause of disability as measured by YLDs (years living with disability) and the 4th  leading contributor to the global burden of disease (DALYs) (disability adjusted life years) in 2000,”[1] continuing examination of approaches beyond the holistic is warranted for those who can’t beat depression with a natural approach.

The use of anti-depressants is often part of a comprehensive approach to treating chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune diseases since struggling with these problems takes a toll physically and mentally, often disrupting brain chemistry in addition to the other problems the disease brings.  All anti-depressants carry “black box warnings” and none are without side effects.  For some people they just don’t work.  However, there is hope and before turning to electroconvulsive therapy two other approaches may provide the relief other avenues have not.

Recently I saw a television program about vagus nerve stimulation which provided relief for treatment-resistant depression.  Originally approved for treatment of epilepsy, VNS involves intermittent stimulation (typically 30 seconds on, five minutes off) of the left cervical vagus nerve delivered via the VNS therapy system.  Epileptic patients who were treated with this therapy started reporting that their depression was lifting not long after starting treatment.  Doctors began researching this positive side affect and cannot say exactly why this approach works, but in case after case when at least two antidepressants have failed, VNS works.  It does require invasive surgery, however. For more information, visit the site in the link above.

There may be an even better treatment than VNS, however, and that is Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES).  Currently significant research is being conducted on the use of this approach which shows it works well for many patients.  CES is a non-invasive treatment, and each individual must discover for himself the right length of time and frequency for using the stimulators. As with VNS, no one really knows exactly how CES works, only that it does and is safe.  In clinical studies CES has been shown to normalize the electrical output of the brain as well as increase the body’s serotonin and beta endorphin levels. Both VNS and CES devices are FDA approved.

[1] http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/definition/en/

Depression treatment links: http://www.depressiontreatmentnow.com/depression_treatment_links.html

Tags: wellness