There are many ways to think about depression. One is to see depression as the brain losing its normal flexibility and becoming stuck in one way of thinking or feeling. In the case of depression, we become stuck in negative thinking. We see that the world only has misery in store for us, that our life is loveless, we are unable to connect with others and will always feel self-loathing. We begin to feel that this is our destiny and that there is no hope for our lives to be different. But what if these negative thoughts and feelings were actually stuck neural circuits in our brain, much like how an old time vinyl record player could get stuck in a scratch on the record? Modern science has proven that that is exactly what happens to the brain. It can get stuck in depressive neural circuits. We know many of the reasons the brain can get stuck. Exhaustion, poor sleep, chronic stress, grief, poor nutrition, medical problems, side effects of medications, head injuries and many other causes are some. There are many ways to help the brain get "unstuck." One of the most exciting new developments in treating depression and helping to restore the brain's natural health is called, "TMS" or "Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation." TMS uses a gentle magnetic pulse to wake up the dormant parts of the brain that allow the brain to quiet the part of the brain that is stuck. Safe, easy, FDA approved and essentially with no side effects, TMS helps depression even when medications have failed.
