Occasional bouts of sadness are normal, but persistent feelings of hopelessness are not. Depression is a very real mental condition that can affect work, school, relationships, and family life. At Houston West TMS, William Drell, MD, is a Brainsway Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS) specialist and board-certified psychiatrist who can help you overcome overwhelming feelings of despair and sadness. Call the Houston office, or request a consultation online to start TMS treatment for treatment-resistant depression today.

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How do I know when I should seek help for depression?

Depression affects how you feel, think, and behave. It engulfs your life with sadness and impairs your motivation. You lose interest in activities you once loved.

Depression is not just a case of the blues that go away on their own. If you have any of these symptoms for more than two weeks, seek help:

  • Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, self-blame, or emptiness
  • Loss of interest in most activities, including sex, sports, hobbies, and work
  • Sleep disturbances — either insomnia or oversleeping
  • Weight changes — either weight loss or gain
  • Extreme lack of energy
  • Depression can have physical symptoms, too; you might experience frequent headaches or back pain. If you have suicidal thoughts along with depression, seek immediate care.

Can I just wait for depression to resolve itself on its own?

Depression isn’t a condition you can just “snap out of.” You can’t tell yourself to “get over it.” Depression can persist for years — it’s a condition that requires medical intervention.

Dr. Drell can provide TMS to patients under the care of another psychiatrist who feels they have not achieved satisfactory results in spite of multiple medications and talk therapy.

What is Brainsway Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS) treatment for depression?

TMS therapy applies brief magnetic pulses to the brain. This noninvasive technique directs the energy in an orientation appropriate to the brains’ neuronal pathways to activate the neurons in the relevant brain structures. TMS doesn’t use radiation or electrical stimulation.

TMS is a valuable treatment for depression when other strategies such as talk therapy and medications fail to provide effective results. TMS produces significant improvements in the symptoms of depression and often totally eliminates depressive symptoms. TMS has no impact on your cognition or memory. It carries few side effects, aside from an occasional transient headache or scalp discomfort.

You receive an initial treatment of TMS that lasts about 60 minutes, and then there are daily 30-minute treatment appointments after that. You can drive yourself to and from each appointment. Dr. Drell creates a customized plan for you, depending on the severity of your symptoms of depression and if you also have other symptoms, like anxiety, negative self-talk, or PTSD symptoms. You will need to continue to see your current physician and therapist during and after the TMS treatments.

If depression is negatively affecting your life and relationships, call Houston West TMS or request a consultation online to receive the appropriate care to help you restore healthy brain function.