TMS, which stands for transcranial magnetic stimulation, is an innovative form of mental health treatment designed to target a variety of conditions. It’s been FDA cleared for major depressive disorder since 2008, and recent research has shown a lot of promising evidence in treating conditions like OCD, anxiety, and PTSD.
TMS works differently from other mental health treatments. Unlike medications, it uses powerful magnetic fields focused on specific areas of the brain to activate regions involved in mood and emotion. By targeting different areas of the brain, we are able to focus on a variety of mental health conditions like depression, OCD, or anxiety depending on which area of the brain we target.
As the magnetic stimulation interacts with these areas of the brain in charge of mood and emotional control, we are able to recreate healthy firing patterns that have been disrupted because of mental health conditions. When we turn on the device, it fires a powerful magnetic pulse into the brain. This pulse induces an electrical current in that particular area.
By creating currents in the areas that we want to with the precise timing and targeting that we want to, we are able to create what’s called neuroplasticity in the brain. Neuroplasticity means that we are allowing the brain to change in ways that it is designed to do. For someone with depression, OCD, or anxiety, the brain doesn’t always fire the way that it’s supposed to. With TMS, we can reactivate the areas of the brain that are underperforming and create healthy firing patterns that allow an individual to overcome some of these mental health challenges.
Medications like anti-depressants work by changing the chemicals that are present in the brain. These differences in chemicals can create changes in mood, which is why anti-depressants have a positive result for some people. TMS works differently. By combining multiple pulses repeated many times throughout the day, we are able to make the brain relearn the way that it fires. Over the weeks and months after treatment, the brain learns how to use these new healthy firing patterns, allowing individuals to overcome their mental health challenges. This can look like increased motivation, decreased social anxiety, and in some cases even being able to completely safely come off of anti-depressant medications.
At Optimal TMS, we offer a variety of different treatment options to fit your scheduling and clinical needs. Getting started is easy. You’ll always speak with a member of our team first to make sure that TMS is a good fit for you. On this page, you’ll find a button where you can schedule a convenient time for you to meet with our team. There you’ll learn about next steps and how TMS can help meet your needs. We look forward to speaking with you soon. Thanks for watching.
