What is Major Depressive Disorder?
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a common and serious medical condition characterized by persistent symptoms that negatively affect how you feel, think and act. Untreated, depression weakens the neural pathways that control your emotional well-being.
Some of the most common symptoms are:
-
- Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Loss of energy or increased fatigue
- Feeling worthless or guilty
- Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) shares the same symptoms as MDD, but can grow more severe as they are resistant to antidepressant or psychotherapy options.
What happens if my Depression is left untreated?
While depression is treatable, over 30% of individuals with depression never seek treatment, which could result in serious consequences for one’s physical and emotional health. Depression can raise your risk of developing the following chronic conditions:
-
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Chronic pain
- Cognitive impairments
- Substance abuse
Untreated depression can also have major implications in personal relationships at home and at work.
Causes of Major Depressive Disorder
Researchers don’t know the exact cause of depression but agree that multiple factors can contribute to its development. Depression is often brought on by one or more of the following:
-
- Neurological impairment to areas of the brain associated with mood regulation
- Genetic predisposition
- Traumatic or stressful event
- Substance abuse
Does a diagnosis of TRD mean I’m destined to be resistant to treatment indefinitely?
The answer is a resounding NO!
Depression is one of the most treatable mental health conditions.
Over 75% of ReNu‘s clients with treatment-resistant depression experienced significant improvement in their symptoms. Many clients report noticeable improvements in thier mood after just 10 days of treatment.
Why would TMS work on my depression when my medications failed?
Your brain’s nervous system is an extremely sophisticated communication network that requires an “electric component” and “chemical component” to efficiently receive, process and react to stimuli that regulates mood.
Your anti-depressant medications targeted the “chemical” component to relieve your symptoms of depression, but eventually failed.
DeepTMS on the other hand, uses magnetic pulses to target and stimulate the nervous systems “electrical” component and is proven to relieve the pain of depression in over 75% of our clients.