There Is Hope

DEPRESSION NEEDS APPROPRIATE CARE

Unrelenting depression can destabilize a person’s family life and career. Yet only about 60% of people suffering from depression get treatment, and only half get appropriate, adequate care for depression.

Why would someone not get appropriate care?  There are many possible explanations, including:

• Clinical depression tends to cause people to think hopelessly, and they become resigned to living a limited life.
• People who are depressed often have such low self-esteem that they do not feel worthy of treatment.
• Excessive guilt is a common symptom of depression, and patients often see themselves as burdens to their families. This further dissuades them from pursuing appropriate healthcare, since good healthcare can cost time and money.
• Many who experience deep clinical depression feel that they can “pull themselves together,” even though their mental condition has become so dysfunctional that they are both emotionally paralyzed and unable to get the energy and motivation that they need to make necessary changes or even go to psychotherapy.

Don’t Let Depression Undermine Its Own Treatment

Because depression affects the brain, the very organ of the body that is supposed to help us solve problems, people who suffer from depression often get stuck, unable to choose the next best steps for their own treatment.  This is why it is so important for close friends and family to recognize when a loved one is suffering from depression.

Close family and friends can help depression sufferers realize that they actually need – and are worth — treatment.  They need to reach out to help sufferers understand that the risks of depression are far more costly than the treatments and, then, urge them to accept help.

The Cost of Depression

Depression almost always comes at a cost to sufferers. Unlike physical illnesses that people tend to treat right away, mental health problems can take a while to recognize. Rather than seeking treatment, it is not uncommon for people with depression to try to make themselves “feel better” through large purchases, expensive trips, or cosmetic treatments. Yet these expensive diversions do nothing to alleviate the emptiness and dysfunction of depression, which can persist or even worsen without appropriate care.

• Melinda, for example, has been suffering from serious depression for three months and believes that getting away on a three-week trip will cheer her up and make her happy again. Flying to Italy and spending over $8,000, she finds that she doesn’t enjoy her vacation and, on many days, finds it difficult to even get out of bed. When she returns home, her depression has only worsened.

• John was laid off from his job about a year and a half ago, and his depression has caused him to withdraw from his friends and family, while his lack of energy prevents him from finding another job. He remains unemployed and is now estranged from his wife and two children.  His inactivity has led to weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels, and his depression has increased his risk for heart disease.

• Cynthia, who recently had a baby and has been looking forward to spending her maternity leave with her new family, is suffering from postpartum depression and feels oddly disconnected from her baby,even when she’s breastfeeding. In addition, her relationship with her husband is suffering, and she also cannot sleep, even when the baby is napping, making her irritable, anxious and, of course, depressed.  Her depression worsens, making her unable to return to work and, now, because she is unable to focus or cope, she needs a nanny to help her manage her children. Not only is she losing her monthly income of $4000 per month, but now she needs to pay a nanny to help the family.
  

  Missed Opportunities

  In addition, her relationship with her husband is suffering, and she also cannot sleep, even when the baby is napping, making her irritable, anxious and, of course, depressed.  Her depression worsens, making her unable to return to work and, now, because she is unable to focus or cope, she needs a nanny to help her manage her children. Not only is she losing her monthly income of $4000 per month, but now she needs to pay a nanny to help the family.

Look at the costs associated with each person’s depression:

Estrangement due to untreated depression

Depression’s Challenges:  Mental – Physical – Financial

Depression not only takes a mental toll but a physical and financial toll, as well. Leaving these conditions untreated can cause serious problems amplified by a reluctance to seek treatment because they feel it is too expensive or too much of a risk (if treatment does work).

There are options!

Depression can be treated. If lifestyle changes and psychotherapy are not effective, then medication is an excellent option, and it can really help a person overcome the symptoms that are preventing them from reaching their full potential. However, many people cannot tolerate the side effects common to medications, including emotional “blunting,” weight gain, loss of appetite, and sexual problems, and at least 15% of people simply do not respond to antidepressant drug treatment.  Others, such as pregnant or breast-feeding women, are so concerned about medication‘s effects on their baby that they won’t even consider medication treatment. That’s where Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) comes in.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) treatment for depression

TMS is an FDA-approved treatment for clinical depression that uses non-invasive magnetic fields to improve the function of very specific parts of the brain. TMS has been proven to help patients with clinical depression, is at least as effective as medication, and has much milder or no side effects compared to medication. Research also reveals that people who remain on medication after a successful course of TMS tend to stay in remission more fully than people treated with medication alone.

The Investment in Good Mental Health

TMS also has costs associated with it, often in the range of $6,000-$9,000 for a four week course of treatment, depending on the number and type of treatments required. While the cost of TMS is significantly more than a month of medication, in the long run the final financial burden can be much less, especially when insurance provides reimbursement and when treatment jump-starts recovery.  Time is also an important factor. While it can take months to determine the correct dosage for medication, the usual full course of TMS treatment lasts only four to six weeks.

You ARE Worth It — You CAN Get Better

People often waste time and money on tactics that do not work because their depression convinces them they are not worth the investment.  This is an example of depression getting in the way of its own treatment. However, in addition to the financial ramifications, the price of ongoing depression includes serious interpersonal and occupational consequences.  That makes TMS a worthwhile investment, especially when compared to the costs of being MIA at home and at work, the expense of “self-help” treatments, and the price of medication that is insufficient or undesirable.

TMS can be either a standalone treatment or one that is used as a supplement to traditional medication. We have found that it works well for people who are already on medication but are not getting the results they need. Medication can also continue after TMS treatments are complete, if necessary.

The help you need to treat depression is well worth it in the end because there is no substitute for recovery.

If you liked this post on  the importance of investing in mental health, then stay  tuned for our upcoming blog on the cost-benefit analysis of TMS.