Innovative Psychiatry
The World Health Organization asserts that depression causes more disability worldwide than any other illness. In addition to standing alone as a disabling disorder, it also worsens other illnesses from diabetes, liver disease, heart disease, and brain injuries. We present these articles about depression to show the many ways this disorder is expressed, ways to treat it, and to dispel stigma caused by lack of information.
Depression and stress create a self-defeating cycle. Prolonged stress prunes the synapses, the dendrites attached to them, and the dendritic spines, reducing the network necessary for optimal signaling in the brain. Consequently, thinking slows and outlook darkens. In addition, creativity all but disappears. Depression follows this process, imposing yet more stress on the these all-important signaling structures.
Other structures in the brain enter the process. These structures in turn malfunction and make the symptoms worse. The lateral habenula, the amygdala, the thalamus, and the hippocampus each play a role in depression. By the same token, depression impacts them, too.
Only about a third of people who suffer with depression find relief with traditional antidepressants. These medicines increase neurotransmitters in the brain and eventually increase neuron growth. But the actions of these medicines delay the process and these patients improve slowly. Sometimes, if the first trial with a medication doesn’t help, a different one or combination can help another one third or so of those who didn’t feel better after the first trial. Unfortunately, 33% of people suffering from depression find no relief from these medications. Until recently, they were left with little or no hope of relief for the rest of their lives.
However, ketamine treatment is a novel and advanced treatment that has changed the prognosis for those treatment-resistant patients. Ketamine switches the mRNA to “On” which turns on the DNA to turboboost the brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor (BDNF) that proliferates neuronal growth along with synapses, dendrites, and dendritic spines which play such a vital role in improving signaling throughout the brain.
Another benefit of ketamine is how rapidly it causes the G proteins to slide off the lipid rafts in the cell membrane. This allows them to get back to work enhancing signals. It also causes the cell bursting in the lateral habenula to be dampened. Another process that allows you to experience a sense of reward – and feel better – when something good happens. Basically, ketamine treatment goes to work to help you feel better fast.
Then you enjoy clearer thinking and more creativity. Also a rewarding and upbeat outlook filled with light and joy. Add to that the improved initiative, increased motivation, and hope that makes life worth living again. This remarkable outcome occurs in 65-70% of treatment-resistant patients in general, and much more than that when the treatment is highly personalized. And the results are rapid and robust. Extraordinary.
As you read these articles about depression, keep in mind that there is always hope. Researchers continue to work to find more aspects ketamine’s effects on the brain that can impact the outcome.
Dan and Teresa were worried. It had been going on so long, they couldn’t remember when it started. Their son, Will, had been a good natured boy growing up, and had shown responsibility and good intentions when asked to tend to tasks to contribute to the family. He had always had a sparkle in his […]
Are you a young adult, say between 20 and 35 or so, and find it really hard to get out on your own? Maybe it’s been hard to do well in college, or to hold a job long enough to make real progress toward your independence and future. It can be daunting to know where […]
When you google “top 5 stressors for marriage,” you get a lot more than 5 stressors. Things like finances, a new job, moving, in-laws, children, health crisis, poor communication, and major changes are just a few. But when you combine in-laws, health crisis, finances, moving, and major changes into one avalanche, like moving an aging […]
A ramshackle two-story house leans in the distance, behind a rusty, crooked gate. Passersby hardly notice it anymore…it’s just become part of the landscape. But when an investor looks at it, he sees the potential. A life makeover for that house is called for. He buys the property and sends in designers and remodeling crews. […]
Do you ever feel like you’ve lost control of your life? That little by little, things began to fall into a slump that you can’t figure out how to escape from? How do you put your life back on its feet? Where did you go wrong…? It’s like it starts with a bad decision, or a […]
Ryan blew out a breath. He felt like the walls were closing in on him. He’d been working at this company for 9 years, and for some time now, he didn’t feel like he was contributing his best work. He didn’t know what was wrong, but he just didn’t have good ideas like he used […]
Kyle and Rose felt fighting hot rage at their parents for separating. Kyle was 17 and Rose was 15. How could their parents be so selfish?? They had ripped apart the home that Kyle and Rose needed. Relied on. Their parents were so buried in their own demands and accusations of each other, they were […]
Garrett is a 38-year old computer programmer who works in the IT department of a nationwide mortgage company. After ten years in the same department, the stress of the job seems to just pile upon itself. The short length of time allotted for projects to be completed, the abrasive attitudes of co-workers who are all […]
It’s November, and Daylight Savings Time has ended. The sun goes down earlier, and when you get home from school or work, the night covers you and the traffic in a blanket of darkness. Homework has to be done by artificial light, and the healing dose of vitamin D that has nourished you all year […]
Zach is 15 year-old high school sophomore. Some say that 14-15 can be the hardest teen years. Insecurities about identity, body image, personality, and a need for acceptance without the freedom of driving can add seemingly insurmountable pressures for a young person. But those miseries and uncertainties can be compounded by the hostile input that […]