Deepika's courage inspires more women to seek treatment for depression - NewsHub.org

After Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone mustered up the courage to go public about her battle with depression, many women are coming forward to seek help in tackling the condition, say city psychiatrists.

They also said that people have begun shedding the social stigma that is often attached to depression, and that those suffering from it are now being encouraged by their family to visit a psychiatrist after recognising its signs, which was earlier not the case.

Dr Parul Tank, psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, who is also head of the department at Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, said that depression is now hitting women quite early. "A lot of young women, especially in the age group of 25-35 years are showing signs of depression due to life transmission phases where they are experiencing career problems, failed relationships, and not finding an appropriate match, leading to a delay in marriage."

Dr Tank said that while women are more prone to depression than men, Padukone's acknowledgment of being depressed has encouraged more women to take medical help. "In a week, I got at least six women who wanted to be assessed for depression. While four had it, the other two had anxiety disorders. All of them spoke about Deepika Padukone's initiative inspiring them to take medical help," said Dr Tank. Psychiatrists also noted that most women approaching them were from the upper middle class or upper class.

The actress had recently tweeted and also appeared in an interview where she bared her heart about what she went through in early 2014, as well as spoke about taking medication.

Dr Heena Merchant, secretary of the Bombay Psychiatirst society (BPS), an umbrella body of psychiatrists, said, "In India, depression manifests a lot in somatic problems like headache, back ache, not able to concentrate at work, etc. Women are afraid to come out and talk about it otherwise. Deepika Padukone was bold enough to talk about depression and since she is an influential person, people are drawing inferences from it."

Dr Merchant further said that while a person will gladly accept that he/she has blood pressure, diabetes or any other health problem, mental illness is rarely spoken about. "A mental illness like depression is never spoken about in our society. The fear of getting isolated or being talked about discourages them to take help from family, friends or doctors," said Dr Merchant.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression will be the most widespread epidemic in the next few years. "One in four women as compared to one in 10 men will have depression sometime or the other in life. It is the most common health problem, but because of lack of awareness and social stigma, people avoid taking medical help," said Dr Tank.

Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital in Powai said, "It is not just women who have gotten inspired by Deepika Padukone's revelation, even men are opening up and accepting that they have depression."

Dr Shetty said that in the general population, one in eight people will have the condition. "It is more common than cough and cold and if not treated on time, can have severe implications. In men, the causes can be poor finances, job loss, job insecurity, while in women it is more because of complications in a relationship. Women are seen to be prone to depression more because of emotional reasons. Job loss and career problems are other common causes in women."

Also read: Sharon Stone joins Galderma for global campaign

Source: dnaindia.com

Magnetic stimulation helping East Tenn. depression patients when drugs don't ... - WATE-TV

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – A breakthrough treatment for depression is bringing hope to many people here in East Tennessee. It’s designed for patients who haven’t been helped by traditional anti-depressants.

Charlie Walters of Gatlinburg underwent Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS Therapy, at the office of Dr. Lane Cook in Knoxville. TMS was a last resort for Walters after she developed a serious, potentially deadly reaction to most anti-depressant medications, and felt herself slipping back into darkness.

“I was getting into talking to people again because I had gotten so deep. I wasn’t even talking to my best friend. I wasn’t talking to even my family members. I would go in my room and just hibernate,” she said.

Dr. Cook and his team use the Neurostar TMS Therapy device, which was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008 for use in the treatment of depression and quickly sparked their attention.

“I have people with treatment resistant depression who failed three or four anti-depressants,” Dr. Cook said. “I have people who’ve failed every anti-depressant and I was running out of things to do.”

He says TMS Therapy has a 64 percent remission rate among his patients.

Dr. Lane Cook and his team use the Neurostar TMS Therapy device.

It works by directly stimulating a depressed brain by using electrical energy passed through a coil of wires to create a powerful magnetic field. Energy from this magnetic field activates the brain, in effect, turning it back on.

“I tell people it’s like plugging that light into the socket,” Dr. Cook said.

Walters is grateful for the therapy and says her husband was first to notice the effects.

“My husband and I were sitting at Arby’s having dinner, and he said, ‘You’re doing so much better.’ He said, ‘I have my Charlie back. ‘ And I knew it had worked because I could feel it.”

Dr. Cook says the most successful TMS treatments for depression occur when patients undergo TMS treatments every weekday for four to six weeks, or a total of 20 to 30 treatments. Often there is no noticeable mood change during the first few weeks. In the clinical trials, a small percentage of patients required more than 30 treatments to experience relief from depressive symptoms.

TMS sessions are scheduled in hour hour blocks at Dr. Cook’s clinic, 4428 Sutherland Avenue in Knoxville.

TMS is not the same as “shock therapy,” which is a different treatment for depression involving the use of electricity to produce seizure-like activity in the brain while a patient is under anesthesia. TMS technology is similar to that of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI.

During treatment, patients are awake and alert. They can go back to their normal activities immediately afterward.

NeuroStar TMS Therapy states:

• 1 in 2 patients improved significantly


• 1in 3 were free of depression symptoms


• Had durable symptom relief over 12 months


• Depression is a serious illness that affects one in five women in their lifetime, and one in seven men, according to the World Health Organization.


• Several insurance companies will cover the cost of treatment.


• It’s for patients who have not benefited from prior anti-depressant medications.

For more information, call TMS of Knoxville (Dr. Lane Cook’s office) at 865-588-1255 or 865-588-6425.

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Hallucinogenic Drink Eyed As Depression Treatment - Psychiatry Advisor

the Psychiatry Advisor take:

A drink with hallucinogenic properties made from plants native to South America that has been used in healing ceremonies may also be a potential treatment for depression, according to a small study conducted by researchers in Brazil.

Ayahuasca, a drink that is traditionally brewed from the bark of a jungle vine and leaves of a shrub, has been used by shamen in the Amazon basin for centuries. More recently, it has been looked at as a potential treatment for conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

Jaime Hallak, MD, PhD, a neuroscientist at the University of Sao Paulo, and colleagues enrolled six volunteers with depression who had failed on antidepressants. There was no placebo group. The six were given doses of ayahuasca while researchers asked them questions from a clinical questionnaire about how they were feeling.

Three hours after ingestion, participants reported that their symptoms of depression eased, and the therapeutic impact of the drink lasted for up to three weeks, the researchers reported in Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria (Brazilian Review of Psychiatry).

The reason why ayahuasca may have antidepressant-like effects is that the plants used to make the drink contain compounds know to impact levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain.

The researchers are already conducting a placebo-controlled study of ayahuasca as a depression treatment with plans to enroll 80 participants.

A psychedelic drink used for centuries in healing ceremonies is now attracting the attention of biomedical scientists as a possible treatment for depression. Researchers from Brazil last month published results from the first clinical test of a potential therapeutic benefit for ayahuasca, a South American plant-based brew.

Although the study included just six volunteers and no placebo group, the scientists say that the drink began to reduce depression in patients within hours, and the effect was still present after three weeks. They are now conducting larger studies that they hope will shore up their findings.

Deepika's courage inspires more women to seek treatment for depression - NewsHub.org

After Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone mustered up the courage to go public about her battle with depression, many women are coming forward to seek help in tackling the condition, say city psychiatrists.

They also said that people have begun shedding the social stigma that is often attached to depression, and that those suffering from it are now being encouraged by their family to visit a psychiatrist after recognising its signs, which was earlier not the case.

Dr Parul Tank, psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, who is also head of the department at Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, said that depression is now hitting women quite early. "A lot of young women, especially in the age group of 25-35 years are showing signs of depression due to life transmission phases where they are experiencing career problems, failed relationships, and not finding an appropriate match, leading to a delay in marriage."

Dr Tank said that while women are more prone to depression than men, Padukone's acknowledgment of being depressed has encouraged more women to take medical help. "In a week, I got at least six women who wanted to be assessed for depression. While four had it, the other two had anxiety disorders. All of them spoke about Deepika Padukone's initiative inspiring them to take medical help," said Dr Tank. Psychiatrists also noted that most women approaching them were from the upper middle class or upper class.

The actress had recently tweeted and also appeared in an interview where she bared her heart about what she went through in early 2014, as well as spoke about taking medication.

Dr Heena Merchant, secretary of the Bombay Psychiatirst society (BPS), an umbrella body of psychiatrists, said, "In India, depression manifests a lot in somatic problems like headache, back ache, not able to concentrate at work, etc. Women are afraid to come out and talk about it otherwise. Deepika Padukone was bold enough to talk about depression and since she is an influential person, people are drawing inferences from it."

Dr Merchant further said that while a person will gladly accept that he/she has blood pressure, diabetes or any other health problem, mental illness is rarely spoken about. "A mental illness like depression is never spoken about in our society. The fear of getting isolated or being talked about discourages them to take help from family, friends or doctors," said Dr Merchant.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression will be the most widespread epidemic in the next few years. "One in four women as compared to one in 10 men will have depression sometime or the other in life. It is the most common health problem, but because of lack of awareness and social stigma, people avoid taking medical help," said Dr Tank.

Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital in Powai said, "It is not just women who have gotten inspired by Deepika Padukone's revelation, even men are opening up and accepting that they have depression."

Dr Shetty said that in the general population, one in eight people will have the condition. "It is more common than cough and cold and if not treated on time, can have severe implications. In men, the causes can be poor finances, job loss, job insecurity, while in women it is more because of complications in a relationship. Women are seen to be prone to depression more because of emotional reasons. Job loss and career problems are other common causes in women."

Also read: Sharon Stone joins Galderma for global campaign

Source: dnaindia.com

Magnetic stimulation helping East Tenn. depression patients when drugs don't ... - WATE-TV

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – A breakthrough treatment for depression is bringing hope to many people here in East Tennessee. It’s designed for patients who haven’t been helped by traditional anti-depressants.

Charlie Walters of Gatlinburg underwent Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS Therapy, at the office of Dr. Lane Cook in Knoxville. TMS was a last resort for Walters after she developed a serious, potentially deadly reaction to most anti-depressant medications, and felt herself slipping back into darkness.

“I was getting into talking to people again because I had gotten so deep. I wasn’t even talking to my best friend. I wasn’t talking to even my family members. I would go in my room and just hibernate,” she said.

Dr. Cook and his team use the Neurostar TMS Therapy device, which was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008 for use in the treatment of depression and quickly sparked their attention.

“I have people with treatment resistant depression who failed three or four anti-depressants,” Dr. Cook said. “I have people who’ve failed every anti-depressant and I was running out of things to do.”

He says TMS Therapy has a 64 percent remission rate among his patients.

Dr. Lane Cook and his team use the Neurostar TMS Therapy device.

It works by directly stimulating a depressed brain by using electrical energy passed through a coil of wires to create a powerful magnetic field. Energy from this magnetic field activates the brain, in effect, turning it back on.

“I tell people it’s like plugging that light into the socket,” Dr. Cook said.

Walters is grateful for the therapy and says her husband was first to notice the effects.

“My husband and I were sitting at Arby’s having dinner, and he said, ‘You’re doing so much better.’ He said, ‘I have my Charlie back. ‘ And I knew it had worked because I could feel it.”

Dr. Cook says the most successful TMS treatments for depression occur when patients undergo TMS treatments every weekday for four to six weeks, or a total of 20 to 30 treatments. Often there is no noticeable mood change during the first few weeks. In the clinical trials, a small percentage of patients required more than 30 treatments to experience relief from depressive symptoms.

TMS sessions are scheduled in hour hour blocks at Dr. Cook’s clinic, 4428 Sutherland Avenue in Knoxville.

TMS is not the same as “shock therapy,” which is a different treatment for depression involving the use of electricity to produce seizure-like activity in the brain while a patient is under anesthesia. TMS technology is similar to that of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI.

During treatment, patients are awake and alert. They can go back to their normal activities immediately afterward.

NeuroStar TMS Therapy states:

• 1 in 2 patients improved significantly


• 1in 3 were free of depression symptoms


• Had durable symptom relief over 12 months


• Depression is a serious illness that affects one in five women in their lifetime, and one in seven men, according to the World Health Organization.


• Several insurance companies will cover the cost of treatment.


• It’s for patients who have not benefited from prior anti-depressant medications.

For more information, call TMS of Knoxville (Dr. Lane Cook’s office) at 865-588-1255 or 865-588-6425.

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Deepika's courage inspires more women to seek treatment for depression - NewsHub.org

After Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone mustered up the courage to go public about her battle with depression, many women are coming forward to seek help in tackling the condition, say city psychiatrists.

They also said that people have begun shedding the social stigma that is often attached to depression, and that those suffering from it are now being encouraged by their family to visit a psychiatrist after recognising its signs, which was earlier not the case.

Dr Parul Tank, psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, who is also head of the department at Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, said that depression is now hitting women quite early. "A lot of young women, especially in the age group of 25-35 years are showing signs of depression due to life transmission phases where they are experiencing career problems, failed relationships, and not finding an appropriate match, leading to a delay in marriage."

Dr Tank said that while women are more prone to depression than men, Padukone's acknowledgment of being depressed has encouraged more women to take medical help. "In a week, I got at least six women who wanted to be assessed for depression. While four had it, the other two had anxiety disorders. All of them spoke about Deepika Padukone's initiative inspiring them to take medical help," said Dr Tank. Psychiatrists also noted that most women approaching them were from the upper middle class or upper class.

The actress had recently tweeted and also appeared in an interview where she bared her heart about what she went through in early 2014, as well as spoke about taking medication.

Dr Heena Merchant, secretary of the Bombay Psychiatirst society (BPS), an umbrella body of psychiatrists, said, "In India, depression manifests a lot in somatic problems like headache, back ache, not able to concentrate at work, etc. Women are afraid to come out and talk about it otherwise. Deepika Padukone was bold enough to talk about depression and since she is an influential person, people are drawing inferences from it."

Dr Merchant further said that while a person will gladly accept that he/she has blood pressure, diabetes or any other health problem, mental illness is rarely spoken about. "A mental illness like depression is never spoken about in our society. The fear of getting isolated or being talked about discourages them to take help from family, friends or doctors," said Dr Merchant.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression will be the most widespread epidemic in the next few years. "One in four women as compared to one in 10 men will have depression sometime or the other in life. It is the most common health problem, but because of lack of awareness and social stigma, people avoid taking medical help," said Dr Tank.

Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital in Powai said, "It is not just women who have gotten inspired by Deepika Padukone's revelation, even men are opening up and accepting that they have depression."

Dr Shetty said that in the general population, one in eight people will have the condition. "It is more common than cough and cold and if not treated on time, can have severe implications. In men, the causes can be poor finances, job loss, job insecurity, while in women it is more because of complications in a relationship. Women are seen to be prone to depression more because of emotional reasons. Job loss and career problems are other common causes in women."

Also read: Sharon Stone joins Galderma for global campaign

Source: dnaindia.com

Magnetic stimulation helping East Tenn. depression patients when drugs don't ... - WATE-TV

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – A breakthrough treatment for depression is bringing hope to many people here in East Tennessee. It’s designed for patients who haven’t been helped by traditional anti-depressants.

Charlie Walters of Gatlinburg underwent Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS Therapy, at the office of Dr. Lane Cook in Knoxville. TMS was a last resort for Walters after she developed a serious, potentially deadly reaction to most anti-depressant medications, and felt herself slipping back into darkness.

“I was getting into talking to people again because I had gotten so deep. I wasn’t even talking to my best friend. I wasn’t talking to even my family members. I would go in my room and just hibernate,” she said.

Dr. Cook and his team use the Neurostar TMS Therapy device, which was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008 for use in the treatment of depression and quickly sparked their attention.

“I have people with treatment resistant depression who failed three or four anti-depressants,” Dr. Cook said. “I have people who’ve failed every anti-depressant and I was running out of things to do.”

He says TMS Therapy has a 64 percent remission rate among his patients.

Dr. Lane Cook and his team use the Neurostar TMS Therapy device.

It works by directly stimulating a depressed brain by using electrical energy passed through a coil of wires to create a powerful magnetic field. Energy from this magnetic field activates the brain, in effect, turning it back on.

“I tell people it’s like plugging that light into the socket,” Dr. Cook said.

Walters is grateful for the therapy and says her husband was first to notice the effects.

“My husband and I were sitting at Arby’s having dinner, and he said, ‘You’re doing so much better.’ He said, ‘I have my Charlie back. ‘ And I knew it had worked because I could feel it.”

Dr. Cook says the most successful TMS treatments for depression occur when patients undergo TMS treatments every weekday for four to six weeks, or a total of 20 to 30 treatments. Often there is no noticeable mood change during the first few weeks. In the clinical trials, a small percentage of patients required more than 30 treatments to experience relief from depressive symptoms.

TMS sessions are scheduled in hour hour blocks at Dr. Cook’s clinic, 4428 Sutherland Avenue in Knoxville.

TMS is not the same as “shock therapy,” which is a different treatment for depression involving the use of electricity to produce seizure-like activity in the brain while a patient is under anesthesia. TMS technology is similar to that of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI.

During treatment, patients are awake and alert. They can go back to their normal activities immediately afterward.

NeuroStar TMS Therapy states:

• 1 in 2 patients improved significantly


• 1in 3 were free of depression symptoms


• Had durable symptom relief over 12 months


• Depression is a serious illness that affects one in five women in their lifetime, and one in seven men, according to the World Health Organization.


• Several insurance companies will cover the cost of treatment.


• It’s for patients who have not benefited from prior anti-depressant medications.

For more information, call TMS of Knoxville (Dr. Lane Cook’s office) at 865-588-1255 or 865-588-6425.

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