Before we dive into the nitty gritty of this article, let’s do a quick test. Picture the five people who are closest to you. Whether it be your five best friends, or five members of your family, it doesn’t matter — the key is to have a clear picture of them in your head.
Now — what if I were to tell you that one of them is currently suffering from a mental illness? Well, the scary thing is that is likely the case.
It is believed that one in five Americans are currently suffering from mental illness — and it’s only getting worse. In short, things need to change. Which is why over the last couple of years we have seen a huge investment into new technology-backed methods of treating mental illness. With great success, I might add.
1. Electroconvulsive Therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy (or ECT for short) is a treatment that was first developed for severe psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and psychosis. However, over the last decade it has seen a resurgence through its ability to treat severe cases of both depression and anxiety.
I should note that ECT is a pretty hardcore treatment, where it is performed in an operating suite, and under general anesthesia. This is because ECT requires having a doctor present, who provides an electric shock straight to your brain — and this shock induces a small seizure, which lasts for about a minute. As shocking as this may sound, this small seizure resets your brain, returning it back to normal — all whilst having a huge impact on your mental health in the process.
2. Light Therapy
Did you know that the light from the sun regulates hormone function, improves mood, and promotes feelings of emotional well-being?
Well it does. In fact, getting more sunlight has even been shown to improve mental health and stave off mental illness. But there is a bit of a kicker here — namely the fact that actually getting out in the sun is whole lot easier said than done …
Which is exactly why light therapy has made such a big splash in the health industry. Light therapy is a simple treatment that has you sitting next to a “light therapy box” for around an hour per day. This box produces light that replicates the natural light from the sun — offering up another fantastic way to boost your mental health.
3. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
If you thought ECT sounded cool, wait until you hear about transcranial magnetic stimulation. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (also known as TMS) is a powerful treatment that uses small magnetic fields to stimulate the nerve cells in your brain.
I know what you are thinking, it sounds crazy — but it works very well. During a session of TMS, an electromagnetic pad is placed on your forehead. This pad then sends a magnetic pulse into your skull, stimulating the cells in your brain that control your mood and emotions.
In short, TMS upregulates the activity of these brain cells, improving mood, and well-being in the process. As a result, TMS is being used to treat a myriad of mental illnesses, including treating depression, PTSD, and anxiety.
4. SAMe
We are going to move away from some of these science-fictiony treatments for a second, and move into the wonderful world of supplements.
SAMe (which is short for S-adenosyl-L-methionine) is a powerful chemical that is found naturally occurring in your body. In fact, it is used to make brain hormones and maintain the health of your brain cells. Interestingly, it was recently discovered that people who don’t produce much SAMe are at a much higher risk of developing mental illnesses than those who produce a lot.
So, in response, some rather clever humans decided to turn SAMe into a supplement. And the result? Supplementing with SAMe appears to improve mood and emotional well-being, while fighting off some rather severe mental health disorders (including even some of the most severe cases of depression).
SAMe isn’t the only supplement that is proving useful in the treatment of mental illness. There are several others that are also promising including CBD oil, which has shown promising results both in initial trials and patient feedback for depression and anxiety.
The most common form of CBD oil consumption is in tincture form. Although it is wise to do your homework and visit sites like Remedy Review to find out about the range of spectrums, strengths, and flavors on offer. Different tinctures also use a variety of carrier oils as well, such as MCT which can cause stomach upset if consumed in larger amounts in some people — so it’s always best to do your research first.
