Dealing with depression
With one in five Australians suffering from depression at some time in their lives, solving the problem has become an urgent and often overpowering demand.
Beryl Taylor and Linda Ballard have both had their lives upset by the crevice of depression.
"The world became a very lonely and isolated place," said Linda.
Sure modern anti-depressants have made a huge difference, but sometimes they are not enough to lift the black cloud and let in the light.
Trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is the latest technique to ease the distress. It looks out of this world but it has dramatic effects.
It works by settling the neurotransmitters in the brain, which increase hormonal levels and ease depression.
Colleen Lo, psychiatrist at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital says that stimulation increases blood supply to underused parts of the brain.
"We place a powerful magnet onto the scalp and it stimulates the surface of the brain," Colleen said. "The increased blood supply reflects increased nerve activity. We think this might work in the circuits that modulate mood."
Linda Ballard is happy with the treatment.
"It just means I get my emotions back, I begin to feel things, good things and bad things, the colour comes back," Linda said.
"It's like you've been watching a black and white movie and you just focus it and the colour comes back and the picture becomes clear."
For someone who described life during the bouts of depression as dull and grey, feeling like this after using TMS is a giant leap for Linda Thompson.
"It's a very convenient treatment to have, your in the hospital for maybe 30 minutes and then you can walk out again, there's no anaesthetic," Linda said.
And that's just what people with moderate to severe depression like about TMS - no pain, lots of gain.
At 71-years-old, Beryl Thompson felt her antidepressants weren't helping the depression that had plagued her for 10 years, so she jumped at the chance of getting involved in the a trial for TMS.
Soon after the treatment Beryl was diagnosed with colon cancer. She believes without the TMS this news would have sent her into the depths of depression.
TMS is still in its infancy, but the early results are very positive. But one of the older forms of treatment, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is now also producing outstanding results.
It's enough to send shivers down our spine but the truth is modern ECT is both a safe and sophisticated affair when it's used in severe depression or in psychological illness. It improves well-being, it makes people feel better but more importantly ECT saves lives.
ECT treatments today involve no jarring movements, no shocks that rack the body. As Psychiatrist Phillip Mitchell describes, ECT has come a long way.
"It was a very old fashion type of ECT, it was unmodified, patients didn't have an anaesthetic, ECT has progressed a long way since then," Dr Mitchell said.
"Now we know the electrical dose that will work for the individual patient, the other advance is that it is a much safer procedure, we are monitoring the heart rate, monitoring the oxygen levels in the blood."
Sharon was so depressed she totally withdrew from life. She became catatonic, she'd tried everything from counselling to serious medication but nothing worked.
Finally ECT was suggested, she backed away because of the stigma attached but eventually out of sheer desperation Sharon tried it. Today her life has turned around and she now counsels people suffering depression.
While TMS and ECT aren't cures for depression they're certainly helping Australians.
For more information on trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), contact the Kiloh Centre at the Prince of Wales Hospital on (02) 9382 3720.
