Depression doesn’t care how old you are, how much money you make, what you do for a living, or where you live. Research is clear that depressive disorders are highly prevalent and disabling conditions in all communities regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status (Casano & Fava, 2002; Kessler, Berglund et all, 2005; Pratt & Brody, 2008). At the least, quality of life suffers. At worst, people commit suicide. Various factors can contribute to the development of depression such as genetics, brain structures, trauma, life circumstances, drug and alcohol abuse as well as a host of other medical conditions (Craighead, Miklowitz, & Craighead, 2008). Left untreated, depression can be devastating not only for the person with the disorder but also for the family and society as a whole.
Symptoms:
Many individuals can experience a temporary feeling of sadness, dysphoria, apathy, grief or loneliness, and might even remark they are depressed (Craighead, Miklowitz, & Craighead, 2008). However, clinical depression or Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a serious mental health condition characterized by a combination of psychological, behavioral and physical symptoms of greater intensity, depth and duration than just feeling “blue”, sad, or going through a rough patch.
Brain Function:
Compelling evidence shows that after using neurofeedback protocols specifically developed to reduce susceptibility toward negative emotions, changes in depression were not only reversed but also maintained at the end of treatment (Hammond, 2005). In addition, these significant improvements continued to be persistent on 1 to 5 year follow-ups after the treatment ended. This is particularly relevant when compared with pharmacological treatments, as many studies have shown that patients on medication tend to relapse once the medication stops.
While difficult life circumstances can certainly lead to depression, research shows that when there is a biological predisposition to depression, often the right and left frontal areas of the brain are not equally activated (Hammond, 2005). Another name for this is “asymmetry.” Think of trying to drive your car with the tires on one side are considerably underinflated. Keeping your car on track would be difficult. You might feel as if you were constantly being pulled to one side or the other. Because of the asymmetry in brain activity, individuals who are depressed are more in touch with their negative emotions (Hammond, 2005). This is a result of more activity in the right hemisphere of the brain than the left. To make things worse, when negative life events occur to someone who has a frontal alpha asymmetry brain wave pattern (e.g., more alpha brain waves on one side than the other), depression is much more likely to develop. At BiofeedbackWORKS, we have a variety of neurofeedback treatment choices available to alleviate depression.
Treatment:
Neurofeedback is an effective treatment for depression without the risks and side effects typically associated with medications (Karavidis et al., 2007). It offers a new modality for addressing depressive conditions and appears to be effective regardless of the pathway by which the person has become depressed. This includes results from a genetic pre-disposition, early childhood trauma and/or a subsequent traumatic events, head injuries and other insults to the brain such as chemotherapy, drug and alcohol abuse or stroke as well as other medical conditions (Craighead, Miklowitz, & Craighead, 2008).
Although the most common approaches to treat depression are pharmacotherapy (i.e., medication) and psychotherapy (i.e., talk therapy) which are effective treatments for many people (Rupke, Blecke, & Renfrow, 2006) some do not respond favorably. Studies have shown that patients on medication tend to relapse once the medication stops. Many people have found that adding neurofeedback to their treatment plan can supplement or reduce medication. In addition, neurofeedback is also indicated for those clients such as pregnant women who are counseled to avoid certain medications by their doctors.