 Trying to find your way forward in life isn’t always easy. Sometimes it can feel like there’s no way forward, especially when you live with the heavy burden of depression day after day. It’s hard to even think about the future because depression breeds a continuous self-defeating cycle of sadness, stress, anxiety, and hopelessness making people feel stuck and misunderstood. When you live with depression, you spend your days trying to navigate through the fog hoping that maybe…just maybe…tomorrow will be different. Now, with Express TMS, there’s new hope in tomorrow. What To Do When Medications FailTreating disorders of the brain is just as important as treating disorders and conditions that affect your physical health. The goal of medication is to help people find healing and relief from symptoms. When people get sick, they go to the doctor looking for a cure. In some cases, routine treatments simply don’t work or cause unwanted side effects. And, in those cases, doctors move on to second-line treatments, alternative medicine, and off-label use of drugs to find healing and relief for patients. We see many examples of successful second-line treatments in life-threatening diseases such as cancer and diabetes. In fact, the advancement of modern medicine over the years has helped provide renewed hope and healing in many ways. Second-line and alternative treatments continue to help improve outcomes and quality of life for patients around the world and for that, we’re thankful. Major Depressive Disorder Affects Over 300 Million People Globally. In the field of psychiatry, we have successful second-line treatments that help our patients find relief when first-line treatments (like antidepressants) don’t work or cause unwanted side effects. We know that sometimes antidepressants and therapy aren’t enough. In fact, antidepressants don’t work for 30 percent of patients leaving them stuck in that self-defeating cycle of sadness, stress, and lingering hopelessness. So what do we do for the 30 percent of patients who fail to respond to first-line treatments such as antidepressants? Where can you turn if you’re sick of feeling sick… and tired… and generally miserable? Maybe you’ve tried medication after medication to no avail. You’ve increased doses and incorporated therapy but nothing seems like it can help lift the veil of depression. Now, Express TMS offers an alternative, non-invasive option with a high success rate. 3-Minute TMS Therapy - Come See Us On Your Lunch Break!We are very pleased to now be offering Theta Burst Stimulation (TBS) at Pacific Mind Health. This is a newly FDA- approved, 3-minute 'Express TMS' protocol which has been shown to have equal or better efficacy than traditional TMS protocols lasting 30+ minutes. This new treatment protocol minimizes time expenditure and discomfort and our state-of -the-art MagVenture TMS machine is one of the only TMS machines capable of delivering this type of treatment. “MagVenture is the only company to offer FDA cleared 3 minute TMS sessions and we’re happy to have this available for our patents at Pacific Mind Health,” said Dr. Mottsin Thomas. "This revolutionary TBS (theta burst) protocol is a faster TMS treatment that’s just as safe and effective for the treatment of major depressive disorder as standard TMS, only much faster. The ease and convenience of Express TMS works with busy schedules allowing our patients to come for treatment and get back to their day", said Thomas. Remission from depression is possible! If you’re one of the more than 4 million patients who does not receive adequate benefits from antidepressants and/or can’t tolerate the side effects caused by them, give our office a call today.
Our compassionate team is here to help you find a new way back to health and happiness through 3 Minute Express TMS Therapy. Give us a call today 562-279-0180 or fill out our form for a call back  Sometimes, when you live with depression, it’s not just one big thing. It's all of the little things that can really wear you down and make everyday life challenging. It’s the lingering sadness, anxiety, loss of interest, and general hopelessness that continue to build up and make it difficult to function. With depression, it can feel like life’s simply lost its flavor. Clinical depression is so much more than just having a bad day. In fact, depression is currently the leading cause of disability and poor health worldwide and it’s something that an estimated 1 in 6 Americans deal with each year. Luckily, many will find relief in medications and/or therapy. But what about the 30% of patients who still can’t find relief from their depression symptoms? TMS Therapy Can Offer Hope For ReliefFor that one-third of people, the symptoms continue to linger and build. They likely worsen over time and the heavy veil of depression makes it harder and harder to function. When patients don’t experience relief from medications, TMS Therapy offers new hope. TMS is a non-invasive therapy that involves no medication and has very few side effects”, said Dr. Mottsin Thomas . “When medications fail to proved relief for patents, TMS therapy might be more effective than trying yet another antidepressant medication.” TMS Therapy is an FDA cleared in 2008 and patients have been treated for major depression with TMS since the mid-1990s. This treatment uses MRI strength magnetic pulses that are delivered several times per second into the front part of the head.
The Results Can Be TransformativeIf you or a loved one suffers from depression, you might be wondering how anyone can really relate to what you’re going through. You want to get better, but it’s hard to see hope when you are living life in a fog. Maybe you’ve tried antidepressants without relief. Maybe the side effects from your current medications are weighing you down. Maybe the uncertainty, fear, and stress surrounding COVID-19 have taken a toll on your emotional wellness… We understand. Our team is here for you. Book A TMS Consultation TodayWhether it’s through medication, psychotherapy, or TMS Therapy, our team at Pacific Mind Health is dedicated to treating each individual with compassion while focusing on patient safety, comfort, and wellness. Untreated mental illnesses can cause frequent stress and affect your overall health and happiness in life.
You don’t have to walk through your struggles alone. At Pacific Mind Health, we’re committed to helping patients in our community find renewed hope and health through restorative state-of-the-art treatments like TMS Therapy. We’re here to provide the best in diagnosis and treatment to put you on the path to healing so can live your best life. Schedule your TMS Consultation today by connecting with our care coordinator 562-279-0180 or fill out our form  Welcome to May! We’ll be the first to admit that keeping track of time…or even what day it is…has proven to be somewhat challenging during the quarantine. But now it’s officially May and a great time to move forward in positivity. May is a well-known transitional month as we move from spring to summer. We get to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day, but did you know that May is also Mental Health Month? That means we have the spotlight to help shed some light on the realities of mental and emotional wellbeing and the psychiatric conditions that threaten it. Mental Health Month: 'Tools 2 Thrive'More than just observing a month like this, let’s use the opportunity to learn what we can do to make a real difference in the life of someone who suffers from a mental health disorder. Mental Health America’s theme this year is “Tools 2 Thrive.” The goal is to help provide practical tools that everyone can use to improve their mental health and increase resiliency regardless of the situations they are dealing with (like COVID-19). “One in five people will experience mental illness during their lifetime, but all of us will have experiences that affect our mental health,” said Dr. Mottsin Thomas, a psychiatrist with Pacific Mind Health. “Destigmatizing mental illness is an important first step toward getting people the help that they need before they reach a point of crisis. This wonderful national campaign is something we fully support at Pacific Mind Health. The tools we use to help our patients thrive include everything from pharmacologic and therapy-based treatment to innovative treatments like IV Ketamine and TMS Therapy.”  As part of Mental Health Month, Mental Health America has put together a variety of screening tools that you can take individually or offer to a loved one who may be struggling. While these screenings do not take the place of a professional evaluation, they are useful in getting people to recognize symptoms in themselves and to spark dialogue about mental health care in general. We want to make it easy for you to get well and the right tools matter! Breaking The Burdens of ShameOne of the most important ways to #endthestigma surrounding mental health is to talk about mental health disorders openly just as we do with a physical illness like diabetes, cancer, or a heart condition to name a few. Depression is more than just having a bad day. It can be a crippling disorder that forces people to live under a veil of darkness… Anxiety Disorders can result in a debilitating cycle of persistent, excessive worry day after day… OCD is not a quirk, a preference for tidiness, or something that you can just ‘get over’ The more we make psychiatric disorders part of casual conversation, the further back we push the stigma associated with this suffering. Mental Health Awareness Helps Reduce The StigmaEven though we’ve come a long way over the past few decades when it comes to mental illnesses, we still have a long way to go in acceptance and normalization. The good news is mental health disorders like GAD, Major Depression, ADHD, and OCD are very treatable. The key is to get help as soon as possible. It is possible to lead a very happy and successful life, hold down a career, and have a strong social life despite having a mental illness. We’re thankful for celebrities who help us normalize mental illnesses by stepping out into the spotlight. Johnny Depp, David Beckham, Howie Mandel, Whoopi Goldberg, Jessica Alba, and Heather Locklear are just a few A-listers who’ve publicly shared their struggles. “It takes a lot of courage to say ‘My anxiety is flaring up and I need to take a break’ in the middle of a birthday party. Try it, though, and I suspect you’ll have a few other people who follow you to a quiet space,” said Dr. Joshua Flatow, a psychiatrist at Pacific Mind Health in Southern California. “More and more, as people are honest about their struggles, the stigma around mental illness fades. Mental Health Awareness month is intended to empower people to let go of any shame related to a diagnosis and to educate others about how they can openly and usefully support loved ones with mental health issues.”  Pacific Mind Health Can Help You ThriveMedication and therapy are often effective treatments for common mental illnesses. Our team also embraces Neuroscience breakthroughs by providing cutting-edge treatments like Ketamine and TMS Therapy for hard-to-treat cases of depression.
You can be free of depressive thoughts, despair, and that awful feeling that you don’t belong or fit in. You can live a full and rewarding life. Celebrate Mental Health Month by making your mental wellness a priority. It all starts with an evaluation - call today!  Even though we’ve had a few days for it to soak in, the death of Kobe Bryant, one of the world’s most beloved basketball stars, still feels like a bad dream. He was headed to his daughter’s basketball game and he is no more. How did something so mundane become so terminal? And why are we reeling from the loss of this man we only knew through our television screens? “Celebrities are often the subject of our affection, and though it’s an affection that is unrequited, it can foster a powerful sense of connection,” said Joshua Flatow, a psychiatrist at Pacific Mind Health in Los Angeles. “When that celebrity dies, especially in an unexpected way or at a young age, the grief that follows results from that connection. You may never have met the person or even been in the same room with them, yet you have shared their ups and downs with them. You have seen private details of their lives. You have memories with them. You miss them. And you mourn them.” With Kobe Bryant’s passing, the community of Los Angeles immediately flocked to the home of the LA Lakers, the Staples Center, in order to show their respects. But they also flocked there as a first response to grief. “Death has an interesting ability to unite people through grief,” said Mottsin Thomas, a psychiatrist at Pacific Mind Health in Los Angeles. “When a loved one dies, families typically come together to console and support one another through the grieving period. When a celebrity dies, shared grief brings entire communities and, in some cases, the world together to grieve. Grief is real, it is powerful, and it can become complicated and debilitating.” “There’s no silver lining here, it’s just awful… It’s all bad. It’s all sad.” - Jimmy KimmelGrieving and Loss: Time Heals Most ThingsTime and retrospect are almost miraculous in their ability to help people focus on how human beings, particularly loved ones, lived and impacted their world - as opposed to how long they lived. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Heath Ledger… they died before they were 40 years old but the love we have for them continues to this day. In some cases, their memory has lived longer than they did. Remembering those who have died is a healthy aspect of grief, one that can bring comfort during times of immense sadness. Connecting with others is also useful, especially others who are grieving, as they understand how you feel and share the same sense of loss. “It is important to remember that grief does not come in one simple form, nor does it progress in a linear fashion,” said Dr. Flatow. “Grief can cause sleep disturbances, appetite changes, stomach upset, and headaches. It can also cause feelings of anger, sadness, loneliness, despair and irritability.” Most people will experience bouts of sadness and anger that pass fairly quickly – they are likely experiencing a normal grieving pattern.  Understanding Grief and Managing Mental Health During Times of LossWith the onset of grief, many people fall into a sudden and acute state of pain. At first, it’s important to let yourself feel the pain of your loss. Knowing that it’s normal and many others who are grieving will also experience this symptom can help you through this phase. While you may be tempted to shift into isolation, this is where psychotherapy or talking to people close to you can help you validate your feelings. Some people find that chronicling their feelings in a journal is helpful as well, and even writing a note to someone who has passed away can be cathartic. Maintaining a normal routine can also be helpful in times of grief. Patterns provide comfort and restore a sense of predictability and security, especially after an unexpected or senseless death like Kobe Bryant’s. If you or a loved one believes that your cycles of grief are impairing your ability to function, treatments are available. Specialized psychotherapy targeting grief as well as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) medications like Lexapro, Prozac, or Zoloft may also be a first-line approach to treat event-provoked or grief-induced depression. The practitioners at Pacific Mind Health are available to support you through grief whatever your treatment requires.  Pacific Mind Health offers comprehensive mental health care for a range of psychiatric conditions. If you are looking for a psychiatrist in Los Angeles or Long Beach, California, or telepsychiatry in California, please contact us to schedule an appointment.
Read the entire article in Psychology Today here.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the next-generation NeuroStar Advanced Therapy transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device for patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD), the company has announced. To read the complete Medscape article, click here.
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