Want more iVillage? Sign up for our
Newsletters
Depression - Other Treatment
- Topic Overview
-
Health Tools
- Cause
- Symptoms
- What Happens
- What Increases Your Risk?
- When to Call a Doctor
- Exams and Tests
- Treatment Overview
- Prevention
- Therapy
- Medicines
- Living With Depression
- Other Treatment
- For Family and Friends
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information
- References
- Credits
Other treatments for depression include brain stimulation and treatment with herbs or dietary supplements.
Brain stimulation
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be used to treat severe depression or depression that does not get better with medicine and counseling or therapy. In ECT, electricity is briefly sent to the brain through electrodes placed on your head. Studies have shown that ECT is an effective short-term treatment for depression.10, 11
Other types of brain stimulation have not been well studied and may be expensive. They usually are considered only if other treatment does not work. They include:
- Deep brain stimulation. A device that uses electricity to stimulate the brain is put in your head. It is used for Parkinson's disease but has not been well studied for depression.
- Vagus nerve stimulation. A generator the size of a pocket watch is placed in your chest. Wires go up from the generator to the vagus nerve in your neck. The generator sends tiny electric shocks through the vagus nerve to the brain.
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation. An electromagnet is placed on your head and sends magnetic pulses that stimulate your brain.
Complementary therapies
Complementary therapies are sometimes used for depression. Always tell your doctor if you are using any of them.
- Massage therapy, yoga, and other relaxation exercises may help reduce stress.
- The herb St. John's wort can help treat depression. A review of studies found that the herb can work just as well as prescribed antidepressants in some people who have major depression.12 St. John's wort also may have fewer side effects than prescribed medicines.
- Fish oil containing omega-3 fatty acids may help depression.13, 14
- SAM-e ( S-adenosylmethionine) is sometimes used to treat depression. Some studies show that SAM-e may help with symptoms of depression, but more studies are needed to determine its safety and how well it works.15
| Author: | Debby Golonka, MPH | Last Updated: August 28, 2009 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine | |
© 1995-2009 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:
- Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
- Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
- Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.
The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.
How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?
Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.
How do I save content to my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.
How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.
How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.
To manage your Care Circle, Please
Sign In.
from
- Facebook is now fueling organ donations
- Military women and suicide: Home safe but not sound
- Still in gear: Injuries don’t stop veterans on 100-day bike trek
- Ask Jenna: I've hit a weight loss plateau. What do I do?
- He poses in a tutu to laugh in face of wife's cancer
- After chemo hair loss, 'henna crowns' help heal
The iVillage Network