Many people living with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are finding extraordinary relief with help from transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). GAD is a condition that causes a person to experience extreme and excessive worry regarding daily life.
While it is one of the most common challenges to mental health that people experience, GAD is still largely misunderstood by the general public. Living with GAD can make even the simplest tasks or decisions feel excruciating. Here’s what you need to know about accelerated TMS for generalized anxiety disorder.
What is GAD?
Generalized anxiety disorder is marked by ongoing, excessive worry about many events. Many people with GAD experience the following daily:
- Persistent anxiety about various things. The worry is out of proportion to the impact of the event
- Restlessness
- Fatigue
- Sleep issues
- Muscle tension
- Headaches
- Stomachaches
- Concentration problems
- Irritability
- Shallow breathing
- Increased heart rate
- Increased blood pressure
For a person living with GAD, “turning off” the worry cycle can be impossible. They often give up things they enjoy over fear of the bad things that can happen. What’s more, many people with GAD feel that turning off their worry will make it more likely for bad things to happen. The intense worry and fear they feel over situations others see as being “no big deal” can leave them isolated.
For Many People With GAD, Traditional Treatments Have Failed
While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and forms of talk therapy can help many people with GAD to develop strategies for coping with their intense feelings of worry, a large number of people who seek treatment for anxiety disorders are not responsive to treatment.
According to a 2020 study published in the journal The Mental Health Clinician, around half of people with GAD don’t respond to first-line treatment. For treatment-resistant patients who wish to avoid antidepressant medications, few options exist.
However, this mental health sector has had a bright spot in recent years. Emerging research is showing that a protocol called Accelerated TMS may be a very good treatment option for people with treatment-resistant GAD.
Why TMS Holds Promise for People Living With GAD
Exploring the neurobiological roots of GAD can help us to understand why TMS may be such an effective treatment mode for people living with this condition. GAD is characterized by abnormalities in the frontal structures, limbic structures, and areas of connectivity that exist between these two regions.
Generally, the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex are the front regions identified with GAD. The amygdala is the limbic region most closely associated with GAD.
When worry is activated, researchers have observed a phenomenon of increased activation in the prefrontal cortex that is matched with decreased activity in the amygdala. TMS is a treatment that stimulates these target areas in the brain while also affecting cortical and subcortical regions that connect to it.
What Research Says About GAD and TMS
As part of a 2022 study on the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in generalized anxiety disorder, patients with GAD were treated with low-frequency rTMS that targeted the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for 10 days.
As a result, all 11 patients in the study experienced improvements in GAD symptoms. They also had significantly decreased scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD).
Another study, this one a 2019 meta-analysis looked at transcranial magnetic stimulation in anxiety and trauma‐related disorders found that TMS may be an effective treatment for both GAD and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These are just two published pieces of research in a growing body of studies supporting TMS’s benefits for GAD.
Understanding TMS Therapy for GAD: What to Expect During Treatment
TMS is already an FDA-cleared treatment for people with treatment-resistant depression. It is also used commonly as an off-label treatment for a wide range of other mental health conditions. In fact, patients and their families are increasingly discovering the benefits of TSM for OCD, TMS for autism, and TMS for PTSD.
TMS therapy is a noninvasive, painless treatment that generally does not produce side effects. Some patients may experience headaches following treatment sessions.
During treatment, magnetic coils are placed against the scalp in targeted locations. Magnetic impulses released by the coils stimulate nerve cells in areas of the brain thought to be connected with GAD symptoms. Following each session, the patient is able to resume daily life immediately without any need for recovery.
The high-frequency magnetic impulses delivered during TMS treatments are designed to stimulate and reactivate underactive brain portions. This reactivation may help to restore normal functionality to reduce feelings of anxiety or panic attacks. The overall intended outcome is sustained improved mood with a significant reduction in GAD symptoms.
Could Accelerated TMS for GAD Be an Option for You?
Accelerated TMS is a version of TMS that uses theta burst stimulation (TBS) to help patients enjoy relief from symptoms during an accelerated window. Under the Accelerated TMS protocol, clients receive 50 treatments in five day days.
Since introducing this option at our TMS clinic in 2022, 75 percent to 85 percent of clients report at least a 50 percent improvement in symptoms. Many have experienced complete remission.
Our clinic proudly uses the state-of-the-art MagVenture TMS device that was featured in the Stanford University clinical study for the treatment of treatment-resistant major depressive disorder.
Are you looking for Accelerated TMS therapy near me? Clients throughout the United States and Canada have visited the TMS Institute of Arizona for treatments. We are passionate about helping people suffering from GAD and other anxiety-related disorders get relief using noninvasive, non-pharmacological treatment methods.
Our team is here to help you determine if TMS for anxiety is an appropriate treatment path. We can also help you determine if TMS treatments for anxiety can be covered through your insurance. Contact us today for more information.
