Suraiya Rahman MD’s Post

//FLOATATION THERAPY RESEARCH ON EATING DISORDERS// The benefits of floatation for anorexia: Anorexia is a complex, but treatable, mental health condition. It is characterised by a persistent restriction of food intake, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a disturbed perception of weight, size, and appearance. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder with features including body image disturbance, anxiety, high levels of perfectionism, difficulty sleeping, irritability, mood disturbance, and intrusive thoughts about weight, size, and food. Recent clinical trials using floatation to treat individuals with anorexia have provided substantial evidence that floatation leads to acute and longitudinal decreases in body dissatisfaction, and a significant reduction in anxiety. The trials have also highlighted reductions in muscle tension, an increase in feelings of relaxation and serenity, significant blood pressure reductions, less fatigue, increased energy, refreshment, and a substantial improvement in mood. Furthermore, some individuals reported positive experiences, such as they could not feel their outer body limits or their stomach sensations at times, and they experienced a lower sense of distress and less focus on their body image. Find out more via the following academic research article: https://lnkd.in/ecrcG4eh Hydro-ease #eatingdisorders #healthcare #floatationtherapy #rest #recharge #unwindandrelax #selfcare #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthsupport #therapy #therapyworks

🧠 How can we break the treatment-resistant depression cycle? Discover how combining ketamine and TMS is offering new hope and transforming psychiatric care in this month's blog series: https://lnkd.in/g-Et9b9x As a practitioner, what are your thoughts on this synergy? #tms #trd #ketamine

There's growing interest in psychedelics for treating psychiatric disorders, with psilocybin showing promise for depression and alcohol abuse. Encouragingly, new research indicates psilocybin might also help with chronic pain, offering long-lasting relief by rewiring brain circuits. With NIH funding supporting further studies, we're moving closer to potential new therapies for millions suffering from chronic pain. Dan Mager, LMSW #MentalHealth #Psychedelics #ChronicPain #InnovativeTherapies #psilocybin https://lnkd.in/ggae7885

Recent research featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) sheds light on the promising role of psychedelics in treating complex mental health conditions like PTSD, depression, and substance abuse disorders. This comprehensive study unveils intriguing mechanisms of action within the brain of MDMA and other psychedelics. https://lnkd.in/gjbV7m8k

I was first diagnosed with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) at 15 years old and since I have encountered various treatments and approaches. Nothing has worked quite like ketamine infusions in relieving symptoms and renewing hope in my own ability to cope with the reach of my illness. A study by Massachusetts General Brigham, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found ketamine effective in treating severe, treatment-resistant depression. In this groundbreaking study, 55% of participants treated with ketamine experienced a significant improvement in depressive symptoms. This is not just a statistic; it represents a profound opportunity for individuals like me, who are seeking effective relief from the relentless grip of treatment-resistant depression. Ketamine’s effectiveness, coupled with fewer side effects compared to traditional treatments like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), underscores the need for a paradigm shift in mental health treatment. Despite its promise, ketamine’s accessibility is limited. This needs to change. I am advocating for the expansion of ketamine treatment availability and affordability. It’s not just about adding another treatment option; it’s about offering hope and a chance for a better quality of life to those living with SMI. Every step towards making innovative treatments like ketamine more accessible is a step towards a world where mental health care is truly inclusive and effective. #MentalHealthAdvocacy #KetamineTreatment #SMI #MentalHealth #InclusiveHealthcare

Psychedelic Assisted Therapies: Promises and Pitfalls Featuring Gita Vaid, MD, Jim Hopper, PhD, Elizabeth Call, PsyD, Licia Sky, Rick Doblin, PhD, Bessel van der Kolk, MD After a four-decade hiatus, researchers have returned to examining the therapeutic benefits of mind-altering substances, including MDMA (ecstasy), psilocybin (mushrooms), and ketamine, which have demonstrated powerful therapeutic effects for PTSD, depression, and addictions. This workshop will present both the currently available scientific data, and our clinical experiences with MDMA and ketamine. Psychedelics can profoundly reorganize people’s experience of themselves, and lead to increased self-compassion, capacity for intimacy, and emotion regulation and thereby promote a deepening and acceleration of psychotherapeutic processes. During therapy, people often are able to access and find peace with disavowed, “exiled” parts of themselves. Psychedelic medicines, when dosed correctly in the appropriate context, can act as powerful catalytic tools for healing, repair, and new growth potentials moving healing paradigms toward wellness, resilience, and self-actualization. 35th Boston Int. conferences Trauma Research Foundation Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)

Could MDMA become the first approved therapy for PTSD in over 20 years? 🌟🧠💊 👉Approximately 13 million people in the United States are affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) annually 👉Currently SSRIs are the main treatment for PTSD (to address commonly-associated symptoms of depression and anxiety), but these drugs take a while to take effect, and response rates rarely exceed 60% 👉There is a pressing need for new PTSD treatments 👉With significant results seen in late-stage placebo-controlled trials including 200 people with moderate-to-severe PTSD, MDMA (midomafetamine, or ecstacy) could become the first psychedelic-assisted therapy available in the US 👉However, medical experts who advise the FDA are not convinced that MDMA is effective in PTSD and that risks outweigh benefits, reporting that there were issues around the way the trials were conducted and the safety of MDMA 👀 🔍🔍 Critically, ‘’functional unblinding’’ makes it nearly impossible to test treatments such as MDMA (which alters mood, cognition and produces other psychedelic effects like distorting time or sensations) – most trial participants (and investigators) in the placebo-controlled studies were able to figure out what treatment was being given, an issue which may have swayed trial results to be more positive than they actually were…📈🤔

An interesting recent summary of the latest developments in bringing psychedelic-based therapies for various mental health conditions, and in particular, current research in understanding where the clinical benefit stems from. There is currently a hot topic of discussion in this space around whether a mystical experience is required for the kind of perspective change that is touted as being the main reason behind their clinical impact. How and why the resulting ego dissolutions and loss of executive control contributes to the therapeutic benefit remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see how this field will evolve in the coming years, including with the recent MAPS FDA filing for use of MDMA in the treatment of PTSD. What is clear is that there is now immense opportunity to explore alternative approaches to historically under-treated mental health conditions, with psychedelic tools that have the potential (as far as data shown so far) to dramatically change how we view and treat these conditions. The future is looking exciting but still lots of unanswered questions.

✴️ Breaking News ✴️ BrainsWay announced today the initiation of a prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial evaluating an accelerated treatment protocol for the Company’s proprietary Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS™) system to treat major depressive disorder (MDD). With anticipated enrollment of over 100 patients with MDD, the study aims to compare the outcomes achieved with the accelerated Deep TMS protocol versus the current standard-of-care Deep TMS protocol. “An accelerated treatment protocol has the potential to improve convenience and thereby make Deep TMS substantially more appealing to many prospective patients,” said CEO Hadar Levy. “We look forward to the results of this important trial as we continuously work to enhance the value proposition offered by our life-changing mental health solutions." Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gxSj-gpf #DeepTMS #TMS #depression #anxiousdepression #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness