The United States is a country that prioritizes Western Medicine, treating mood, attention, and anxiety disorders with medications. The sad part of this approach is that although medication tends to work great in the short run, in the long run, it often causes more problems than it helps. Research shows us that 78% of people who have bipolar moods that are stabilized on medication will have breakthrough symptoms or an episode within five years. In my experience, it often happens faster than that. I rarely see depression effectively lifted and prevented with medication but other ways are effective and that don’t cause long-term problematic side effects.
Did you know that every medication that helps you go to sleep or calms you down also causes dementia? Yuck, huh? Vitamins, CBT skills, and methods I teach on this blog do not cause that. Rarely, natural remedies may cause mild side effects but a reduction in the vitamins or moving the clips for the CES will ameliorate those promptly. There are some rare exceptions, but I’ve only heard of them happening with extreme overdose. On other posts, I teach about the many tools to help treat these diagnoses, while on this one I want to teach you about a device that can help tremendously.
If you want to learn about natural treatments, you may be interested in the CES-Ultra (cranial electrotherapy stimulator) and its benefits. Another company sells the Alpha-Stim. It does the same thing for a lot more money while the CES-Ultra does everything that the Alpha-Stim does for a significantly smaller fee. It is a non-invasive treatment that uses a small device to send electrical impulses to the brain. It has been used to treat a variety of issues including anxiety, depression, attention, and insomnia. I’ve also seen it help calm mania. All it takes is clipping the device to your ears and turning it on. You can use it anytime provided you’re not driving a car or operating heavy machinery. You’ll probably notice the effects more if you’re relaxing or meditating but you can use it while you do pretty much anything. Ideally, you will use it twice a day for 45 minutes each time. If you’re struggling with intense anxiety or fighting mania, it would be wise to use it for at least 90 minutes at a time. It is safe to use it for hours or many times a day or at night. It is also helpful in treating the withdrawals people face when they stop using drugs or alcohol or when they are reducing prescription medication. Additionally, it can help you get to sleep or go back to sleep if you wake up during the night. The CES-Ultra also comes with electrodes making it usable as a TENS unit. As a TENS unit, it is very helpful in relieving pain or congestion.
One of the benefits of the CES-Ultra is that it’s a natural treatment. Unlike medications which can have debilitating side effects, the CES works with your body’s natural electrical system to promote healing. It is also non-invasive meaning that it does not require surgery or other invasive procedures. Another benefit of the CES is that it is effective at treating a variety of conditions.
I always recommend that when you start to use a new tool, you rate your mood, anxiety, attention issues, or pain before you start to use the device or skill. I would encourage taking that a step further and doing an assessment to get a good measurement of your issue first. You can use the BDI (Beck depression inventory), the Beck or Burns anxiety inventory, or the ATTC to measure attention issues. It’s very difficult to measure your own mania so if you’re dealing with mania, I would recommend you get your therapist or psychiatrist to measure your mania with the YMRS (Young Mania Rating Scale). Tracking symptoms on a tracking sheet would give you a daily check in regarding how your symptoms are and how they lessen as you use the CES-Ultra.
Numerous studies demonstrate the effectiveness of this device to reduce anxiety, improve mood, as well as improve sleep quality. It has also been shown to be effective at treating chronic pain, anxieties, and PTSD. 1. Shows that use of the CES ultra for 1 hour a day reduced depression by a moderate amount. I suspect that if the participants had used the device for a longer time, there would have been a greater improvement. 2. Shows improvements in depression with anxiety. 3. Reports the CES as an effective treatment for depression. 4. Supports the use as an effective treatment for Bipolar depression. I have seen people benefit from the use of the CES-ultra to calm mania but I haven’t been able to find research to support this claim. 5. Reports effectiveness of the CES-ultra in treating pain, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Numerous additional studies support the use of the CES-ultra to effectively treat depression, anxiety, insomnia, and pain.
The CES is also a safe treatment option. The electrical impulses used in CES are very low, and there is no risk of electrical shock or other adverse effects. Additionally, the CES has been cleared by the FDA for use in the United States. If you are interested in trying the CES, you might want to consult with a healthcare professional. While CES is generally safe, it may not be appropriate for everyone. In addition to being safe and effective, the CES is also easy to use. The device used in CES is small and portable and can be used at home or in other settings. It is also easy to adjust the settings on the device to customize the treatment to your individual needs. Overall, the CES is a natural, safe, and effective treatment option for a variety of conditions.
I strongly recommend reading other pages on this blog to learn other skills or tools to help you manage your issue. One tool or device is rarely enough. If you’re dealing with mania for example, this device can be very helpful but you would likely need a variety of other skills in addition, particularly dark therapy and good nutrition including supplements.
In summary, the CES-Ultra is a device that can be used to help treat depression, anxiety, insomnia, addictions, and pain with well-established research supporting the effectiveness of these claims. When the CES-Ultra is used during the prevention stage of mania, I have seen it’s effectiveness in helping to calm the symptoms that lead to mania and possibly to help calm mania as well. I cannot claim to have found any research to back up these claims but I suspect there will be research to that effect in the future. With its many benefits, CES may be the natural treatment option you have been looking for.
References:
- A meta-analysis of cranial electrotherapy stimulation in the treatment of depression, J Psychiatr Res, 2021 Mar:135:119-134.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.12.043. Epub 2020 Dec 21.
- The Effectiveness and Risks of Cranial Electrical Stimulation for the Treatment of Pain, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, and Insomnia: A Systematic Review [Internet], Shekelle P, Cook I, Miake-Lye IM, et al.
Washington (DC): Department of Veterans Affairs (US); 2018 Feb.
- A meta-analysis of cranial electrotherapy stimulation in the treatment of depression, Larry Price a b, Josh Briley c, Steve Haltiwanger c, Rita Hitching c , Methodology, Measurement & Statistical Analysis, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, San Marcos, TX, USA
b
Psychometrics & Statistics, Texas State University, USA
c
Electromedical Products International, Inc., Mineral Wells, TX, USA
- A Pilot Study of Safety and Efficacy of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation in Treatment of Bipolar II Depression, Deimante McClure, BA, Samantha C. Greenman, BA, Siva Sundeep Koppolu, MBBS, Maria Varvara, MD, Zimri S. Yaseen, MD, and Igor I. Galynker, MD, PhD, J Nerv Ment Dis. 2015 Nov; 203(11): 827–835.
Published online 2015 Nov 12. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000378
- Effects of cranial electrotherapy stimulation on resting state brain activity, Brain Behav. 2012 May; 2(3): 211–220. doi: 10.1002/brb3.45, PMCID: PMC3381625, PMID: 22741094, Jamie D Feusner,1 Sarah Madsen,1 Teena D Moody,1 Cara Bohon,1 Emily Hembacher,2 Susan Y Bookheimer,3 and Alexander Bystritsky1