Energy Medicine and Mental Health
Energy medicine is the diagnostic and therapeutic use of energy – heat, light, sound, gravity, pressure, vibration, electricity, magnetism, chemical energy, electromagnetism – basic forces that surround and interpenetrate us. Energy medicine includes a whole range of hands-on methods, hands-off methods, energy techniques, and devices. Energy medicine involves energy of particular frequencies, intensities, wave shapes, and other characteristics that stimulate the repair and regeneration of one or more tissues.
PEMF: Pulsed Electromagnetic Field
After conducting in-person interviews of more than 23,000 American adults, the National Center
for Complementary and Integrative Health (in conjunction with the National Center for Health
Statistics) found that nearly 40 percent of those surveyed have used some type of
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an effort to obtain and retain a higher level of
health. And while many different forms of CAM exist, not many can provide the wide range of
benefits of high-power PEMF.
PEMF stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field. The PEMF process involves generating and
directing powerful, pulsed energy waves toward damaged or injured areas of the patient’s body.
These waves quickly pass through the cells in the damaged region, increasing the spin of the
electrons contained within them as a result.
It is this amplified electron spinning which restores the cell’s transmembrane potential (its
energy), and brings the cell to homeostasis at the same time. Unlike some other forms of CAM,
which only provide temporary relief, this positive cellular effect lasts for as many as four days
after the session has ended. Essentially, PEMF therapy is the induction of electricity into the
cells to help stimulate or promote healing.
PEMF and Mental Health
PEMF has been found to be very effective in the treatment of stress, anxiety and depression,
traumatic brain injury, without the side effects that medications can cause. As an alternative to
allopathic medicine in treating the brain, PEMF electrically excites the neurons to dispense their
own natural chemicals, helping to balance deficiencies and restore normal brain function.
Clinical research, studies and trials show PEMF therapy for depression and anxiety as a novel
anti-depression treatment.
1. Know more about how PEMF therapy works for treating depression, anxiety and other mental
health issues.
2. Discover the available clinical data that supports the use of PEMFs for improving brain health
function, balance mood disorders, and address mental health disorders.
Effects of PEMF therapy on the brain
PEMF therapy has been also found to be highly effective for a variety of brain disorders
including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. It utilizes frequency modulated electromagnetic
fields for brain stimulation.
The reason why PEMF works so well is that it is able to
1. Improve cellular oxygenation. This effect of PEMF helps in depression treatment and also
has the potential to treat the entire body using full-body PEMF mat, coils and applicators.
2. Stimulate an increase in Nitric oxide (NO), an important molecule that is produced by almost
all cells in the body. It helps in vasodilation or keeping the blood vessels supple and strong.
3. In 2018, scientists from Institute of Anatomy, Germany conducted a study to investigate the
cellular mechanism of PEMF and found that PEMF can trigger voltage-gated calcium channels
and may help in production of nitric oxide. They concluded that when used correctly PEMF can
ultimately lead to reduced inflammation and improve cellular resilience.
4. When cellular dysfunction occurs, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) also known as free
radicals thrive and can lead to cancer and many other conditions and symptoms including
depression. PEMF therapy has been found and is commonly accepted to be an effective
technology to modulate ROS production and thereby enhance cellular energy levels.
5. In a research review by scientists from University of Groningen, Netherlands, it was
concluded that low-intensity pulsed electromagnetic fields have anti-depressant effects due to
its effects on local brain activity and connectivity.
6. Angiogenesis is another effect that PEMF therapy can have. In a research review published
in Bioelectromagnetics Society Journal in 2021, PEMF was found to improve angiogenesis –
regeneration of blood vessels.
Depression & the Need for Complementary Non-Invasive Treatment
Anxiety and depression are a major health problem that affects millions of Americans and
possibly billions of people worldwide. According to CDC, in the United States, 4.7% of adults
have regular depression resulting in about 47,000 suicides each year.
Mental health problems including bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, premenstrual
disorder, medication/substance-induced depressive disorder and persistent depressive
disorders and many more are helped with PEMF.
There are many dimensions to causes and treatments of mental health issues. Several mental
wellness issues originate from:
1. Lack of sleep
2. stress and stressful environment
3. genetic disorders, predispositions
4. chemical imbalances in the brain
5. low neurotransmitters
6. low serotonin levels
7. neurodegeneration or reduced ability to regenerate neurons
8. low oxygen levels, hypoxia
9. neuro-inflammation
10. trauma
11. cancer
12. hypothyroidism
13. Lyme disease
14. Neural disease
Here, we can see that depression can be a symptom to many other health conditions. PEMF
therapy has been found to address many of these brain health issues by addressing the health
conditions underlying it.
Some psychiatrists may need to prescribe anti-depression medication such as serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, according to the latest studies from Harvard, there are
associated risks involved with the use of such medication.
Therefore there’s a growing number of patients and health professionals seeking an integrative,
collaborative, holistic approach for mental health and wellbeing. PEMF therapy used as a
complementary treatment is a drug-free and non-invasive anti-depression technology without
the usual side-effects and risks involved with drugs.
Does PEMF therapy help depression?
PEMF has been under active research from more than 60 years. To learn how PEMF therapy
helps with mental health such as depression and the level of effectiveness, it’s pertinent to
identify the root cause of various depressive disorders and then research the effects of pulsed
electromagnetic fields on these conditions.
So we can see that depression can be a symptom to many other health conditions. Also there is
evidence piling that shows a direct link between – impaired blood flow and hypoxia (deficiency
of oxygen) in the brain – and – mood disorders including anxiety and depression. There is also
research that points to higher depression in those with chronic hypoxic conditions such as
COPD, heart disease and stroke. Therefore, these conditions, i.e., blood flow and oxygenation
must be addressed for depression to heal.
Clinical Trials on PEMFs for Mental Health
In a double-blind pilot study utilizing low field magnetic stimulation which is nothing but a PEMF
field surrounding the brain at an intensity lesser than 30 Gauss, it was concluded that such brain
stimulation can have mood-enhancing effects for treatment-resistant depression.
In a comparative study of brain stimulation technologies including electroconvulsive therapy,
transcranial magnetic stimulation, thera burst, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), it
was concluded that these non-invasive brain stimulation therapies can be considered as
alternative treatments for adults with major depressive disorders.
In a 12-week clinical trial of PEMF therapy for treating depression, pain, anxiety and quality of
life in cervical disc herniation patients, it was found that PEMF can be safely used and provided
significant improvements over treatments such as TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve
stimulation) and Hot Pack (HP) therapies in a longer timeframe.
The results are not very surprising. Decades of studies found PEMF to be much superior to
TENS, microcurrents and electrical stimulation. One of the primary reasons is that none of the
other treatments really address the brain or the whole-body like PEMF can.
In 2013, a study examined the effects of PEMF for anxiety and applied 2 Gauss for 9 minutes.
This initial pilot study suggested that PEMF may be applied for anxiety and further investigation
was recommended.
It’s encouraging to now see psychologists, the medical community experiment with PEMF and
try to solve problems arising due to brain injuries. In this study from Laurentian University,
Canada, it was found that even a very weak PEMF of 1 microT was able to provide benefits.
Considering that a PEMF field intensity falls rapidly due to the inverse-square law, it’s safe to
assume that when a PEMF mat system is used, you would receive low-intensity pulsed
electromagnetic fields to the deepest regions of the brain.
Benefits of PEMF for depression are in fact so well known that researchers have also conducted
a study for treating multiple chemical sensitivity which is one condition with currently no
successful pharmacological treatment.
In 2020, another trial to study the effect of pulsed electromagnetic frequency therapy on quality
of life of military members with back pain was conducted in Texas. The researchers recommend
PEMF for further investigation as they found surprising improvements in this 75 member study.
Individual brain health conditions, metabolism and immunity would determine how effective
PEMF is and how long it should be used for finding improvement. In many cases, benefits of
PEMF may only be noticed or fully enjoyed with longer term use.
For example, in a study from Denmark, scientists did a 2-year follow-up study on depression
patients with and without co-morbid conditions and apathies such as sleep disorders and
stressful environments. They found that patients with apathies had to use twice as much PEMF
for similar results. It was also advised that lifestyle changes pertaining to addiction treatment
and social problems should also be addressed for best outcomes.
From this study, the take-away is not just that PEMF is dose dependent, but also to do with what
an individual does to implement positive behaviors. PEMF for depression or anxiety should
ideally be coupled with an improvement in the social and physical lifestyle of users. So don’t
forget to workout, play sports, practice yoga, meditate or simply run each morning. Also nutrition
should be addressed, the cells need protein and other vital ingredients for recuperation and
proliferation.
PEMF can help your physical balance too! In a 2001 study utilizing 2 Gauss PEMF, scientists
from Canada analysed that PEMF can significantly improve standing balance or center of
pressure, with eyes open or closed.
That is perhaps why we find sports and yoga practice to improve along with PEMF use.
Don’t forget that PEMF enhances energy levels too. If you find benefits with PEMF for
depression, you will most certainly feel a surge in energy levels upon waking in the morning.
This “push” must be utilized!
