Pioneering treatment Gives Hope to Depression, Insomnia and Addiction Sufferers
A major treatment being used extensively in the US is now being used in the UK to successfully treat a wide range of psychological problems including depression, stress, anxiety, insomnia and addictions. The Alpha-Stim® works by using tiny, imperceptible microcurrents to stimulate cells in the brain to trigger a reaction to produce Serotonin.
A control experimental study “examined the possibility of reducing depression ... using the Alpha-Stim. The dependent measures were the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, 1996), … and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 1993)” [1] The treatment group used active Alpha-Stim units to provide electrotherapy stimulation at the minimal therapeutic level, while a sham control group of officers used inactive units. When depression scores from the treatment group were compared to the sham control group, significant improvements on the BSI Depression scale and the BDI scores were found.
The report concluded “In the broadest sense, these results may support the theory that the Alpha-Stim has a global modulating effect on brain dysfunctions. Officers struggle with many emotional issues and these results suggest CES may produce benefits... With reduced depression, officers could have more energy for productive activities, as opposed to spending energy worrying and/or feeling lethargic. Such a change could improve their effectiveness at work and at home.”
The report also stated that “the utility of Alpha-Stim for the treatment of many clinical disorders has a 25-year history of supportive research. For example, there have been over 126 human subject studies, as well as, two meta-analyses establishing the efficacy of CES for treating mental disorders (Kirsch, 2002). In addition, the Alpha-Stim has been cleared by the FDA for treating depression, anxiety, and insomnia.”
The Alpha-Stim® is a small gadget that you use with tiny ear clips that transmit minute electrical impulses. It uses micro-amps (as opposed to milliamps that are used by TENS machines, for example). During 10 seconds of exposure to the AS, a tiny, imperceptible microcurrent passes through the body, containing a wide range of frequencies which can be thought of as playing all the keys on the piano very quickly. It works because of the sheer volume of frequencies on offer - the more frequencies that the brain is exposed to, the more likely that there will be one that it responds to.
The Alpha-Stim® stimulates cells in the brain to trigger a reaction to produce Serotonin. Anti-depressant drugs (SSRI’s) do the same, but the AS does this without side-effects, even in drug resistive people. This revolutionary new treatment could be the way forward for depression treatment in the UK, with many practitioners starting to use the device successfully in a wide variety of settings across the country and many sufferers choosing to buy the device to continue their treatment at home.
This tiny microcurrent device also successfully treats cigarette addiction in as little as 2 minutes. Users simply clip the device on to their ears and the harmless but effective microcurrents help calm them enough to quash their desire for the next cigarette.
William S. Eidelman, M.D., an American addiction specialist coined the term "Addiction Antidote" after watching a treatment device repeatedly and reliably dissolve cravings for cigarettes in patient after patient, in up to 2000 smokers. Physical cravings for cigarettes dissolved 94% of the time, usually in two minutes.
Eidelman was inspired by Dr Margaret A. Patterson, MBE, MBChB, FRCS, a researcher from Scotland, who accidentally discovered that a small electric current to the brain cured heroin addiction. She successfully got rock stars off heroin. So Dr Eidelman decided to try this technique with a patient addicted to smoking, using the Alpha-Stim (AS).
He recently asked a patient addicted to cigarettes, ‘Do you need a cigarette now?’ and they replied, ‘yes’ Then he hooked them up on the AS for a couple of minutes and asked them ‘how’s your addiction?’ . They looked at him with the strangest expression, saying ‘I don’t even want a cigarette – I’m not even thinking about having a cigarette!’. From then onwards, most patients don’t have the craving or desire to smoke and don’t feel the need. It works in minutes!
In a study conducted by Eidelman, he found that in the first group of 400 smokers, 94% said that their craving was completely gone within the 20 minute Alpha-Stim treatment.[2]
Back in the UK, Richard Morley, one of the UK’s leading clinical hypnotherapists and tutor at the London College of Clinical Hypnotherapy has been using the Alpha-Stim successfully to treat smoking addiction. He comments,’ I believe the Alpha-Stim works by eradicating the anxiety behind the craving. The ex-smoker feels calmer and hence doesn’t need the cigarette.’
The Alpha-Stim retails at £399 and is available from www.alpha-stim.co.uk
