Women's Digital Health

Overcoming Burnout: Exploring Non-Invasive Brain Technologies for Mental Health

• Women's Digital Health • Season 2 • Episode 16

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If you're feeling burnt out, did you know that non-invasive brain technologies can make a big difference in your life? By delivering microcurrents to the brain through the vagus nerve, this innovative approach can address various mental health conditions without the need for invasive procedures.

We look into the world of non-invasive brain technologies, which entails delivering low-level electrical currents to targeted areas of the brain. These technologies have the potential to reduce stress, burnout, and address various mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. It's fascinating to learn about these exciting approaches to mental health management.

Neuroscientist Dr. Alison Smith shares her personal journey of Lyme disease and the anxiety disorder that followed. Her story sheds light on the importance of advocating for oneself and having open conversations with healthcare providers to explore all possible avenues for diagnosis and treatment.

Finally, we learn about the physiological cascade of the stress response and how it can differ between individuals. Dr. Smith highlights the importance of recognizing stress triggers and building resilience to prevent long-term mental health conditions like anxiety and panic disorders.

Topics include:

  • Introducing Non-Invasive Brain Technologies
  • Dr. Allison Smith's personal experience of Lyme Disease
  • Understanding the physiological responses to stress, and how it affects individuals differently based on gender and lifestyle factors
  • How non-invasive brain technologies can address conditions like depression, anxiety, and burnout, offering new avenues for mental health support
  • The importance of self-care, advocacy, and seeking appropriate medical advice for managing stress and mental health challenges effectively

Remember, taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Let's continue to prioritize self-care and seek out innovative solutions to support our well-being.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

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Disclaimer
The information in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.

The personal views expressed by guests on Women's Digital Health are their own. Their inclusion here does not constitute an endorsement from Dr. Brandi, Women's Digital Health, or associated organizations.

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# Swell AI Transcript: Overcoming Burnout: Exploring Non-Invasive Brain Technologies for Mental Health

Dr. Brandi Sinkfield:
Welcome back to episode 16 of Women's Digital Health. I hope you are off to a great spring start. The weather is finally getting consistently sunny out here and if you saw me on social media, you know that as soon as I saw a green light from the sun that was consistently, you know, warm enough for me to get out and hike and dry enough for me to get out and hike, I got my shoes on and I drove to my nearest trail and I walked and I walked and I walked and I walked. It was such a therapeutic experience. I really enjoyed doing it. It's, I don't know, just this chapter in my life is... really telling me that, you know, walking and hiking is just going to be a part of my mental health toolbox. And I take advantage of it every opportunity that I can. So if you are looking for new things to put in your mental health toolbox, that's kind of your goal for 2024 is like, hey, I want to change some things up. I want to take a different perspective on really trying to improve, you know, the things that give me joy, give me energy, give me a different perspective. Try walking if you can. Just 10 minutes, just 10 minutes a day will really change your perspective on how you think about the things that are going on in your life and really give you some clarity. So just try that. Welcome to the Women's Digital Health Podcast, a podcast dedicated to learning more about new digital technologies in women's health. We discuss convenient and accessible solutions that support women with common health conditions. Join us as we explore innovations like mobile health applications, sensors, telehealth, and artificial intelligence, plus more. Learn from a board-certified anesthesiologist the best tips to filling some of your health experience gaps throughout life's journey. So why do we keep talking about all of these different approaches to improving our mental health? Well, as you all may or may not know, we are actually in what is called a pandemic of burnout. Many of us are just feeling energy depleted, emotionally exhausted, feeling very cynical, whether it's from work, whether it's from your personal life, we just need a break. We need some way, a different approach to managing the world around us. And so The whole point of this season is to really talk about all of these different approaches to managing our mental health. And this episode just is one more thing you can consider putting in your toolbox. And speaking of trying something new, this episode is not a common approach to managing mental health, but I think it's something that you want to consider as we start to talk about these different technologies. You know, we wrapped up our mini series on the use of mental health and artificial intelligence, and that's one unique approach. But this next guest that I have actually is using something that has been tried and true. It's evidence-based. It's been in the neuroscience community for a while. But it is not something that we commonly discuss in the general public. And that's largely because most of the types of technologies, the technology being non-invasive brain technology, has not been able to be accessible to the general public until now. We are going to talk about one specific type of non-invasive brain technology. And just to give you a general idea of what that means, non-invasive brain technology is a type of technology that means that you don't have to go to surgery in order to get some benefit from direct electrical stimulation of the brain. So historically, it used to be some of the types of electrodes that were used to simulate the brain sometimes actually involved surgery. You would have to put the electrodes directly on the brain. Now, I know that sounds super creepy for a lot of people who may not necessarily be used to surgery and, you know, brain stimulation, but there's a lot of benefits to direct stimulation of the brain, including improvement in certain mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and definitely there's been a lot of benefit around seizures and other brain conditions. Now, as an anesthesiologist, the technology that I'm most familiar with is electroconvulsive therapy. And this type of therapy does involve general anesthesia. It means that myself as an anesthesiologist, I have to put the patient to sleep. and usually it's either a psychiatrist or neurologist places electrodes on the side of the head or the front of the head or the back of the head that actually stimulate an electrical shock ultimately through the skull and into the brain. And this type of electroconvulsive therapy benefits patients who have pretty severe depression that they may have not benefited from medication or they can't take the medication for whatever reason. For instance, a patient who might be pregnant or who has just not responded well to medication. It's also used for patients who have bipolar. who are in a manic state. And so non-invasive stimulation is not uncommon. It is something that's been around for a while. The technology that our guest, Dr. Allison Smith, is going to introduce is actually more accessible and more portable, and it's delivering small currents. We call them microcurrents to the brain. through a nerve called the vagus nerve. And as we go through this podcast, I'll kind of explain some of the terms that she's going to use to understand how you might benefit from stimulating certain parts of the brain. So stay tuned. I think you're going to learn a lot about different types of options that you have out here. You know, we've talked about telehealth, we've talked about mental health apps, digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence, and now we're talking about these non-invasive brain technologies. All of these things are meant to be layered along with the mental health professional to give you a better idea of all of the different options that are out here to improve your mental health. Dr. Allison, thank you so much for coming. To begin with, I want you to walk us through your journey with dealing with your own personal stress.


Dr. Alison Smith:
I wasn't a person who was always a stressful person. I was never a person who felt anxiety. Prior to contracting a chronic illness, which I'll get into in just a second, I was a person who traveled around this world alone. I used to go hiking in the wilderness alone and It's something I never even thought about when I met people who were struggling with mental health I really didn't understand what they were dealing with. So back in my first year of my PhD. I was a really outdoorsy person, canoeing, camping, everything like that. And I can only assume that during one of these outings, I got bitten by an insect called a tick. And I didn't know that we had ticks here. I'm in Ontario, Canada. I live in Toronto. I had never heard of Lyme disease before. And so when I became really sick, like to the point where I couldn't leave my house, I was so sick. It didn't even cross my mind that this is what it could be. And nor did it cross the eight doctor's minds over the course of the initial five years. I got trapped in my house for a long time because of it.


Dr. Brandi Sinkfield:
All right, so Dr. Allison Smith is going to start talking about Lyme disease, which is a disease that is born by ticks that carry a certain bacteria. And it's unique because you often find this particular disease in the northeast states of the United States, like Maine, Vermont, New York, that area. but also in the northern eastern parts of Canada, like Ontario, which is probably the most common province where you'll see it. Nova Scotia and Quebec also have some cases of Lyme disease or the tick that carries Lyme disease, I should say. And the most common sign of symptoms is this bullseye. It's like a bullseye rash. You see this in like the majority of patients. The challenge is that it's not always distinctive, you know. And if you miss the window, which, you know, this rash only presents like at the very beginning. And so if you miss this rash or it's not this distinct bullseye rash that they all talk about, You go on and on dealing with the manifestations of Lyme disease, like pain, challenges with memory, and some of the other conditions that Dr. Allison Smith will describe, without ever really realizing that you were bit by this tick maybe weeks, months, years ago, and it was never treated. And so it's really important that this conversation happens with your doctor, because oftentimes women will go and say, I'm having these challenges. And this is an example of sometimes where because it's not so common that the first thing that a physician would think about, it gets overlooked. And so listen to Dr. Allison Smith's journey into really trying to push her doctor to say, hey, like, let's take a look at this.


Dr. Alison Smith:
It's amazing to me that not a lot of people know about Lyme disease.


Dr. Brandi Sinkfield:
I know. It's fascinating. I've come across so many people who've had Lyme disease and their story is very similar. They're going back and forth and they're trying to have this conversation with physicians. The physicians are doing the best they can. They are getting tests, getting diagnostic tools, but no one can ever like really pinpoint what it is that can really address some of the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease.


Dr. Alison Smith:
Yeah. And so at the time, the pain, the all over my skin, it felt like it was burning on fire and my joints felt very stiff and sore, specifically in the hands and up the spine. And I couldn't stay awake. And so it was really strange to experience that. And for all of the blood vials that were taken out of me, nothing was coming up. But eventually on year three, I was put into a category called chronic fatigue syndrome. And I was assigned to a specialist and I was sitting in the specialist's office one day. I'm on year five at this point. And I'm overhearing a conversation between two women about Lyme disease. And this woman is describing the symptoms. I'm like, that sounds really familiar to me. And so I went into the office to see my physician. I said, can you just test me for that? And she's like, we're not gonna find anything. I don't think that we should test for it. And I said, well, let's just do it. Yeah. One thing off the list. And so we tested and all three tests like came back positive. So she's like, all right, this is what you have. And the interesting thing that the difficult thing at the time is, I'm living in Canada, and the standard of care in Canada at that time was 30 days of antibiotics. And that was it. They weren't. So I was told by my physician that I would have to go to the States for treatment. And so my physician is actually in New York. So I was in treatment for three and a half years to get rid of the Lyme. But when I contracted Lyme, it got into my central nervous system. And so for the first time in my life, I started experiencing illogical, severe panic and fear, cycling in and out of panic attacks. all day long. And after my treatment, when all of the Lyme symptoms disappeared, I was left with the anxiety disorder. And it was really hard to shift that. It is incredibly hard to deal with.


Dr. Brandi Sinkfield:
All right, so Dr. Smith is going to talk about a few parts of the brain. One is going to be the vagus nerve. And the way that these electrodes work is that you put these tiny little circles of electrodes just behind your ear, and that connects to a nerve. It's actually more of a sensory, a more peripheral nerve called the greater auricular nerve. And that nerve is connected to the vagus nerve. And the idea is that if you deliver small little teeny tiny micro currents, currents you can barely really even feel, that will deliver a stimulation to another part of the brain that's kind of like this mesh of nerves throughout the front and sides of the brain called the default mode network. And this default mode network is a really important part of the brain. It's responsible for how you identify yourself, memory, your personality, and it's also responsible for mind wandering. So if you stimulate this part of the brain, it really helps with the flow state or the focus state of your brain.


Dr. Alison Smith:
You don't want to totally eliminate the stress response. We're not going to do it and that's not the goal. But there has to be some points where we have a state of recovery and building more resiliency so that we're not reacting like we usually do. So from a brain's point of view, we have a stress response based on our perception of what's happening in our life, in our environment. And there's two main areas that I want to point out. First is the amygdala. These are two very tiny, small almond-shaped structures deep within the brain, and they are the fear center. So if you're feeling anxious or overly stressed or panicked, most likely you're having a lot of activation within your amygdala. If you're having a great deal of rumination or worry, thinking about the future, thinking about the past, wanting to control the present and really worrying about it, that's governed by a network of areas along the center part of your brain called the default mode network. And so what we're trying to do here in any kind of stress practice is to reduce activation in the amygdala and the default bone network so that your body feels as if it's going to go into a recovery phase and help you to prevent these larger conditions that could happen. And it goes beyond coronary heart disease. having a panic disorder or an anxiety disorder is really difficult to deal with and it impacts a person's life on all levels.


Dr. Brandi Sinkfield:
So true, so true. My other question is just how or is there in your knowledge a difference between a stress response between genders or does everyone experience stress differently?


Dr. Alison Smith:
I mean the stress response is the same physiological cascade, but the reason why it is triggered might be different or its sensitivity level might be different depending upon the person. And so for females, I think just naturally in our culture, we may be more primary caregivers. We may have to devote more of our mind share to thinking about in the future to make sure that the business of the household is all taken care of. And so women might feel a little bit more overwhelmed than their male counterparts in some instances, but the physiological experience of a stress response is the same.


Dr. Brandi Sinkfield:
All right, that concludes episode 16. I hope that you learned something about stress and burnout. You know, you're not alone if you're feeling this in your workplace or in your personal life. In this episode, we talked about non-invasive brain technologies, you know, these tiny little microcurrents that really can impact and change the way that you are experiencing life, reducing stress, reducing burnout, addressing depression, and so many other mental health conditions. We learned about Lyme disease, a condition manifested from ticks that carry this bloodborne disease into the nervous system and wreaks havoc. But we also learned through Dr. Allison how to have these conversations with your doctor in a way that helps the doctors who may not have thought about Lyme disease at the top of their list actually consider it and really change the course of someone's life through advocacy. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you liked it, please give us a thumbs up wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you want to know more about stress and burnout and how it impacts not just your mental health, but also your heart health, even your glucose, check out our newsletter. This episode was actually featured in our February 2023 newsletter, and we go into a little bit more depth of the way in which stress impacts your life. So check that out. We will put the link to the YouTube into the show notes so you can actually see the recorded video of this interview. So I hope that you enjoy your spring. Get out in that sun however you can for however long you can. Bye for now. Although I'm a board-certified physician, I am not your physician. All content and information on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice and it does not establish a doctor-patient relationship by listening to this podcast. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. The personal views of our podcast guests on women's digital health are their own and do not replace medical professional advice.