Amid a Mental Health Illness Surge, Researchers are Providing Hope

By Cindy Cummings

Global rates of mental illness were already at severe levels before the pandemic. Now, according to a study published by Nature News, massive data sets are showing an almost 32% surge in depression across the USA, rates increasing from 10% to 42% over an eighteen-month period. Apopka has had its own significant experiences with mental health illnesses, but there is a silver lining. With new data sets and new techniques, researchers are finding new ways to help treat mental illness, offering.

The big data approach

The use of data to help treat illnesses is being taken to the next level using AI. Data is collected from those diagnosed with anxiety and depression from the first intervention; healthcare professionals will often have their patients take this anxiety and depression quiz to estimate the severity and type of illness, and craft care from then on. This data is useful - where good interventions have taken place, it can be paired with other people who experienced the same set of symptoms and help them to enjoy a greater level of care, and help to sort patients into general healthcare or a specialized facility such as found through Apopka BHS. This approach, which CNBC highlights is now being combined with robot-based AI and machine learning tech, can be a novel and well-focused way to help treat anxiety and depression.

Repurposing medicine

Medicines currently used in other fields are being deployed, using this new data, to try and solve other illnesses. A study published by the journal of Drug Design, Development and Therapy has indicated that using Pimavanserin Tartrate, commonly used to treat Parkinson’s disease, has shown to have potential in effectively treating anxiety and depression. The use of this drug has come as a result of looking at data crossing over between the treatment groups, and holds an interesting path forward for research. Looking at alternative ways to use existing medicines provides a ready-made solution to move forward and to benefit research and treatment, and can give an important bridge before advancing into new medicines.

Old substances, new methods

Potentially the most exciting and nervously approached field in mental health treatment concerns the use of psychoactive drugs. Healio highlights the advances in using psilocybin for anxiety and depression. There are inherent dangers in the use of such substances - while overdosing is unlikely, it can nevertheless lead to serious and long-term emotional and psychological harm, including ‘bad trips’. However, new methods combine precise microdosing with proper psychological support and could be a genuine path towards recovery for those diagnosed with mental illness. While held as a taboo in modern society, the impact of psychoactive drugs like psilocybin, and MDMA for PTSD, is something to be investigated.

For many, psychoactive drugs are the frontier in medicine and therapy for mental health concerns. Until then, the use of the data provided by the communal efforts of those going through the management of their conditions is key. This is helping to provide a better future for the research and development of mental health treatments.