As you know, I love living in the city.  I love it.  But as you know from either experience or from watching “House Hunters” on HGTV, flats are much smaller in the city.  I remember when I first moved here and all the places I looked at were like 55 meters square.  That was like the size of the bedroom in the place I lived in previously.  Ok, so I’m exaggerating a little bit, but still.  To give you some comparison, when I was living outside of the city I was paying around 640 pounds for a one bedroom that was about 84 meters square.  It was a pretty nice place, I had room for all my furniture, it had a nice kitchen, a good-sized bedroom, and a big bathroom.  Oh, and parking was included in that price.  There was a lot outside where everyone who lived there could park.  So then I start looking downtown and I see that prices go up and sizes go down.  The place I’m living in now is about 55 meters square and I’m paying 960 quid per month, and that doesn’t even include parking!  That’s what it’s like in the city, though.  I have a pretty decent view from my living room, and I even have a little balcony I can go out on and and get some fresh air.  It’s actually a really nice location.  For the most part all the stuff I need is only a few blocks away.  I don’t really have to drive that much.  Compare that to living in the suburbs and you have to drive everywhere.

Living in a smaller place has forced me to make some changes.  I’ve had to become much more organized.  My closets are stuffed to the brim.  I keep some stuff under my desk.  I had to get some plastic bins to store a lot of my stuff in and I have them arranged in my closet so I can find what I need when I need it.  My place only has two closets; there’s a big one in my bedroom and then there’s one in the hallway when you first walk in.  It’s pretty tight but I make it work.

It’s worth it to me, though.  Most of my friends are here.  There’s always stuff to do.  It’s not boring and depressing like living in the suburbs (no offense to my friends who live in the suburbs!).  And there are some amazing restaurants, but that’s another topic for another post.

As you know, one of my interests is personal development.  I recently came across this article about a new treatment for depression that I thought was interesting and wanted to share:

In today’s stressful world, depression is becoming ever more prevalent. Whether genetically predisposed, or life-event related, the unfortunate fact is that depression affects 1 in 10 people in the UK. Often depression might initially manifest in the form of symptoms such as insomnia, or upset stomach, and will ultimately cause people to stop feeling joy in their life.

There are a number of anti-depressant drugs that help people in overcoming the very common problem of depression. For some, this medication proves a perfect remedy, helping combat symptoms, which can include anything from a total lack of appetite and energy, (or compulsion to over eat,) high levels of anxiety or stress and unbearably dark moods.

Of course, talking therapies can help too and are becoming more and more common. At times, a short period of therapy will suffice, for others it’s much more of a long-term solution that can take years to help overcome deep-rooted issues or trauma. There are many different types of psychotherapies to consider. However for some, a satisfactory level of recovery isn’t ever achieved, and wellbeing fluctuates depending on life’s changing circumstances and challenges.

In these cases the question remains, how can I permanently overcome Depression?

Perhaps therapy has been tried but failed, or progress is too slow. Maybe anti-depressants have left you feeling numb, and present you with negative side effects such as decreased sex drive, weight gain, or fatigue. For such ‘treatment resistant Depression’, it’s worth considering repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or rTMS.

rTMS is a ground-breaking treatment for depression.

Unlike antidepressant medication, rTMS has no side effects, so it’s great for those who simply can’t tolerate the physical consequences that go hand in hand with prescribed drugs. It is pain free and a relatively simple process whereby magnetic stimulation is applied directly to a pre-determined position on the patient.

The human brain is inherently an electrical organ that functions through the transmission of electrical signals between nerve cells. rTMS treatment works with your body’s natural processes by simply increasing the number and frequency of such transmissions. It employs magnetic energy to stimulate an area of the brain that regulates mood.

On average, five 30min sessions are needed per week, over a course of 4 weeks. Consultants regularly see results in the first fortnight, and are reporting incredibly positive results in those who have otherwise lost hope in recovering from the debilitation condition.

Research has shown that a large proportion of patients who were previously unresponsive to antidepressants saw a significant improvement in their depression when treated with rTMS, and 1 in 3 patients saw a complete recovery.

 rTMS treatment is currently available only from The London Psychiatry Centre on Harley Street in London. It is an expensive treatment but if you can afford it, it can potentially offer life changing benefits.