Exciting NEW DNA test treats Anxiety and Depression!

I was sitting and having lunch in my local garden café with my friend and colleague. We were discussing the traumatic effects our clients have suffered over the past few years and how regular Hypnotherapy sessions can really help.  She told me about an exciting NEW DNA test that is helping with anxiety and depression!

We had both noted that even though a great many of our clients who suffer depression and anxiety are taking anti-depressant medications, they still appear to suffer severe problems.

She then told me about a program that had been on ABC, highlighting the DNA testing of people and subsequent treatment for their depression that was having great results.

Pharmacogenomic (PG) testing is not widely used in mainstream healthcare, but researchers are using this technique to help patients with depression.  This method allows medications to be prescribed based on their individual genetic make-up.

Dr Kristen Nowak and Professor Sean Hood both agree that PG testing could save patients precious time. (ABC News: Claire Moodie)

Finding the right medicines to treat depression can take years for some sufferers, and often they never quite get the right treatment. “Most patients, when they get treated [for] depressive disorders, don’t get full remission on the first medication they are put on,” Professor Sean Hood said.

“In the past, it has just been clinical wisdom and therapeutic guessing to find the medicine that is going to be best for that person.

The programme discusses a new approach to medication therapy that involves the patient taking a multi-gene test, and a treatment plan is guided by their genetic makeup.

I was greatly inspired by this new information and excited for my patients to have another scientific avenue of help to explore. Current clinical trials are in process so maybe it can provide some scientific evidence to help you too!

On another note, over the two years of pandemic isolation, we have seen many young people not being able to get out and meet partners, who have been isolated by working alone from home which may have led to unwanted weight gain. Closed cafes and music venues, and restricted numbers at social gatherings all led to people not being able to go out and socialise or use their dating apps, which meant that a lot of young people found themselves confronted with real mental health issues including anxiety and depression.

Add to that many young women missing out on those precious last years, of not being able to have a choice to have a family or not – for example not being able to travel overseas to conceive through donor egg programs that are not available in Australia.

This loneliness and separation, sadly, has meant that depression and anxiety are at an increased level in our community.

Don’t forget if you’ve struggled during these past few years, with depression and anxiety or suffered in general, you can get help, regular Hypnotherapy sessions can really help you.  Please contact me to find out more or to discuss any questions you may have.

0418 942 319

jennifer@alayahypnosis.com.au