TMS for Anxiety: Finding Relief from Excessive Worry

Dr. Georgine Nanos, MD, MPH • Dec 08, 2023
Finding ways to deal with severe anxiety is crucial to maintaining your quality of life and protecting your mental health. One emerging treatment is transcranial magnetic stimulation for anxiety or TMS. TMS for anxiety works by applying magnetic fields to stimulate the brain’s nerve cells and can be incredibly effective in treating troublesome symptoms.

To benefit from TMS treatment for anxiety, it’s important to understand the ins and outs of this process and what it entails to treat your anxiety effectively. This article will explore the world of TMS therapy for anxiety, including how it works and the benefits of using TMS to treat anxiety. Let’s get started!

What is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Anxiety?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive cranial treatment method that uses a magnetic coil to influence and alter your brain’s electrical activity. This treatment works by applying short magnetic pulses to areas of the brain associated with conditions like depression and anxiety, stimulating the nerves and affecting central nervous system activity.


TMS treatment was initially developed in 1985, and since its inception, it’s been used to treat a variety of mental health conditions. Individuals struggling with anxiety are prone to benefit from the use of TMS to alleviate symptoms.

What is Accelerated TMS for Anxiety?

Traditionally, TMS sessions are completed over four to six weeks. While TMS for anxiety can be incredibly effective, this timeframe can be troubling for people who want to see a difference in their anxiety symptoms quickly and who have been struggling for a significant time.


An alternative to traditional TMS treatments is rapid TMS for anxiety, also known as Stanford TMS for anxiety or Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT). SAINT TMS for anxiety reduces the length of treatment and promotes faster results – accelerated TMS sessions can be completed in as little as five days but still have similar efficacy and safety as traditional TMS for anxiety.


Professionals like the team at Kind Health TMS provide rapid TMS for anxiety to help you experience improved symptoms in a fraction of the time it takes to complete traditional TMS.

How Does TMS Therapy for Anxiety Work?

When receiving TMS therapy for anxiety from health professionals like the team at Kind Health TMS, you’ll undergo a four-step process. Below is a breakdown of the TMS treatment for anxiety journey you can expect with Kind Health TMS.

Pre-TMS Evaluation

Your TMS for anxiety journey begins with an evaluation to assess your condition and determine a personalized treatment plan. During your evaluation from Kind Health TMS, our experienced physicians will evaluate your anxiety symptoms, medical history, and past treatments to determine whether TMS is a viable solution to your anxiety condition.

Mapping the Brain and Personalized Treatment Plan

Depending on your assessment, our physicians will outline a treatment plan suited to your needs. The physicians at Kind Health TMS will identify specific areas of the brain that require magnetic stimulation to relieve your anxiety symptoms.


This step allows our team to map the brain and determine crucial areas that will help you benefit most from rapid TMS for anxiety.

TMS Treatment Sessions

Following your personalized treatment plan, accelerated TMS therapy for anxiety will begin. While traditional TMS sessions occur over several weeks, the TMS therapy sessions from Kind Health TMS only take five days. These sessions are painless and non-invasive, making them a comfortable solution to relieve your anxiety symptoms.


A typical TMS treatment session occurs in the following steps:


  1. Your technician will provide you with earplugs before the procedure begins. While TMS treatment for anxiety is non-invasive and relatively painless, there are clicking sounds that occur with magnetic impulses that can cause discomfort.
  2. During the first session, your experienced TMS technician will measure your head to determine the best position for the magnetic coil to deliver pulses to the brain. Your technician will take other necessary measurements to determine the correct settings for the TMS machine and place the coil above the frontal area of your brain.
  3. After placing the coil correctly, the TMS procedure will begin. You’ll hear a clicking sound, indicating magnetic impulses are being released into different brain areas. You’ll also feel a painless tapping sensation beneath the magnetic coil.
  4. Treatments last from 30 to 60 minutes. Following the procedure, you can go home – and you’ll even be able to drive yourself!

Gradual Improvement

Throughout the course of your TMS sessions, you’ll experience a gradual improvement in your anxiety symptoms. This improvement may include a feeling of calmness, enhanced overall well-being, and decreased excessive worry. Completing the full five-day treatment is necessary to maximize the benefits of TMS therapy for anxiety.

What are the Benefits of TMS for Anxiety?

TMS is an excellent alternative to traditional anxiety treatments that can have many positive results and increase your livelihood. If traditional treatments like medications are ineffective in helping your anxiety, TMS therapy might be the best way forward.


But what are the specific benefits of TMS for anxiety, and is this treatment right for you? Consider the following advantages you can expect when you choose TMS for anxiety treatments.

Accelerated TMS for Anxiety is Non-Invasive

One of the primary benefits of rapid TMS for anxiety is that the procedure is non-invasive. When you undergo TMS treatments, you won’t need any anesthesia or surgery, making TMS a safe alternative for individuals who haven’t found success with traditional anxiety treatments.

Accelerated TMS Helps Improve Sleep Patterns

TMS treatment for anxiety is also beneficial for its ability to alleviate many symptoms of anxiety, such as insomnia. Sleep problems affect between 50 and 80 percent of people struggling with psychological conditions like anxiety, making insomnia a massive concern among people suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.


By undergoing TMS treatment, you can experience improved sleeping patterns, allowing you to fall asleep and stay asleep more effectively.

Accelerated TMS is an Efficient Treatment

Traditional anxiety treatments, such as medication and therapy, typically take a significant period before showing results. One of the main reasons people suffering from anxiety choose TMS therapy is its efficient timeline.


While standard TMS treatment for anxiety takes weeks to show results, accelerated TMS therapy provides efficient results in only a few days, allowing you to regain your quality of life and live without the barriers of severe anxiety.

Accelerated TMS Decreases Irritability

Another common symptom of anxiety is feelings of irritation or agitation, which can be stressful and disruptive to daily life. By delivering magnetic pulses to targeted brain areas, accelerated TMS effectively reduces feelings of irritation that can dominate the lives of people with anxiety.


By choosing TMS treatment for anxiety, you target the core symptoms that make the condition troublesome. You can reduce your irritability quickly when you undergo TMS treatment from Kind Health TMS.

Accelerated TMS for Anxiety Has a Low Risk of Side Effects

Other treatment options for anxiety, such as medication, come with the risk of side effects that can be more harmful than helpful. An advantage of choosing accelerated TMS for anxiety is that this treatment has little to no side effects, and the side effects you may experience are mild compared to many medications.


With medication, you might experience side effects like worsening symptoms, insomnia, and depression – but with TMS, you eliminate the presence of these side effects, unlocking an effective treatment that helps more than it hurts.

Accelerated TMS for Anxiety Improves Your Overall Mood

Anxiety can cause you to feel a whirlwind of emotions, from stress to sadness and confusion. Through accelerated TMS treatments, you can combat your low mood effectively and take control of your life.


Accelerated TMS is also helpful for combatting low motivation, which can easily occur when anxiety is taking over your mind and body. By choosing TMS treatments, you can find the motivation to do what you love without the strict boundaries of crippling anxiety.

Accelerated TMS for Anxiety Improves Concentration

Feelings of extreme anxiety are naturally distracting and make it difficult to navigate daily life. Without proper treatment and intervention, you might feel constantly distracted or out of focus. TMS treatment for anxiety is essential because it reduces symptoms of anxiety that lead to a lack of focus, allowing you to enhance your life and improve concentration in a short time.

Accelerated TMS for Anxiety Reduces Restlessness

Another advantage of choosing TMS therapy for anxiety is its ability to reduce restlessness. Individuals who receive TMS for anxiety report feeling less restless than before treatment, eliminating one of the most notable symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

Accelerated TMS for Anxiety is Medication-Free

Traditional treatment options for generalized anxiety disorder often involve the use of medications – and while these medications can be helpful for many people struggling with anxiety, they often come with an onslaught of side effects that can worsen anxiety symptoms or reduce your quality of life.


A core benefit of choosing TMS for anxiety is that the treatment is medication-free, reducing worries about potential side effects that can make traditional anxiety treatments ineffective for many people.


If you’re struggling with anxiety and haven’t experienced success with any previous medications, TMS treatment for anxiety might be the perfect solution to regain your quality of life without having to accept troublesome side effects.

Accelerated TMS for Anxiety Has the Potential for Long-Term Relief

Given the short nature of accelerated TMS treatments, you might assume that the treatment only has temporary results and requires frequent visits to maintain a high quality of life. However, one five-day round of accelerated TMS has the potential to unlock long-term results that go far beyond the treatment period.


By choosing accelerated TMS for anxiety, you can alleviate your symptoms long-term without the need for daily treatments like those required for medication. It’s one of the simplest ways to get the results you’re looking for without a significant time commitment for your treatment.

Accelerated TMS Helps With Depression

Anxiety doesn’t always occur by itself. If you’re struggling with anxiety, there’s a significant likelihood you’ve also experienced signs of depression. Anxiety and depression are common comorbid conditions, with an estimated 60 percent of people suffering from anxiety also struggling with symptoms of depression.


A massive advantage of choosing TMS for anxiety is that TMS treatments are also critical in alleviating symptoms of depression. By investing in TMS therapy to treat your anxiety, you can also address other problems that have been impeding your quality of life – giving you the power you need to take back control.

What Are the Side Effects of TMS for Anxiety?

One of the primary reasons why people choose transcranial magnetic stimulation for anxiety is that this treatment often has no side effects. Even when TMS patients experience side effects, these side effects are typically minor compared to other treatment options like medication.


However, knowing the potential side effects you might encounter with TMS therapy is important to prepare for your session. Some side effects you might experience following a TMS session include the following:


  • Lightheadedness
  • Tingling sensations in the head
  • Sleepiness and drowsiness
  • Mild headaches, which typically fade quickly after treatment


TMS therapy might not be suitable for people who have epilepsy or other neurological conditions that cause seizures. In very rare cases, seizures can occur resulting from TMS treatments – however, this only occurs in 0.1% of patients receiving TMS treatment.

Find Accelerated TMS Treatment From Kind Health TMS

There are many advantages of choosing TMS for anxiety that make this treatment a viable solution to alleviate your symptoms. From its non-invasive nature to its potential to address comorbid conditions like depression, choosing TMS for anxiety can transform your quality of life and help you live the life you’re longing for.


However, the success of your TMS treatments is only guaranteed when you choose a provider you can trust. Kind Health TMS provides the best accelerated TMS services to combat symptoms of anxiety and help you regain control over your life.


The professionals at Kind Health TMS can guide you along your health journey with TMS treatments that make achieving balance simple. Contact Kind Health TMS today to schedule your free consultation and determine if TMS therapy suits you!

Meet the Author

Dr. Georgine Nanos, MD, MPH 
Founder of Kind Health Group

Learn More About Dr. Nanos
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