ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – According to the Washington Post, a third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. A new procedure at Arnot Ogden Medical Center is showing a lot of promise.

Arnot is having good results from a new treatment for severe depression. The procedure is called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

It’s is a non-invasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression.

18 News spoke with one of the patients who went through this procedure, but she said the pandemic isn’t what caused her depression. She said she’s been battling depression her whole life.

“I did it for 6 straight weeks every day Monday through Friday. I could tell my depression was getting better and better and I started laughing again and being happy,” said Arnot patient Carol Allard.

TMS is typically used when other depression treatments haven’t been effective, like medication. It’s a newer service for Arnot, and patients are seeing great improvement.

“Some people don’t find benefits from the medication, but for a lot of people it can be maybe a side effect that prevented them from being able to benefit from the medication,” said Hannah Bushnell, an Arnot health psychiatrist.