DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION
NEUROPSYCHE HUB
Living with neuropsychiatric symptoms can change the smallest parts of your day. A mind that won’t quiet when you finally lie down, a sudden wave of panic that hits like cold water, a heavy sadness that makes simple tasks feel miles away, a loop of intrusive thoughts that sticks like a burr under the skin, a burst of irritability or impulsivity that surprises even you. Sometimes it’s not dramatic, it’s subtle, like wearing a mask all day and forgetting what your own face feels like. These experiences are not “just attitude,” they are not weakness, and they are not your fault. Neuropsychiatric symptoms can arise from changes in how brain circuits regulate mood, stress, motivation, attention, and behavior. For some people, when symptoms are severe and other treatments have not helped enough, deep brain stimulation (DBS) may come up as a possible option in carefully selected situations, often within specialized care settings and sometimes in research studies.
This Neuropsychiatric Hub is here to give you clear, steady information about these conditions and how DBS may fit into the larger landscape of care, so you do not have to sort through it all alone. Below you’ll find condition-specific links, plain-language explanations of symptoms and treatments, and practical tools to help you prepare for appointments, track patterns over time, and bring better questions to your medical team. Our goal is to help you trade some of the fog for a little more light, some of the isolation for community, and some of the fear for grounded next steps
More Information Coming Soon, So Check Back Often!
Living with neurological or psychiatric symptoms can touch every corner of your day. Thoughts that feel stuck on a loop, heavy mood that will not lift, anxiety that takes over your body, sudden shifts in behavior, or intrusive urges can make simple things like getting out of bed, going to work, or connecting with people you love feel out of reach. These symptoms are not a personal failure, they are not “all in your head,” and you did not cause them. They are signs of real changes in how brain circuits are working, and for some people, deep brain stimulation (DBS) becomes one of the treatment options their care team may consider.
This NeuroPsych Hub is here to give you clear information about neurological and psychiatric conditions where DBS is used as a therapeutic treatment, so you do not have to sort through it alone. Below you will find condition-specific links for disorders such as treatment-resistant depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), certain types of epilepsy, and other brain-based conditions, along with tools to help you prepare for visits, understand your options, and bring better questions to your own medical team. Our goal is to turn some of the fear and confusion in your day into steadier ground by offering you language, knowledge, and practical support.
Self-Advocacy
YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
You're not alone in worrying that your voice wouldn't matter. Most people don't realize the power they have in being their own self-advocate. Their voice, YOUR VOICE, matters! Many worry that doctors won't have time to truly listen, especially when you are already worn out from symptoms and appointments.
But your story, your patterns, and your goals are information only you can bring, and when you share them clearly, you turn your care from something done to you into something shaped with you. Self-advocacy is not about being difficult, it is about calmly saying, “This is what life is really like for me, and this is what I hope for.”
We have created an ADVOCACY page for you to learn how to become your own best self-advocate.
Click the button below to go there now!
DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT . . .
The NeuroSpark Foundation is not a group of doctors or a hospital, but a community of people living with deep brain stimulation, care partners, and allies who have learned to ask hard questions and dig into the research.
We read medical papers, follow experts, and share trusted sources so you can check information yourself and bring stronger questions to your own medical team. Nothing here is medical advice, and only your doctors can tell you what to do, change, start, or stop; our role is to help you understand the language, find solid information, and become a more confident self-advocate in your care.