Now you
might have heard of it before, but most likely from a negative point of view.
Truth is, despite of its stormy history, ECT is among the safest and most
effective treatments available for depression.
What they do
is they place electrodes on the patient’s scalp and a finely controlled
electric current is applied while the patient is under general anesthesia. The
current causes a brief seizure in the brain. It might sound scary and a little
painful at first, but ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in
severely depressed or suicidal patients. It’s also very effective for patients
who suffer from mania or other mental illnesses.
Take this character for
example; from the show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, rock star Derek
Lord goes on a national talk show and lectures about the about the abuse of
psychiatric drugs. Reason for doing so was because he himself was treated for a
psychiatric disorder (depression and suicidal), but with a different method,
ECT. He would explain how they would turn him over so he wouldn’t choke on his
own vomit and make him develop these seizures. But when they asked him if it cured
him of his suicidal thoughts, he said he never had one since.
These are
the kind of risk factors that make you think, do you agree with
electroconvulsive therapy, do you agree on psychiatry, would you risk your life
to save it?
i guess it would all depend on the situation that i would find myself in. and even though it was said back in the day (50's)that it wasn't effective but with today's technology i think the decision would be a little more simpler to take. then again since i don't suffer from any of those psychiatric disorders it would be difficult for me to make a decision.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it might work for some people who are just not responding to other treatment. I mean it has to be in a very severe case. I have always been a little on the fence with drugs because I'm afraid that psychiatrists may prescribe these drugs to people who don't really need them and then damage their bodies with chemicals. However, when it comes to these severe mental disorders there will be chemical imbalances so it would be necessary. With that said I think therapy is the best and first choice but if someone is willing to have ECT with those risks and they really need it, I guess its okay.
ReplyDeleteI think when found in a corner and there is nothing else to do, why not?
ReplyDeleteECT is not that bad, but a little scary for the patients not only for the procedure but becuase I guess its the last thing they can really go through because nothing else has worked.
I feel that medications and therapy are great if the problem is being taken care of but if ECT works why make patients take medications that could be causing harm in other ways. Therapy is always essential even for people that don't need it and I say that could be as easy as talking to a best friend but therapy should happen with patients that do ECT just to see how the patient is adjusting and continue to understand the patient and be a person to vent to.