Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

When ECT was first brought up I was sure that it would never be for me. That my illness wasn’t severe enough to warrant such a treatment. I didn’t think I would need it. But I did.

I’m writing this on the eve of my tenth ECT session from my hospital room. I’m beginning to see some semblance of my old self - something that meds, therapy and TMS haven’t been able to uncover. ECT sounds frightening to an outsider, it definitely did to me before I went through with it. So I thought I would share my experience to demystify and destigmatise the treatment.

I’ve been inactive on Story of the Mind because I haven’t been well enough to write and keep up with it but ECT is slowly starting to give me back my motivation and drive to do things. ECT involves stimulating the brain to induce a seizure. This is done under anaesthetic with a muscle relaxant onboard. I like to think about it as ‘turning myself on and off again’. ECT has been shown to be the most effective antidepressant treatment available for severe depression, with a response rate of over 70%.

For most of ECT I’m out of it - all I’m conscious of is entering the treatment room where I see the treating psychiatrist who will administer the electric current, the anaesthetist who puts a cannula in my hand to deliver the muscle relaxant/anaesthetic and an ECT nurse. Overall the most unpleasant part is the oxygen mask being held on my face. I wake up soon after, the treatment is all done and all I have is a slight headache.

It’s early days, but so far ECT has been the first treatment I’ve been able to see some progress with and wouldn’t hesitate to undergo it again. Still waiting to see the full extent of its effectiveness.