Something that might help your (clinical) depression

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I've seen many topics here in the Haven about depression and how it's disrupting people's lives. I know because from 16 to 18 I was in and out of mental hospitals for depression. At one point when I was 18 it was so severe that I convinced myself I was subhuman. Doctors tried many medicines on me, none of which worked. Then they finally tried ECT on me, (electro-convulsive-therapy.) It's also known as shock treatment. After several treatments and some time, I began to feel a lot better. That's why I've suggested to many people on here to try ECT if medicines and other treatments have failed. I don't think ECT will help with situational depression, like depression that is caused by losing a family member or loved one. However it can help with clinical depression, (depression caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.) ECT is far less barbaric than it used to be and it's different from how it's portrayed in movies and other forms of media. It practically saved my life when I was 18. It does however have bad sides to it. The main bad side effect is memory loss. It can have a bad effect on your memory, for example my short-term memory is not what it used to be, and I've lost certain long-term memories. However I'd rather have memory problems than crippling depression, if you know what I mean. So if you're depressed and nothing seems to be helping or nothing else has worked, I would consider ECT. First make sure your health insurance can pay for it and go to your doctor and see if your heart is healthy enough for the treatment. It might be able to help you like the way it's helped me and so many others. : )

Thanks for sharing your experience with ECT. My theory has been that ECT is helpful because of the memory loss. I don't think I could ever go through with something like that, it scares me.

No-one is really certain how ECT works. We do know that it can change patterns of blood flow through the brain and change the metabolism of areas of the brain which may be affected by depression. There is evidence that severe depression is caused by problems with certain brain chemicals. The ECT affects those brain chemicals and it helps the depression or psychosis. The memory loss is simply a bad side effect and I don't think everyone experiences it. Unlike what they did it in the past they put you to sleep before they do the treatment. My anesthesiologist sometimes even plays music for me while they put me to sleep, so there's not much to be afraid of.

After doing some more research you should only try ECT as a last resort. First off, make sure that they give you anesthesia because some countries do ECT without anesthesia and then you have a seizure and your body thrashes around and you can break some bones. It has saved people's lives, including mine, but it has also caused severe memory problems and other problems with some people. I met a person who couldn't remember anything of her childhood after having it. However if you are severely depressed and you feel like killing yourself and medicine and therapy and everything else has failed then you might want to consider it. Just talk to a doctor about it and its potential side effects and if you should try it.