Electroshock therapy

Post Reply New Topic

It was strongly recommended to me by a physician last summer.

I found this rather funny, and my dad and I had some good laughs doing impressions of Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for the rest of the month.

Now I'm starting to think it might be worth considering.


Has anyone here tried this? Thoughts?



edit: damnit, I need to start using the search feature before I post stuff. It's just so many threads get created here (by non-search-using thread-starters like me, I'm sure) it's really easy to duplicate. http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt57650.html ...my bad, guys. I feel dumb.

Never tried it, and never will. Shock therapy its outdated medical science as far as im concerned, like leeches and bleeding "to relese the exess humors off the body"

It depends on many factors. I wouldn't try it unless it was one of the last options for a serious problem. That said, it has improved over the decades, doctors are able to use it much more accurately. The 'problems' it was used to treat in the past were generally mild, so often times the treatment was worse than what was treated, in the present that normally isn't the case. I know a guy that was thinking about getting electroshock treatment or electroconvulsive, whatever they call it now, but someone suggested that he take a long camping trip which he did. Two weeks camping in alaska with his son and he actually improved alot. He hardly has any problems with bipolar and depression now, he goes camping or hiking every few weeks, it's amazing what some rest and time in the woods can do for the mind.

Exhaust all less extreme options before you do anything that could cause you any mental harm.

Oh yea, they still use leeches in medicine, the reasons have changed but the treatment is still similar, supposedly they do a good job of reducing swelling and fighting infections.

You were right, it was used for bunk reasons in the past. I was just pointing out that it has also been used for a few legitimate reasons now, at least that is what i have read. I'm not a doctor so i might be completely wrong.

i bet u dont wanna get tied in table ans shocked..this is just image i got from it

Sounds painful!

Want me to try it? No Way!! !!

Apparently it's much more humane now...you sleep through the whole thing, and they use a small electric current to induce a minor seizure, which you will not be aware of due to anesthetic and muscle-relaxant. This is supposed to help increase the chemical activity in your brain or something, that part gets a bit hazy.


It does sound rather extreme, doesn't it? And it doesn't help that Hollywood loves to dramatize it.


It was recommended to me due to my clinical depression, which I've had for the last ten years. It's funny, it only occurs to me to seriously think about radical treatments like this after having a good day- not that today was a particularly great day in itself, but it was one of those rare days where due to a sudden extreme caffeine-adderall overdose/lack of sleep/god knows what else, I didn't feel that numbness I'm accustomed to. I walked around campus, dealt cheerfully with people behind office desks who were making my life difficult, made jokes to choir members and classmates without caring what people thought- it was kinda nice. And I know I won't have that tomorrow.


It's probably not the best idea. I dunno. The doctor who mentioned it says the only common side effect is a very short-term, temporary memory-loss (so if a friend drove you to the appt., they could mess with you a bit afterwards), which isn't a huge deal. But google searching tells me (and we all know the internet=infallible) about potential permanent memory damage, which scares the crap out of me. But I'm 22, I've been on and off different meds for almost half my life, and this is still a huge issue I'd like to move past at this point.


...to shock or not to shock, that is the question...

I requested electroshock therapy once. Request denied. The doctor said that it causes brain damage, and should be used as a last resort. I was in the hospital for depression, and people that got electroshock in my ward, it sort of made them veggie-like for a while. Headache, memory loss, disorientation, drooling, having to be moved in a wheelchair, and sleepy for a couple days, they had to go through a series of shocks, not just one zap. Even after the electroshock, they were on psych meds. I guess it has a positive effect for them, because a year or so later, there was one person I met -- the most incurable one in the ward, they were calmer and more together, not irritated so easily.

As far as treatments for things like depression go, I am more interested in brain implants as a possible alternative to all the pills.

It can cause TEMPORARY memory loss, and some people complain about humming in their ears afterwards.