Mental Health

I'm not too sure on the exact mechanism of how it works. The research I've been able to find can't seem to agree if it's something about the post-seizure neural activity or something specific about the seizure activity itself. There's a lot of debate about exactly how it works.

ECT does have side effects. The biggest and scariest is the memory side effects. The most common memory issue is that people often forget things around the time of their treatments. Other common ones are headaches, nausea, muscle aches, and jaw pain.

Personally, my memory isn't as sticky as it was prior to ECT. Before it was like fly paper and now it's more like scotch tape. I actually need to use reminders regularly now, whereas before I rarely if ever needed them. There is a noticeable difference in how mentally "sharp" I am, but to me it's worth it. Without ECT, I wouldn't be able to do anything worth remembering.

Electro Convulsive Therapy - they literally shock your brain at high voltages for 10-15 minutes a few times per session.

In my opinion, its extremely under-studied and over prescribed. It should be a completely last ditch attempt extreme cases of treatment resistant depression.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electroconvulsive-therapy/about/pac-20393894

Small electrical currents passed through your brain while under anesthesia.

👀

The exact mechanism for how it improves depression symptoms is still debated and not really understood.

As for how it's done, it's usually done in a hospital. I go to the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit), get in a hospital gown, hooked up to an IV and all the monitors, then wait. Then the ECT team and Anesthesia team come in. I get hooked up with monitors for the ECT machine. Then they do a time-out to double-check everything. After that, things move pretty quickly.

First they give me oxygen through a mask. Then they give the anesthesia through the IV, and I go unconscious. Once they make sure I'm fully out, they give the paralytic. At that point, the nurse anesthetist starts breathing for me. Once the paralytic is fully in effect, they deliver a brief shock to induce the seizure. The doctors monitor my brain waves to make sure I actually have the seizure and it lasts long enough. They also keep an eye on my vital signs to make sure I'm OK. Once the seizure is over and the paralytic wears off, the PACU nurses take over and I wake up. I timed it last time and it took about 45 minutes from Time-Out to me waking up. After I wake up, the nurses check my vitals to make sure I'm OK. Then I get dressed and I get to go home.

Lightning attacks