In Support of Electroconvulsive Therapy

Millions of people across the globe take antidepressant medications to treat depression. There is a more effective treatment available which many don't consider, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Despite the fact that its critics contend that ECT causes serious memory loss and possibly brain damage, many doctors consider it so safe and effective a treatment that it could be used as a primary approach to treating severe depression rather than relying on medications.

One of the principal criticisms of ECT is that it causes memory loss. Some patients have reported permanent memory loss that encompasses whole years or sections of their lives. For instance, in one study a patient reported permanently losing the memory of the early years of her children's lives. Many others have reported gaps in their memories as a result of treatment. This is a serious issue that should not be ignored, but the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of patients who undergo ECT and suffer memory loss have reported that it recedes with time and that they eventually get all their memories back. Not only do they get their memories back but as a bonus the memories don't cause the serious depression that they used to cause before the patient underwent ECT.

Many critics of ECT respond to the treatment by insisting that it works so well because it causes brain damage, leaving the patient more docile, less self-aware and with a false sense of well being. They point to the fact that nobody really knows exactly why the seizures caused by shock treatments work to relieve depression as evidence it could be working because it causes injury to the brain. Some ECT patients have reported seeing hallucinations afterward while others have reported that they are not able to do the creative work they were capable of doing before the treatments. So far, however, no studies have come up with evidence that serious brain damage is caused by ECT whereas a 1990 study by the American Psychiatric Association came to the conclusion that ECT, in fact, does not cause brain damage. ECT has been used effectively on millions of people for over sixty years with no pattern of brain damage showing up in the research.

ECT doesn't come with the burden of having as many side effects as anti-depressant medications. Aside from memory loss, in fact, most patients report no side effects at all. On the other hand, most antidepressants come with a wide array of side effects that can range from nuisances to seriously incapacitating. Many patients who are eligible for ECT simply cannot withstand the unpleasantness which accompanies taking medication to treat their disease. In addition to being mentally ill, the medications often make them physically ill. This is especially true among the elderly, who represent an overwhelming number of eligible cases for ECT. Even those who are not elderly can be debilitated by some of the side effects of antidepressant medications, such as the inability to operate a car due to bouts of sudden dizziness or even the unexpected onslaught of a seizure.

Patients undergoing ECT don't have to go through a waiting period to see if it will work, unlike those patients taking medication. Often, after the initial treatment of shocks, the patient will experience a pleasant change in his outlook and the depression will start to be lifted. This is especially important among patients suffering depression severe enough that they begin to consider suicide. Time is often of the essence in treating someone suffering from depression. A patient must continue taking an antidepressant for at least a month to find out whether it is going to be effective or not. During this month to six week period the patient can get significantly worse and then find out that the medication isn't going to be effective at all, giving him no recourse except to wait out another six weeks to see if yet another pill will be the magic bullet. With dozens of medications on the market to treat depression, clearly this means that a patient can spend years looking for relief. Antidepressants have been shown to be effective in 70% of cases while for ECT the effect rate is 90%.

The facts point to ECT becoming even more of a widespread treatment for depression than it already is today. As with any kind of treatment for a disease, clearly there are some worries involved. After all, no one wants to lose their memory even if it is for a short period of time. However, the overwhelming number of cases point to memory loss being short-lived and fading with time. As for the possibility of brain damage, the studies show that this appears to be no real cause for concern. On the other hand ECT's side effects are less in volume than the only other proven method of treatment for depression, medication. ECT is being accepted more and more as a treatment for serious depression and one day may become as common as taking Prozac.