The Truth About Shock Therapy

"Shock" therapy, also known as electroconvulsive therapy, is a medical procedure used in psychiatry today to treat mental afflictions such as depression. While this type of treatment for depression has received its share of bad publicity over the years - as seen in movies like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Requiem for a Dream" (thanks, Hollywood) - it has proven to be a safe and highly effective treatment for many sufferers of depression. Many are unaware that ECT is still even being performed, and lack the correct knowledge.

The Procedure

A patient is first put to sleep using an IV or intravenous to administer an anesthetic medication as directed by an anesthesiologist. Once the patient is securely under, a tube is placed into your throat to promote breathing. This is called intubation. Succinylcholine is then given to the patient; this is a paralyzing agent. The purpose if this is to prevent seizure during the procedure. All throughout the procedure, the patient's vitals and heart rate are monitored. Once the paralyzing agent is put in place, conducting jelly is placed on the temples and the electrodes are attached. The shock is then administered. The shock itself lasts a few seconds and is intended to cause a seizure (now the paralyzing agent makes sense, doesn't it?).

ECT is usually performed in a series of treatments over an extended period of time. Each treatment session will usually last no longer than ten minutes.

Common effects after the procedure include headache, muscle pain, back pain, slight memory loss and confusion. All of these effects wear off shortly after a person recovers from the anesthesia.

How It Works

While we are unsure of how exactly ECT works to correct mental disorders such as depression or manic episodes, we have come closer in recent years to defining what shock therapy does to the brain in an attempt to theorize the actual effects. When the shock is administered, it causes a seizure to the brain. Doctors are not sure how this helps, but it is understood that due to the seizure causes, the brain is able to "reset" in a sense. This allows many manic depression sufferers to break through manic episodes and has helped pull countless individuals through depression that regular medication was unable to cure.

Reputation

Due to its reputation as being used as a violent punishment, or a way to subdue someone, shock therapy has earned a pretty bad rap. Recently, however, it seems to have made a rather astonishing comeback into the psychiatric world. In fact, many psychiatrists today acknowledge that ECT is an effective method of treating depression and breaking manic cycles. Spanning recent years, there have been many news stories and articles covering the comeback of electroconvulsive therapy in an attempt to dispel the rumors. If you were to take the time to surf the web a little bit and read the first-hand accounts of many shock therapy receivers, you'll find it hard to come by complaints or the horror stories you would probably be expecting.

It is important to overlook the negative stigma attached to shock therapy. People have allowed themselves to be misinformed by the media and Hollywood for far too long. We must appreciate the science behind ECT for what it is, a miracle to those who benefit from it.

References:

Dr. James Potash, ABC News: "A Shockingly Effective Treatment for Depression," http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Depression/story?id=4199997&page=3

Anonymous, Healthy Place: "ECT How it Works," http://www.healthyplace.com/depression/ect/ect-shock-therapy-how-it-works/menu-id-68/

Melissa Dahl, MSNBC News: "Shock therapy makes a quiet comeback," http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26044935

Salynn Boyles, WebMD: "Drugs, 'Shock Therapy' Beat Depression," http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20060112/drugs-shock-therapy-beat-depression