2006-06-28 03:06:15 · 7 answers · asked by The Pooh-Stick Kid 3 in Health ➔ Mental Health
Its real title is Electroconvulsive Therapy and was once used to treat patients with Schizophrenia (all types) right through to Depression ( all types).
It is not so widely used now as it thought to be a bit barbaric ( the treatment being worse than the disease).
If you have seen the film 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' you will have seen it used basically to keep patients quiet and as a sort of punishment. believe me there have been lots of true horror stories about the treatment of mentally ill patients at the hands of some doctors. Ethics at one stage seems to have gone right out of the window.
Electrodes are place onto the side of the patients head (temporal region) and a current is passed through the brain. What this in fact induces is a grand - mal or epileptic seizure in the patient. When the patient awakens, they are normally confused, and disorientated and take hours to come around as it were. Not a very pleasant treatment!
2006-06-28 03:20:45 · answer #1 · answered by ziggy 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
My mom had shock therapy 30 plus years ago many times for depression. At that time it was used to help her forget the pain and that would help her manage the depression. She left home early in the morning looking sad and distraught and returned with a glazed look in her eyes not even recognizing her own children. She attempted suicide several times during this course of treatment so I would not suggest this treatment.
There are so many new drugs for the treatment of depression and Psychiatrists are wonderful at finding just the right one for an individual. In some cases it might take two or three drugs - different milligrams taken at different times to do the trick but it is all worth it. Just stay in contact with your doctor (preferably a Psychiatrist) he knows all the side effects and all the great things each of the drugs can do. I once had suicidal ideations with bi-polar disorder and a major depressive disorder until I began seeing a psychiatrist who works his magic with these wonderful drugs which he refers to it as a cocktail. I have never felt better, but if there is a problem he is there for me to talk or if need be to make a change in the drug(s) I am taking. I would not be here today without him.
Hang in there it will happen for you too!
2006-06-28 11:07:50 · answer #2 · answered by madison 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shock treatment, or Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) has been around for several decades. Originally, it was used for many different disorders and the electrical current was broadly administered. Now, it is used as a last resort, primarily for Major Depressive Disorder, when medications and other treatments have no effect. It is rarely an electrical current that is used now, but usually a chemically induced seizure that will re-balance the chemical neurotransmitters in the brain. Today, it is a very isolated and targets only certain portions of the brain in a very specific manner.
2006-06-28 10:22:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is not as common, but yes, doctors will occasionally use this treatment to treat severe depression and anxiety disorders. It is most effective in the middle aged and elderly persons because it affects certain chemicals in the brain that are said to be depleted in the elderly. It can be extremely effective and alters the entire affectual response of a severly depressed patient.
I have seen it used once and I would have to say that it was very effective in the individual that used it. She had a very difficult time staying on task and her speech was very broken and difficult to understand. When she came back from her treatment, her whole demeanor was different. She was calm and very pleasant and easy to understand.
There are certain safeguards that are essential when participating in ECT (electroconvulsive therepy), but it has proven to work quite well and will usually be used concurrently with antidepressive medication. It usually only provides temporary relieve and needs to happen more than once (for instance, 6 treatments 1 week apart and then periodic visits).
2006-06-28 10:24:54 · answer #4 · answered by linetta c 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am a relatively young woman..43, and yes i have had "shock treatments" back in 1996. i was being treated for severe reoccurring major depression. the treatments were done in the hospital where i was a patient. the treatments do not hurt, as the put you in a sleep before you have the procedure done. i had really bad head aches afterwords, and some short term memory loss, but i did receive relief from my depression ,but i was by no means cured. i am stable now, i had a lot of individual counseling, and took park in lots of group therapy, i still need to take medication and i will always have to. but i am better and happy now. i hope this was helpful for you
2006-06-28 11:01:58 · answer #5 · answered by Simply D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes but the cure can be worse than the illness, I don't reccommned it. find other alternatives. i once worked with a man who had that treatment for a drinking problem and he walked around like a zombie for the rest of his life - very sad
2006-06-28 10:12:23 · answer #6 · answered by worldstiti 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is used for severe depression when nothing else works, my grandmother had it and it helped her
2006-06-28 10:19:13 · answer #7 · answered by pepsi12383501 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋