Do they still use Electric Shock Therapy on people to treat mental illness?

Question

Wasn't that kind of cruel?

Answer 1

ECT is no longer what you remember. The old idea is that you zap someone with electricity and the body jumps and actually looks like an electrocution.
It is not done like that anymore. It is an outpatient procedure (I have witnessed this before). The patient is given A muscle relaxant so the body remains very still, not even a twitch. The patients is knocked out with a very fast acting medication. A short amount of electricity is applied. The electricity is only there to start a seizure in the brain. In fact the only real way to tell that the electricity has been applied to look at the EEG.
The whole reason we do this is because we believe the brain kinda of will re-boot itself. ECT is done is cycles. It can be very effective for people that have not had good results with anti-depressants.
We do not do lobotomy's anymore. That was a little more problematic and draconian.
The newest treatment coming down the road is actually implanting little electrodes deep into the brain in the pleasure center. They fire off small bursts of electricity and it seems to increase the chemicals that regulate our mood such as dopamine and serotonin.
Another is the use of strong magnets that work in a similar fashion. It is amazing what we are going to be able to do soon. But really ECT is not bad and is very helpful. It just has a bad rap.

Answer 2

Is Shock Therapy Still Used

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Do they still use Electric Shock Therapy on people to treat mental illness?
Wasn't that kind of cruel?

Answer 4

Yes is is called Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)... it is still used to treat very severe forms of depression. It is generally used as a last resort. It is part of a process.. a patient has to try other avenues first (medication, psychotherapy etc) Then I believe they have to have 2 doctors agree that it is necessary. It is not cruel when you understand it's proper use. See severe depression is caused by inbalances of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. ECT sends impulses that are meant to stimulate these neurotransmitters back into proper order (depression is caused by not having enough stimulation from serotonin). Don't you think it is much more cruel to let someone live with severe depression and kill themselves (or attempt to several times) from it. Again although ECT was a common practice in history, it is now only used for very severe cases when nothing else seems to work.

Answer 5

this is in addition to misskate1's answer
its pc to call it Electro Convulsive Therapy now. Therapy generally consists of 12 treatments over a 3 week period in attempt to reboot the brain
The patient is delivered by i.v. a large dose of insulin effectively putting them in a hypoglycemic coma, then small amounts of electric current are administered to the brain through electrodes, there is no convulsing or pain. The biggest side effect is memory loss, especially around the time of treatment lasting maybe a couple months. I've seen the procedure done, and it seems like the patient is taking a nap while wearing an ugly hat

Answer 6

They do. The treatment has changed since the "One Flew Over the Cookoo's nest days.

"Currently, ECT is mainly used to treat severe depression, particularly if complicated by psychosis.[2][3] It is also used in cases of severe depression where antidepressant medication (sometimes in multiple courses), psychotherapy, or both, have been ineffective (refractory depression),[4] when medication cannot be taken, or when other treatments would be too slow (for example, in a person with delusional depression and intense, unremitting suicidal tendencies). Specific indications include depression accompanied by a physical illness or pregnancy, which renders the use of the usually preferred antidepressants dangerous to the patient or to a developing fetus. Under such circumstances, after carefully weighing the risks and benefits, some psychiatrists consider ECT to be the safest treatment option. It is also sometimes used to treat the manic phase of bipolar disorder and the rare condition of catatonia.

In the United States: Recent epidemiological surveys in the United States show that modern use of ECT is generally limited to evidence-based indications.[5] Indeed, concern has been raised that, in some settings, particularly in the public sector and outside major metropolitan areas, ECT may be underutilized.[6] In particular, minority patients tend to be underrepresented among those receiving ECT.[7] Accurate statistics about the frequency, context and circumstances of ECT in the United States are difficult to obtain because only a few states have reporting laws that require the treating facility to supply state authorities with this information.[8]"

Answer 7

Yes, it's still performed in the US, usually as an outpatient procedure. The patients have to consent to it and it works on some people, though the doctor usually uses it as a last resort of treatment.
I don't know tons about it but I did witness it several times years ago when I was in nursing school. The procedure sounds awful, but it's not bad or violent to watch. The patients don't appear to be in any discomfort while it happens and they are fine afterwords. I don't think they remember any of it either. It's not like it's this big, violent shock. It's very mild.

Answer 8

Yes as others have said it's used for severely depressed patients who are almost catatonic (so depressed they can't move). They use little electrodes on the body, not actual shocking mechanisms of old times. It's really the LAST method chosen and there are so many other options that it's really just used on the worst cases.

Answer 9

Yes. They use Electic Shock Therapy for severally depressed individuals. You have to qualify for the DSM-IV-TR criteria of classifications of depression is:

Five (or more) of the following symptoms have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning; at least one of the symptoms is either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

Note: Do note include symptoms due to medications.

(1) depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day.

(2) markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day.

(3) significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day.

(4) insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day

(5) psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down)

(6) fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day

(7) feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (

(8) diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness,

(9) recurrent thoughts of death

Answer 10

Yes, it is very effective in treating very stubborn cases of depression. It has been improved and has prevented suicides. Severe depression is one of the worst ailments a person can have.