Electric Shock Therapy For Ptsd

[HorseChick]

I had ECT for severe depression. It wasn't like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but emotionally it felt invasive and it reinforced how powerless I felt at the time, with my treatment so completely in other people's hands. It didn't help me at all, but it doesn't seem to have had any lasting negative effects either - other than struggling to come to terms with the fact that at the time I felt I didn't have any other options and now I see things differently.

I'm sorry that you went through such a rough time with ECT. I can see that it would be a last resort and only then, if you are very comfortable with it and very informed of the possible side-effects and think they're worth the risk.

My friends husband had tried suicide several times and meds didn't help. He knew about the memory loss beforehand. My friend and her husband decided together that he couldn't go on the way he was. They just wanted him to stop trying to die. I think they were at the point where it was worth the risk. It did help. I see him smile now.

 

[Darbi Jacob]

No meds worked and he tried suicide several times. Now he wants to be alive.

I am looking into ECT for the same reasons, PTSD 5 years now as sexual assault victim and multiple hospitalizations. I thought after the lengthy criminal trial, which went my way, would close some of those doors. I don't know how to function in the world anymore. Completely Agoraphobic and lonely though many have tried to pursue my love...can't shake the fear despite behavioral therapy, great sense of humor, meds and now doing EMDR. I feel it's time to explore ECT. I was always an attractive, highly motivated woman that many described as fearless. Now, I have a great mask but a very sad person.

 

[LC23]

I feel it's time to explore ECT. I was always an attractive, highly motivated woman that many described as fearless. Now, I have a great mask but a very sad person.

I would exhaust everything and I mean everything else before I did electro-shock anything. Hypnosis, CBT, RRT, EMDR, cannabis, meditation, tai chi, yoga, maybe even Scientology. OK, maybe not Scientology. I dunno. It's a toss up. I'd maybe do it if I was going to be suicidal without it. I'm just skeptical that they have the science that well worked out to have a reasonable chance of positive change.

Just a couple specific thoughts.

1) Do you have any pets? Animals are less likely to set off your triggers and can provide some much needed conscious contact with another entity. Especially a dog, who can also be an extra layer of security and alertness for you, with unparalleled loyalty of a kind that's harder to come by in a human. Or if there's some way you can work hands-on with animals - dogs, cats, birds, horses even if you're comfortable with that, at a no-kill shelter or something of that nature.

2) Have you ever studied a martial art? It can be difficult to overcome the initial intimidation, but it can be a great way to reclaim some of your personal power, if you find a quality instructor who knows how to teach to trauma survivors, especially women. I found that to be very helpful for me. There's a book you can find called Her Wits About Her. It has stories of many women who overcame and/or partially healed from awful situations with martial arts skills plus intelligence. Some of it will be very trigger-heavy, so read with caution and skip the stories that seem like they will be too intense, until you can better process them. But it points a way towards regaining some of that confidence, and banishing some of the fear.

Hope that the people here can be of help, there's a lot of good ideas and good people here, don't give up.

 

[LC23]

I know the martial arts suggestion may seem like a lot - but it can really give you a lot of focus for mind body and spirit, plus it's intense exercise, which is its own distraction and anti depressant. Hard to think about your problems when you're sparring, or working on a form, or doing the intense calisthenics that training in a martial art demands, even if you're out of shape. Plus, a good dojo and sensei is like another family.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Darby,

I completely agree with LC. Don't do ECT unless you've tried just about EVERYTHING else. You've tried relatively few therapies so far and it seems like you're willing to jump into something extreme because what youve tried so far hasn't "fixed" you. I met someone who lost the first ten years of her sons life. And it didn't heal her as I met her in a SI hospital.

I strongly urge you to deeply explore the concept of radical acceptance. I'm not saying this to be mean, but you will never be the same person you were before the trauma. Trying to be this person again may be part of what's holding you back.

 

[Hashi]

Don't do ECT unless you've tried just about EVERYTHING else. You've tried relatively few therapies so far and it seems like you're willing to jump into something extreme because what youve tried so far hasn't "fixed" you.

I agree. I don't think five years of feeling you lost your self and are wearing a mask can be wiped out by ECT or any other treatment. I think treatments (such as meds) can support you while you find a new sense of self, though. I've already posted regarding ECT in particular, so won't repeat myself.

I've tried a lot of different therapies and approaches before finding those that are right for me. The standard ones aren't always going to work for every individual, and if they don't there are others to consider.

I've had to use radical acceptance over what I've lost to trauma and its effects. I have to accept that things are different than they would otherwise have been. I'd never choose this journey for myself and I wish I wasn't on it, but I am and I can't change that. I have to try to find a meaningful life based on who I am now. I think it's about integrating the past and moving forward to something new, not trying to get back to something which has gone/which might have been by "removing" the problems or being treated for them.

 

[Spiderallis]

ECT has been brought up to me a handful of times. That meant it was time to put on the mask and pretend whatever medication suddenly worked great. I'm on my third antidepressant for this round of treatment, this time is different because the main diagnosis is PTSD, major depression is secondary. When I see the Pdoc next week, I get to tell him that there's no change in my mood, but the jaw clenching is worsening the headaches I have every single day. If it's mentioned again, I'm saying yes to ECT. Memory loss wouldn't be a big problem for me, I don't have kids or many happy memories.

 

[Springer80]

It's funny but I was thinking about this over the past couple of days. I ad this sense of relief from imagining he bit of my brain that hurt from constant cognitive circling being shut up for a bit.

I know it's not as exact of temporary but sometimes the thought of it seems tempting. Oh to be a brain zombie!!! I don't mean to be flippant about it. However, I imagine the scenes at the end of last seasons Homeland and it puts me off. The reality of it seems brutal.

I had some somatic therapy recently and my therapist helped me devise a way I can do it to myself. The cranial thing seems interesting.

 

[Britt.f7]

I have definitely considered ECT. I had a friend do it when we were younger and she seemed fine. She really didn't have any complaints about it. Sometimes I feel like I've talked everything out and the meds just aren't working. Mostly it is to stop the depressive episodes or lessen them. After 40 years of being mostly depressed, especially the really, really, bad episodes, I don't know if I can stand it much longer. As far as memory loss, I think with the PTSD and the depression and my chronic illness, I have lost a good portion of my time with my kids.

However, I'm pretty sure, with my ICD, that it wouldn't be an option. Kind of frustrating. I do think, if things don't start to get better, I will try the EMDR. The hard part has been trying to find someone nearby for that. Driving is often a difficulty for me.

I do know ECT isn't like it used to be, but I do think it is very smart to look around for a very, very competent doctor.

 

[Pencil]

The main thing to realise about EST is that NOBODY knows how it works, why it works, what exactly it does etc. They (the 'experts') only know that somehow, mysteriously, it often works for depression, and sometimes work for other things. And that should be more than enough reason to steer clear.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I would not do it. It seems too traumatic to the brain and I am concerned about the risk of memory losses. It seems barbaric. Be careful. What works for one may not work for another.

 

[Lucycat]

The main thing to realise about EST is that NOBODY knows how it works, why it works, what exactly it does etc. They (the 'experts') only know that somehow, mysteriously, it often works for depression, and sometimes work for other things. And that should be more than enough reason to steer clear.

I wouldn't argue with your logic. However they also don't know how come paracetamol relieves pain. Just enough evidence that it does. Would you not take it because they cannot tell you why?

I would never advocate medication or treatment without the evidence- bur sometimes we just have to accept the evidence is not there even though the proof is.