I’ve decided to open a new category: Q&A (Questions and Answers). Here I will try to answer some of your questions, as brief as possible.
Question that was asked yesterday about electroshock therapy:
“Can ECT make me more depressed?”
Answer: No, usually it will not. Not by itself.
But indirectly it can contribute to depression, in two main ways:
(1) Psychologically: for some people, regular day-long hospital visits for intensive ECT treatment can be an extra tiring burden and increase your feeling that you’re a very serious case. This might make you feel more depressed.
(2) As a result of side effects: for a few people, serious effects can occur (like structural long-term memory loss) that may disrupt your daily life or even relationships. Eventually, this also can make you feel more depressed.
We all may react differently, in positive or in negative ways, so it’s hard to tell in advance what the end result will be in your particular case.
But if you think about having ECT as a last-resort treatment for depression, it makes sense to also consider the possibility of a negative end result.
May 25, 1965 –
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